Talisman

You'd be amazed how many books are pulped each year as the publisher over estimates how many should be printed. It's not just trees you're saving then, but also ink, water (needed to print all those books), electricity, and probably oil too, as they don't have to be trucked all over the place !

E-books all the way for me - they are cheaper to buy, easy to carry around, save trees, save your shoulders when travelling (not having to lug around heavy books in your luggage) and are better for the author as well, who in most cases, earns considerably more (no middle men to pay). What's not to like ?

I finished another African book at lunch time today - and it was another good one - Voodoo Slaves and White Man's Graves by Tim Coote. This one covered no less than five countries - Benin, Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali.

Ian Dale on LBC.

If Boris Johnson falls off his bike

The road in and out of our village was supposed to be shut at 8am because of the RideLondon cycle event, so Coran and I accordingly set out about 9am to go to the village hall which had been set up as a feed zone and watch it from there. Walking along, we were surprised to find that the road was completely empty with not one cyclist in sight. Along came a Prudential van which stopped and told us that the Box Hill part of the event had been cancelled due to the weather. Apparently Surrey County Council were notified of this at 6am - the road wasn't due to be closed until 8am, so why then did they bother, they might as well have just kept it open? The barriers are all still in place, and since the organisers do not appear to have a clue what is happening (the words p*** and brewery spring to mind), irate residents are taking things into their own hands and moving the barriers themselves - I can't say I blame them ! No one seems to know either whether the elite cyclists which were due to come through about 4.30-5pm have been cancelled as well, and Coran and I don't want to risk not being able to get home if they close the roads again, so have decided to stay put - this is a pity as they were due to go through Dorking 4 times. Honestly though, what a fiasco.

I know only too well - ours is really 2 events - a wedding and a blessing.

I don't mind admitting that I was really upset by this and shed a few tears. She was a real character who will be missed by everyone and was the first person there (apart from my 2 bosses) whom I told about our wedding. On a happier note though, Coran and I are going to have a look at the venue for the blessing this morning - to check the layout for the guests seating, make sure our home made CD works in the stereo system, measure the door frames and so on. After that we are going for lunch in Sainsbury's up the road and to get the weekly shop. I got some beautiful freshly picked corn cobs from work yesterday, so need something to go with them. Tomorrow of course, all the roads will be shut for the Ride London - the weather men say they are expecting flash floods and high winds - I have ordered them just in time for Boris Johnson's arrival on the hill !

Well I for one am glad that that week is over and it's finally Friday. I think the combination of wedding stress and lack of sleep are a little too much at the moment. It was not a good day at work either, as one of our clients died in hospital last night and it has understandably upset a lot of people, staff and clients alike. She had been a resident in the on site care home since she was 16 years old, an incredible 66 years - the site as a whole has been open for 75 years. The atmosphere there has then been somewhat subdued.

Thanks. I will look it up. To be honest though (and I suspect this is another thread) I am knackered with the whole wedding thing. It has been a rough day at work (one of the clients who had been in the home an incredible 66 years died last night), and neither of us have been sleeping well, and to be honest, I think we have got to the point where we just want to get it over with.

Everything is well in hand - 2 weeks from now I shall be a married lady !

Finished The Ring Tone and the Drum: Travels in the World's Poorest Countries by Mark Weston at lunchtime today. This is one man's account of his travels through three of West Africa's poorest nations - Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso and comes highly recommended.

I don't want to worry you, but mine started like that !

So am I - given the fact that that Paperwhite (which I admit I was tempted by) cost £50 more and more importantly would take a few days to arrive, I decided to go and get a new one from Curry's. Well, there was no way I was going to go 3 days without reading ! The new Kindle is different of course to my old Keyboard, but I am sure I will get used to it. It is slightly smaller and lighter which always helps.

I think a lot of people are feeling like that at the moment Athena, so you are not the only one. I am just feeling knackered. I am also mourning for the loss of my Kindle keyboard. The battery had been draining a bit since Iceland really, but after I got back it seemed to need charging every four days, so thinking that a new battery would be cheaper than a new Kindle (and with a wedding to pay for), I got a new battery. That seemed to be working until Monday when it kept freezing. I would be reading one moment and then everything would freeze, and after a few minutes it would reboot. I managed to get it working on Monday night and it seemed fine, but then yesterday lunchtime it did it again - three times before it completely froze again. I rang Amazon when I got home and they talked me through various things on the phone, trying to get it work before finally admitting that it was knackered and I had to get a new one. They offered me a large discount on a refurnished 3G Paperwhite which would have been a good deal if I had the money, but given the wedding and everything else, I ended up going to Curry's for a new £59 one. The Paperwhite would have been nice, but the main thing is I can read again - I hate being without my books !

Anjuna Beats Sampler

For me it would either of these two: Sao Tome: Journey to the Abyss - Portugal's Stolen Children by Paul D Cohn or What is the What? by Dave Eggers Both are very different but at the same time very thought provoking books, the first of which is based on a true story pieced together from an ancient manuscript. The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism by Naoki Higashida was also rather good - I wanted to read this book as I work with people with autism. Of course, the one thing that all 3 of these books have in common is that they are all non fiction, which I have been reading a lot more of lately.

My 60 year old is brushing her teeth and preparing to go to sleep.

I get most of mine from Amazon - people who bought this also read that and so on. Some have also come from here, and some from friends offline.

It is - although it is somewhat lengthy. Then again, the best books often are.

Goats cheese on toast with fresh tomatoes (again from the garden at work - delicious). They had fresh apricots as well this week.

photo

Band on the Run - Paul McCartney and Wings

I finished what I thought would be my last Jason Smart book - Flashpacking through Africa this afternoon. This one covers no less than 17 countries - Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, The Gambia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Seychelles, Comoros, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. Most of these countries I have already done, but 6 of them (the ones in italics) I hadn't. I thought I had now finished all of his books, but another one has just been published about his travels through the Indian subcontinent, which has been added to my wish list.

Glad to hear it's all working out for you Kell, with the move and the job transfer. That's why sometimes working for a larger company can be advantageous. It has been so hot here this week - up to 30 degrees in places, and working outdoors in a manual job like I have has not been fun, especially since the second housekeeper has had a few days off leaving me all on my own. Still, he needs to take his holiday like everyone else. Our wedding invites have mostly been sent out now so there is not much more to do apart from paying for it all. We do though need to get together with Corans best friend Sarah at some point who is conducting the blessing. We have decided on more or less what we want and chosen all the music, it's just putting the flesh on the bones. We don't have much planned though for this weekend, apart from food shopping and having our hairs cut - I am having some lowlights put in now I am getting a bit older and greyer - soon I will be 50 shades of grey !