Predict

Time for a prediction, and if I don't make it now, it won't be a prediction any more!

After a truly awful four years (and not just in America), we will finally see a turning point, and the beginning of a new story, and here is how it is going to happen:

• The first big clue will be when Florida announces for Biden.
• That will be the beginning of a Big Blue Wave that will sweep the Democrats back into the White House.
• Trump won't go quietly. He will find something to contest, but whatever it is, his challenge won't last very long as he watches his supporters jumping from the sinking ship.
• However, Trump bluster and obfuscation will delay a definitive result. He will not have the good grace to concede when the writing is on the wall.
• Even family members will start to distance themselves. Once it is all over, the Melania marriage won't last much longer.
• He may have avoided impeachment whilst in office, but once out of office, who knows what other investigations and lawsuits might follow.

There, I've said it. Now let's see ...

Increase

 Two months have passed since the last blog. Seems like long enough of a break. I'd been cheating by putting a 'holding' post in by email at the end of the day, and then going back and filling something in later, and gradually getting more of a backlog of 'fillers' was accruing. A sure sign that it was time for a break!

And what has happened in the two months since last posting? I've ventured back to the office on a part-time basis, although it will be interesting to see how long that lasts with case numbers well and truly back on the increase. Nicky and I enjoyed an excellent short break away in North Norfolk, staying in a B&B in Thursford, visiting some new places, meeting up with Caroline and Tony, and having lunch in Norwich with Daisy. Jake and Izzy are both back for their final years, albeit in remote learning mode - Jake from home and Izzy from her Greenwich / Lewisham flat. Jake's first couple of assessed pieces of work have gone well, so he seems to be in good spirits about year 3 and knows what he need to do to achieve his desired outcome. Teaching seems to have picked up a bit - after Nicky putting out feelers, Jake seems to have a few new pupils about to start, which will help with supplementing his income.

All ok, just keeping an eye on those case numbers ...

Trees

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Life

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Hold

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Habit

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Perfect

Shred

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Discoveries

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Class

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Cafe

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Convention

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Hound

One of the books on the '100 bucket' poster is The Hound of the Baskervilles, which I think I've read at some point, being a bit of a Holmes fan. I have a vague recollection of doing a book report for school on the famous detective, and actually enjoying my English homework for once, as I was allowed free rein over the subject. Who knows, it might even have been some GCSE coursework!

Anyway, Hound is Sherlock book #5, first serialised in the Strand magazine before being published as a stand-alone novel. It is the third of the four novels, but comes after an eight year gap since the previous the short story collection The Memoirs. It was published (supposedly to quell the public appetite for more Holmes and Watson) despite the fact that in the last story of The Memoirs (The Final Problem) Holmes gets into a bit of a tussle with his arch enemy Moriaty at the Reichenbach Falls, and appears to fall to his death. However, ACD sidesteps that problem by setting the events of The Hound at an earlier date! Readers had to wait a further three years for the The Return of Sherlock Holmes to find out what had happened.

As for Hound itself, most definitely not my favourite. Holmes himself is absent from the entire middle section of the novel, and the culprit comes as little surprise. On reflection would probably have worked better as on of the short stories.

As it happens, of my many book series I have been attempting to read over the years, Holmes was one of them, and I was up to #4 previously, so I can enjoy getting back to some short stories now - much more fun.

 

Locket

Found whilst having a bit of a sort out in the back bedroom, including a few bags of things that had been brought back from the Old School House.

Golden

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Hold

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Rector

Not really sure why, but sat in the garden of The Peacock, I ended up thinking about Joanna Trollope books, which I have several of on the shelves, mostly claimed from the Old School House library. I'm sure I read The Choir many years ago, but I don't specifically remember reading any others. I don't know whether looking at the outside of The Peacock, it felt like the sort of place a Joanna Trollope character ought to live, who knows! Anyway, I had a rummage on my library app, and downloaded The Rector's Wife (which doesn't seem to be on the shelves, and yet according to my book collection app I claim to have a paperback of it - most puzzling). Anyway, I've just finished it, and enjoyed it, and will I'm sure read some more of her (mostly more recent) books that are currently sat in the library. 

Hot

 So we are having a bit of a heatwave - mercury pushing well above 30 degrees at the moment. If we were working in an office, it'd be time to be sent home!

Chatsworth

This was supposed to be Saturday's post, and I thought that I had reserved a spot for it, but obviously not.

Anyway, Saturday was reserved for Chatsworth, and after a mighty fine hotel breakfast, we took the very short drive over, parked up, went up to the carriage house to collect our picnic, had a quick look around the shop picking up a couple of things (and stowed the picnic away back in the car, which turned out to be a mistake, but saved us from carrying it around the house), and all nicely in time for our appointed visit to the house.

What to say - huge, impressive, lots of artwork, including a variety of old and new, but to be honest, the grounds were far more impressive, and once we'd blagged our way out and in again to collect the picnic we had a very pleasant time in the sunshine.

 

Head

Disappointing to report that first day back from holiday break = bad head.

Form your own conclusions re period of relaxation followed by trying to get back to work. Who knows!

Bake

Our last day in the Peak District and what to do. We can't just head straight back to the motorway and come home - that would be a waste, and so we decide to head along the road to Bakewell - only a little way from the Peacock. Having driven through it a few times already, we'd seen that it could get pretty busy, and so we were a little alarmed to hear when checking out from the hotel that Monday was market day.

Still, undeterred, we stuck with the plan, but knew that the right thing to do would be to dive off to the right into the first car park (the one for the agricultural bit of the market, over the cattle grid with the farmers and their trailers). This worked a treat and we were able to park without a problem, and on the right side of town for a swift exit afterwards, and could follow the crowds for the short walk into town. Bakewell itself was worthy of a wander, not that we went in many places (sadly the antiquarian bookshop was closed on a Monday) and our main stop was at the cafe in the antique centre - found after a brief search based on the fact that it was the number one recommendation on Trip Adviser - for coffee and brunch - we'd had too long a lay in for hotel breakfast!

Fed and watered, we meandered back to the car and embarked on the journey home. We didn't stop in the popular-looking official Bakewell tart and pie shop as Nicky had already ordered some on-line for home delivery!

Peak

And so Sunday was spent exploring some more of the Peak District.

We decided that the first stop should be Castleton, where we tried not to be put off by the fact that we were in a bit of a minority for not wearing walking boots and carrying rucksacks. Nicky was not-so-secretly pleased to discover that the attractions of Castleton (either the Castle at the top of a steep hill, or an underground cave) were both unavailable to us as in the current environment required pre-booking, so we did what came naturally and went to the nicest looking tea rooms, had a cup of coffee, and shared a rather scrummy piece of bakewell pudding.

We'd been entertained on our way up to Castleton to see brown tourist signs for a 'Cutlery factory' and thought that the Peak District must be a bit short of attractions if this was the best they could muster. However, we then went past it, and Nicky was excited to see that it was the David Mellor factory and gallery. I tried to look like I knew what she was talking about, but she reminded me that we'd seen it on Grand Designs a couple of weeks before. So, we decided on leaving Castleton that we should pay it a visit, and it was well worth it. Favourite fact: David Mellor designed the traffic lights that we see every day. Nicky's purchase: salt and pepper shakers to go with the trivet that had been a Christmas present from Jake.

Next stop on our Peak tour - Buxton. Had a wander round, admired the architecture, saw the spring water, that was about all.

Back to hotel. Overall scenery driving around during the day beautiful.

Peacock

M1 took rather a long time, but it was worth it to arrive at the Peacock in time for a relaxing drink in the garden, followed by dinner in the bar.

 

Macron

At least Macron showed up in Beirut today. No sign of the Lebanese politicians, so Macron was there on the street, taking the brunt. To his great credit, he listened, and he hugged. It may not seem much, but perhaps it made a positive difference in this terrible time.

Lebanon

The pictures from Lebanon are just awful. For a country already suffering in so many ways, to have this terrible tragedy occur is heart-breaking. At this early stage, it does look like a disaster of mismanagement and negligence rather than anything more sinister, but that is little comfort to the hundreds of bereaved families, to the thousands of injured, to the tens of thousands of homeless, and to an entire country that relied on the port for bringing in food and other essential supplies. Even in the Covid world in which we live, let's hope the international community rallies round with aid and support. 

Thanks

(Shockingly late blog catching up)

Finished off the Thanks NHS book of 100 stories to say thank you (or as Adam Kay admits in the intro, more like 109 due to the response rate). A mixed bag of the moving (often about life's arrivals and departures) to the mundane, to the bizarre (yes you Jamie - bunging in a couple of recipes is not telling a story).

Gate

(Shockingly late blog catching up)

Having seen them sat on the shelf whilst playing darts with Jake, I thought that I'd give an Alastair MacLean a go. I went through a phase of buying and reading them whilst I was at university (bizarre - no doubt that was when I was supposed to be getting inspired by the classics, and there I was reading old thrillers). Rather than the obvious Where Eagles Dare, or Ice Station Zebra, I went for The Golden Gate. Strangely the blurb at the front said that it was first published in '63, but after reading for a while, this didn't feel right, and sure enough on checking, this was a mistake and it came out in '76.

As for the book itself - not much happened to be honest. Maybe I'm being harsh by comparison with more modern stuff, but basically a bunch of bad guys hijacked the presidential motorcade in the middle of the Golden Gate bridge, but there was an undercover CIA agent on one of the accompanying coaches, and he sorted things out. That's about it!

Bond4

As I said back in June, Diamonds are Forever next, and here we are. Bond is up against the mob (The Spangled Mob to be precise) and the majority of the action takes place in the US. This is the second time in four books that he gets to deal with the American underworld. Perhaps a bit early for the cold war? In any case, one is left with the impression that Fleming is excited by, and yet looks down his nose at, America. Certainly he has very little time for mob-controlled Vegas, and the 'nursery' game of blackjack, which he clearly thinks isn't a patch on the proper casinos of Europe. 

Recurring characters are starting to make their mark. Vallance (of the Yard) had made an impression in Moonraker, and is back here, helping with the Peter Franks set up at the beginning. And of course Leiter - he'd been left in pretty awful shape in Live and Let Die, having been thrown to the fishies, but Fleming clearly liked him, and saw a future in him, so gave him a new leg, a hook for a hand, a job working for Pinkertons detective agency, and a spectacular coincidence of working a similar case enabling him to be in cahoots with Bond for much of the time.

And this time round Bond does get the girl, Tiffany Case. So much so that at the end we are told that she is left installed at his London flat. So, what will happen at the opening of From Russia With Love?

Bridget

Having read P&P, it somehow seemed appropriate to read Bridget Jones's Diary, and it was on the '100 books' list in any case. Entertaining read. A couple of particular points to note:

• Both Hugh Grant and Colin Firth get a mention in the book. Grant's is not very flattering at all, a reference to his infamy rather than his fame, coming up in the very first of the mad editorial meetings that Bridget attends at her new job. One wonders whether Grant was made aware of this reference before he signed on to play the Daniel role? Firth's mention is in his role as Mr Darcy, as the book is set in 1995, the year in which everyone was watching the BBC adaptation of P&P.
• Whilst Mark Darcy = Mr Darcy is a bit blooming obvious, I do now at least get the references as to his character, and maybe more importantly his actions. How did Mr Darcy set about trying to impress Elizabeth in P&P - he dropped everything, went to London to save Lydia. How did Mark Darcy set about trying to impress Bridget - he dropped everything, went to Portugal to save Bridget's Mum.

Lunch

Just too nice a day to stay stuck at the computer screen, so an emergency half day holiday was declared, and we decamped to a nice restaurant in Maidstone for lunch, and spent the rest of day enjoying the sunshine. Marvellous!

Anniversary

Today is the fifty-fourth anniversary of a special event, and I'm not referring to a World Cup win, but something of far greater personal significance. I don't have any of the photos of the event itself, although they have at least been discovered. To mark the occasion, here's a picture from another special day.

  

2nd

We are told that a second wave could be on the way in Europe. Sounds a bit like the politicians being extremely keen to be seen to be on the front foot to me, but no doubt they have a considerably fuller picture than my idle speculation. As for the decision to decide to insist on an immediate introduction of two weeks of self isolation for all returning travellers from Spain, the evidence behind that does look pretty shaky. Yes, there seems to be an uptick in cases in the north-east region, but to make it a blanket decision covering the whole country, including the holiday islands seems heavy-handed to say the least. What of all of the people already on holiday, who were expecting to be able to get back to work on return? What of the travel companies, trying to get back to a sense of normality? What of all of the people wondering about booking a summer holiday, whether to Spain or to anywhere else, now too nervous to go ahead because they can't trust the government not to change the rules whilst they're away?

Bertie

I took an executive decision and read Carry on, Jeeves, rather than My Man Jeeves, which was the one specified by the 100 book bucket list poster. My reasoning was that the intention was to read some Jeeves and Wooster stories, and the book on the poster had 8 stories, 4 J&W and 4 others, whilst Carry on, Jeeves had 10, including the 4 in the first book.

In any case, it seemed like a bit of light relief after Lord of the Flies.

Also, impossible for me to read J&W without visualising Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry as the main characters.

Bertie is our narrator in all but the last story (when Jeeves takes over), and the stories follow a pretty regular pattern, with Bertie trying and failing to get either himself or his pals out of some sort of scrape, failing dismally, and Jeeves saving the day (often at the same time taking the opportunity to score a minor victory over Bertie regarding his sartorial selections - the choice of a suit, tie, shirts etc.). Bertie reveals himself to be a complete duffer, but is too much of a duffer to realise it, and it is all splendidly 'topping' stuff.

Three questions do slightly niggle:

1. Several of the stories in the book are published in 1916 and 1917, but the war doesn't get a single mention. Did it really not impinge upon the consciousness of the upper class man about town? (A quick bit of research reveals that Wodehouse was ineligible for military service due to poor eyesight and was in the US throughout the war.)
2. Bertie seems to have a large family, including lots of aunts. However, whilst family seems to be important, no mention is ever made of his parents. Where are they, what happened to them?
3. Bertie does not have a job, and clearly has no intention of ever getting one. He is clearly a very well off young man. Where does all the money come from? Presumably he has some form of inheritance, legacy, or is in some way the benefactor of some sort of family dynasty, but it is never mentioned. (Money is such vulgar stuff, dear chap.)

One other minor point. How on earth did a duffer like Bertie get into Oxford? Different times, different times. :)

Flat

Jake's been on a recce to Woking to look at some flats. There's a possibility of living with a friend (who is working there) for his final year at uni. However, he's discovered that estate agents take flattering photographs, and the reality didn't quite live up to expectations. So, maybe not.

League

What seems like a very long time ago now, back in August, Jake and I made our predictions for the 2019/20 Premier League. Today was the last day of the season, and so we've been able to see how we did.

We decided that the scoring system should be zero points for getting the league position exactly right, one point for being one out, two for two out, and so on, and that the lowest score would win.

I got 68.

Jake got 70.

Victory - just!

In other news, more painting has been taking place, this time of the garage door. Nicky's previous paint job had rather faded back to brown, and so a new coat of grey has been applied. See below for the before, during and after. (The during is the most convincing picture, and from the before and after photos look suspiciously similar - must be the light - they are definitely different!)

Flies

I'd read the first two chapters of Lord of the Flies before finishing P&P. I was supposed to read it about 30 years ago, when doing my GCSE English, and I think that may well be about as far as I managed that time around. It is one of life's great mysteries as to how I wangled an 'A' grade, despite this. I polished it off today - it's not actually all that long. It is, however, pretty brutal stuff, given that the boys start killing each other, and end up on the rampage, determined to hunt down and kill Ralph.

I'm sure I could have lots of fun writing GCSE essays about it now (oh the irony - Ralph, determined to keep a fire going so that there is a smoke signal and they can all be saved, despairs because the savages can't be bothered, and just want to hunt and have fun. Then he has his life saved because the savages set the entire island on fire to smoke him out and kill him, and it is the smoke from this fire that attracts attention from a passing boat.)

And which of the children do I identify with most - Simon and Piggy. And what happens to Simon and Piggy - they both get killed. Oh dear.

Neither of them natural leaders or charismatic characters - that tussle is being fought out between Ralph and choir head boy (ha ha) Jack (who turns up at the start with his choristers in procession and starts off referring to them as the trebles and the altos, although that is pretty soon forgotten) - both Simon and Piggy have some endearing qualities:

Simon - loyal (pretty much the only one who sticks around and helps to make the shelters) and brave (is the one who actually goes up the mountain and finds out what the 'beast' actually is). Needs to go off by himself from time to time, either because he is a bit of a loner, or perhaps because he is aware of his illness and doesn't want the other boys to perceive a weakness in him - he clearly has some form of fit delusion (is he epileptic?) - hence the experience of talking to the pig's head - the 'Lord of the Flies'.

Piggy - initially trusting and immediately betrayed (foolishly telling Ralph the nickname he dislikes, and is then saddled with it forever - so much so that I can't even remember if we find out his real name). However, the most intelligent of the boys by far, realising that some form of organisation is needed if they are going to get through their ordeal. His very first suggestion is that they should have a roll call, and know how many they are and who is who. He is assigned the task, but given no opportunity to do it properly. Similarly, he is the one who points out the need for proper shelters. He has the one thing that the community needs, the ability to make fire (the lens in his glasses) and it is taken roughly from him. A terribly poignant moment occurs within the last couple of paragraphs of the book. The navy officer has found Ralph on the beach, and has asked how many boys there are on the island, and Ralph has admitted that they don't know. The officer says, "I should have thought that a pack of British boys would have been able to put up a better show than that".

And finally:

"The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. ... Ralph wept for the end of innocence, for the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy."

 

Pride5

I've finished Pride & Prejudice! What's more, I'm pleased to be able to say that I've read it, and a good book it was too! Whether I would put it right up there in terms of pure enjoyment factor I'm not sure, but no doubt that is to significantly fail to appreciate its importance, given when it was written, who it was written by etc etc

(Mind you, when these 'best book' lists are compiled, who gets asked, and what are the criteria? Do they ask professors of literature which books should be read for their cultural and literary significance, or do they ask people who enjoy a good read what they have actually enjoyed?)

Anyway, to wrap up the story, just as things appear to be progressing at Pemberley, Elizabeth is called away by a family emergency. News reaches her that her errant sister Lydia has disappeared from Brighton with Wickham, Mrs Bennet has taken to her bed, and the household is in turmoil. Mr Bennet has gone to London in search, but without much hope of tracking them down. Elizabeth rushes back with her aunt and uncle, and Mr Gardiner is dispatched to London to assist Mr Bennet.

Mr Bennet, being fairly hopeless, comes back home, and leaves Mr Gardiner in charge of the search. Eventually news reaches them that Lydia and Wickham have been tracked down, and an arrangement has been made for them to be married in London. It seems as though Gardiner has done his family a massive favour by settling Wickham's debts, and clearing the way for them to be married.

Lydia, shameless one that she is, appears at Longbourn soon afterwards with her new husband, and makes as though nothing terrible has happened. They are passing through on their way to Newcastle, where Wickham is to be stationed, having joined the regular army. Lydia lets it slip to Elizabeth that Darcy was in London and at the wedding. Elizabeth is puzzled, and gets the secret out of her aunt that Darcy had come to London, and he was the one, not Gardiner, that had tracked down Wickham, and he was the one who'd cleared his debts. Elizabeth can't help but wonder why Darcy would do such a great favour, and without any credit, for her family.

Bingham returns to Netherfield (with Darcy), and Bingham and Jane sort out their star-crossed lover challenges and get engaged.

Then, oh happy day, we finally get to chapter 58.

Darcy and Elizabeth find themselves out for a walk together. All doubt is put behind us, and Elizabeth and Darcy finally share their true feelings.

From that point on, we are simply wrapping things up. In fact the last chapter (61) is very much an epilogue, letting us know what happened to the rest of the family, and some of the other characters. When it comes to the rest of the family:

• Mrs Bennet carried on being batty
• Mr Bennet missed his favourite daughter Elizabeth and liked to visit her at Pemberley
• Jane and Bingley moved to an estate not far from Pemberley
• Kitty improved, out from Lydia's bad influence
• Mary stayed stuck at home with her mother
• Lydia and Wickham struggled, trying and failing to sponge off Elizabeth.

   

Beetle

Rachel Joyce's new book, Mrs Benson's Beetle is out today. Last time she had a new book published, I was able to go to a signing event (Waterstones Tottenham Court Road), listen to an extract, and get a signed and dedicated copy. I even took along a copy of Queenie, and we had a little chat about the ending, me admitting to how upsetting I found it.

Book launches have moved online for the time being, and so I joined a Zoom event today to listen to Rachel talking with her husband, from home, about the new book. My signed copy should be coming in the post some time soon.

Swan

An evening at the Swan, another proper meal out, this time with friends. What a novelty. Food excellent, and good set menu too (£22 for three courses). Hopefully C will have some better news on the job front soon.

Pride4

Picking up where we left off, and Elizabeth bumped into Fitzwilliam out walking, and he let it slip that in conversation Darcy had explained to him how he'd recently done a friend a favour by saving him from a disaster of a marriage. Whilst no names were mentioned, Elizabeth assumed that her dear sister Jane was being referred to, and this made her blood boil. With rather bad timing, almost immediately after this had happened Darcy himself was back round to the parsonage, and it was at this point he chose to finally unburden himself and explain that he was madly in love with Elizabeth and that he wanted to marry her. Unfortunately, he went on to explain that it was all against his better judgement, and that he was in love with her despite all of the hopeless faults of her family. Given that she already wasn't feeling too good about Darcy in light of the news from Fitzwilliam, plus the fact that he was a swine to Wickham, hearing that he was in love with her despite her having a rotten family wasn't the clincher Darcy was hoping it was going to be.

Elizabeth told him to shove right off, and to quote: 'I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.'

Darcy left, and was due to leave to go back to London the next day. Just before going he gave Elizabeth a letter. In it he sought to explain the two main charges against him - that he wronged Wickham, and that he put Bingley off Jane. Initially Elizabeth was pretty convinced as to his argument about Wickham, as it turns out that Wickham was a waster and the one with the gift of the gab who has been sponging off Darcy. On further reflection, she realised that it has most likely been an honest mistake with Jane as well, with a misreading of Jane's reticent character by Darcy.

Shortly afterwards Elizabeth went home, collecting Jane on her way, and for a short time all of the family were reunited a Longbourn, but the youngest sister was soon off to Brighon, chasing after the soldiers who had decamped in that direction. Elizabeth was soon travelling again as well, with her aunt and uncle (the Gardiners). Their plan had originally been to have an extended summer holiday in the Lake District, but because of a delay caused by the Gardiners, they ended up travelling to Derbyshire, where by happy chance, Darcy's home, Pemberley, was to be found. As the Gardiners had some connection, they called in for a visit, although to Elizabeth's great relief, Darcy himself was away on the day of the visit. By this time, and after much reflection, Elizabeth's feelings for him had changed considerably, and she regretted the way in which she'd spoken to him previously.

To Elizabeth's great surprise, Darcy appeared at Permberley during their visit, and to her even greater surprise, was nice to her, and the visit was extended with invitations of further meetings for her and her relatives. The rest of Darcy's party arrived the next day, including Bingley's sister (clearly something of a love rival), but clearly seeing more of Darcy in his natural habitat, the more appealing he'd become. 

Test

England win a Test Match! Always worth recording. Two test matches in a row go to the final day, Windies win the first one and we win the second, and so all to play for in this three match series ...

BTTF

Earlier in the year we did pretty well at going to the cinema. Within the space of the first couple of months we went to see Jojo Rabbit, 1917 and A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood. Then everything shut, including the cinemas. Well today, we were able to go out to enjoy a film. Not a new one, and not to a cinema, but we still had a pretty good time, seeing one of my all time faves!

As an aside, I really ought to do a post one day about all the little links in BTTF - they really appeal to the inner nerd!

Fence

A fence working party was established, and look what we have achieved!

Pride3

Turns out I was right. Another marriage proposal followed hot on the heels of the first.

Elizabeth's best friend, Charlotte, heard about the first proposal (from her friend), and whilst doing the friendly thing and keeping Collins out of the way ending up snagging him for herself. Elizabeth was mightily confused as to why Charlotte would accept a proposal from a berk like Collins, but Charlotte had made a pragmatic decision about her future. She would be, with Collins, under the patronage of Lady Catherine for the time being, plus he stood to inherit the Bennet estate in due course. Collins and Charlotte were duly married and off to live at the parsonage (in Kent).

Mrs Bennet was not pleased at this turn of events.

Meanwhile the Bingley household had suddenly decamped to London, leaving Netherfield empty. Also leaving Jane in a quandary as to Bingley's feelings for her - was it just a passing interest, soon forgotten, or were the feelings deeper. Elizabeth tries to keep her spirits up, but it's a struggle - as always not helped by Mrs Bennet. Mrs Bennet's sister comes to stay (who seems a much more sensible person than Mrs Bennet herself), and Jane goes to stay with her in London for the good of her health. Jane has been keeping up a correspondence with Caroline (Bingley's sister). Having initially become good friends, Caroline is at pains to emphasise Darcy's sister's suitability for Bingley, and then becomes distant, not wanting to see Jane when she is in London. Methinks subterfuge of some sort.

Elizabeth goes on an extended visit to see her friend, the new Mrs Collins, installed in the parsonage in Kent. Relations were a little strained by correspondence, but seem to improve between them once they are back together and Elizabeth appears to have come to terms with Charlotte's choice. Lady Catherine (surprise, surprise) turns out to be a bully and a bore, and essentially keeps Collins as her willing plaything, to amuse when she's nothing better to do.

To spice things up, Lady Catherine's nephew, Darcy, arrives for a visit whilst Elizabeth is there, along with his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam. Fitzwilliam seems like a nice chap, and he and Elizabeth get on well (oh dear - another distraction). However, it what may turn out to be a critical moment, Darcy comes over to the parsonage, and finds only Elizabeth there. They have another awkward conversation, full of pauses. Elizabeth recounts this to Charlotte later, and Charlotte even makes the following suggestion: 'My dear Eliza, he must be in love with you, or he would never have called us in this familiar way.' However, once they talk further they concluded that it must just be because Darcy was bored at Rosings (Lady Catherine's place), and needed something to do. Oh the frustration!

Finally a quote from Elizabeth from a few chapters back that appealed:

'There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think really well. The more I see of the world, the more I am dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.'

Indeed!

Sleep

I've successfully managed to record from the Clavinova onto a USB stick, to transfer onto the computer, and to convert the file type into one compatible with Flickr (essentially an audio only video file). Then the plan was to upload it to Flickr and post it here to listen to, but I have fallen at the final hurdle - when uploading to Flickr, I get the message that the 'video is being processed' but nothing further happens.

This is extremely frustrating.

My music will have to wait for another day!

Peak

We have booked a holiday.

OK - a bit of an exaggeration.

We have booked a 'mini-break'.

Still - exciting news, as somewhere new for us - we are going for a few nights next month to the Peacock at Rowley.

Pride2

Things have moved along. There's been another ball (at Nertherfield), and a proposal of marriage. I can't help but get the feeling there will be more of both of these things before the book is finished.

Anyway, before getting too far ahead of myself, the key developments since last time really revolve around the introduction of new characters - Collins and Wickham.

Firstly Collins - it turns out that as a result of a rather arcane arrangement in Mr Bennet's will, his estate must be passed to a male heir, and so cannot go to any of his five daughters. Mr Collins, his nephew, now a clergyman under the patronage of a Lady Catherine de Bourgh (who we later discover by coincidence is Darcy's aunt) lives some distance away, and is not well thought of by Mrs Bennet due to what she considers to be his unfair claim on her husband's estate. Collins comes to visit, and turns out to be a bit of a wally. However, he has what he considers to be a cunning plan, namely to marry one of the daughters and thereby keep the estate more closely 'in the family'. Mrs Bennet thinks this a splendid idea and is won round. (On the whole we tend not to hear much about what Mr Bennet thinks.) Collins makes a fool of himself at the Netherfield dance, and then makes even more of a fool of himself when asking for Elizabeth's hand in marriage, thinking that she is being charming and coy, when she is flatly refusing his proposal.

And secondly Wickham - the younger Bennet sisters, Kitty and Lydia, are keen on a man in uniform, and like to go to town and chat up the soldiers who are based there. On one occasion they take Elizabeth along and she meets Wickham, recently arrived to join up. They spend the evening deep in conversation at her aunt and uncle's house, where it transpires that Wickham and Darcy have a long and complicated past. Apparently Wickham's Dad worked for Darcy's Dad, and Wickham and Darcy grew up together, almost like brothers. There was an understanding that Wickham was to be looked after by Darcy's father's will, but something went wrong, and now there is significant ill-feeling between the two, and we are left with the clear impression that it is all Darcy's fault. Anyone who is anyone is at the Netherfield ball, but Wickham is conspicuous by his absence, conveniently having business to attend to elsewhere. Darcy and Elizabeth dance together, but it is frosty. 

Pride

Included in my '100 book bucket list' poster is Pride and Prejudice. In fact, it seems to turn up pretty near the top of most of the '100 best book' lists, wherever you look. I doubt whether this is entirely Colin Firth's fault (although you can't help but wonder with some of the books on these types of lists whether they get a pretty spectacular boost from a solid film or TV tie in), and so I thought it was about time to give it a go.

To be clear, I've only just started, and am only a few chapters in. Fairly short chapters they are too - I thought that brief chapters was a Patterson-esque new invention for the modern page turner, but Austen packs 61 into P&P. Anyway, in the first five we've discovered that Bingley has moved in to Netherfield, and that this has excited the interests of the Bennet family who live nearby - first and foremost the interest of Mrs Bennet who has five daughters in need of a husband (Jane, Lizzy, Mary, Kitty & Lydia - I think - hard to keep track at this early stage). Sounds like Bingley is a decent enough chap, and has caught the eye of the eldest, Jane, who he danced with twice (golly!) at their first meeting. At the same event, we also meet Darcy for the first time, and he doesn't come across well at all. Whilst he is said to be a 'fine, tall person' with 'handsome features', he rather rapidly gets a comeuppance, and he is only 'looked at with great admiration for half the evening' until 'he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased, and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding , disagreeable countenance'.

The other striking thing, whether of the time, or of critical importance to young ladies seeking a partner, or whether for Austen herself, is that one of the first things we are told about both Bingley and Darcy is how much money they have got. In chapter 1, on finding out someone is moving to Netherfield, Mrs Bennet says it is a 'young man of large fortune', and no sooner have we found out that his name is Bingley and he is single, we are told 'four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!'. Similarly in chapter 3, three lines after seeing Darcy's name for the very first time, we discover that he has 'ten thousand a year'. Quite how this gets into circulation so quickly is a bit of a mystery, but maybe it was common at the time. Just for the record, and because it's hard to reckon with, I went to the Bank of England's inflation calculator, and £10,000 per year in 1812 (when P&P is set) is the same as just over £700,000 now. So, Darcy was a wealthy man indeed. I wonder where all that money came from? (Inheritance, empire, industrial revolution ...).

Anyway, more to follow ...

4yrs

WDW is gradually opening back up again. We've been keeping an eye on the news with interest from various social media streams that we follow, and it seems like reopening has been going smoothly, albeit to mixed reviews. Capacity is clearly significantly down, with low wait times for rides (although whether that is because people are choosing to stay away, time will tell), but the folks at Disney must feel that the timing is really unfortunate. Having set out their reopening plan some time back, no doubt they were determined to stick with it, but to have MK reopening on a day when new cases in the US were at a record high (over 60,000) with around a quarter of them in Florida, really didn't make for good PR.

Looking back, it is interesting to see, based on this post, that exactly four years ago, we had just arrived in Florida for the holiday to celebrate the end of Jake's GCSEs.  

Mirror

One of the big challenges about where we live is getting out the end of the drive. Whilst the speed limit has just reduced to 30 mph to the right, cars frequently come round the bend considerably faster, and you rather have to hope for the best when pulling away.

Nicky found a convex mirror online, and today we (with a neighbour's help) attached it to a lamppost on the other side of the road. Now we can see round corners, making for safer driving in the future.

Out

Amazing news - we've been out for a meal. I think that the last time we had a meal out of any significance was when we went to Hawksmoor in London (with Bec, Mark, Jake and Izzy) before going to see the Only Fools and Horses stage show. A quick check shows that was Saturday 7th March, so 125 days ago. That's quite a long gap!

This time it was just the two of us, and we went to Cafe Nucleus in Rochester, and had a lovely relaxing meal. They took our temperature on the way in, the staff were all wearing masks, and they'd spaced out the tables in their upstairs 'boardroom'. Other than that, it was all pretty normal, and the food was extremely nice. More importantly, it was great just to be out together for the evening!

Result

I refer back to this post from last month. After what in reality wasn't all that long a wait, but to those involved intimately probably felt like an eternity, the results are in, and let's just say that all is well, and I continue to be a very proud parent.

Matilda

I've read Matilda, inspired by the fact that it is on my '100 books bucket list' poster. Slightly surprisingly, I hadn't read it before. In fact, now that I come to think of it, I can only really bring to mind Charlie and Danny as racing certainties of Dahl children's books that I have read before. As I will happily go on at length about, Danny is one of my all time favourites, and I have read it several times. Sitting here typing this, I can very easily call to mind Danny, his father, their little caravan, and their adventure in the woods. Now there was a wonderful story.

So, how did I feel about Matilda? Well, it was ok. Maybe there's a certain risk to coming to children's books for the first time as an adult (although aren't the best ones supposed to work for all ages). For me, Matilda wasn't the star of the show, and nor was the villain of the piece Mrs Trunchbull. No, the hero by some distance was the lovely Miss Honey. Again, maybe this says more about the reader than the book. Perhaps it evoked memories of being every so slightly besotted with one's infant / junior school teachers as a little boy!

(This post is a bit of a cheat, as I had parked it for updating later, as it was Wednesdays' post, awaiting update later, and I didn't actually finish Matilda until Friday.)

Solitaire

Solution

Treat

I couldn't resist, and decided that the new Hobbit and LOTR edition was too good to miss out on, especially when Amazon had it for more that one third off list price, and so I treated myself. We'll gloss over just how many copies I now own, but I thought this one was rather special.

 

Pins

Jake has been having a bit of a sort out of his collection, and a mighty fine one it is too. To support the sort, I've taken some pictures of the pages from his albums, and created a virtual album on Flickr in the hope of minimising duplication risk on future holidays. They really do make rather splendid memory makers, for all sorts of reasons. Collected over many holidays, and with many different themes (resorts, parks, favourite characters ...) I'm sure it will continue to be added to in future years.

30

Thirty years ago today, on 4 July 1990, England played West Germany in the semi final of the Italia '90 World Cup in Turin. Waiting in the final were Argentina, who had beaten the hosts on penalties the previous day.

The match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, and there were no goals in extra time, and so it went to a penalty shoot out, with England shooting first. Both teams scored their first three penalties (with Lineker, Beardsley and Platt finding the net for England). Then, horror of horrors, Psycho Pearce's penalty was saved and Germany scored their 4th, meaning England had to score their final penalty. Up stepped Chris Waddle and blazed it over the bar, and they were out.

Tragedy. Devastation. To have come so close, a generation after the '66 heroes.

And over the years, the story was added to the many, and became part of England football folklore, even immortalised in song:

And I still see that tackle by Moore

And when Lineker scored

The second of those lines refers to Lineker's equalizer in that match.

However, that's not what I remember the match for now, not what breaks my heart. It's the rash challenge by Gazza in the first period of extra time. The immediate realisation that the referee was going to book him, and what it meant. Having a picked up a booking in the second round match against Belgium, this would be his second, and hence he would miss the next game. The eyes started to fill with tears. Lineker tried to console him, and turned to the bench saying, "have a word". Maybe this was the turning point. Who knows.

I remember spending my 1990 summer holiday (and a pretty special one that was too) proudly wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Gazza in tears and the caption 'There'll always be an England'.

And here we are, thirty years of hurt later, but still dreaming.

Bad

The next book from the '100 book bucket list' poster selected for reading was 'Bad Science' by Ben Goldacre. Feeling a little bit dated now, as first published in 2008. At the time it may well have been necessary and urgent to point out some of Gillian McKeith's many failings, but in a way this seems a little redundant now as she's made a pretty good job of it herself since then. However, the principles still apply, and certainly if ever there was a time when we needed the media to step up be responsible for reporting science stories carefully and with balance, it is now.

Fail

A cunning plan this evening, involving tagging along with a trip to the supermarket, as said supermarket had very recently opened a new 'home' annex which was believed to include a book section. So, off we went, arriving at about 8.15. Sure enough the supermarket was quiet and easy to get the few things we needed. However the shutters were down on the home annex, having closed at 8:00. I miss browsing in bookshops.

Half

Well what a first half that was. 

I look back at the blog and see that I managed to post for January this year (typical New Year resolution stuff no doubt, but faded away pretty quickly in Feb! Shame really because it would have been good to have some holiday blogging from Miami and Key West, but I suppose we were just too chilled!), and it's interesting to see how delightfully normal life was with work, trips out for meals and to the cinema, travel for work, and so on. I guess in some ways that's the benefit of this blogging malarkey - you get to record the everyday stuff, and it is only in the looking back that it becomes special or important. Perhaps in a few years I might look back at entries from around now and it will bring back memories of the rather bizarre time we are all living through just now. 

100

We are told today that it is 100 days since the start of lockdown, when we were told that we should stay at home unless we were shopping for essential supplies, seeking medical assistance, or getting one form of exercise per day. We've moved a long way since then, albeit through some pretty painful times along the way. Gradually lockdown is easing with the opening up of some shops and other services, the ability to go out and to meet people, schools opening on a limited basis. More is to come with pubs and restaurants opening soon, but I think we could well have some more challenges as the changes take effect (look what is happening in the US with either not being socially distant or trying to do too much too soon).

Clean

A something of a post birthday treat, we now have clean, trimmed, and fresh-smelling dogs. How long the fragrance will last remains to be seen (especially as the weather is a bit miserable at the moment), but they certainly look smart, and seem to have enjoyed their trip to the parlour.

13

Thirteen photos (out of many hundreds I could have chosen) of a very special dog to mark a thirteenth birthday.

Comic

Nicky and I went out today, mostly as a need for some normality. After a week of glorious sunny weather, it rained, so we didn't go far, just for a wander along Rochester High Street. By the time we got there the rain had stopped, but I think that the poor weather, maybe along with the fact that actually not all that much was open, meant that it was fairly quiet. We had some takeaway lunch from Nucleus, and a meander and a look in a few shops. Nicky was pleased to see that Capture the Castle was back open, and strangely we ended up going in to a Comic shop down the other end of the High Street. I think we were drawn in by some entertaining backpacks they had in the window, but then we ended up chatting with the owners for ages, who turned out to be kindred spirits (love of the US, Disney, BTTF ...).

Yemen

Lead story on tonight's news.

Latest estimate - 1 million Covid cases in Yemen.

Latest estimate in a country ravaged by war where the infrastructure has been bombed and the people are already on their knees - mortality rate 25%.

(Official death toll as included in statistical reporting - presumably due again to lack of infrastructure - less than 300.)

Liverpool

Champions! And without kicking a ball. Liverpool have crossed the line thanks to Chelsea beating Man City, and they set a new record of securing the title with seven games still to play. Bizarrely, the earliest point in the season at which to win the title, but on the latest ever date - June 25th - the season should have been over weeks ago.

What a wait it's been for one of the biggest clubs in the world - 30 years between titles. Last time they won it, before it was even the Premier League, Kenny Dalglish was the manager, Alan Hansen lifted the trophy, and the squad was packed with legends from my childhood - Grobelaar, Barnes, Molby, Beardsley, Aldridge, Rush.

There's no question that Liverpool are a special club. It's hard to say exactly why, but they just are. Perhaps it's the loyalty of the supporters and the famous Kop. Perhaps it's the desperate sadness and tragedies they've been through as a club, and how they've shown great loyalty to each other trough the dark times. Perhaps it's the tingling feeling you get when you hear several thousand singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' at the top of their lungs. Then again, maybe it's an age thing. When I was growing up, Liverpool were it. In the period from 1982 to 1990, Liverpool won the First Division six times and were runners up the other three. Now that they've won it again for the first time, and by a huge margin (and somehow, irrespective of club loyalties, I couldn't be happier for them) I wonder what this group can go on and achieve?

Freak

So, having mentioned that Freakonomics was one of the books that I'd read, but 'before records began', and having it as one of the '100 books' poster seemed like an excellent excuse to get it off the shelf and read it again. It's one of those books that once started can't be put down, and combined with one or two breaks from my desk in the sunny garden, I found that it came and went in a day. Great stuff, and still brilliant reading about the reasons for the US crime reduction in the 1990s that no-one realised until they came along.

Sopel

Just finished 'If only they didn't speak English' by Jon Sopel. I have a signed copy, although amusingly mine was picked up second-hand and was dedicated to someone called John ("To John (good name!), Best wishes, Jon"). The book was written in 2017, in the aftermath of the Trump election victory, and so could be thought of as a little out of date, and in danger of getting lost in the sea of books that have come out during the Trump presidency, variously decrying and despairing at the disaster he has been. However, it was an excellent read (chapter on race particularly thought-provoking in light of recent events), and I may have to pick up his next one, A Year at the Circus (either look out for another second-hand hardback, should bookshop browsing ever be a thing again, or wait for the paperback to come out).

Poster

For Father's Day, one of my gifts (along with Tim Harford's new book) was a poster. On it are depicted 100 'bucket list books' for reading. I've read some of them already, but not very many. If I use official records (i.e. Goodreads since 1/1/11) then the official tally is nine, as follows:

• Notes from a Small Island
• Murder on the Orient Express
• The Great Gatsby
• The Old Man and The Sea
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Animal Farm
• Nineteen Eighty Four
• The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
• The Catcher in the Rye.

I have definitely read some more before then (Hitchhiker, Baskervilles, Freakonomics) but will go with this basis for recording, and start scratching off covers.

Will be interesting to see how I get on.

Fathers

Wingham