Madeleine

Run to the Hills - Iron Maiden

Thank you, sort of pleased with it as a first attempt.

Lo and behold it is finished.... I slightly misread the pattern and got the sides and middle wrong, hence the long bits at the sides and in the middle, and I ran out of one colour so had to use my own (the lilac), it looks better as a card.

Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel

One Night at the Chateau by Veronica Henry - this year's summer book by Veronica Henry is set in Provence, and is told in two time frames. One starts in the mid 1980s, when Lismay and her husband Piers buy a chateau in Provence on impulse after their life plans take an unexpected and sad turn, instead they focus on turning a run down chateau into a luxury home from home for holidaymakers, and fairly successful it is too, but in the 2nd time frame, set in the present day, it's starting to look a bit rundown, the reviews aren't very good and something has to be done and fast. So Lismay asks her god daughter Connie if she'll babysit the chateau, and perhaps do it up a bit, whilst she and Piers are in London where he's having hip replacement surgery. Connie is at a crossroads herself, her long term relationship has just imploded when her partner leaves her for a younger more glamourous woman, her job has fallen through and their children are forging their own lives at uni. So she reluctantly agrees to sell the family home, and moves to Provence to look after and regenerate the chateau. She has happy memories of childhood holidays there, as her late mother was French and was best friends with Lismay, so the connection to the chateau runs deep. And that's basically the story, although of course there is a hunk called Remy involved ,with whom Connie had a brief fling back in their younger days - he's now also returned to Provence, to help run his parents' vineyard nearby, but what will happen when he meets Connie again? No prizes for guessing how it all pans out, it's a nice enough book but everyone is a bit too good to be true, or maybe I'mn just too cynical! A pleasant holiday read but not her best book. 6.5/10

Listen to your heart - Roxette

My eyes adored you - Franki Valli,etc

A sky full of stars - Coldplay

That sounds so painful, I hope the surgery goes well.

Tie a yellow ribbon - Dawn

Say hello wave goodbye - Soft Cell

It's lovely!

I think this is my favourite Jimmy Perez book, oddly they never filmed it for the series though they did make a radio version of it.

When tomorrow comes - The Eurythmics

I will survive - Gloria Gaynor

Always and Forever - Heatwave

I know this is a bit random (and maybe geeky!) but does anyone else have an obsession with stationery? I love this time of year, when the supermarkets are doing "back to school" offers (despite the fact that several schools only finished a week or so ago) and seeing all the stationery ranges, and special offers. I know, I need to get out more!

Losing my mind - Liza Minnelli

I Should have known better - Jim Diamond

sounds like you were well prepared, at least.

That must have been a tough time! What caused the outage?

Bring on the Night - The Police

I'll keep you informed, it might take a while!

I've sent off for a kit to make a small card in the meantime.

Just getting into cross stitch, where I'm finding it very hard to do a rounded edge, so my butterfly looks rather geometric! I think I'm definitely better with straight edges. Glad the holes are large too! Waiting to hear back from the class leader.