One thing I enjoy about buying more of my books from charity shops is that I don't always know what I will be reading next and I often end up reading fantastic books that I might not have normally chosen. Frequently I find quite a few classic books in charity shops my latest read certainly fell into that category. Secondary school was where I first came across the works of George Orwell and I read Animal Farm as part of my GCSE English course. I've always meant to read more of his works, but had not got round to doing so until I picked up a copy of A Clergyman's Daughter recently. Orwell ... read more
Land Girls and Lumber Jills
I'm always fascinated about the what life was like living in Britain during the 2nd World War, especially for those women left at home whilst their husbands and brothers fought in the military overseas. I was therefore pleased to see a couple of articles on the BBC News website today about the Land Girls and Lumber Jills receiving official recognition for the role that they played during the War. It is sad that they have had to wait for so long, but better late than never. The stories of some of these women are fascinating. I found this photojournal online, but I'll certainly be looking out ... read more
Japanese Recycling
I came across this article on the BBC news website last week and ever since then I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Kamikatsu is a village in Eastern Japan that is described as "zero waste". Everything there is recycled. Individuals have to take full responsibility for all their waste and there are no waste collections from houses. Admittedly the scheme is far from perfect, but it is interesting to read about some of the things that they are able to recycle that we can't here in the UK. The incentives that are mentioned are also an interesting idea - I personally think that glass ... read more
Act of Faith – Erica James
The very second paragraph of this book worried me: 'Oh, get a life you silly little man,' she muttered, bringing to an end the ramblings of the out-of-his-tree caller from Redditch - a crank who had been advocating a world economy based on homespun bartering. Honestly, was there anything worse than a born-again down-shifter? The alarm bells were ringing at this point and I read on with some trepidation. I'm very pleased to say though that once I'd got over this first obstacle Act Of Faith turned into a thoroughly enjoyable book - if a tad predictable at times. It tells the story of Ali ... read more
A magical weekend in Jersey
I've just returned from what was quite simply the best weekend away I've ever had. It was my birthday last Friday so Mr C organised a weekend away for us and we went to Jersey. Now I've always wanted to travel to the Channel Islands as I've head so much about the scenery and have always wanted to learn more about what life on the Islands was like during the war-time German Occupation. I'll provide more details of our trip later (once I've finished unpacking and the mountain of washing that's come back with us) but it summarise Jersey is quite simply spectacular and the people there are some of ... read more
Rowan Bamboo Tape
On my way home from work on Wednesday I called in at a local John Lewis store with the hope that I might be able to find a haberdashery bargain in their famous Clearance. I'd already popped into one of their stores at the weekend and found a few things reduced, but I'd heard rumours that further reductions had been made now that they're into the final week of the sale. It seems I wasn't to be disappointed! For the grand total of £21 I managed to get 17 balls of Rowan bamboo tape in shade 714 ember. It looks simply divine and feels so so soft! In that price I also managed to get a copy of the ... read more
Body Surfing – Anita Shreve
Having thoroughly enjoyed one of Anita Shreve's other books I was delighted to find a copy of Body Surfing in a charity shop last week, especially since it seems to be one of her most recent books into paperback. This book tells the story of Sydney, once divorced and once widowed, all by the age of twenty-nine. She has the job of tutoring the eighteen year old daughter of a couple whilst living with them in their oceanfront New Hampshire cottage. Over time Sydney finds herself caught up in the lives of this family in a way that runs much deeper than anything you initially think. Love and trust ... read more
Fresh bread for breakfast
One of the first joint household purchases that Mr C and I ever made was a bread maker. As I recall it cost about £40 from the Woolworths down the road from our first flat. It doesn't get as much use as I would like it to, but both of us are rather fond of home made bread rather than buying a loaf from the supermarket. We're also not very adventurous yet and despite all my best intentions we only ever seem to follow one recipe: the one for wholewheat bread from Marjie Lambert's The New Bread Machine Book. The recipe is incredibly simple, but uses honey instead of any sugar and I find that I ... read more
Birklands Meadow
At last week's Earthworks Summer Fair Mr C and I found out about a place called Birklands Meadow on the outskirts of St Albans. We'd not heard of the place before, so when we decided to go out for a walk on Sunday afternoon we thought we should go and explore. We set off on foot and decided to call in at the WWA en route. Here we were lucky enough to see one of the remaining ducklings taking a trip on the water with mum. Sadly, I think the rest have all been taken by the heron that seems to have set up residence on the water's edge. We then carried on on foot to Birklands Meadow which is just ... read more
Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer
I was quite excited last week when Amazon.co.uk delivered my copy of Jane Brocket's Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer. I've been reading Jane's yarnstorm blog for a few years now and have also thoroughly enjoyed her first book, The Gentle Art of Domesticity. Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer follows such an amazingly simple idea for a book that in a way I'm amazed that no one has thought of it before! Whilst on a family holiday Jane and one of her daughters, Phoebe, started talking about all the different foodstuffs in various children's books and soon came along the idea of a cookbook based on all these ... read more