Like many young professional couples Mr C and I loved to travel before Little Miss C came along. Together we've been to about twenty countries all around the world and even managed a round the world trip together for our Honeymoon. Since we became a family of three we've limited ourselves to staying in the UK, but now that LMC's a bit older we're ready to dust off those passports (and apply for one for LMC) and head off again. The practicalities aren't too difficult, but it's fair to say that "fear" is probably the thing that's holding us back the most (if ... read more
Why books?
Someone referred to me the other day as someone who blogs about books and I suppose that had me puzzled. I do blog about books, but hadn't really realised just how much I blog about them until I looked back at my blog myself. You see the thing is that books are a big part of my life and always have been. As a child I used to look forward to bedtime as that was when I could curl up with a book and enter a whole new world. When I started this blog I was commuting into London daily and had loads of time on the train to read and was getting through books at quite a rate. Since Little Miss C ... read more
With No One as Witness – Elizabeth George
I have been so completely captivated by Elizabeth George's With No One as Witness recently that it's hard to remember reading anything else before it. It's a big book, with over 600 pages, but not once did I feel that it was dragging or anything - in fact, it was the complete opposite. I loved this book and didn't want it to end at all. It is one of the most engaging pieces of crime fiction that I've read in a long time. There is a serial killer on the lose in London and Inspector Lynley and his team at the Metropolitan Police are trying to find him without much success. As ... read more
The Quangle Wangle’s Hat – Edward Lear
Coincidence is a funny thing. Only last week I was reading about the Charlotte Strawbridge's new venture Crumpetty Tree and in particular how the name for their business came from Edward Lear's The Quangle Wangle's Hat. I knew of Edward Lear, and in particular Owl and the Pussycat, but not this tale, until Saturday that was when I came across this in a local charity shop. Not only can I now find out about the Quangle Wangle and the Crumpetty Tree, but the story is also accompanied by lovely illustrations by the fantastic Helen Oxenbury. In their own ... read more
Look back in hunger – Jo Brand
I've been a bit behind with book reviews lately, mainly because I've been enjoyng reading so much lately. Jo Brand is one of those comediennes that people seem to feel very strongly about. Some love her, some can't stand her. Her acting efforts have won awards, but also a lot of criticism. The same goes for her comedy. Strangely, to me at least, she's one of those people who seems to be on TV, or Radio 4, frequently, but yet I don't know much about her. I knew that she used to be a nurse and that some of her comedy and writing work has been based on those experiences, but ... read more
Kiddiwalks
Mr C and I have lived in St Albans for nearly seven years now so I thought it fair to say that I know the place and surrounding area reasonably well. However, over the last few months I've realised that I actually don't at all! My knowledge is lacking somewhat when it comes to places to go with kids. I can do all the very obvious ones like the zoo and local children's farm, but when we just want to go out for a walk somewhere I kept coming back to the same places and I was soon getting quite bored with them. A friend then told me about Kiddiwalks in Hertfordshire which ... read more
Beneath the Bleeding – Val McDermid
I've always loved crime fiction of all types and recently I've been indulging in quite a bit of it. FIrst off is Val McDermid's Beneath the Bleeding. I've read a fair amount of her stuff before, but this is one that had escaped me until now. Quite simply, I completely loved this book! It scared me at times and was so realistic that it was also hard to always remember that this was a work of fiction rather than a real-life story in a newspaper. What made it even more real is that just a couple of days after finishing the book we went on a day trip to somewhere ... read more
The Fry Chronicles – Stephen Fry
To me Stephen Fry is a bit of a British institution. I love the fact that he just knows so much stuff - it'd be great to have him on your pub quiz team that's for sure! I do realise though that he isn't quite everyone's cup of tea. If you are a member of the Fry fan club though then you should definitely read The Fry Chronicles. Written in Stephen's usual style I did find myself reaching for the dictionary every now and again as I found him using vocabulary with which I was unfamiliar, but that somehow just added to it being Stephen Fry. The book centres on his time at ... read more
Nella Last in the 1950s: Further diaries of Housewife, 49
Nella Last in the 1950s is the third (and sadly last) of the books (following Nella Last's War: The Second World War Diaries of 'Housewife, 49' and Nella Last's Peace: The Post-War Diaries Of Housewife 49 ) that have been compiled from the many diary entries that Nella Last submitted as part of the Mass Observation project. The title is pretty self-explanatory and contains entries from the 1950s. Admittedly not as "exciting" a time in history as the war years or period of change immediately following them, but fascinating all the same in terms of seeing how a normal ... read more
At Risk – Patricia Cornwall
I love Patricia Cornwall's Scarpetta series and when looking for something to cheer myself up in a charity shop the other day I was rather pleased to find a copy of one of her newer books; At Risk. As I curled up in bed with it I was initially a tad puzzled as to why someone had written a summary of some of the characters inside the front over. It soon became apparent though as I have never met such a woolly set of characters in my life. This book just didn't gel together at all. The characters were all over the place, the plot didn't hold together at all and to be honest I found ... read more