poppy

promptly pepper-sprayed and handcuffed them

fell about, laughing hysterically whilst

seductively sashaying in shimmering chemises

with unexpected surprise, suddenly sensing

cunningly concealed beneath multitudinous layers

Andrea, that is so strange ....I have this recurring dream of a house with all these extra rooms out the back, which I never get round to exploring, but they still have all the former occupants possessions in them. And other ones where the house is multi-storied with hundreds of rooms where you have to crawl maze-like through them. They all have a vaguely disturbing feel about them.

No I don't, but I so often wish I had! I don't mean extensive note taking, but just jotting down the page number of something that had struck me as profound, would save so much time later, as I skim read the whole book to find what I'm looking for

I like that too sirinrob

This is an ad we have on TV at the moment and it always tickles me. Wish they made the safety spiel on planes this interesting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UchWJFcLEQ

I just sort of looked at the pieces and imagined them squashed up to make 2 cups Charm I'm a bit hit and miss about these things ....I don't think you need to be too exact. ps. just did this again and about 600gm of raw, peeled pumpkin should give you 2 cups of puree. Thanks peacefield, I'd love to try that recipe I saw where they said to roast the pumpkin too ...that would make it beautiful and rich. I didn't have evaporated milk but a lot of the recipes used that and I'm sure that would be even nicer.

Ooo ...can I come too Peacefield??? I love pies What other sorts do you have for Thanksgiving? Maybe you could give us some more recipes to try.

I'm not sure if it's traditional to make Pumpkin Pie for Halloween or if it's more of a Thanksgiving thing, but with all the pumpkin pictures around, I thought it would be a good time to make one. I found this recipe on the internet and it's absolutely scrummy. Pumpkin Pie 2 cups pumpkin puree 2 tablespoons melted butter 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 1 tsp vanilla 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/8 tsp salt (I left this out) 1 1/4 tsp gound cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 1/2 tsp ground ginger 9 inch shortcrust pie crust 1. Place pumpkin in bowl, add melted butter, stir well. 2. Beat eggs well, beat in milk, sugar, vanilla and spices. 3. Add pumpkin puree, mix well (I did this with a blender - makes it lovely and smooth) 4. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425F (215 C ) for 10 mins. Reduce to 350F (180C ) and bake 30-40 mins or until filling firm. Cool. Serve with whipped cream. Pumpkin puree is available in cans or tins in the USA apparently, not sure about Gt Britain. I just boiled some pumpkin pieces then blended them.

I'm so with you there chesilbeach. The bane of my life is waiting for further books in a series to be written, or not being able to find sequels. Some of my favorite ones have been : A Horseman Riding By by R.F.Delderfield The Poldarks by Winston Graham The Deathgate Cycle by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman Gerald Durrell's books about his childhood in Corfu (My Family and Other Animals etc)

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, but I also love Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows and Dr Seuss.

How do you actually go about paying for books from another country in another currency? (without resorting to sending cash or a money order)

Have you read Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene, Andrea? I thoroughly enjoyed this and have always meant to read more of his books.

I am just so impressed with President Obama, he is an outstandingly compassionate man.

I nearly wet myself the first time I read this Charm

If you want something light but very funny, try Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books. I'll third P.G.Wodehouse, The Darling Buds of May and Bill Bryson (although Bryson is a non-fiction writer).

I felt a little deflated after reading this book too honestfi although I didn't really mind that all his stories weren't strictly factual. I often feel like this after reading biographies (but I KNOW I'll keep reading them never-the-less). You build up a picture of the author from their books and the biography never quite seems to match. Maybe it's more a case of putting them on a pedestal and then finding they are human just like the rest of us ...I really shouldn't be disappointed at all

I agree Tikkititi, the characters really come alive. I keep getting confused between Linton junior and Edgar Linton because they are both referred to as Linton. Edgar is really quite likeable in an ineffectual kind of way.

I'm reading this at the moment and loving it, although I can't say I like any of the characters very much, least of all the spoilt, selfish, whinging little nincompoop, Linton! Heathcliff can be quite funny at times in his cynical, uncaring way. Speaking of his preference for nephew Hareton, over Linton his son he says, "I'll pit him against that paltry creature, unless it bestir itself briskly. We calculate it will scarcely last till it is eighteen. Oh, confound the vapid thing! He's absorbed in drying his feet, and never looks at her - Linton!" (Has anyone seen the Wuthering Heights version with Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley? Tom made a heart-stopping Heathcliff )

I was going to say this one Adam ....I loved The English Patient

Yes, you're right Dimitra, there are many forms of love

I'm reading Wuthering Heights at the moment and agree with the person who said their love was more obsessional than anything else. True love to me should be unselfish and you couldn't find a much more selfish pair than Heathcliff and Catherine. Both are always wishing the other would suffer in their absense or when wronged. It wasn't an act of love for Heathcliff to leave Catherine for three years with no knowledge of his whereabouts and nor was it for Catherine to marry someone else because Heathcliff was penniless and not well-bred. A lot of what both of them did was out of vindictiveness not love.