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Archive Entries for October 2016

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Monday October 31, 2016

Books in October

  • London's Glory by Christopher Fowler [read by Tim Goodman]
    BOM-LondonsGlory.jpg So having "ended" the Bryant and May series quite definitively, the author has done the only sensible thing and returned to adventures from a previous era with a book of "11 missing cases".
    He has moved right into real "short story" writing for the detectives and the result is excellent. Small mysteries rather in the vein of Sherlock Holmes.In addition he provides an excellent "introduction" which is an essay about murder mysteries through the ages.
    [I am relieved though that he has not followed Steven Saylor's path of introducing a youthful and lusty sexual dimension - luckily our heroes are still pretty ancient even in the 1940s. Not - I hasten to add - that I have any repressed objections to sex for the over 60s - just not sure I want it expressed in any graphic detail - the vision of Bryant and pillow talk would have been too boggling to contemplate.]
    So - enjoy - Bryant and May..:
    • ...and the Secret Santa
    • ...in the Field
    • ...on the Beat
    • ...in the Soup
    • ...and the Nameless Woman
    • ...and the Seven Points
    • ...on the Cards
    • ...Ahoy!
    • ...and the Blind Spot
    • ...and the Bells of Westminster
    • ...Mystery Tour

  • Sign of Fear by Robert Ryan
    BOM-SignOfFear.jpg It seems the ending if the last book was the "real" ending and I just have to live with it. Far from a Holmes-like regeneration, we see an unlikely alliance between Watson and his nemesis - which the author has some skill to both pull off as plausible and also take his reader (me) with him. Watson might be able to pragmatically deal with the situation but the rest of us have some difficulty. Actually we want to see evil genii redeemed - a la Star Wars .... but that doesn't happen either!
    An excellent adventure - and long may Watson be able to continue in this "modern era".

  • Brush Back by Sara Paretsky
    BOM-BrushBack.jpg This is the latest published VI novel - and apparently the 17th in the series. Although the plot is about a past injustice (or maybe not) it heavily centres on VI's cousin Boom Boom. This famous ball-playing cousin - and his death - is the subject of a much earlier novel, and it is always clear that VI has a bit of hero worship going on. Hence his name associated with wrong-doing leaves VI insecure and doubting herself. This provides all that is needed to keep her on track looking into a situation that gives her more grief than it's worth, and that she would probably prefer not to be dragged into - especially as it's all pro bono with a stack of personal abuse thrown in!

Posted on October 31, 2016 at 5:47 PM. Category: Books of the Month.

Wednesday October 19, 2016

No Man's Land

NoMansLand.jpg

...which remains forever, icy and silent.

I could not resist a chance to see Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen - and in a Pinter play. All very appropriate and excellently reviewed. For myself, I always struggle with Pinter, and this was no exception - truly did not understand it - at least not at any superficial level. It certainly spoke to me of the fear of losing control of one's mind - even in drunkenness, which has always bothered me from a very early age. There is - as always in his plays it seems - an underlying (or maybe overt) sense of menace and manipulation. I guess I found Betrayal much easier to digest, with its apparently simpler themes.

Posted on October 19, 2016 at 2:51 PM. Category: Days Out. | Comments (0)

Saturday October 8, 2016

Good Canary

GoodCanary.jpg

I got these tickets as it was playing locally at the Rose in Kingston... and John Malkovich is a good director ... and I thought it looked interesting.
Turned out it was quite amazing and has been playing to rave reviews. A lot of the reviewers attribute this all to Malkovich - but I would say the set and staging were most innovative, the script itself was sharp, and the actors were astonishing - especially Freya Mavor who is brilliant - and variously described as a newcomer.

I have also seen more critical reviews saying the play "lacks shape" and makes a better film, but actually I thought the staging was brilliant, managing to capture indoors and out (as well inside and outside the psyche) by using projections and very little in the way of scenery and props.

Posted on October 8, 2016 at 11:48 PM. Category: Art and Culture.

Saturday October 1, 2016

Grand Stash Sale

StashSale.jpg

This is our rather optimistic attempt at a stash sale. Unfortunately it was a really poor day from the perspective of the weather and we did not get many people through the doors. However I thought it went well enough and we all had fun - and we even sold some stuff. Even I - who went home with virtually all I came with (which you can see was quite some stash!) - managed to sell enough to cover the cost of my table.

Posted on October 1, 2016 at 3:33 PM. Category: Crafts.