Dec
13
2008
2

RC Part 82 – The Food of Love by Anthony Capella

This is a lovely book. Take one American girl, two Italian chefs and lots and lots of gorgeous writing about Italian food.

I really enjoyed this book and felt like I had put on several pounds by the end of the book. I only wish I could have eaten some of the foods that they mentioned.

This was also one Richard and Judy’s 2005 Summer Reads. I tend to really enjoy their book selections and I read books that I might not always choose. Well worth a read.

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Dec
12
2008
0

Be Part of the Action

The Churches Advertising Network has released their Christmas campaign which features the Holy Family in a bus-stop. I love it! I think it is an absolutely beautiful picture and hope that many people will look at it and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

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Dec
12
2008
3

Sark

In October the little island of Sark which is situated just off the coast of Guernsey brought an end to it’s claim of being the last feudal state in Europe. The island has always had the hereditary title of seigneur who has effectively been in charge of decision making on the island. However, despite the island people voting for an elected, democratic government, the title of seigneur will remain, although whether it is in a name-only capactity I am unsure.

There is a dinky little island next door to Sark called Brechou which is privately owned by the billionaire Barclay Brothers who, since moving there have pretty much campaigned and pushed for an end to the feudal nature of the Sark administration. Now it would seem they have got the hump about the way the election went and are pulling their businesses out of the island economy. Smacks of children throwing their toys out of their prams to me. This little photo on the right shows the fortress castle that the Barclay Brothers build on Brechou.

I really hope that with these changes the island will not lose it’s charm. No cars are allowed on the island, most people get around by horse and cart or walking, and it really is the most beautiful, unspoilt island. As I have said before, My Gran Nora lived in Sark for a couple of years during the German occupation of the Channel Islands, and her relationship with Dame Hathaway, the Dame of Sark, who was the seigneur at the time is well known to readers of this blog after I published some of her letters to Gran. It would be a terrible shame if the island lost it’s identity after all this time. It’s a wonderful place, and if anyone wants a place to stay for a weekend where there is nothing to do other than walking, relaxing and eating, then Sark is the place to be!

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Dec
11
2008
0

RC Part 81 – More to Life Than This by Carole Matthews

This is bad chick lit. It is a story of a husband and wife who are typically not terribly happy in their marriage.

She goes off on a residential course and shags someone there. He stays at home and shags the au pair. Of course their infidelities put their marriage back on track.

Rubbish story and poor writing. Don’t bother with it.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,
Dec
10
2008
1

Bleurgh

I hate the last couple of weeks before Christmas with an absolute passion. I have a serious amount of work to get through and I am feeling the pressure of not making much headway into it. Every time I look at my desk I keep wondering how I am going to get through it all.

Admittedly I have added pressure to myself by making a load of presents this year, but I have enjoyed it so much and it has given me a creative outlet. Also, I haven’t been to the gym in over a week and only managed to go swimming once in that time. I feel like I have put on weight and I feel like a gigantic blob. Not good in so many ways.

I know the end is in sight because I fly home a week on Saturday, but that feels like a long, long way off.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Dec
07
2008
0

RC Part 80 – A Parrot in the Pepper Tree by Chris Stewart

My entertainment on my journey up to Leeds this weekend was the CD of A Parrot in the Pepper Tree by Chris Stewart This is the memoir of Chris, his wife Ana and their daughter Chloe who live in a remote farmhouse in Andalucia in Spain.

It was read by the author which definitely added something for me. I like to think that the voices that were used for the different characters may have been more realistic, and at least I felt sure that the pronunciations of all the Spanish and Swedish words were accurate.

There were some real laugh out loud moments and it made the rather arduous drive up the A1M more bearable.

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Dec
07
2008
2

RC Part 79 – Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann

Ramdom Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann is a very lovely debut novel. It’s effectively tells two stories; that of Moritz Daniecki in 1917. A survivor of the war he escapes from an internment camp in Siberia and sets about to walk back to Europe to find his first love, Lotte. The second story is about Leo and is set in 1992. He wakes up one day to find he has been injured in a bus accident in Ecuador to find that his girlfriend, Eleni, died in the incident.

The stories flit back and forth parallelling the journey for love that each of these individuals have to make and the ways in which they eventually find their way home. Well worth reading 🙂

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,
Dec
07
2008
3

The Salvation Army

Yesterday The Mister and I went Christmas shopping in Leeds. As far as shopping trips go it was fairly successful and we managed to buy quite a few bits, but as expected it was absolutely heaving with people.

However, the highlight for me was hearing the Salvation Army band playing Christmas carols in the streets. I love the sound of a brass band and hearing the Sally Army playing brings back memories of my childhood. I vividly remember the band going around the streets in Guernsey playing carols and I remember leaning out of the window when I was wearing my pyjamas and listening to them playing Silent Night.

When they started playing this particular carol yesterday my eyes just filled with tears. It kind of took my by surprise because it started me thinking about Gran Nora. Being away from home makes it easy to forget that she isn’t going to be there when I go home for Christmas. Suddenly the realisation that she won’t be there this year hit me and hit me hard.

Last year Christmas was horrid for me. I cried my way thought Midnight Mass and felt rubbish all Christmas day. The first half of 2008 was very tough for me but it improved distinctly from the end of August (no guesses why!) For a change I feel optimistic about Christmas, despite there being some news which I know I will find difficult to deal with. However, this year I feel that there is hope. This year I hope it will be a new story.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,
Dec
04
2008
2

Christmassyness

For me Christmas doesn’t really start until I fly back to Guernsey to be with my family. I don’t bother with decorations in my flat because there is no point, but I do put up Christmas cards.

The only problem with this is that whilst everyone else is feeling the seasonal spirit I am just working my butt off to get everything done before I go home. It seems that I have twice as many things to do before I go on holiday, and the time before Christmas is just the worst. So, I am feeling very knackered and very stressed at the moment. Which is why I am sitting at home in my pyjamas doing paperwork because my very lovely boss has given me some time out of the office to do it.

I suppose the bonus of all this is that when I go home I feel like I have been thrown into a Christmas wonderland. There are presents to be wrapped, trees to be decorated and food to be made. Because my Mum is a teacher it all gets condensed into the few days when she ends term which usually coincides with me getting home.

I am hoping Christmas will be special this year. It will be strange because my lovely Gran Nora won’t be there and that means that everything will be very different because we won’t all be at her house. It will also be different because The Mister is coming home with me too. I am excited and scared about this as it will be the first time they have all met. Happiness is winning out at the moment though.

I really wanted to post this Youtube video but I still can’t work out how to do it which is irritating me a lot. (please can someone sort it out/work it out for me?)

So, instead here is a link to Foy Vance and Duke Special do Silent Night

Gorgeous, and makes me feel a teensy weency bit Christmassy. Enjoy!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Dec
01
2008
0

RC Part 78 – The Other Woman’s Shoes by Adele Parks

This is a fun book about two sisters, Martha the sensible married woman and Eliza, the more wild and eccentric sister. The both want each other’s lives, but when they get what they want things don’t quite work out as expected.

Nice, fluffy chick lit. Perfect bath-time reading.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,

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