Random Jottings

Madeira - Reading

Got through quite a lot of reading while in Madeira - nothing too earth shattering because, as you all know by now, I like to relax my little grey cells while away.

I have done my usual. thriller re-reads of some of those I have on my Kindle and The Narrows by Michael Connelly, one of his Harry  Bosch books, a follow up to the Poet  was one and it was as exciting the first time as the second. If you are reading the Connelly books you must read The Poet first before reading this one.  The Fifth Witness, another Connelly book but this time featuring attorney Mickey Haller, who I think I prefer to the Harry books.   Note with joy that a new Haller book due out this autumn. 

Then some titles from the hotel library which I always check out as you never know what you are going to find.   Came across two really ancient Pan editions of the sixties of two books I read yonks ago, The Tamarind Seed by Evelyn Anthony, which is about a double agent in the British Secret Service and as exciting and as tense as when I first read it. So had a relaxing afternoon enjoying that all over again.   I remember thinking on my discovery of this that it would make a wonderful film. One was duly made - with Julie Andrews and Omar Shariff. I will say no more..................  

Second Pan was The Astrov Inheritance by Constance Heaven. I used to love reading her books in my teens and this was one of my favourites, set in the pre-revolutionary court of St Petersburg, full of glamorous women and handsome men striding about in uniforms and thigh high boots and it was terrific fun. Note that a couple of her titles are available on Kindle so will check those out as well and take a trip down memory lane.

I then pitched into a heap of chick litty books.  

One I had brought with me, The Summer House by Santa Montafiore. Had read one of hers on hols before and enjoyed but this one was a bit naff and bumpy narrative so though I finished it cannot really recommend it. I donated it to the hotel library. 

Then Before I Met you by Lisa Jewell of who I know nothing and this was sent to me for review.   Dual story line set in 1920s and 1990s and though it started off promisingly I found it got rather boring after a while. Shame as the story, that of Betty,newly arrived in London and tracking down the heartbreaking secret which changed her glamorous grandmother's life was right up my alley, but ended up skimming it. Shame.  Also donated to the hotel library.

Then another two from same place, A Rural Affair by Catherine Alliott.  Poppy Shilling is left a widow by the death of her lycra clad, bike besotted husband and feels rather guilty as she feels a sense of relief that he has gone as he was not exactly the man of her dreams.   She soon stops feeling guilty when his mistress turns up on her doorstep claiming that Phil has left her money in his will as he promised.  Turns out Phil has left rather a lot of dosh to his wife and children and when the single men in the village hear about this Poppy finds herself rather popular as the Young Rich Merry Widow.    Written with wit and panache this was fun and engaging and I loved it.  

Lucy Diamond's The Beach Cafe next in which Evie, the underachieving one of  three sisters, is left a cafe on the beach in Cornwall by her aunt after she is killed in a car crash (distressing amount of sudden death in these books I find as a plot device. I have noticed it before).    Urged to sell by her rather dull boyfriend and her family who think she will be unable to cope she defies the lot of them and sets off to Cornwall where she is met with hostility from the locals, befriends a homeless teenager, meets a handsome stranger with a secret who turns out to be, gosh how useful, a chef and we all know what is going to happen. Huge fun. Loved it.  

Then more thrillers/detective mysteries: Gallows View by Peter Robinson, an Inspector Banks mystery I had not read and, as expected, excellent and unputdownable;  Wednesday's Child also by Peter Robinson; the latest thriller set in Iceland by Quentin Bates Chilled to the Bone featuring his rather interesting heroine, Gunnhildur Gisladottir, who seems to be relatively normal with a relatively normal family life which is a change in this genre.   These books are nicely plotted and tightly written and hope this is set fair to be a good long series.; Past Imperfect by John Matthews (another one found in the hotel) - a boy who is involved in a serious car crash and is in a coma has therapy on his recovery and finds another personality taking over, that of a young French boy who was murdered some thirty years earlier.   Very interesting and exciting book but a tad wordy and so many characters that I lost track of them all.   Really enjoyed it though.   Axe by Ed McBain another in the 87th Precinct series which are now all available on Kindle.   Will write separately about these books as I think they are worthy of a post all on their own.

I also read the India Black and the Shadow of Anarchy by Carol K Carr which was sent to me by the lovely author some time ago and who must be wondering why I have not reviewed it yet.  The reason for that is because I was saving it up as a treat and knowing I had it there waiting for me was a wonderful feeling. I have now read it, loved it as much as the others and will be devoting a full post to this terrific book in the next few days.

Since my return I have finished the latest Donna Leon Brunettti book, The Golden Egg and, once again, I was disappointed.   I feel she is tiring of her Inspector and it shows.   We are now treading and re-treading old ground; corruption and weariness of spirit and a lot of meandering about.   Paola now seems to have turned into a cypher character who is only there to cook wonderful meals and I am finding her increasingly irritating.   I so loved all these books and I note from some of the reviews on Amazon that others feel the same.

So it seems I have read fifteen books in fourteen days - not bad going.

Coffee and Custard Tarts

Last day and before embarking on the tedious job of packing and trying to cram in the pottery I purchased (yes I know I need more like a hole in the head but it was lovely) took a walk this morning to my favourite cafe Petit Fours for a cup or two of cappacino with whipped cream and to purchase custard tarts to bring back to apartment. I have lost count o the number of these I have eaten since I have been here and have tracked down a recipe and intend to make them when I get home. 

When I do I will post over on Random and the Great British Bake off. And speaking of the Bake Off, I am SO disappointed in Paul Hollywood. Middle aged man finds himself in the limelight and regarded as a sex symbol, rushes off to the USA and forms 'close friendship' with skinny American cook.   Honestly.   Talk about predictable........

Walk in the Levadas - Madeira

Madeira is covered by an irrigation system, the levadas, and there are many wonderful walks to be done.   They range from the relatively easy, well relatively, to the difficult and goes without saying that Jude and Wes took me on one of the straightforward ones.   Hour and a half walk and most of it on the flat and all the way walking alongside the levada, through trees and forests and shade and everywhere you go, flowers.   Being a volcanic island the soil is incredibly fertile and it seems to me that even I, with my total lack of green fingers, could bung a seed in the ground and watch it grow.

Ended up in Hortensia's Tea Rooms with a glorious view over Funchal and quirky and delightful gardens.

Have had a wonderful two weeks. Tomorrow is our last day and I will be flying home on Monday and, though I have had a great time, looking forward to being in my own bed and being quiet for a bit. A lot of miles covered in the last three months so Wimbledon and Ashes coming up and I intend to sit and watch and enjoy.   Before then of course, the Felixstowe Book Festival and more of that when I return.

Hope you have enjoyed my posts and pics of Madeira.

Madeira - up in the Mountains

Up into the mountains today to a viewpoint Balcones which is more or less self explanatory, name a dead give away. Glorious view, that goes without saying, but the joy of the day, as far as I was concerned was the drive up there.   Jude and Wes, who have been coming to Madeira for years, have a good friend, Luigi, who drove us for the day.   After the stomach lurching, round the corner, get out of my way driving of the bus earlier in the week, to be sitting in the front seat of a Mercedes, beautifully driven and gliding gracefully round the curves in the road as we climbed higher and higher was soothing and a balm to the nerves.   Not only was Luigi an excellent driver, but he pointed out various flowers, plants, trees and landmarks as he drove and was a mine of information.   Everywhere you look in Madeira there are flowers, banks and banks of them and it is all incredibly beautiful.

Moment of the day for me was when we were driving through the forest and the trees around reached gloriously to the sky and it was like being in a cathedral, dim and quiet.   Luigi had told me that I was the Boss and he duly schreeched to a halt when I yelled STOP so I could take this photo. It was so incredibly quiet and beautiful.    

When we reached our destination, or as near as we could get by car, we then had a walk along one of the levadas to get to the viewpoint.   As with the Nun's Valley the other day, we were lucky in that we met a crowd of tourists coming away as we were going, we had the Balcones to ourselves, and then on the way back met another couple of coachloads heading to where we had left. Perfect timing.  

Passed this little dwelling and shop on the way back, where the lady in charge sat knitting away.  

Everywhere you go people smile and are happy to see you and to talk and the atmosphere of the island is delightful.   No wonder people come back year after year. This is my second visit and if a third is on the cards then I would have no hesitation in returning.   On the way back to our hotel Luigi showed us this modern statue, similar to that in Rio de Janeiro, overlooking the sea and I, foolishly, was taken with a notion to walk down to the lookout shown here.  

Why I do these things I do not know as I remember thinking as I strode confidently down, Elaine you have got to climb back up you must be Mad.   Too late by then of course and it was worth the view at the end. My sister, who had wisely decided not to attempt the climb, then thoroughly enjoyed herself wathching me haul myself up the 187 steps to the top where I collapsed into a gibbering heap. Safe back at the hotel decided I would have a bijou snoozette before dinner, laid down, bliss.   Woke up two hours later................

More Madeira

Into the second week at Madeira and one could get used to this life quite easily.   Pretty sure I shall be quite happy to get home, back into routine and see grandchildren and friends and family, but there is something very alluring about imagining iiving abroad, not permanently, but for the winter months.   I have managed to do this in 2013, more by accident than design and it has been good to miss the snow and the gales and the rain and the drear of it all.

I am writing this propped up in bed, post siesta and pre-dinner with a cup of tea and a custard tart to hand (Note: put all thoughts of Brit custard tarts to one side, the ones in Funchal are to die for and at the moment I am averaging two a day) and will foray down to the wifi zone when I can gather enough energy and post this for your delectation and delight.

This morning Jude and Wes took me up to the view over the Nun's Valley, so called because when the Conquistadors tried to invade Madeira the canny nuns hitched up their habits and took refuge in a valley which was hidden and unreachable.   Even now the roads are pretty hairy and when two cars meet on a corner you shut your eyes and pray.   Did not go by bus this time, oh no Yours Truly had had her nerves shredded enough for one hols ta very much, and we had a taxi there and back (25 Euros for the three of us which I thought was damn good value for money) and off we went.

 

   Views at the top quite breathtaking and what is fascinating to see is how every piece of land is grabbed back from the wild and worked, little terraces of ploughed land in the most precipitous places with houses seemingly clinging onto the edges of cliffs.   I would think if you lived in one of these you would have to be pretty careful if you got up in the middle of the night for a pee, one false step and that would be your last visit to the loo - ever.  Lovely morning and am certainly seeing more of Madeira than I did on my last visit which you all know about.........

Major Benjy - Guy Fraser Sampson

When I finally got round to discovering Mapp and Lucia a few years ago, I read them all through in one mad binge which is my wont and then wished there were more to come. I read the Tom Holt trio which kept me going another month and then that was that. Until Guy Fraser-Sampson came up with another - Major Benjy.

In the introduction the author says "There are in fact only two things wrong with the Mapp and Lucia books.  The first is that there are only six of them....second problem is that because of this there are gaps in the narrative which are never filled in, into which holes some characters fall without explanation to be never seen again"

The particular tome is set just before Lucia arrives in Tilling for the first time and rents Elizabeth's house for the summer.  We have already met the main resident characters in the earlier books and it is a joy to once more meet the Major, Quaint Irene, the Wyses and all the others, but I will freely admit that Lucy, who lives with Irene ("the precise basis upon which the two shared Taormina was something upon which polite Tilling society preferred not to speculate"), was not a character who had impinged upon my consciousness.  However, I understand that she had fallen into one of these 'holes' referred to so in Major Benjy we learn more about her and just how and why she left Tilling.

No need for me to elaborate on the content of this utterly glorious book as all Lucia and Mapppites will fall upon it with cries of rapture and read and, unless you are feeling most contrary, will adore.  I know I did. 

May I please ask the author to seek out other 'holes' in E F Benson's narrative and write more about them?  I would love to hear about the young Lucia and how she met Pepino, like to learn a bit more about Georgie and what happens after the glorious finale of the books when the Duchess of Sheffield comes to stay with Lucia and Elizabeth is utterly routed.  One cannot believe that she would really not bounce back and try something else.   Reference is also made to Lucia meeting Elizabeth when she visited Riseholme and took up her prase of Au Reservoir.  Would love to hear more about that as well.....

Thank you Guy for this labour of love.  You should be dubbed Sir Guy on the spot for outstanding service to all Mapp and Lucia lovers.

Note: this was my original review when Major Benjy was published several years ago.   I am delighted that it has now been reprinted and by the publisher who recently issued Lucia on Holiday, also by Guy, which I reviewed here.    Obviously they are publishers of discernment and I hope they will encourage Guy to write some more.

Guy is appearing at the forthcoming Felixstowe Book Festival and it will be my pleasure and privilege to introduce his talk on Mapp and Lucia details of which can be found on the Festival's website.   Please do come along and hear what I am sure is going to be an entertaining and joyful occasion.

Au reservoir everyone.

Random in Madeira

Here I am in Madeira, sun shining, light breeze, temperature in the early 70s which is just about right and sitting here in my apartment watching Die Meistersinger. And if that sounds surprising, then it is. I have discovered a channel called Mezzo which broadcasts concerts and operas. Last night I watched an old back and white film of a concert with a very young Carlo Maria Guilini, in the afternoon a production of Billy Budd and now this Meistersinger which, seems to come from Gly dbourne. Gerald Finley is Hans Sachs and we are nearly at the end of the second act when Beckmesser is singing much to the annoyance of the neighbours and all hell is about to be let loose.   On Saturday night they are broadcasting Rheingold with Bryn.   So an unexpected bonus.

Went into Funchal town this morning and caught the tail end of the Flower Festival which was last week.   The flower displays are drooping a bit now but are still lovely and there was a small exhibition of prize winning exhibits which are all quite beautiful and a lot of photographs have been taken.  Here is a collage of the stunning flowers on display,

Then after all this exertion we needed a coffee and a sit down and after that a stroll to the local market for the purchase of the largest most succulent strawberries I have ever seen, and a look at the fish section which had some scary looking fish on display.  

By this time it was lunch so up the stairs to the top of the market where there was a shady restaurant with comfortable chairs just asking us to sit down.  So we did.Another twelve days ahead which we intend to spend in similar fashion, Bliss.

Three days later and I am so chilled it is ridiculous so this morning I agreed to catch the No 48 bus to Monte, up on top of the hill aka mountain, as Jude and Wes said it was something I should experience. Yeh right.   I am a veteran of the Amalfi Coast ride and a user of Malta's buses so I thought this would be a doddle.   Blimey is all I can say. I could say more but I try not to swear on Random.   Hurtling down roads which I would be crawling along at 20 mph as there are blind bends all the way, cars parked on both sides of the already narrow road, missing houses by inches and people who leapt out of the way like panicked fauns, I spent most of the trip clutching the seat in front of me and closing my eyes as I tried not to shriek F**k.   By the time we got to the top and exited and my bro in law said 'Well, what did you think of that Elaine' I could not answer and could only gasp Cup of Tea please.

And here is my sis, Judith et moi

After recovery time we went to the Botanical Gardens at Monte and oh they were lovely. Winding paths, gentle streams and waterfalls, green and shady and peaceful and restful to the spirit. Beautifully designed and though not all the flowers are out yet I hope that the one or two photos I have put on here give you an idea of what they were like.   An awful lot of down so we got a little buggy to take us back to the entrance of the gardens and to head for home.

We got the cable car back...............

Two Good Reads

Am writing like fury to catch up on my reviews which have been getting madly behind since my return from the Land of Oz.   By the time this is up on Random I shall be in Madeira lolling around and though I have my laptop with me I don't want to be on it all the time so am writing before I leave and scheduling them to pop up while I am covered in Factor whatever by the pool.

So here we go.

First up, Trespasser by Paul Doiron.   I read the first novel by this author last year, review here, and this is the second featuring Mike Bowditch, a game warden living in Maine.  One foggy evening Mike received a call for help. A woman has reportedly struck a deer on a lonely road but when he arrives there is no sign of either her or the deer though there is blood on the road.  Mike feels a sense of foreboding that something is not right and he is proved correct when a day later he discovers her mutilated and brutalised corpse which modus operandi is similar to a case seven years ago. But the murderer had been found and is in jail though protesting his innocence and does this mean that a mistake has been made and the real culprit is still around?   We shall see....

Very atmospheric with a real sense of place and background.   The reader will feel that he or she knows the Maine woods and rivers by the time this book is finished. Characters from the first novel turn up in this one and it looks as if this is a series that is in for a long run. I hope so as I found this unputdownable with a good twist at the end which I was not expecting.   Recommended.

In total contrast next up is Could it be I'm Falling in Love? by Eleonor Prescott.   Again this is another author who had a debut novel last year which I read and thoroughly enoyed, Alice Brown's Lessons in the Curious Art of Dating, review here, and so I knew I was in for a treat when I read this one. Roxy Squires is famous, or at least she used to be, she is now a rather aging laddette who is no longer wanted by the TV companies she used to work for.  

One day she discovers that the local window cleaner is Woody, one time famous pop star and that he runs a self help group for others who have been famous and whose careers, for one reason or another, have stalled and who are now lonely and miserable and frustrated.  Roxy is amazed to find she is living with this motley crew of former start and decides that they need somebody to propel them back into the big time.   But do they want it?  and is Roxy only doing this for herself?   And why does she go all week at the knees when Woody is around?

Not sure when I started this book that I was going to like it as much as the first as Roxy grated on me a bit to begin with, but I soon warmed to her and then, as with Trespasser, found this story unputdownable (is there such a word I wonder?) and read it through in one sitting.

It is funny, touching, warm and human and I loved every word of it. Roll on the third.

The President's Hat - Antoine Laurain

When I returned from Australia my sofa was covered in parcels and packets and I had thirty eight books awaiting my attention. Well, obviously I cannot read them all so had a sift through and formed a To Be Read pile which I am now working through.    I took some books with me to London this week though I had little hope that I would actually read any as I was looking after grandchildren but one morning Florence fell asleep on the sofa, totally worn out with coping with her chickenpox and while she slumbered I read this delightful little book.

It is simply wonderful when you pick up something like The President's Hat, with no preconceptions, no previous knowledge of the author or its setting, open up the first page and realise straight away that you are going to love reading it.   And I did.

The next day Daniel has a meeting at work in which with fluency and efficiency and much to everyone's astonishment he demolishes their new manager's ideas to split the department. He is as amazed as everyone else and this brings him to the attention of the Head of Finance who offers him a promotion.    He and his family leave Paris and on the way to their destination Daniel leaves the hat behind on the train.

It is then picked up by a young woman on her way to meet her lover, she is trapped in this affair and knows she should finish it but lacks the courage. But the hat fits her, makes her look cool and edgy and without a qualm she sends her lover packing.

After her fortunes have changed she decides to leave the hat on a park bench and see who picks it up and along comes a bearded man in a sheepskin coat who pops it on his head and off he goes.   She wonders how it will transform his life. She will not know but we, the readers, will.

This is one of the most delightful, enchanting and irrestible books I have read in years. It is a Cinderella story as the hat seems to possess a magic quality which changes the fortunes of everyone who possesses it. And there is a brilliant twist at the end which made me laugh out loud.

This book is translated and published by the Gallic Press and I can only plead with you to purchase a copy as soon as you can log onto Amazon or hotfoot it down to your local bookshop.   It is a little gem or, if you will forgive the lapse into Franglais, a petiet jewel...

Magnifique!

Felixstowe Book Festival - 15/16 June 2013

This is a very exciting venture in which I have become involved over the last year. A good friend of mine Meg Reid, who is a Life Coach and a woman of huge capability decided, after moving to Felixstowe about eighteen months ago, that delightful though the town was it lacked something. A Book Festival. So she decided to organise one. And she did and here we are.  

Meg used to run a theatre company so she is no slouch when it comes to applying for grants, organising events, publicity, printers etc and so I am not surprised at her dynamism but am taking the opporunity on this blog and in this post to express my admiration for all her hard work.   And because of this hard work, I would like this inaugural Festival to be a success, not only for the town of Felixstowe, but because Meg deserves it to be one.

So here I go. We have a marvellous line up of authors including Rosy Thornton, Linda Gillard (who will be giving a talk about how she became the Queen of the Kindle), Adela Geras talking about her life as a writer, a trio of lady detective writers, including Sophie Hannah and Ruth Dugdale talking about women thriller writers (this talk is called Deadlier than the Male which is very appropriate), Guy Fraser-Sampson talking about his two Mapp and Lucia books and EF Benson and so much more.  There are events for children and a writing competition.  Here is the link to the website so do nip over and have a look and come along and see us and have fun.Click here for link to ticket booking

And of course, I should mention that I will be giving a chat about blogging. It is my very first venture into Book Festivaldom and I am already getting butterflies in my tummy and waking up in the middle of the night thinking What shall I say? and What if Nobody Turns up?  and Oh My God I Must be Mad.   And these worries are soothed by the comforting thought that I had the brilliant idea of asking Simon of Stuck in a Book if he would do a joint presentation with me as I knew if Dear Simon was there I would be less nervous, we could support each other and calm each other's nerves.   Of course he might not have any...

Bless him, yes he said so we will both be there on Saturday afternoon and looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

I cannot end this post about the Festival without saying thank you to all of those taking part who have been overwhelmingly supportive.   All the authors, as one, have all agreed to attend even when we could not guarantee them any expenses or payment at all and said they would come anyway.   I cannot thank them enough and the only and the best way I can think of doing so is to try and make sure we have a good turnout and that they know how much we enjoy their presence at this inaugural festival.

Thank you all -you are wonderful