Talisman

I haven't written on this thread for me, but It has been an eventful couple of weeks - it all seems to have gone in a bit of a blur. The main thing is though that we went to see my sister for the first time in 2 1/2 years. We were best friends growing up together, but since she was diagnosed with schizophrenia in the late 80's it has slowly gone from bad to worse. It got to the point 2 1/12 years ago that we had to cut off contact with her altogether in order to preserve our own sanity. That was probably the most difficult decision I have ever had to make, that tore my heart into what felt like 1000 pieces. Only Coran knows what I really felt about that and it is only thanks to her that I managed to get through what were some very dark times indeed. She now though has an amazing team behind her, who for the first time since she became ill took the time to actually explain to us properly what her illness means. I am hopeful then that we have finally turned a corner. The other thing is that I did a sponsored walk today with a group of 10 other people from work for Help for Heroes. We walked 8 1/2 miles from the care home near Guildford where I work all the way to Headley Court in a little over 3 1/2 hours. Considering how unfit I thought a lot of us were this was a remarkable achievement. I am more used to it than some, but my calves are certainly feeling it now, as it was uphill for most of the way and pouring with rain. I am not sure how much we raised - we will have to count it all up and send the cheque on to them in due course. I feel really proud of myself though for doing that.

Gothenburg - Sweden

sat nav users (some of them at least)

Jamie Cullum - When I Get Famous

Brown Girl in the Ring - Boney M

Let it Flow - Grover Washington Jnr

KC and the Sunshine Band - That's the Way I Like It - in fact anything by KC and the Sunshine Band - their name alone makes me smile

I remember watching a film many years ago that sounds similar to this, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was called either !

Stevie Wonder - Otis Redding - and best of all Aretha Franklin -

Afterthought - Parker & Hanson

Akureyri, Iceland

They are technically the same. but the blurb is what usually appears on the back cover.

There is only one book that I have been putting off reading, and that's because of the price - more than £13 for the Kindle version. The book in question is The Slum by David S Rosenthal. It is regarded as a Brazilian classic, which I think is probably the reason for its hefty price tag. The paperback version is even more costly at £16. I have seen it for less than that on some sites, but I need to figure out how to convert it to Kindle format using the Calibre software that I downloaded. Since my wish list seems to get bigger by the day, and there are so many other books I always want to read, despite its classic status, this one seems to go further down the list every day. One day though I will figure out how to do that conversion and I will buy and devour it.

I have finished another 2 countries since I last posted - The Maids of Havana by Pedro Perez Sarduy for Cuba and earlier tonight All Dogs Are Blue by Rodrigo Souza Leao for Brazil.

When I used to still buy paper books it was the cover that usually drew me, or sometimes when the books were lined up on the shelves with just their spines showing, the title. Of course now that I buy e-books the title has become much more important. I still read the blurb like I used to, but I use the look inside feature or download a sample rather than browsing through the book (I guess this is the same thing anyway). Usually I can tell within a few lines whether I will like the book or not. Generally speaking though, if the price is right then I will either buy it then and there or add it my ever expanding wish list.

I find it very difficult, although it depends on the book. One of the things though that I was very glad about when I started the job I am in now was the fact there is no TV in the staff room - bliss !

Congratulations Carelia. I have just booked to go to Iceland for a few days in October. I have been humming and harring over it for a week or so, but in the end I just thought sod it, and so I went and booked it this morning. I have just finished printing out all the tickets. The main reason for going at this time of year is of course the Northern Lights - something I have always wanted to see. By happy coincidence, the Imagine Peace Tower, which sits out on an island in Reykjavik Bay is also being switched on that week - this is a marble tower as a tribute to John Lennon, which has the words Imagine Peace written around the base in 24 different languages. The tower is switched on (illuminated) on 9th October (John's birthday) each year, usually by Yoko Ono, and remains illuminated until his death date of 9th December. There is a free bus and ferry service to get you over to the island for a special ceremony, which I will hopefully be able to find a seat on, and if I am lucky I may be treated to some more northern lights as well. I have managed to find a very cheap room in a hostel half a mile from downtown for the princely sum of £8 a night. I will need to bring a sleeping bag, but since you are no longer allowed to carry a tripod as hand luggage (something about them being deemed an offensive weapon), I will have to take checked baggage anyway. Coran has a good tripod that I can borrow. So now all I need to do is read up on how to take long exposures so I can get some great pictures to remember it all by. I am though thoroughly looking forward to once again sampling the delights of skyr, not to mention those fabulous hot pots at the legendary Reykjavik swimming pools.

Windhoek, Namibia

Torshavn, Faroe Islands

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Interesting article - but nothing I haven't been saying as an author for years !

Life is Beautiful (Italian) and of course the Swedish originals of all the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo films.

Hope Has a Place - Enya

hound

Miami, USA