poppyshake Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 Sorry to hear about your Dad Kay, is there family local to them that can keep an eye on them for you? Yes .. Mum and Dad live on a mobile home park which sounds pretty bleak but isn't at all .. it must be one of the loveliest in the country .. the caretakers love growing plants and so the whole place is always a mass of flowers .. it's south coast too so they have the best of the weather usually. Everyone is retired there or of retirement age so they're all in the same boat and there's a great community spirit. Some are thankfully more able than others (quite a few still work) and luckily Mum's neighbour is one of them and he helps out as much as he can .. Mum helps him out with pies and stuff I wish we lived closer, my children are dab hands at helping out with leftover pudding, actually so is Steve! It's funny how dinners fill them up yet 5 minutes later they can eat their bodyweight in sugar.. My daughter has always said she has 2 stomachs, a small one for dinners and a larger one for puddings! I wish you lived closer too Whenever I ask Alan what he thinks of the dinner .. more often than not I get the reply .. 'it's nice .. but really filling' and then somehow or the other he can manage two puddings no bother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 I meant to say that mum and dad both have sister's living on the same park .. but dad's sister has the same condition as dad and is in a wheelchair and mum's sister and BIL are well into their eighties and not in the best of health themselves .. though my uncle does still drive so can get prescriptions or run mum to the doctors sometimes etc. My sister lives about an hour and a half away and we live about two hours and a half away ... .. Alan and I were only saying yesterday that is was nicer when the family were all within walking distance of one another. Though we all lived in Bracknell then and those that have moved away wouldn't necessarily want to go back (understatement!! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Oh that's good, it must be a relief to know someone is keeping an eye on them for you.. What a way to see in the New Year! Steve is like that too (must be a man thing..) When I first started cooking for him I put more and more on his plate until he actually said to me that he is unable to leave anything on his plate and would probably explode if I kept increasing the size of his meals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 I forgot to put up pics of my new Astrid Lindgren's Frankie has recently been reading these and I'm so looking forward to getting started .. think I'll probably have as much fun as I did last year with the Dahl's .. maybe more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 Oh that's good, it must be a relief to know someone is keeping an eye on them for you.. What a way to see in the New Year! Steve is like that too (must be a man thing..) When I first started cooking for him I put more and more on his plate until he actually said to me that he is unable to leave anything on his plate and would probably explode if I kept increasing the size of his meals! The incredible exploding man!! .. I dish up like my mum .. as if there are twenty coming to dinner and not just two We had so much turkey left over (mainly due to being out all day on Boxing Day .. I normally can hoover up large quantities of turkey on BD) that Alan has decided we might try a goose next year It does appeal .. doing the whole Charles Dickens thing etc but I don't think goose makes good sandwiches so I'll be sad to lose my turkey sandwich. But then mum always gives me loads of hers so I will get a couple of good sandwiches out of that anyway. I'm more worried about the fat aspect .. not the eating of it but the being covered in it .. you have to pour it off regularly apparently or else your goose will drown All that hiking it out of the oven every five mins will mean there'll be an increased chance of it hitting the deck .. a la the turkey two years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I'm so sorry to hear about your brother in law and your dad . I hope they will feel better soon . It's not a nice way at all to start the new year. The Astrid Lindgren books look beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 My mum and dad bought me this Jane Austen print for Christmas and I've just ordered a frame (cream) to put it in so should be able to get it up on the wall soon Alan asked whether it might not be considered insulting to visitors but my view is that if they don't read then they probably won't read it anyway .. and the quote is not saying what sort of novel you should find pleasure in .. only that it be 'good' and though both me and Jane probably have fixed ideas about what constitutes a good novel I don't think anyone will worry about it .. we always think our own taste is the best It may be a tad insulting to non-readers but then ... what are non-readers doing in my house anyway? I can't take a pic of it until it's framed for it's rolled up like a swiss roll. I can't even admire it properly without holding it down with bricks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 I'm so sorry to hear about your brother in law and your dad . I hope they will feel better soon . It's not a nice way at all to start the new year. The Astrid Lindgren books look beautiful! Thanks Gaia All of it happened in 2013 and now hopefully the healing properties and total gorgeousness of 2014 will do it's work Despite the terrible weather outside I'm determined to think well of this new year in the hope that it will think well of me .. and mine .. and all of you .. and yours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I want that picture! I've not read any Austen (Ooh maybe it's aimed at me! ) but I love the sentiment.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 Happy New Year my lovelies for keeping me company here ... I have still many reviews to write so will keep my eye on the place and run the vacuum around occasionally but will be moving all the pics etc to my new place (and on that note .. I do apologise about the somewhat glowering portraits of Virginia that stare down from the walls ... her eyes do tend to follow you around the room I always wonder what happened to the famous twinkle .. I did try to jolly them up with tinsel but the effect was somewhat horrifying As a result I didn't dare put any pics up of Charles Dickens .. I don't want to keep you awake at night ) xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 I want that picture! I've not read any Austen (Ooh maybe it's aimed at me! ) but I love the sentiment.. No .. it's definitely not aimed at you Hayley It's actually quite a sweet quote in context .. (Henry Tilney says it in Northanger Abbey in response to Catherine who is embarrassed at having asked him his opinion of a book she's been reading .. she counters immediately by saying that she expects he never reads novels because 'gentlemen read better books' and he answers with the quote featured on the print and elaborates further to completely put her at her ease ) Out of context though it is a bit accusatory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 The books are lovely. I hope your Dad is mending well, Kay. It's scary, I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I forgot to put up pics of my new Astrid Lindgren's Frankie has recently been reading these and I'm so looking forward to getting started .. think I'll probably have as much fun as I did last year with the Dahl's .. maybe more These are beautiful. I'll have to get my own set - I'd been thinking about Pippi since I saw Sari's reviews, and now I know I want to read Astrid's books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 (edited) The books are lovely. I hope your Dad is mending well, Kay. It's scary, I know. Thanks Kate Dad is doing okay thanks .. my BIL is still in hospital though but he's had a CT scan and no nasties have been found thank goodness. They think the blockage is being caused by scar tissue from when he had his appendix removed. My poor sister had a terrible New Year's Eve .. very worried of course and disappointed not to see us as we had been planning it for months She got lots of food in etc which she subsequently had to give away as she didn't fancy it and it was prawns etc so needed using up. Ah well .. we'll meet up soon hopefully. The main thing is BIL is okay (though hating being in hospital ) These are beautiful. I'll have to get my own set - I'd been thinking about Pippi since I saw Sari's reviews, and now I know I want to read Astrid's books! I got them from The Book People Claire just before Christmas (though Alan confiscated them on arrival ) but I can't see the set on their website now .. only the individual books. Perhaps they've sold out for the time being. Sari's great reviews have made me want to get on with them too .. they sound brilliant! Edited January 2, 2014 by poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Going to Sea in a Sieve by Danny BakerAmazon's Synopsis: Danny Baker is one of the most recognisable voices on British radio. Working as writer, presenter and broadcaster he has seen, as an insider, much of what has come to pass in British popular culture both in music and TV for over 30 years. Now, Danny tells his own story. Born in 1957 to a boisterous working-class family in Deptford and leaving comprehensive school at fourteen he traded a rich, if hard-edged, upbringing for an almost immediate, if accidental, life in London's (very) fast lane. In Going to Sea in a Sieve, the first volume of his memoirs, Danny explosively and honestly recalls the extraordinary roots of his long career. From the lie of being David Essex's brother and the myth that he killed Bob Marley, to real-life dealings with Marc Bolan, The Clash, John Lennon, Elton John, Tommy Cooper, Spike Milligan and, most famously, Michael Jackson. Danny Baker's autobiography is a wild and wildly funny take on the collision between an incident-packed British childhood and a wild rock-and-roll youth. By the time his life in TV comes along, the Deptford boy had well and truly been around the block.Review: Anyone who knows Danny from his radio show or TV appearances pretty much will know what to expect here. I must admit to not being particularly a fan usually (though I haven't heard his radio show) ... he talks a million miles a minute and sometimes bores me in the detail. However, my niece had recommended it (and also bought it for me for Christmas) and we usually like the same sort of biographies plus there was a very positive comment on the blurb by Caitlin Moran ... and if she is finding it funny then I know I probably will. I did ... he is an absolutely brilliant storyteller. Some of it has possibly been embroidered (I feel he gave this away somewhat by admitting to being a terrible fibber in the past .. like pretending to be David Essex's brother to enjoy the associated perks and also, claiming, or rather not denying, that he inadvertently killed Bob Marley ) One thing he is keen to point out is that there's no misery here (unless you count his Mum putting the exclusive silk shirt given to him .. when still warm .. by Marc Bolan after Danny complimented him on it .. in the washing machine ) Danny had a brilliant childhood and .. so far in the story anyway .. a brilliant adolescence. He seemed to get on with everybody and has always been popular. He's not bragging .. he just sees no need to claim otherwise but it is a little bit wearing after a while. Only a bit though because, for the most part, it is as vibrant and gossipy as you would want and expect. Any fan of music, especially music from the late 1970's will love it. Imagine working in a London record store .. sometimes alongside Elton John and also touring with the likes of Ian Dury and the Blockheads? There's so many anecdotes here that your head spins with them .. all very amusingly told too. Possibly though .. if you're a Queen fan .. this isn't the read for you. Danny clearly isn't and he's pretty scathing about them and they don't come over very well here His early childhood is brilliantly recollected too .. the whole family are hilarious rogues. Most of it is really funny but his recollections of meeting Michael Jackson when interviewing him for the NME (or 'what was left of the real Michael Jackson' as Danny puts it) were very thought provoking and came as close as anything I've ever read to explaining, or giving some insight anyway, into Michael's situation. I cannot forgive him however for turning over Kate Bush He was a new writer for NME then and thought the interview needed oomphing up a bit and therefore made Kate sound even more away with the fairies than she really was (when in actuality they'd been having a grand old time reminiscing about Lewisham) ... no wonder Kate avoids journalists. Very easy to read and highly entertaining. This is Vol 1 .. can't wait for the rest 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Danny is notorious for repeating stories and anecdotes on his radio programme, and I know I've heard some of those you've mentioned (many times!) before. He's also very outspoken on what he likes and dislikes, and although he'd argue his case to the hilt on things like Queen, he'd do it with verve and passion, but would always let the other side be given, and then just disagree again at the end! If you're not keen on the his style on the television, I doubt if you'd like him on radio - he does often go into masses of detail, but what I love about him is his skill as an interviewer. He can get the most fascinating stories out of people, whether they are members of the public calling in or famous guests in the studio, and when he does interview celebrities and sportsmen and women, he asks unusual questions rather than the humdrum of a lot of other interviewers, but isn't afraid to add his own stories, giving a very conversational style of interview, which seems to make the other person more relaxed and talk more openly than they might otherwise. I still think I might like this more as an audiobook, as I really do struggle with biographies and memoirs, but maybe that'll be one to invest in some time in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Kay I have never heard of this guy before ,but I guess I know why if he is a famous personality from over there. I don't even know many from over here ! So what was his take on Michael Jackson ? Did he think he was a bad guy ( like it seems ours media over here has made him out to be ) . Also the lady who was out with the fairies ? Does that mean she's one any short of a picnic or something else ? It sounds kinda like a nice place to be, out with the fairies, so maybe I should join her . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 I still think I might like this more as an audiobook, as I really do struggle with biographies and memoirs, but maybe that'll be one to invest in some time in the future. I reckon it would be brilliant as an audiobook Claire .. I imagine Danny reads it which is perfect. You get lots of piccies though so my advice (this is what I do and .. though it is a little bit naughty .. I don't think it's been officially listed as a crime yet ) is to check out the pics afterwards in Waterstone's/Mr B's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Or, as a more legitimate route, I could borrow the book from the library, and then I could have it for three weeks to browse the pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Kay I have never heard of this guy before ,but I guess I know why if he is a famous personality from over there. I don't even know many from over here ! So what was his take on Michael Jackson ? Did he think he was a bad guy ( like it seems ours media over here has made him out to be ) . Also the lady who was out with the fairies ? Does that mean she's one any short of a picnic or something else ? It sounds kinda like a nice place to be, out with the fairies, so maybe I should join her . Yes it does mean that ... and it's not difficult to imagine Kate as being 'away with the fairies' as she's not necessarily a conventional thinker .. especially in song. Danny just played up to the impression everyone had that Kate was a little bit (and in the nicest possible way) nuts Re: Michael .. I'll put it in spoilers The interview took place just before the release of Thriller. The whole family were present (that is the Jackson brothers and Janet .. who Danny thought was Michael's PA as, at the time, nobody had heard of her and you more or less had to talk to Michael through her) and Tito had got there early and was saying that any particular questions about 'what it was like when they started' and stuff like that should only be addressed to the brothers .. the inference being that interviewers tended to talk only to Michael .. and the rest of them were fed up of being in the shadows. Michael was holding a phone to his ear but wasn't talking to anybody on it .. it was like a security blanket for him when being questioned. When he did have an answer the brothers tended to ridicule him ('small slips got pounced on') and have a 'what would you know about it' attitude. They were recalling touring when he was a child and a Joe Tex song that they covered called 'Skinny Legs and All' whereby it was part of the act for Michael to go out into the audience and lift up girl's skirts .. Michael muttered that he hated that bit and they laughed and said it was his favourite part. Their view on his phenomenal success was that it was good for the sales of their records too as when flicking through his albums people would come across theirs etc. Danny later met up with Michael on his own and found him a little more open (but quite childish or childlike) ... they talked about the British TV that he liked and were laughing over Monty Python but Danny says that Michael's voice often petered out midway through a conversation as if he had no confidence at all in what he was saying and the impression given was that he wasn't used to being listened to. When leaving Danny said to him 'take care' and he seemed taken aback by the expression but then repeated it and smiled. I just got the impression that the family were responsible in a lot of ways for both building him up (as the family cash cow) and demeaning him (out of resentment.) He clearly had lost a grip on who he was and that obviously only got worse. I read this shortly after seeing a small bit of footage of the This Is It concert which Michael was rehearsing for when he died .. juxtaposed with footage of him performing as a child it was just painful to see what he had become .. I couldn't watch the rest of it .. though the voice was as good as ever he seemed completely frail and lost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Or, as a more legitimate route, I could borrow the book from the library, and then I could have it for three weeks to browse the pictures! Well yes .. that may be best .. I wouldn't want you to get a criminal record because of me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson Amazon Synopsis: From one of Britain’s best-loved literary novelists comes a magical, lyrical tale of the young orphan Silver, taken in by the ancient lighthousekeeper Mr. Pew, who reveals to her a world of myth and mystery through the art of storytelling. Motherless and anchorless, Silver is taken in by the timeless Mr. Pew, keeper of the Cape Wrath lighthouse. Pew tells Silver ancient tales of longing and rootlessness, of the slippages that occur throughout every life. One life, Babel Dark’s, a nineteenth-century clergyman, opens like a map that Silver must follow, and the intertwining of myth and reality, of storytelling and experience, lead her through her own particular darkness. A story of mutability, talking birds and stolen books, of Darwin and Stevenson and of the Jekyll and Hyde in all of us, Lighthousekeeping is a way into the most secret recesses of our own hearts and minds. Jeanette Winterson is one of the most extraordinary and original writers of her generation, and this shows her at her lyrical best.Review: Its almost impossible to review anything I've read in December as my head resembles a cabbage for most of the month and no doubt thinks like one too I read this as part of December's Reading Circle but haven't had time yet to take part and have probably forgotten all the finer points. The story is very lyrical as you would expect from Jeanette. I particularly loved the set up .. all the stuff about living with her mother in a house cut deep into the bank and how the furniture had to be nailed down and the food had to be the kind that stuck to the plate (they couldn't have toast then? .. oh hang on though .. a touch of marmalade would do the trick ) and how they used to have to lash themselves together and use a rope 'just to achieve the front door' .. it's just so marvellously inventive and visual. Also I loved Mr Pew and enjoyed reading about Silver's time at Cape Wrath lighthouse and especially liked his stories concerning Babel Dark. I did wander off in the middle which may have been more to do with my preoccupation with turkey timings than weakness of plot .. I feel it needed a better concentration that I could give it but was enthralled again by the end. It's very mysterious .. she doesn't offer it all up on a plate so it requires a good deal of thought but it was well worth the effort though I don't think I understood all of it. I need to re-read and languish over it (when does languishing time come around again? ) 4/5 (would happily re-visit) Was there a toast quote? Yes .. there were at least three I've selected .. what I think is .. the best one. The psychiatrist asked why she had not sought help sooner. 'I don't need help .. not this kind anyway. I can dress myself, make toast, make love, make money, make sense.' It seems to me she's got it all covered Edited January 5, 2014 by poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Great review Poppyshake. I loved this book and it lead me to read another of hers, Sexing The Cherry, but I found it a little too bizarre and didn't finish it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 "house cut deep into the bank " - what type of house is this? I got the impression it was possibly a boat? Book added to wish list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Kay I'm glad you explained in more detail about Michael Jackson in the previous book you read. He hit it dead on target .Poor Michael did have a hideous life . His parents were awful, especially his dad. Very abusive. Michael was the most talented in the family, so the others were jealous of his success but also wanted to ride his coat tails whenever possible . He was my age, but never seemed to grow up. I think something got "broken" inside him during the process of his life . He was treated so very poorly over here after the supposed inappropriate behavior with kids. I honestly think it was just people taking advantage of his wealth and kindness by stabbing him in the back for money. He honestly wouldn't have hurt anyone, he was just so strangely innocent, he seemed odd in a way .Our news people over here chew up celebrities and spit them out ,and especially someone like him who couldn't defend himself as someone his age should have been able to . It breaks my heart to watch him sing the song SMILE ... then that is the song that Jermaine sang at his funeral . He cried his eyes out that day and made the remark that he should have protected Michael more .. so sad ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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