Anzac Weekend

Many of us have been moved to tears by the services commemorating the centenary of Gallipoli. It has certainly reinforced what a waste of humanity war is and the desire never to have wars again. The converse side is, I guess, no war may mean that unsavoury countries and movements may take over peace loving people. Anzac Day has really made us think of the role our country played in pointless wars at the behest of British commanders who used us as a distraction from where the real fighting was taking place.

I am almost finished Holy Fools  and may have finished it this morning if Chocolat had not insisted that she wanted to get up and play with Jay. Its twists and turns around a very simple story is gripping with little snippets of 17th century France enhancing the plot. Now I will have to see what newer books she has written.

I am thoroughly enjoying Seven Letters from Paris, again a book I have almost finished. I so envy Samantha her chance at happiness and finding a man who can make the rest of her life really happy. My only disappointment is that I cannot find a good photo online of Jean Luc, not sure which one he is in their wedding photos.

Help at Last

Holy Fools is proving to be a very interesting book. Set in the early 17th century in an abbey off the coast of Brittany Soeur Auguste is not quite who she seems, a secret from her past invades the present when a new abbess, just a child, arrives on the island with her personal confessor who unbeknown to most is masquerading as a priest. The many twists and turns of this book make it difficult to put down as Fleur disappears, witchcraft and past tribulations overtake the abbey.

I am always amazed at how books I purchase for my kindle with an assumption  of their content usually turn out to be quite different. Samantha Verant's book, Seven Letters from Paris  is completely different from what I expected. A long lost love, letters, emails and disappointments in life make up this interesting memoir. As she flies to Paris intent on a relationship with Jean Luc doubts also fill her mind.

I am so glad we have a new guide dog instructor who is taking an interest in both us and our dogs. Jay has just got away with so much that I now have to pull him back into line and hopefully he will learn to behave again, particularly in cafes.

 

New Term

I have had a weekend of reading, prompted in the main by a very wet day yesterday when we had 5 inches of rain. It was dark, cold and miserable so much of the day was spent finishing Inadmissable 
by Tamer Elsayed. His journey through prison, Caltech and then poor employment in Saudi Arabia is one of horror and disappointment. I emailed him to say how much I had enjoyed his book and he replied saying I had made his day, wonderful.

I have taken pot luck with the books I have read on my kindle lately and picked at random:

 

Disillusioned with an unhappy marriage Samantha re-reads seven love letters she received many years previously from Jean Luc. She had never replied to them but their language and love touched her loveless heart. I am only 3 chapters in so will learn more but the introduction shows that she and Jean Luc are now an item.






I found Paris much too big, too many people, I lacked any sense of direction there and found people most unhelpful when I got lost. My biggest difficulty was finding a public toilet which consumed much of my time. I never found the city of love, probably because I was not looking! I find it very interesting that I devour books about places I have already been as if there was something missing from my experience.

I am getting itchy feet again, guess I need to plan for a holiday in 20 months when I turn 65. It has been a long time since I felt the desire to travel again, perhaps now is the time to plan and put the pin in some places on the map.

Jay is going to have another session tomorrow to try and stop him standing up in cafes. My training has been a disaster so hopefully Mike can put him back on the right track again.  

Medical Mystery

I seem to have become a medical mystery as the Osteopath has now said she can offer me no further help for my migraines and the GP is having to consult other people as she is at a loss to find a way of stopping these auras. If only 5% of the population is deemed to have something happen I always seem to be in the 5%.

I am thoroughly enjoying Tamer's book about his incarceration in a US prison for student loan fraud. As he says on his website he may never work due to his criminal record I hope to finish the book soon and then be able to quiz him on why he has not gone to a country where such a minor offence would be acceptable.



I started reading Holy Fools on my VRS last night in the middle of the night when I could not get to sleep. I have only listened to about 10 minutes so imagine tonight I will find my way into it more deeply. It is set in the early 17th century in a convent off the coast of Brittany and involves lies, witchcraft, secrets and death. Sounds like a good middle of the night read!

I still fall for the recommendations sent through the WLM Facebook page. I have dozens of books to read on my kindle but this morning bought another recommended travel book. I guess it caught my interest as the couple travelled Europe in the same way I did so hope I can garner the recovery of a few memories.

Reading!

I have finally finished The Underground Girls of Kabul.

Eye and migraine issues have prevented me from reading my kindle except for short periods of time. It is a very open and informative book given the risks the women took when speaking to the author. I am amazed that the help given by outside agencies has done little to improve the opportunities and education for Afghan women. We do not realise how lucky we are here in the Western world, the freedoms to speak as we like, wear what we like, travel where we like without a multitude of outdated religious and social rules to temper our very being.

I have now started a memoir written by a member of the WLM group.

I only read the very beginning of it last night but it looks to be an exciting book and one I hope I can read a portion of each day. Tamar is a friend on Facebook and posts lovely messages and photographs so it is exciting for me to read a book for which I can have a conversation with the author.

 I am still reading the memoir of Alice Munro's daughter on my VRS. It is a book I am also enjoying, particularly as it links Alice's short stories with the real happenings in her life. Her daughter lays the family trials and tribulations bare and explores how writing has impacted at several generational levels.

Jay seems to be a lot better, particularly since I gave him an enema on Friday to get his bowels moving again. He has gone twice since so hopefully is now well and truly on the mend.    

Finished

Having finally finished The Mottled Lizard which concluded with Elspeth leaving for her adult life in England, I trawled through my VRS trying to find something else to read. Choosing:



I have embraced this memoir with huge enthusiasm and don't want to miss any of it. It is a very frank and open books which explores life as the daughter of Canadian writer Alice Munro. Small and interesting details fill every corner of this book as Sheila weaves her way through the intimate details of her parents marriage, life with a mother who was always writing, details of life in Vancouver and sheds light on how small children of writers exist. One is left to wonder at the details which are not included and how they link with the stories outlined in the book. 

I was in the bookshop yesterday and saw a flyer for Marlena De Blasi's brand new book:

   

Set in Orvieto, four women plus Marlena share beautiful food and wine and talk. I love her books and am sure I will enjoy this book with its intricacies of food and Italian rural life.
  








I feel some more travel coming on - need to start dreaming again.

Jay is still not well, he has yet to pooh and every couple of hours I trawl the lawn and garden to see if he has produced anything. I guess it will be back to the vet again if he has not. I am really worried about him.

Back Again

My life has been very hectic of late and I have not felt inclined to stop and write in my blog. I have a sick guide dog who appears to have eaten something nasty and required an expensive visit to the vet late yesterday. He seems to be on the mend with the help of an injection and some tablets. Cherie takes up monumental amounts of time when staying and I had fun yesterday out for lunch and plant shopping at the garden centre. Today I have to take Cherie to buy winter weight underwear and a few other things to start her off if winter comes early.

I am still reading The Mottled Lizard on my VRS. I looked up on the RNZFB website to see how long it is, 15 and a half hours. I am sure I must be down to the last 2 or 3 hours but who knows. The family have sold their coffee farm at Thika and have moved further inland and are developing a new farm.







Elspeth Huxley seems to have lived a charmed colonial life as an only child in a loving home with servants, unusual pets, shooting expeditions and other adventures.



When they sold their farm at Thika and moved it was to the Rift Valley which was fertile and relatively unpopulated. Elspeth has gone on to write many books, both non-fiction and fiction and after her marriage and move back to England only visited Africa occasionally. She had a wonderful career in many fields and had one child, a son.