Feb
28
2010
1

February books

I would love to tell you all about Black and Blue and The Hanging Garden both by Ian Rankin. However, as I read them both at the beginning of the month I cannot actually remember anything about them. They were both John Rebus detective novels and I definitely enjoyed reading them, but as so often happens the stories have all blended into one. Sorry about that!

————————————————————————

I listened to Hoping for Hope by Lucy Clare on my last and final journey back to Hatfield and back. It was about Liddy who discovers a couple of days before her 50th birthday that she is not in fact going through the menopause but she is six months pregnant. I thought this was going to be a fairly typical mid-life crisis story, but what I got was a rather sweet story about a whole family who have a bit of a crisis. I predictable story but nice characters and I enjoyed it.

————————————————————————

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is about a slightly weird group of college students who are all taught by this equally weird classics teacher. Basically all that happens in this book is that the students do loads of drugs and actually kill someone and the rest of the story is them trying to cover up what happened, and one of the students gets killed as a result. That’s it. No real story to be honest. The reviews on Amazon rave about this book but I thought it was rather rubbish to be honest!

————————————————————————

That’s it… a rather pitiful 4 books this month. I guess moving and lots of stuff going on has meant I have been a bit busy to read!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Feb
16
2010
4

Skeleton bob cat

In honour of the Winter Olympics here is my cat Delilah practising for the Skeleton Bob. Heh.

P1020954

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Feb
13
2010
10

New house!

Well we have had the most amazing few days moving me from Hertfordshire to Yorkshire.

On Thursday Mum and Dad came over to help us move and they were both absolutely amazing and they worked so hard. Dad gave The Mister a bit of a masterclass in packing a van (now he knows why I am so anal when it comes to packing the car when we go camping!!) and we almost got everything in. Rather annoyingly we couldn’t fit about 4-5 boxes in so I am going to have to go back down next week ans pick those bits up and tidy up the flat a bit. So, once we had packed the van we drove Up North and stayed overnight in a Travelodge so that we didn’t have to unpack anything.

Friday was equally busy although unpacking the van was a great deal easier than packing it! After unpacking the van we managed to unpack quite a lot of stuff so that it started to feel a little bit like home. We also had an enormous new bed delivered from Ikea (and I have to say it is probably one of the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in!! Mum and dad left at 2ish and we carried on unpacking.

This morning we took the train into Leeds – where we are living isn’t far away but the train takes 10 minutes and we don’t have to struggle with the traffic or parking. Brilliant. We went and bought out wedding rings, that took us all of about 10 minutes! Then, back home to the house to unpack a bit more, the Sky man came to sort that out and we have just collected the cat, Delilah. She is currently sniffing around the house, calming down a little but seems a bit confused that all the stuff from her previous home has been transplanted into a new environment. She will be fine even if she has to stay in for a while!!

So, big thanks to everyone who prayed for a smooth move – so far it has all gone swimmingly. Here are so pics of our new abode!

LoungeLounge
KitchenKitchen
BedroomBedroom
BathroomPatio

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Feb
11
2010
1

The Big Move!!

Today it is all happening!! My flat is going to be packed into a van and move Up North. at the moment I am sitting surrounded by boxes. It’s amazing just how much stuff was stashed into this house – it wa a little bit like the Tardis!!

Last night The Mister and I went to my surrogate Mum and Dad’s house for a leaving meal with about 20 people. It was brilliant and there were people there I haven’t seen for ages. Good food and company and plenty of good wine. Auntie Billie turned up and joined me with a bit of wine-drinking (thank goodness The Mister has now passed his driving test!) and we had a brilliant time.

I so realised last night just how many wonderful friends I have. My surrogate mum and dad have been amazing to me over the last 10 years and I am not sure that I would have been so happy here if I had never met them. They are two of the most generous people I have ever met, both materially, but also emotionally. Their large and racous family have provided me with a safe space to be me, and of course as Auntie Billie is their eldest daughter, that contact has always been fun.

So last night was a little hard, but also positive. These people have seen me through some of the most difficult church-related problems in my life, but somehow we have all come out live and kicking. So, celebrating my move with them last night seemed like a particularly fitting end.

I have been very blessed with great friends, and I am sure I will find more Up North. I just have to be prepared to get out there and get on with it!!!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Feb
09
2010
7

The big move!!

I am still here!!! I have been in Guernsey for a week and The Mister and his Mum joined me at the weekend. It has been lovely to have some time at home and just do a few bits and pieces towards the wedding, whilst also seeing my family. So, we fly home today and then it is all systems go with the move. The Mister and I go back to my flat today, pack everything up and my parents arrive with a van on Thursday which we then have to pack, drive up to Leeds and on Friday we will unpack the van before Mum and Dad come back down to catch the boat back to Guernsey on Sunday. Should be a busy few days!!

I have to admit that I am still pretty anxious about the move. Not because I don’t want to go, but it is such an enormous change. I haven’t had to develop a whole new community for about 10 years, so this is going to be a test of how good I am at making new friends! I am sure it will be fine, it will almost certainly be easier if I find a church to get involved with. I have to admit though I am quite liking not having a job at the moment! But (before The Mister starts shouting in my ear that I have to get a job) I have applied for a job in Leeds working with the homelessness team as a drugs worker. Looks like it would be quite an interesting job. The closing date is next week so we will wait and see what happens.

So, this is a week of enormous changes. I would appreciate your prayers that the move goes well, that I don’t have a complete nervous breakdown and that The Mister and I are truly able to enjoy the start of our new life together.

(I am hoping we will be online as soon as we move in – broadband was one of the first things we got sorted out… how sad is that???!!!)

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags:
Feb
03
2010
0
Feb
01
2010
0

January books

514OIN5YZRL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU02_Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult is one hell of a confusing book. A story of Jane who leaves her oceanographer husband Oliver and takes her 15 year old daughter Rebecca with her. Rebecca nearly died in a plane crash when she was 5 years old and part of this story is about them reliving this experience. The reason this book is so confusing is that it is told through 5 narrators, and to make it even more confusing Rebecca tells the story back to front! I usually really like Picoult’s novels, but it is clear that this is an early example of her writings, but I have to say it isn’t very good and is terribly confusing. Not worth the effort to be honest!

————————————————————————

412Z42GAW8L._SL500_AA240_Shape of Snakes by Minette Walters is a reasonable enough offering. In the 70’s Mrs Ranelagh finds her neighbour “Mad Annie” battered and lying in the gutter. The police pass it off as her dying after being hit by a lorry when she was drunk but Mrs Ranelagh is convinced that she has been murdered, and prior to her death that she was robbed. The book covers twenty years with letters and articles showing how she has reached these conclusions. It was an OK book but reasonably difficult to feel any sympathy for the lead character who shows a great deal of sympathy for Mad Annie, but not very much for her husband who has put up with her all these years.

————————————————————————

41V8d8pdPkL._SL500_AA240_They Also Serve by Hilary Green was a rather protracted book, for a couple of reasons. I listened to it on CD, but it took me a long time to get through it because I was driving Up North and then went home for Christmas and didn’t carry on listening until the New Year. Secondly, it is a rather protracted book in terms of the story. Set in the Second World War it features several characters who were previously involved in the theater, whether as dancers, singers or mucisians. When war hits and they are fored to sign up this book follows their separate journeys, and how it affects their relationships with each other. Quite a nice book and easy enough to listen to with long gaps in between.

————————————————————————

51yUGA06gkL._SL500_AA240_Titanic Survivor: Memoirs of Violet Jessop Stewardess is a fascinating book. Violet was born on 2 October 1887 in Argentina to Irish immigrant parents. She survived several childhood illnesses and went on to be a stewardess on some of the most famous ships in the world, including the Titanic. She survived three sinkings and her memoirs offer a fascinating account of life at sea. I really enjoyed this, the Titanic episode is a relatively small part of the book but nonetheless if you are interested in boats and life at sea then this would definitely be of interest.

————————————————————————

418p4jNih0L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU02_The Falls by Ian Rankin is a cracking John Rebus book. A young female student goes missing in Edinburgh, and what initially seems to be a runaway take a somewhat darker tone when some strange miniature coffins are found which seem to be reminiscent of some murders from many years ago. Add to the that the discovery that the missing student was playing an online game with a Quizmaster and you get an excellent novel with a strong plot and even stronger characters.

————————————————————————

41T3G2GABJL._SL500_AA240_Death of a Blue Movie Star by Jeffrey Deaver is about a wannabe filmaker called Rune. When a local porn theatre is bombed she sets out to make a film about a porn artist. Inevitably she ends up dead and Rune spends her time putting herself in danger to try and get to the bottom of the story. Not a bad read, but not one of Deaver’s best.

————————————————————————

51Dzum1qi5L._SL500_AA240_Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything by Elizabeth Noble is an audio book I have had in the car.

Journalist Elizabeth Gilbert went through a messay divrce which left her emotionally wrecked. As a result she left her job and set out to travel for one year, spending 4 months in Rome in Italy (Eat), 4 months in India at an Ashram (Pray) and 4 months in Bali in Indonesia (Love). Her hope was that she would find some sort of balance in her life and a means to be happy again. I laughed throughout this book, especially at the stories of Italy. Her love of food was amazing and she made me want to eat pasta and pizza and lots of it!

This book made me laugh and made me think. A lot. One of the nicest things about this storybook is that it is read by the author. The inflections she puts on words and the stories makes it all seem more real, and more… authentic. (Listening to her read this book also really reminded me of my friend Peterson and that made me smile as well!!!) Her take on theology and God fascinated me and Ioved it when she said that when asked what sort of God she believed in she described him as a ‘Magnificent God’. Her pursuit of solitude and reconciliation with her past and her future was both comforting and challenging.

I love this book. Also, I was listening to this when I was driving back after being at our new house for the weekend. Something about the pursuit of a new future really rang true with me and every time I listened to her words I felt a new song starting in me too.

————————————————————————

51PES306CBL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU02_Breakfast With Tiffany: An Uncle’s memoir by Edwin John Wintle is a lovely memoir. Forty-something gay New Yorker Eddie, or Uncle Eddie as he becomes known is asked to take on Tiffany, his 13-year-old wayward niece who has been creating havoc at home. He agrees readily but the reality of taking on a teenager is much more challenging than he realises.

This is a truly lovely story of a the relationship between Ed and Tiffany. The way he handles her tantrums are at times completely drama-queen and over the top and yet the love he demonstrates for her her is touching and the meaning Tiffany provides to his life is utterly charming. I loved this book. It kind of reminded me of my friend Jessica when she totally went of the rails and moved in with her grandparents, and I also loved it because it seemed really real.

Nice read. It made me happy.

————————————————————————

Le it Bleed by Ian Rankin is a John Rebus novel. Now, usually I love the Rebus novels, but this one was sloooow. Lots about Police and political corruption, all of which made a slightly disappointing read. Oh well…. NEXT!!!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,

Design: TheBuckmaker.com WordPress Themes