The World of Bec

That's all folks

2010-11-07T16:10:00.002Z

Well, I was quiet on here for a long time because of my course. But it is now nearly a month since I finished my course, and I just haven't had the interest to post. Having a break from blogging has made me realise my heart's just not in it any more, so I'm calling time on this blog.

I might create spin-off blogs in time, with more focussed themes, but at the moment I think I need a break. You can still follow my progress on my Day Zero list if you're interested, and if I do create new blogs I'll post details on here.

So this is bec, signing off. So long and thanks for all the fish.

Day Zero: Challenge 68

2010-06-19T11:30:00.004+01:00

Last night, instead of watching a rubbish England match, I managed to persuade hubby to go out for a meal! I'm very lucky!

Challenge 68 is 'Try a cuisine I've never eaten before'. It was always going to be tricky, as the most commonly available cuisines are ones I've tried before - Italian, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Spanish - and a lot of other cuisines are not so friendly for the veggies. But then I remembered a friend telling me about Bistro Saigon in Ilkley, which is a Vietnamese restaurant. So I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Vietnamese food is a lot like Thai which I really like, but I'm still counting it! I had vegetable spring rolls for starter, and sweet potato curry with sticky jasmine rice for main, both of which were delicious and very filling! The scariest bit was using chopsticks, which I haven't done in years and I never really got the hang of, but after a few drops I got the knack. The atmosphere of the restaurant was lovely, and the staff were very friendly. I would thoroughly recommend it.

As I complete Challenge 68, I add Challenge 86 (go on a RailRover holiday) - how neat is that?! Just 15 more to think of and then my list is complete. As ever, I'm open to ideas!

Day Zero: Update

2010-05-27T20:05:00.004+01:00

Well, I went quiet on here again, but that's not because I've forgotten about my Day Zero list - far from it! Here are some of the challenges I've completed recently:

Challenge 1: Buy something from Etsy - I love this website having only recently discovered it, and I hope to set up a shop over the summer. In the meantime, I bought a gorgeous screenprinted notebook from summersville for my best friend and a cute pencil case from funkydivadesigns for my goddaughter. Anyone who appreciates artistry and handmade items should look at this website. It has also led me to add another challenge - Buy something from Folksy, which is like Etsy's British counterpart.

Challenge 5: Write a letter to a friend - Written to my best friend for her birthday instead of a card. I cannot believe how hard it is to write a letter, I'm so used to e-mails (or worse, status comments on Facebook) that a sustained piece of writing was a real struggle! I must practise this art!

Challenge 14: Have a picnic - This one was completed quite by accident! We visited friends in Oxford at the weekend and as it was such good weather they prepared a lovely picnic for us which we enjoyed by the river. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon ...

Challenge 23: Make something out of Rachel Allen's 'Bake' - I bought this book mainly to just drool over the pictures, but I recently baked the rhubarb and strawberry version of the 30-day muffins (so called because the batter keeps for 30 days). They were absolutely scrummy and conquered my fear of baking muffins!

Challenge 25: Wear a skirt to work - not an easy task when you hate your legs as much as me! But with the mini-heatwave recently, I was forced to bare my pins on Friday and Monday (and over the weekend but I wasn't at work then!) and was shocked that I could hardly fit into one of my 'work skirts' any more. Just goes to show how long it's been since I wore it!!

I've also been making progress on some of the longer-term challenges, but will post about them when they're done. I only have 18 more challenges to think of before my list is complete - and I'm open to ideas!

Day Zero Challenge 70

2010-04-23T18:06:00.002+01:00

Choosing challenges with a set deadline turns out to be a good idea. Challenge 70 - Read the Manifestos of the three major parties before the General Election - is a good example of this. While everything else on my list I can do pretty much any time in the next two and a half years, I was on the clock with this one. And it turned out to be not as easy as I thought.

I don't know why I expected a manifesto to be short but I did. Well I was wrong: Labour's manifesto was 76 pages, Lib Dem's was 57 and Conservative's was 113. That's a lot of reading. But when I've voted in previous years, I've always felt guilty for not knowing what the parties really stood for. Now I've read all three manifestos, I may not understand all the policies but at least I know them.

This challenge hasn't helped me choose who to vote for, I already knew. But it has confirmed that decision. There was one manifesto that stood out as being clear and understandable and that had policies that made me smile. It also happened to be the manifesto with the least backbiting about other parties. I won't say whose it was - you'll have to read them and see if you agree!

Day Zero

2010-04-02T20:36:00.006+01:00

Sometimes serendipity throws good things in your path. The other day I stumbled upon Day Zero, a project whereby you make a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. Recently I've been feeling like I'm not achieving anything fast. Despite doing my OU course (which is giving me a greater sense of achievement in my life) there was still something missing. But this project has captured my imagination, and might well give that sense of purpose I'm looking for. My list is here, and combines study goals with crafty tasks, baking tasks, environmental/ethical tasks and many more. So far I've only got to 62 items, so if anyone has a suggestion do let me know!

I will post on my blog whenever I complete a task from my list, so you can follow my progress. If you want to.

Update

2010-03-30T18:41:00.003+01:00

I told you it would be a while! Nearly two months into my course now and about to submit my second assignment. It's been intense - I've studied 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Frankenstein', 'Great Expectations' and 'Fathers and Sons', and learnt a heck of a lot of literary theory about the Realist Novel too. Sorry, I can almost hear my readers snoring. Except for the fact that I probably don't have any readers.

As you can imagine, I've had very little time for anything else. Knitting etc has ground to a complete halt, except for my occasional attempt to unravel the disaster cardigan so I can put the yarn to better use when I have time. I've been reading lots (obviously) but don't have tme to review what I'm reading any more, plus it's mainly textbooks. As for being green and ethical ... well, I'm trying to keep up with what I was already doing but I'm afraid I've not added much new to my Generous repertoire.

In cat news, Millie had to have an operation recently so we had the joy of listening to her lick the inside of a cone for nearly two weeks while her stitches healed, but she's fine now. Expensive, but fine.

Well, I don't really have any other updates. Next in my course I will be studying Romantic Writings, mainly poetry. Wish me luck!

Holding page

2010-01-12T19:41:00.003Z

Sorry I've not blogged much recently, but I'm afraid that's the way it'll stay for a while. I recently enrolled on an Open University course and, despite the fact that it hasn't even started, I'm already drowning in preparatory reading. I'll try to check in every once in a while, but updates will be few and far between!

200 word review: 'The Complete Polysyllabic Spree' by Nick Hornby

2009-12-12T15:33:00.001Z

I once saw a picture of a girl wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a girl wearing a t-shirt with … you get the idea. This is the literary equivalent – a review of a book of reviews!

I didn’t enjoy Hornby’s 31 Songs but I don’t hold a grudge (usually) so I thought I’d try The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, and I’ve warmed to Hornby again after reading it. This book is witty, honest and interesting – his breadth of reading is quite impressive (no matter what his self-effacing comments would have you believe). But you don’t need to read any of the books he discusses to enjoy it. There were only one or two I had read, and I doubt I’ll read many others, but he has such an accessible way of writing about books that I didn’t feel excluded. He is honest about his flaws, too – he admits to preferring some genres to others, and struggling with long novels. So many reviewers won’t admit to any bias, it’s refreshing to read somebody who lays his biases on the table.

Lesson of the day: just because you don’t like one book, doesn’t mean you won’t like anything by the author.

200 word review: 'Four Letter Word: New Love Letters' edited by Rosalind Porter and Joshua Knelman

2009-11-29T16:04:00.001Z

I borrowed this book from my local library mainly out of shock that they had it –a few months ago, I read an article about it in The Big Issue so I was surprised to see such a current book. It’s a collection of fictional love letters from modern authors, some more famous than others but all with excellent literary credentials.

The problem with collections like this is that there are always bits you love and bits you hate. Some of the letters really caught me – some were endearing in their innocence, others deeply moving, and others simply entertaining. But there were a few that were just a bit, well, smutty for my tastes. Maybe I’m a prude, but a number contained crass references which didn’t seem to have much to do with love.

The variety of letters represents well the depth and diversity of love. There were examples of love for someone (or something) other than a lover. Many letters expressed the pain of love gone wrong. Some were historical, others current (one based on Hurricane Katrina almost had me weeping on a commuter train). Overall, this is a generally enjoyable book which effectively shows all areas of love.

Generous Journal: Catching up

2009-11-14T14:08:00.005Z

I've been rubbish at blogging in general, but my Generous Journal has particularly suffered. That's not to say that I haven't been plugging away with my efforts to live more generously and more greenly; here's a few things I've been up to:

Now, I'm really not a 1950's housewife despite what my craft habit would have you believe, but ... I've got into baking recently! It's so satisfying to bake your own cakes and biscuits rather than buying them from the shop, and it means you can ensure the ingredients are ethical. I only use free-range eggs and try to use Fairtrade/organic chocolate and cocoa where possible. I've also found the best way to use up over-ripe bananas - Banana Bread! And not being wasteful with your food is very important, particularly with bananas - if you're going to fly something halfway across the world, it's not very good if half of it ends up in the compost bin. Here's an example of my yummy Banana Bread:

Mmm. Baking is also good for warming up the flat a bit whilst still using the heat for something else. The weather has suddenly become very cold here, so we need as many opportunities to heat up as possible. Now I have to admit we are using our central heating (I know hardened eco-warriors would string us up for that!) but we are trying to find ways to avoid it where possible. When I'm watching TV in the living room, if I get cold I'll cover myself in a throw. I'm layering as much as possible - I've even bought thermal vests!! And we're trying to eat warming meals like soup and casseroles. Our biggest problem is our bedroom though - easily the coldest room in the house, and that's where you really want to feel snug! We might have to rearrange furniture to see if there's any way of maximising the heat, but I don't like change!

Another Generous thing we've done recently is join Freecycle - and I've been waxing lyrical about it since! We've already got rid of a mirror and a cat feeder that were taking up space with minimal effort, and we managed to get a new lid for our compost bin too (the old one blew off in the gales a few weeks back, despite being very difficult to take off - that's how bad the weather is!) It's incredible what people give away on there, I've seen double beds and freezers listed, so check your local one out!

Our veg-growing has now stopped for winter, but hubby has planted cauliflowers for next summer. He's also been reusing stuff creatively in the garden - using our old broken bedframe to create a frame which, with some plastic over it, will keep our caulis warm over winter. He's also been cutting an old pair of fleece pyjamas and stuffing the sleeves with old socks today for use in the garden - don't ask me what they'll be doing, I'll just have to trust him on that!

The next Generous challenge is Christmas - I always try to make it as ethical and eco-friendly as possible, but it can be challenging. I fully intended to make cards but I'm not convinced I'm going to have time. We're cooking our own Christmas dinner this year (eek!) so we can be more conscious of the food we're buying. Other than that, the usual tricks of shopping locally and in charity/ ethical shops for presents, using gift lists so I don't end up buying wasteful, unwanted presents, and making what I can will come into play. Any more ideas for an ethical Christmas?

Stash Wars: Defeat?

2009-11-14T13:52:00.006Z

Ahh, just as I'm coming to the end of my stash, it all goes a bit wrong.

The tabletop sale I was preparing for in September didn't go too well. As well as the cupcakes and brooches I've posted about before, I also tried to sell these hairpins, catnip-filled toys and Christmas decorations:

Unfortunately, I only sold two things in three hours at the sale - a cupcake and a mouse. Not much money raised for charity then. I managed to double my sales last weekend when my Mum visited though - she bought a cupcake, a mouse and two stockings. I think she felt sorry for me.

As I had some green cotton left from the shrug I made recently, I used this to make some baby stuff - no, not for me unfortunately, but for a friend of my brother:

Soo cute! Unfortunately the socks turned out bigger than I'd hoped so they can't be worn with the top, but still, I think it's sweet. Still got some of the yarn left though ...

Speaking of my brother, he very kindly bought me some black Bluefaced Leicester as a belated birthday present, which I am shortly going to use to make myself some gloves as I've lost my old ones:

It's lovely and much appreciated as I am in dire need of some warm gloves, but I am a bit worried about how much I'll have left over.

Then came the biggest blow to my Stash War:

A work friend has been clearing out and found a bag of crocheting cotton, which she very kindly donated to me. I'm delighted with it - anything that will fuel my obsession with anything crafty is gratefully received, but I think we can safely say that the war is over and the stash won!! I am excited by this crocheting cotton though, mainly because I don't really know what you do with it. As you can see, it's been used to make a few doilies, but I'm not really a doily girl, so I'll have to get creative with it.

So there, I'm defeated. But hey, I couldn't have lost to a better opponent!

200 word review: 'Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad

2009-11-14T13:50:00.000Z

Something strange happened to me when I read Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ – I didn’t feel gripped by the plot, I wasn’t particularly interested in how it ended, and yet I couldn’t stop myself reading it. Something about the novel cast a spell on me, and without me even noticing, I was enthralled.

It is a story about a seaman named Marlow, who travels to Africa on trade business and embarks on a journey to find the mysterious ivory trader Kurtz. Marlow himself tells his tale to fellow seamen on a boat on the Thames as evening turns to night. This gives the whole novel a sense of gloom, and the growing darkness of the night is paralleled by Marlow’s journey deeper into the jungle. The identity of Kurtz is gently hinted at throughout, and even when he appeared I still felt that I had missed something about him. The whole novel feels unresolved, but deliberately so. The words ‘heart’ and ‘darkness’ recur like a heartbeat, alluding to something never quite revealed.

I wish I could write more than 200 words on this occasion, because this novel is a masterclass in narrative – subtle, yet engrossing, with quietly wonderful use of language.

Sorry ...

2009-11-02T12:21:00.000Z

... I've been a bit rubbish at posting recently. I actually have loads to post, but life is getting in the way. Watch this space for an update on my craftiness, my Generous journal and a review of Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' - as soon as I find the time!!

Blog Action Day: Climate Change

2009-10-15T20:01:00.003+01:00

On 24th June 2007, my first wedding anniversary, we were driving up from the West Midlands, having visited friends down there the night before. Our plan for the day was to stop off at Rother Valley Park on the way back up to Leeds and have a romantic stroll. But the driving rain scuppered that plan, so we went to Meadowhall, a huge shopping mall outside Sheffield. We window shopped, had some lunch in the food court, then headed home.

The next day, we watched footage on the local news of Meadowhall. The food court we had lunched in was underwater. We had driven through the start of the most severe flooding I could remember. The summer of 2007. It was the summer I realised that climate change was not a concept, and it wasn't happening gradually. It was, quite literally, storming in.

That summer, schools were closed, public transport was severely disrupted, and people were driven out of their homes. A whole area of the West Country couldn't drink tap water because the flooding had contaminated the water supply. This is in a developed country, with a relatively stable climate. If we can't cope with climate change, how are developing countries in more volatile parts of the planet meant to cope?

Some people say that humans aren't causing climate change. Others are saying it's too late to stop it now. But I believe it's better to try even against the odds, and if there's even the slightest chance that this is a man-made problem, we need to find a man-made solution. What do we have to lose by trying?

Coincidentally, I received an e-mail from Generous today. It didn't mention Blog Action Day or that the theme for the day is Climate Change. But it did talk about the simplest action we can do to help combat climate change - avoid using central heating. As I write this, I am guiltily aware of the warm radiator next to me. It's too late to try to push back the date we switch our heating on, but I am going to make a real effort this year to avoid putting it on. It's a little thing, but hey, what have I got to lose? Suggestions on how to beat the freeze will be gladly received!!

P.S. I didn't actually register for Blog Action Day because I was a bit worried about the security of the website, but I'm joining in the spirit nonetheless!

200 word review: 'Lesley Castle' by Jane Austen (Foreword by Zoe Heller)

2009-09-27T14:14:00.004+01:00

This is a collection of Austen’s early writings, including Lesley Castle, The History of England and Catharine, or The Bower. All three works were written when Austen was about sixteen years old – and will induce envy in any budding author.

Lesley Castle is a novel composed of letters, parodying a popular style of the time. The plot is a little muddled, but you can already see Austen’s use of characterisation and exposure of hypocrisy. The History of England is another parody, in which a, “partial, prejudiced and ignorant historian,” comments on the monarchs from Henry IV to Charles I. Despite the narrator’s self-proclaimed ignorance, it actually made me think about how well informed Austen must have been to comment on each monarch, when I struggle to remember who came between Victoria and Elizabeth II. In Catharine, a story of a young lady with little wealth or family connection who falls for a rather caddish young man, you begin to see the seeds of her later works and her most famous characters.

While these works are not of Austen’s usual standard, her knowingness and observational humour is so evident that it is hard to believe they were written by a teenager.

200 word review: 'Died in the Wool' by Mary Kruger

2009-09-17T21:14:00.001+01:00

‘”A body in a yarn shop.” He snorted. “Sounds like a bad mystery novel.”’

Well, I must give Mary Kruger credit – at least she’s honest. This is a bad mystery novel.

Ariadne Evans opens her yarn shop one morning to find an old, wealthy and unpopular lady on the floor, murdered with a garrotte made of her best friend’s hand-spun yarn. Nice. The detective who comes to investigate just happens to be handsome, brooding and a good cook. It couldn’t get much cornier – but somehow it does. The dialogue is cheesy, the constant descriptions of people’s appearance reminded me of creative writing lessons in primary school, and the whole premise just seemed bizarre to me.

It’s a harmless enough novel, a no-brainer that you don’t have to think about too much. But I’m afraid I’ve read better no-brainers. I’m sure that the combination of knitting and murder mystery would appeal to a lot of women, just not me. Perhaps I would have actually got caught up in the plot had I not accurately predicted the murderer about halfway through.

There is one good thing to come out of this novel, though – it inspired me to try designing a cardigan myself!

Next book review: 'Lesley Castle' by Jane Austen

Generous Journal: Carrot-Man and libraries

2009-09-12T12:44:00.004+01:00

Well, I've been very slack with my Generous Journal recently, but thankfully that doesn't mean I've become a materialistic, resource-eating monster. I've still been trying to live a Generous life, just with nothing remarkable to say about it. But here's a few things that have been going on recently. First of all, meet Carrot-Man:

Heehee! This was part of our (very modest) carrot harvest, we only had three others sadly. But we are inundated with potatoes (weeks after harvesting them!) and runner beans, and have had a good crop of broad beans with more on the way. I've just had a lunch including salad leaves from the garden, which needed a good picking because they were starting to grow out of control. We had a few very small onions so not much better than last year there. But all in all I'm quite pleased with our progress in the garden, especially when we have very limited space and poor, shallow soil. Our indoor dwarf chilli plants are also faring well, giving us an abundance of tiny chillis to dry for future use. They had a spidermite problem recently but that's sorted now. (Tip: If you get a spidermite infestation, which is noticeable by very fine webs on your plants, spray the plants with a hose until all the webs and tiny little beasties are gone. Sorted ours out.)

So we're doing well on the grow-you-own front, bringing down our average food miles nicely. What's great is that our families are also in on the act so we can get home-grown fruit and veg from them too - I'm currently trying to think of things to do with piles of plums and greengauges!

In other Generous news, I've been side-tracked from my library-going recently, partly because of a rather disappointing trip a few months back where I couldn't really find anything good. But today I went and found loads of books I'd love to read! So once I've finished my current book, I'm going to try to only read books from my local library until the end of the year. I would do longer, but I'm bound to get a book or two for Christmas. It's a start though, and I do believe in supporting local libraries as they're very important community resources.

I'll try to post more about Generous stuff ... maybe I should start a diary so I remember when I've done something interesting ...

200-word review: 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel

2009-09-05T14:50:00.004+01:00

I think I’ve lost my literary mojo. I should have liked ‘Life of Pi’. After all, it was the 2002 Booker Prize winner, and it’s extremely well written.

Yann Martel’s story of the childhood and coming-of-age of Piscine Molitor Patel, known as Pi, is best known as the book about a boy who gets trapped in a lifeboat with a tiger. This dismisses the fascinating part of the novel before the shipwreck, in which Pi grows up as a practising Hindu, Muslim and Christian. Not a theological standpoint I sympathise with, but interesting nonetheless, and vitally important to understanding the meaning of the novel. The bulk of the novel dealing with Pi’s time at sea is also beautifully written and, at times, engaging.

Despite that, I didn’t enjoy it. This may be because I am an animal lover with a strong sense of empathy, and some horrific things happen to animals. I also found much of the ‘at sea’ part tedious. That’s probably a literary effect to reflect the monotony of Pi’s life, but it was difficult. However, I thought the ending raised interesting ideas about belief and tolerance. But it’s definitely not a book I want to read again.

Next Book Review: 'Died in the Wool' by Mary Kruger

Stash Wars: Ceasefire

2009-08-16T15:23:00.003+01:00

I took a break from my Stash war to make myself a shrug to go with the vintage dress I bought a while back, and here is the final product:

I got the pattern from 'Let's Knit' magazine, it was originally meant to be knitted in red mohair but I absolutely love the way this yarn makes the lace pattern look all leafy:

The yarn is Rowan Purelife organic cotton in Chlorophyll. It's naturally dyed as well as being organic, and it's lovely and soft. So not only is it a pretty shrug, it's Generous too! Apparently it can't be machine washed due to the natural dyes but I'm always dubious about these claims so might knit up a swatch and chuck it in a washing load.

I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, it's by far the hardest thing I've ever knitted (lace on DPNs? Now that's sadistic!) but it's also the most wearable garment I've made to date and I think my version is actually nicer than the original! How modest am I?

Well, time to get back to the war. The tabletop sale is finally organised for 26th September so I'll be furiously knitting things to sell - I've started on little cat toys and may make some potpourri sachets that look like sweeties which I've seen in one of my books. Hopefully they'll sell, I'm starting to worry that nobody will like my little creations!

200 word Review: 'The Thrift Book' by India Knight

2009-07-24T19:46:00.002+01:00

This book should carry a warning: Only to be read by people without common sense. I thought it might teach me something new about saving money, but instead I discovered there are people who know considerably less than I do. And that’s not much.

If you need India Knight to tell you how to save money, I worry for you. What’s so difficult to grasp about using leftovers, making packed lunches and holidaying in Britain? Who needs telling to mend clothes, go to their library and buy second-hand furniture?

If the blatant stating of the obvious doesn’t annoy you, Knight’s constant references to London will push you over the edge. Why wax lyrical about the Eurostar and how it’s cheaper than a train ticket to Manchester, when some readers might be in Manchester? Add to this her rather snobbish rants (the section on weddings will get many people fuming) and you may need to take deep breaths to calm yourself.

There are some useful bits, but nothing I couldn’t have found online if I looked hard enough. Flick through this and write down the books and sites she recommends, but don’t waste your time or (more importantly) money on it.

200 word Review: 'Northanger Abbey' by Jane Austen

2009-07-12T13:43:00.002+01:00

Now … I love Jane Austen, and I don’t want to betray her but … ‘Northanger Abbey’ isn’t her best work. I actually had trouble concentrating on it, which rarely happens to me.

It is the story of Catherine Morland, a naïve young lady on her first trip to Bath, who becomes obsessed with Gothic novels and starts to imagine intrigue everywhere. As usual, Austen’s observation of character is not only spot on, but up-to-date too – I was reminded, embarrassingly, of myself as a teenager, waiting for spectacular things to happen to me. Perhaps teenagers don’t change, or maybe it’s just me (hopefully the former!) The other characters are painted with the wit you would expect from Austen.

The plot lets her down. It takes ages for anything to really happen, with a lot of tangents along the way, and when it does happen it’s not that interesting. Austen often seemed to rush her endings by bunging a few weddings in, and this is the most rushed and formulaic of them all, which leaves you feeling disappointed.

If you’ve read the other Austen novels, then read this for completeness. Just don’t start with it, she’s got much better to offer.

Next book review: 'The Thrift Book' by India Knight

The reason for my absence

2009-07-11T12:11:00.005+01:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Here's why:

Now I was meant to be posting updates on how the rehearsals went for this, but because my part isn't huge I didn't have many rehearsals for a long time, then they came in such a big glut that I had barely any free time! As you'll see, we've now done 2 out of 3 performances, and it's going brilliantly.

I've struggled with Mariana - I spent three months when I had few rehearsals trying to figure her out and going through several different interpretations, then when I found one I could engage with, the director said she'd already figured out a character for me, and it was totally different to what I'd worked out! Aargh! The final product is kind of a compromise between the two - I'm a bit of a 'thinky' actor and can't say a line in a certain tone without having a reason. One big stumbling block was the final scene, where she confronts Angelo. Some people thought I should play her with power because she knows she'll get what she wants (i.e. Angelo will be forced to marry her). My interpretation is that she doesn't just want him to marry her, but she wants him to love her, which is something he'll never do. So playing her with power when she has no power over the thing she truly wants was a real sticking point for me. I think I've found the balance ...

The first two performances have been a blast. Nerve-wracking, yes. Exhausting, both emotionally and physically, definitely (I have to kneel onstage for about ten minutes, which is longer than it sounds!!) But the harder it is, the more fun it is, and both nights I've walked on for the curtain call with a massive grin on my face, feeling like I've given it my all, so have all the other actors, and I'm proud of what we have all created.

Last night tonight, let's hope this post doesn't jinx it! I currently have what is either bad hayfever or the start of a cold, so tonight's Mariana will be red-eyed and snotty-nosed. Ahh well, maybe that could be a new interpretation!

The Big Read books - how are you doing?

2009-06-21T20:43:00.002+01:00

Ages ago, I posted a list of what was apparently the 100 best novels. I'm more than a little dubious about the list - for a start, it lists the Complete Works of Shakespeare, which predate novels considerably! It seems to be based roughly on the BBC's The Big Read list of 100 best books. So, to see how I'm doing, and maybe get my (few, or possibly non-existent) readers checking their total, I thought I'd do another post.

The rules are: put books you've read in bold, books you love in parentheses and books you want to read in italics:

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien

2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman

4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling

6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne

8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell

9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis

10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller

12. (Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë)

13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks

14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier

15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger

16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame

17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres

20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling

23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling

24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling

25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien

26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy

27. Middlemarch, George Eliot

28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving

29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck

30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson

32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez

33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett

34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl

36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute

38. Persuasion, Jane Austen

39. Dune, Frank Herbert

40. Emma, Jane Austen

41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery

42. Watership Down, Richard Adams

43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald

44. (The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas)

45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh

46. Animal Farm, George Orwell

47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy

49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian

50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher

51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck

53. The Stand, Stephen King

54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth

56. The BFG, Roald Dahl

57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome

58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell

59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer

60. (Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman

62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden

63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough

65. Mort, Terry Pratchett

66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton

67. The Magus, John Fowles

68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett (I think ...)

70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding

71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind

72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell

73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett

74. Matilda, Roald Dahl

75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding

76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt

77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins

78. Ulysses, James Joyce

79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens

80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson

81. The Twits, Roald Dahl

82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith

83. Holes, Louis Sachar

84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake

85. (The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy)

86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson

87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons

89. Magician, Raymond E Feist

90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac

91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo

92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel

93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett

94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

95. Katherine, Anya Seton

96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer

97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez

98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson

99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot

100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

Actually, I think I might be doing worse on this list than I was on the other one! Some surprising choices in there ... I doubt I'll ever read the whole list, especially since I have an aversion to Harry Potter and Tolkien, but 30 out of 100 is a bit rubbish! So, come on, anyone else out there doing better?

200 word review: 'Enduring Love' by Ian McEwan

2009-06-14T16:29:00.003+01:00

Almost all the reading I do takes place on public transport, mostly on the train to work. It takes a special book to make me read at home in the evening, and ‘Enduring Love’ is the first book to achieve this in months, maybe years. When I wasn’t reading it, I was so desperate to know what happened next I couldn’t wait until the next opportunity to get stuck in.

I already knew that Ian McEwan is a brilliant author, having read ‘Atonement’ years ago (one of the few books to make me cry uncontrollably), but I’d been warned that ‘Enduring Love’ was too dark for me. Dark it certainly is, but I’m glad I ignored the warning. A story about a man being stalked by another man that he met through a tragic accident, it is packed with suspense, challenges and twists. The most unsettling thing about the novel is the way it draws you into the mindset of Joe, the ‘victim’, then yanks you out and makes you question his actions, his views, even his motives.

This book had me thinking like a student again, and anyone who likes to be challenged by literature should definitely read it.

Next book review: 'Northanger Abbey' by Jane Austen

200 word review: '31 Songs' by Nick Hornby

2009-05-23T09:52:00.001+01:00

I had high hopes for this book. I’ve wanted to read it for a while, so was excited when I got it as a gift. I thought that, as someone who loves music, I’d find a book about songs interesting. Unfortunately, I feel a bit let down.

The problem is, while Hornby is a great fiction writer, his writing style in this book is a bit … well … pompous. He seems to sneer at other people’s tastes whilst regularly protesting that he doesn’t really know that much about music. A bit of a contradiction, methinks. In fact, the whole book is based on a contradiction. Hornby says very early on that people who like songs because they remind them of certain events don’t really like music. So how come so many of the short essays in the book talk about how songs link into certain periods in his life? Pot, kettle and black spring to mind.

There are some highlights. The two essays in which he talks about his relationship with his autistic son are honest and moving. Unfortunately, these were the only diamonds I could find in the rock. The rest I found a bit supercilious and smug.

Stash Wars: nearly there ...

2009-05-16T14:26:00.006+01:00

Remember the free yarn I got recently? Well, I used up the black and white ball a while ago with the potholder and I then got some inspiration for the pink and brown ball:

I made these for the tabletop sale that I seriously hope my church are still doing at some point, once I've sewn saftey pins on the back they'll make very pretty (in my opinion) corsages. The pattern is based on one in 'Stitch'n'Bitch: The Happy Hooker' by Debbie Stoller and I first used it to make my best friend a corsage as a birthday present:

I made this a while back but she only got it this week so kept it under wraps. I'm very proud to say that she didn't realise I'd made it at first! It's a very fiddly pattern but once I got used to it I found I could play around with the yarn combination and petal sizes. Not only have the pink ones used up around half a ball of the free yarn, they've also finished off my pink acryclic and used most of my cream acryclic. Great! That, combined with some more baby booties that I've knitted for a friend who's becoming a dad soon (he'll never find my blog so I'm safe!), means my stash now looks like this:

Getting there! It will be increasing shortly but not for long, as I want to get some yarn to make a matching cardigan for my beautiful new vintage dress. But hopefully I'll be able to rid myself of the last of my stash soon - only to build it up again of course!

It's vintage, baby!

2009-05-16T13:53:00.011+01:00

Want to be Generous with your clothes shopping, but can't find anything chic enough in the charity shops? Try vintage! When I passed my driving test recently, hubby offered to treat me to a vintage dress from The House of Rose and Brown in Saltaire, Bradford, and this is what I got:

Oh, yes, how pretty is that? It's 1960's and it makes me want to twirl and skip and be very girly! I dismissed it at first because I wasn't sure about the colour (I'm a brunette with a sallow complexion, whites and pastels don't always suit me) and thought it was a bit shapeless. But I tried it on anway and instantly fell in love. It's not shapeless - the empire line nips you in just below the bust (and the darts in the top part create the illusion that I have more bust than I really do!) and skims over all the bits you want skimming over. I'm going to wear it to my friend's outdoor wedding in August, but it looks great teamed with jeans so I'll be able to wear it more casually too. And it was only £36 - yes, you can get cheaper dresses in Primark, but will they last 40 years and look this good? I doubt it.

This was my first visit to a vintage shop and it was a little daunting. I get nervous in small shops when I'm the only customer, but the shop assistant was lovely - helpful, but not full on. It took a bit of rummaging to find things I liked but it was worth it. Here are a few tips I've gleaned from my first visit:

- Look twice. Of course, fashions have changed since whenever these clothes were made, so it can take a couple of looks for your eyes to adjust to the difference in style. I found nothing the first time I went round, but then I landed on three things I was interested in the second time.

- Try things on. In the shop I went to, everything was labelled with a guide size, but remember our shapes have changed a lot in the last half-century. I tried on a lovely maxi dress that was supposedly 8-10, which I am on top, but I'd have had to remove a few ribs to squeeze into it! Similarly, the dress I ended up buying looked too big at first, but when I got it on it was perfect.

- Think outside the box. I saw a couple of things that, with a bit of alteration (i.e. a raised hem), would look great, but I'm still on baby steps with my sewing so didn't go for them. It might be worth brushing up your sewing skills if you plan to shop vintage often.

- Visit again. I overheard the shop assistant tell another customer that they'd sold out of 1940's clothes the week before - such a shame, because I love that style. But it just goes to show that they'll have different things in every week, so I'll definitely be going again next time I want a treat! Don't be deterred if you don't find much the first time you visit.

I'm still a fan of charity shops and there's no doubt that helping a charity adds to the satisfaction of knowing you are reusing something that could have gone to landfill and saving resources. But for something a little bit special, vintage is a very chic form of recycling!

Stash Wars: Cupcakes and potholder

2009-05-05T09:25:00.004+01:00

For the last few weeks (maybe even months) I've been trying to use up my nasty acrylic yarn by making cupcakes. I've now run out of beigey-brown yarn so I'm almost done with the cupcakes for now, they just need buttons for decoration:

Don't they look good enough to eat? Well, don't - it won't taste nice and the thought of squeaky yarn against teeth does funny things to my spine.

I also figured out a way of using up one of the free balls of yarn I got recently - hubby mentioned that a potholder would be handy for the kitchen, so I found a crochet pattern in 'Stitch'n'Bitch: The Happy Hooker' and simplified it for my purposes:

Not the most exciting project, in fact it's really just a big tension swatch, but it used up some yarn I didn't know what to do with and it'll come in handy. Plus, it kinda matches our lovely new worktop. It's very different from the original pattern - that was made of two nearly-squares sewn together, but I only had enough yarn for one side. Plus the original had a skull picture on it - obviously, I had to simplify that bit slightly!

No stash update because, frankly, I can't be bothered getting it all out then putting it back again. But I think I'm making progress. Plus, I've started trying to learn to sew on a sewing machine passed down to me from my Godmother's mother - I'm really useless at it now, but I'm hoping I'll get better, I've got loads of fabric in my stash bag that I keep meaning to do something creative with!

200 word review: 'Friends Like These' by Danny Wallace

2009-05-03T14:10:00.003+01:00

This is a big hug of a book. I love Danny Wallace’s work, because it’s so honest and personal you really feel like you know him. Plus his adventures are so weird and wonderful that you want to join in.

‘Friends Like These’ follows Danny’s latest ‘stupid boy project’ as he tries to meet twelve friends from his childhood. Sounds simple enough? Not when those friends include a Fijian chief, a Japanese doctor, a German rapper and a journalist living in America. Danny travels the world to see these people in an attempt to deal with the prospect of turning thirty, but discovers much deeper meanings along the way. The book is witty, touching and, in places, movingly profound. It made me think of the names on my Facebook ‘friends’ list, and how many of them I would count as true friends, how many I could go for a drink with after years apart. Maybe we should all start our own ‘Face-to-facebook’ just like Danny.

The book is a reminder of what friendship really means – not messages and comments exchanged through cyberspace, but a connection that doesn’t fade with time. And it features a ninja. What more could you want?

Holiday to Galway

2009-04-13T19:30:00.004+01:00

OK, this doesn't come under any of the various categories I cover in my blog, but I had such a good time in Galway I feel I need to write a bit about it.

We travelled there by plane - I know, shock horror, I'm meant to be reducing my carbon footprint. Unfortunately my pocket won out - plane is cheaper, and so much quicker too. Plus, I'm pretty sure driving from Leeds to Holyhead, getting a whopping great ferry to Dublin then driving again to Galway would have incurred far greater carbon emissions than a drive to Manchester, a flight to Galway airport and another drive just up the road to our hotel. Plus, we flew with Aer Arann who claim to have 'the world's greenest aircraft' - which, if it was the one we went on, will be because it's so small it doesn't look like a real plane:

We stayed in the Western Hotel in Galway city, which was very nice. The staff were really helpful, the room was nice, and the breakfast was great! Our first night wasn't great, they had a group of what sounded like about a dozen staying who decided to spend the night shouting, singing and banging on each others' doors until about 5.30am - thankfully, they checked out the next day and after that we had no more problems!

Because the pound is quite weak against the euro right now, we couldn't really afford to do anything fancy, but we had a hire car so we did a lot of sightseeing. I know, I know, cars = carbon, but there was just no way of seeing all the beautiful landscapes without one, I really doubt public transport would have covered the areas we went to. We tried to make up for it by supporting the local economy - mainly by eating!

I don't think I've ever been as full as I was in Galway. We ate in the hotel restaurant on the first and last nights, and very nice it was too. In between, we ate at an Italian restaurant, a small cafe attached to a garden (which we didn't see because the admission fee was too much), a proper Irish pub, a little cafe by the coast in Lehinch (OK, we didn't eat, we just had hot chocolate to warm us up on a windy day) and a Spanish restaurant. Spoilt for choice! Everywhere we ate the portions were very generous, especially in the pub - I've never seen such a full plate! The garden cafe did organic, vegetarian food and the pub used locally sourced produce, so that's all good. It just goes to show how much variety there is in the area - we could have had Japanese, Chinese, Thai and lots of other cuisines in Galway city as well.

I really recommend Galway and western Ireland for a holiday. It is so beautiful, with lots of different landscapes to see, and Galway city is great for shopping, eating and probably drinking (not that I know, I'm practually teetotal, but there's plenty of pubs)!

Hmm, looks like I've put a 'Generous' twist on this post without noticing - perhaps it does fit into a category after all!

Stash Wars: Attack of the free but useless yarn!

2009-04-13T19:10:00.004+01:00

Remember I mentioned that my knitting magazine sent some free yarn? Well, I got it from my Mum's a few weeks back and here it is:

I don't like it. I'm not too keen on self-patterning yarn unless the colour changes are quite subtle, and I am mildly annoyed by the fact that nowhere in the magazine could I find information on fibre content. There were six patterns to accompany the yarns but I didn't much like them either (apart from the amigurumi cat, but I think that would look better in pure black, or another more catty shade). So I've been racking my brain as to what I can do with them. It would have helped if they'd both been the same colourway, two of the same would have opened up more options. But hey, I suppose I can't look a gift horse in the mouth - even if it does increase my stash.

I have been slowly stash-busting with little projects recently. Still working on the cupcake bottoms, probably have enough beigey-brown yarn for one more. And I've been making little pink flowers to put on pins and hairgrips:

As you can see, it's not reducing the pink yarn very quickly, I may need to do bigger flowers, or think of a big-ish project to use most of it up. Hmmm.

200 word Review: 'The Basque History of the World' by Mark Kurlansky

2009-04-10T09:37:00.002+01:00

I have always been interested in European minority cultures – as a child, I attempted, and failed, to learn Welsh. When I first heard of Basqueland (in a Spanish lesson, the teacher saying their language is as different from Castilian as Welsh is from English) I wanted to know more. So when my husband got ‘The Basque History of the World’ as a present, I was keen to read it.

The book gives a complete overview of Basque history, from Roman times right up to its publication in 1999. This approach could have created a very dry, dull text, but Kurlansky’s style saves it. He uses the story of this ‘non-nation’ as a way of exploring histories from all over Europe and beyond. He peppers the narrative with personal accounts, recipes and cultural details that create a sense of what ‘Basqueness’ is. The later chapters, dealing with the twentieth century, drag a little but can be vivid and surprisingly moving. His account of the Guernica bombing nearly had me crying on my commute.

If you are interested in overlooked cultures, this book is a quirky, informative and fascinating read which will teach you parts of European history you’ve never heard before.

I'm a bad blogger

2009-04-08T15:34:00.002+01:00

I've been rubbish recently, not a single post since 20th March! Oh dear ...

Well, I've been away since last Saturday but I'm now back home and not in work til next Tuesday (yay!) so should have time to knock out a few posts. Expect a new book review, a craft update, a write-up of my trip to Galway and maybe even a bit of Generous stuff (although I've been a bit rubbish at that lately - perhaps that could be the subject of that post!)

Crafty birthday treats!

2009-03-20T11:51:00.003Z

It was my birthday on Monday - boo, quarter of a century. I hate birthdays, bad things have happened around my birthday quite a few times so I'm always bracing myself for catastrophe at this time of year. But what did cheer me up was the big pile of pressies hubby got me! Including some Denise Interchangeable Needles which now pretty much complete my needle collection as they will serve me for all my circular needle needs, and this fab crochet book. I'd seen it in a magazine a while back, then my friend at work was leafing through a copy, and without even asking for it my hubby picked up on the fact that I wanted it and bought it for me! How sweet, and here was I thinking he ignored all my craft talk!

Current craft projects are little knick-knacks for the potential tabletop sale at church (although I've yet to hear when this is). I'm alternating between knitting the bottoms of cupcakes (I'll do the tops later, just want to see how many I can make after my last ball of beige yarn ) and crocheting little pink flowers. For the latter I've discovered the Magic Ring technique of starting crochet in the round, which is very handy indeed. I'm still mastering it though!

Songs in my Head recently

2009-03-17T21:42:00.003Z

(Is this the way to) Amarillo - Tony Christie (quality)

Avenues and Alleyways - Tony Christie

Islands in the Stream - the Comic Relief version

That dreadful Christmas song 'Neighbours' keeps playing, which make me want to bang my head on a table until it gets out of my head

That equally dreadful Diet Coke song that Duffy sings (Duffy, what are you doing?)

Songs in my Head recently

2009-03-13T15:28:00.002Z

'Ruby Tuesday' - don't know who by but not the Rolling Stones version, the whiney lady version

'Canned Heat' and 'Virtual Insanity' - Jamiroquai

That song from 'Slumdog Millionaire' again (haven't even seen the film!!)

'Just Because you Feel Good' - Skunk Anansie

200 word Review: 'The Unadulterated Cat' by Terry Pratchett

2009-03-09T19:33:00.003Z

Ahh, a bit of light relief! Normally this book would be a bit short and whimsical for my tastes, but after a heavy tome it was just what I needed. The title says it all – it’s about cats. Not any cats though, Real cats. Not pedigrees, not well-groomed fluffy things with long, saccharine names. Real cats chase cars, leave dead things in your hall and do their business in the neighbour’s garden.

Now, I don’t know if Millie is a Real cat or not – on the one hand, she has very few teeth, is a mishmash of different breeds, and will happily eat off the floor. On the other hand, she is an indoor cat, so can’t kill things or spoil people’s flowerbeds. Mind you, the book does say that, “Real cat is what you are, not what is done to you.” Maybe if we could let her out, she would be fully Real.

Anyway, I’m going off point. This is probably because the book is so short I’ve not got much to say about it – but I did enjoy it, and I think anyone with a cat that’s even slightly Real will find something to chuckle at in it.

200 word review: 'The Name of The Rose' by Umberto Eco

2009-03-05T08:13:00.001Z

Here are three words that inspire terror in me – Mediaeval Murder Mystery. I found mediaeval times the least interesting part of History at school, and I’m not a huge fan of violence and death either. So, when I was given this novel as a gift, I almost didn’t read it, but I gave it a go.

I can appreciate that this is probably a very worthy novel. According to the introduction, it’s a translation of a translation of a 14th century manuscript by Adso, who narrates the story of a series of murders in a monastery. It delves deeply into Church history and theology, and I’m sure someone who is interested in that would love it. Unfortunately, I'm not. I found the theological discussions dull and bewildering, I became frustrated by the amount of Latin in it (what’s wrong with footnotes to translate?) and I stopped caring who was killed or who was doing the killing because there were so many characters I lost track of who anyone was.

If ‘mediaeval murder mystery’ sounds like your cup of tea, who knows, you might love this. But if those words make you want to run for the hills, then don’t bother.

Songs in my Head - Weds 4th March

2009-03-04T14:29:00.001Z

'I'm in the Mood for Dancing' - The Nolans (oh yeah ...)

'Up All Night' - Take That (on the radio this morning)

'Wired for Sound' - Cliff Richard (distressing)

Songs in My Head - Sunday 22nd February

2009-02-22T14:48:00.002Z

'Islands in the Stream' - the Comic Relief version (it was on TV last night)

'Flashdance' (was also on TV last night on the same show - 'Let's Dance for Comic Relief' - which was far more entertaining than I expected)

'Ghetto Superstar' (that song from years ago which borrowed the tune of 'Islands in the Stream', so not that random a song)

Stash Wars: The beginning of the end?

2009-02-22T14:21:00.004Z

Well I got my doll assembled quicker than expected:

Isn't she cute? I altered the pattern a bit from what the magazine said, using cream instead of pink on her clothes, giving her black shoes and a funkier black hairstyle, leaving out some felt embellishments and a little yarn bag that, frankly, I didn't have the patience to make, and sewing her eyes on with black yarn instead of buying craft eyes. I also added the flower in her hair myself, using a bit of a pattern from 'Stitch'n'Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker' by Debbie Stoller. After making her I decided her name was Susie (although I'm sure that the future daughter she's intended for may change that!)

Here's what my stash now looks like:

Much more manageable. I've been told that my church may be having a tabletop sale to raise funds for refurbishment in May so I'm thinking of making some little trinkets to sell there, maybe some flower pins with the bright pink yarn, cupcakes with the beige and pastels, and possibly something clever and inventive with the blue ribbon, black mohair and leftover remnant of Blueface Leicester. That should reduce it a bit more.

But this isn't actually my entire stash - Mum told me that this week my new edition of 'Let's Knit' arrived, along with two balls of yarn. Yay, free stuff! I've no idea what it's like so I'll have to wait until I se Mum in a few weeks, but I'm sure the magazine will have patterns for it if I'm stuck for ideas.

Songs in my Head over the past few days

2009-02-20T20:57:00.002Z

'Two Ladies' from 'Cabaret'

'Bag It Up' by Geri Halliwell (deeply distressing)

That new U2 song (is it 'Get on your Boots'? It sounds way too much like Muse whatever it is)

That ' like a wink and a smile' song I had in my head the other day

'Gives You Hell' by All American Rejects

That song from 'Slumdog Millionaire' would I think I should hate but I actually love - don't know what it's called, it goes 'All I wanna do is ... and a ... and take your money.'

New scarf and new dolly!

2009-02-20T20:44:00.004Z

Well, I've been getting busy with my every-reducing stash recently! First I used the last of the gorgeous Bluefaced Leicester to make a funky scarf:

The pattern is from 'Let's Knit', a frankly brilliant magazine that my Mum gets for me and it's actually designed to go with the beret I made a while back and sadly lost somewhere between home and work one morning. The pattern had to be adapted as I didn't have enough to make it as wide as it should be, so this is a half-width version but I think it still looks good. I love the zig-zaggy pattern, created by short row shaping, and think it really sets off the beautiful yarn. I really recommend Bluefaced Leicester, I'm really sensitive to wool but wear this scarf load now and it rarely itches. And it's British!!

My current project which is nearing completion is from the same issue of 'Let's Knit':

It's an amigurumi doll, which is a Japanese crochet craze for making little creatures or people. I think this is probably bigger than your usual amigurumi piece but never mind. I just need to sew her together and then I have a brand new dolly - I just need to name her!!

I'm not sure what to do next, I'll post up a picture of my remaining stash after I've finished dolly.

Measuring Up

2009-02-17T20:35:00.002Z

I said at the start of the year that I'd do more blogging about my interests, acting being one of them. I actually did my degree in Theatre and Performance Studies, but moving to a new city made me shy about getting involved in amateur companies as I didn't know anybody. So last year I took the plunge and joined a local group and in December I acted for the first time in over four years. I'd forgotten how much I loved it, and now that I'm not acting with a view to making a career out of it (gave up on that when I realised I like routine way too much) I can appreciate being part of a play so much more.

We've just started work on 'Measure for Measure' - a brilliant Shakespeare play, one of his later 'problem' plays all about politics, morality and power. I studied it for my A-level in English Literature and loved it then, and the years haven't diminished my fascination. I've always loved Shakespeare and have wanted to be in one of his plays since I was 14 - so you could say I'm fulfilling a life ambition!

We found out the casting on Friday and I have the part of Mariana. She's a very interesting character, kind of a recluse after being ditched by her fiance five years before the play, yet she's still in love with him (and frankly, he's a nasty piece of work). I'm going to have to think hard to understand her, but hopefully I'll figure her out and will be able to do her justice. After all, a character who had a poem written for her by Tennyson has to be more interesting than she seems. She's not a huge part, but I'm hoping that'll free up my time so I can help out with production, I've never done any of that and really want to learn.

I'll keep putting updates on about how it's all going, so watch this space!

Songs in My Head - Tues 17th Feb

2009-02-17T12:20:00.000Z

'Mein Herr' from 'Cabaret' (watched it for the first time at the weekend, what a film!)

That one that's on 'Sleepless in Seattle' and goes 'We go together, like a wink and a smile'

'1, 2, 3, Shake your Body Down' - don't know who by or if that's the right name

Sorry ...

2009-02-12T20:41:00.002Z

... for my lack of posting. I was busy last week and I've been ill since Saturday so haven't felt up to blogging. Besides, having spent most of this week laid either in bed or on my sofa, I don't have much to say.

But - once I'm fully better and over the mountain of work I'm bound to face back at the office, expect piccies of a scarf I recently finished, perhaps some progress shots of my first attempt at amigurumi (crocheted toys, a Japanese style) and, of course, more songs in my head!

Songs in my Head - Monday 2nd Feb

2009-02-02T12:27:00.000Z

'Let it Rock' - can't remember the full name, something Rudolph?

'It's my Time' - the shockingly bad Eurovision song

'My Baby just Cares for Me' - Nina Simone (more of that please!)

Songs in my Head - Weds 28th January

2009-01-28T12:20:00.000Z

That 'Money in my Pocket' song, think it's by Daniel Merriweather but not sure, not certain that's the right title either

The Chris Moyles remix of 'Put a Ring on It' by Beyonce

A song that goes 'It's a wonderful night, gotta take it from me, it's a wonderful night, come on and break it on down' - anyone recognise it?

Songs in my Head - Tuesday 27th January

2009-01-27T12:24:00.000Z

'Boy Does Nothing' - Alesha Dixon (probably heard it on the radip - a guilty pleasure)

'Breathe Slow' - Alesha Dixon (I'm not obsessed, honest)

Au revoir

2009-01-23T08:53:00.003Z

Remember my funky beret? Well, it's warmed my head for the last time. I dropped it on my way to work on Tuesday and despite much searching I can't find it. It's my first experience of completely losing something I knitted myself and it's surprisingly upsetting. I was so proud of that hat, the knitting was quite complicated but I'd done it, I'd felted it to perfection (something I'm not good at) and I'd even used my sewing skills in it. All that work down the drain. Oh well, I'll just have to make a new one.

Right now I'm knitting another scarf, although I'm on my third attempt - I'm trying to make the rest of my Bluefaced Leicester last out so keep decreasing the width of the scarf so it can go a bit longer. I'll post a pic when it's finally done.

I'm also spreading my knitty knowledge - a couple of girls at the youth club I help run said they wanted to learn so last Friday I started teaching them. Not easy, I'd forgotten how hard it all seems to a beginner. I let them take away the needles and yarn to practise, so I'll have to see how they've done without me tonight!

Songs in my Head - Weds 21st January

2009-01-21T12:11:00.000Z

'Don't Leave Me This Way' - Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes/The Communards (singing the Harold Melvin version in class tonight)

The theme tune to 'Waterloo Road' (no idea why)

Songs in my Head - Wednesday 14th January

2009-01-14T17:11:00.000Z

'Just Dance' - Lady Gaga (that's gonna be lodged there until Radio 1 fall out of love with it, oh joy)

The Barack Obama song from the Chris Moyles show (no explanation for this)

'I am the Walrus' and 'Come Together' - The Beatles (can't decide which one to do in singing class tonight)

Songs in my Head - Thursday 8th Jan

2009-01-08T12:32:00.002Z

'Fire and Rain' - James Taylor (made me cry in singing class last night and is now lodged in my head, not good)

'I am the Walrus' - The Beatles/Jim Carrey interchangeably (might do this in my next class!)

'Disturbia' -Rihanna/'Dance' - Lady Gaga (still got my own little mash-up going on)

Songs in my Head - Wednesday 7th January

2009-01-07T17:19:00.002Z

'No Air' - Jordin Sparks (was on the radio and I hate it)

'Human' - The Killers (downloaded the backing track for a friend last night - and I hate it)

A bizarre medley of 'Dance' by Lady Gaga and 'Disturbia' by Rihanna (anyone else get those two mixed up?)

Songs in my head - Tuesday 6th January

2009-01-06T20:23:00.003Z

(Ooh Aah) Just a Little Bit - Gina G (I have no explanation for this)

Breathe Easy by some band like Blue (possibly because I have a slight cold and this song makes me think of Vicks)

Chasing Rainbows - Shed Seven (hubby has been singing this a lot so it's his fault)

Stash Wars: THE cardigan

2009-01-03T13:11:00.005Z

Yes, tis true, the cardigan is finished! Only it didn't go quite to plan ...

The pattern is from 'Stitch'n'Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook' by Debbie Stoller and is called the 'Go Everywhere, Go with Everything Cardi'. Those who have the book will know where I've gone wrong - it's meant to be waist-length! Because I was using yarn unravelled from a tired old jumper, I was very conscious of making sure I didn't run out because finding matching yarn would be practically impossible. So I knitted one of the front panels much tighter than the rest, so had to do the same with the other front panel and hope for the best. I could've redone the back too, but that would have taken ages and I was losing the will to live, so I tried to make it work. The result is an unintentionally cropped and slightly A-line cardigan which looks a bit wrong. Hey, it might work as maternity clothing in years to come! I'm still quite proud that I recycled the yarn though, the only bit I bought were the buttons. And it means I've reduced this pile of yarn ...

... to this ...

Not bad, eh? Although what I'll do with those oddments I've yet to work out. Otherwise, I've managed to reduce my stash from this ...

...to this...

Not a huge reduction, especially as I missed a couple of smaller balls out of the original picture and had that little transgression last summer when I bought the beautiful Bluefaced Leicester. But I'm going to work on reducing it even further now. Next project is a scarf made of said beautiful Bluefaced Leicester, then I might do a few novelty projects like dolls, cupcakes etc to reduce that nasty pile of acrylic. But no more big garments for a while, I couldn't face another one!

In other news, the Christmas fairy (i.e. my Mum) got me loads of needles for Christmas, so I now have almost a full set of single pointed needles, just a few chunky ones outstanding, hurrah! Even better is that Mum got them secondhand at a charity sale, so they're Generous needles too!

Belated festivity

2009-01-01T19:54:00.005Z

Just to prove I have been knitting recently, here's a picture of Millie getting into the festive spirit ...

See, as a break from knitting THE cardigan, I decided it'd be funny to make a Santa hat for Millie, so I got out my red and white cheapy yarn and figured out a pattern myself (clever me!). I like the way she wears it at a jaunty angle in this picture. There is a better picture of it, but it has me in a bathrobe in the background and that's just embarrassing. Anyway, I was going to post it before but couldn't work out how to get the picture off my phone, then forgot. Sorry that it's now a touch unseasonal.

The cardigan is coming along by the way, just not quite as expected. I'll explain when it's done and I can post a picture, but let's just say I'll be very careful about tension in future ...

New Year, New Ideas

2009-01-01T19:44:00.003Z

Happy New Year! Sorry for the lack of posting recently, but when you spend your working days staring at a computer, when you're on hols you want to avoid PCs. That and I've been busy spending time with hubby, knitting, buying kitchens and other fun stuff.

Anyway, my little break from blogging has made me rethink the blog a little. My most regular feature is This Week, which is an idea I nicked off Fi. Now, it works great on her blog because she's very dedicated (and has stuff to talk about) so she blogs daily, but as I can go for weeks without blogging about anything in particular, it's a bit like treading water. So I'm ditching it. But instead I'm going to add a new item which I can drop in regularly or randomly, dependant on my mood and time restraints. This will be 'Songs in my Head'. I frequently have a very strange mix of songs going round my head and, to stop me just confusing my office mates by telling them about it, it might be entertaining to note it down on here.

I'm also going to try and do a bit more blogging around my hobbies. The book reviews attract a lot of hits which is fab, so I'm keeping them, but I'm going to also try to write more (and post more pics) about my knitting and maybe also write a bit about acting and singing too. And of course I'll try to carry on my Generous journal (maybe even write it more frequently!)

I'd love to know the thoughts of anyone who reads my blog, so leave comments to let me know what you do and don't like!

200-word review: 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte

2008-12-24T09:34:00.000Z

I should have read ‘Jane Eyre’ years ago, when I performed a monologue based on an extract from the novel at two drama festivals, but I started halfway through to save time and soon gave up. I wish now that I’d stuck at it, because this is a brilliant novel, deserving of its status as a classic work of English literature.

A plot summary wouldn’t do the story justice. It takes place over at least a decade, covering the childhood and early adulthood of the eponymous heroine, and incorporates several different storylines, the most famous being that of her relationship with Mr Rochester. I already knew the story, having seen a couple of screen adaptations, but this didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the novel. The use of language is bewitching, particularly the distinctive Bronte touch of incorporating landscape, weather and superstition into the narrative as if they are all inextricably linked.

The only bit I didn’t like was the section about Jane’s time in Morton, which, while not superfluous, seemed to drag and detract from the far more interesting love story. Other than that, I loved the novel and will almost certainly read it many time in years to come.

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-12-22T16:18:00.001Z

... still knitting that cardigan! (Actually, reknitting part that I'd knitted far too big last time - it ain't gonna be done for Boxing Day as planned)
... reading 'Jane Eyre'
... watching Christmas TV and maybe 'Prince Caspian'
... overeating
... seeing my wonderful family (and hopefully hearing from big bro in South Korea)
... wishing all her friends, family and readers a very merry Christmas!

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-12-15T12:25:00.002Z

... not rehearsing! Yay!
... partying at various Christmassy do's
... reading 'Jane Eyre'
... trying to finish the cardigan, although it would appear I don't have enough wool :S
... watching something, I can't remember what Lovefilm sent us
... basking in the glory of having done all my Christmas presents (and worrying that I've missed someone!)

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-12-09T12:13:00.000Z

... reading past copies of 'Big Issue in the North' (had to return 'Jane Eyre' to the library so am reading odds and ends until I can get it back and finish it!)
... knitting the last bit of the cardigan when I have time
... either rehearsing or performing, tonight is my only night off until Sunday
... maybe watching 'Donnie Darko' if I get time
... wearing a nun costume
... very, very tired

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-12-01T16:40:00.003Z

... rehearsing, rehearsing and rehearsing
... reading 'Jane Eyre'
... watching 'The Colour of Magic'
... hopefully finishing that blasted sleeve
... cold
... trying to build up flexitime so I can have Christmas Eve off (my train pass runs out on 23rd!)

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-11-24T09:04:00.004Z

... reading 'Jane Eyre'
... watching 'Pride and Prejudice' (the recent film version)
... knitting the sleeve still
... busy rehearsing
... nursing Chris (I've given him the very nasty stomach bug I had last week)
... hopefully getting more Christmas shopping done

Having a Generous Christmas

2008-11-22T11:23:00.003Z

Last year I did a post summarising the Christmas related actions on the Generous website, then said that I'd done very few of them! Oops ... Anyway, here are the things I'm doing, or hoping to do, this Christmas to make it a little more generous:

* I've bought Christmas puddings from my church, who are selling them to raise money for their preschool. So I get to enjoy super-yummy puddings and the little ones get a party!
* I still didn't get my act together to do a Christmas shoebox but I did knit three kiddie-sized scarves to go in other peoples' boxes (also beneficial as I used up loads of yarn!)
* I'm trying to buy the odd ethically sound present, which is helped by the fact I now work quite close to a Shared Earth shop which I will probably dip into on the odd lunch break. I'm still a bit uncomfortable with the idea of 'Just' gifts (i.e. presents like a goat for an African family) because you never know if the recipient will appreciate it, but I might give it a go.
* Also, to avoid needlessly buying presents that the recipient won't use (thus wasting the present, wrapping paper etc) I'm trying to shop from wish lists where I can. God bless Amazon.

I still have cards left over so won't be making my own/buying charity ones/sending e-Cards but maybe that'll be an aim for next year. And again I'm not doing the meal, but it will be at my Mum's and she will be using as many home-grown veg as possible as she's a gardening nut (which I secretly admire but tease her for). So I'm slightly more Generous this year than last - how's that for progress?

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-11-17T12:05:00.001Z

... reading 'Jane Eyre'
... knitting a sleeve
... watching 'Stardust'
... Christmas shopping
... tired

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-11-10T12:18:00.002Z

... reading 'Jane Eyre'
... knitting sleeve number two
... watching 'Tristan and Isolde'
... psyching myself up for five weeks of exhaustion (more rehearsals, loads to do at work, still got singing class, youth club and driving lessons - I'm going to collapse!)

200-word review: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

2008-11-07T08:48:00.001Z

It seems appropriate that I finished this book the same day that we heard in the UK that America had elected its first black President. If anyone doesn’t see the importance of Barack Obama’s rise to power, they should read this book to see how far the nation has come.

This book sits uncomfortably with the usual age categories prescribed to fiction; it is narrated by a little girl so on the surface appears to be a children’s book, but the material is far darker than most children would be allowed to read. So why does Harper Lee choose to tell her story through a child? The answer becomes apparent throughout the novel – in a 1930’s American town full of hypocrisy and prejudice, only the children have minds pure enough to see injustice for what it is. The narrative also lends the story a ‘morality tale’ feeling, without it becoming preachy or self-righteous.

This novel has become one of my favourites already, and one I will definitely be lending to my future children when they’re old enough to appreciate it. I really recommend it to anyone who wants to understand American history better, or who just like a good story.

**P.S. Sorry for the lack of picture, I couldn't find one to match the edition I read**

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-11-03T12:13:00.003Z

... reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird'
... watching 'Tristan and Isolde' or 'Be Kind Rewind'
... knitting a sleeve and hopefully another scarf (when's the deadline again Fi?)
... wearing warm clothes
... waiting in on Friday for our kitchen floor to be fitted (we've been waiting since the end of August!)

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-10-28T12:07:00.002Z

... reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird'
... knitting a sleeve
... watching Strictly-related shows
... chilling - got Thursday and Friday off work, plus no singing class or youth club
... going to a wedding on Saturday (yay!)
... practising walking in knee-high boots with a 3-inch heels for said wedding
... feeling Christmassy now it's dark when I leave work

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-10-20T12:11:00.001+01:00

... reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird'
... knitting a scarf and possibly a sleeve
... watching 'Casablanca' (didn't get chance last week)
... hobbling (pulled a muscle at the ceilidh on Saturday, ouch!)
... looking forward to half-term next week

Ooh la la!

2008-10-19T18:07:00.004+01:00

Remember a while ago I mentioned making a beret that was way too big for my head and made me feel sad? Well, I've now transformed it into this:

So chic it makes me want to speak French! I just stuck it in the washing machine with some clothes on a hot wash (normally stick to 30 but on this occasion went higher to achieve the effect)and it came out looking like a fancy felt beret from a shop! The wool content of the yarn makes it a bit itchy but I've sewn some ribbon into the band to stop it scratching my forehead - so I'm also getting my stitch on a little!

So now I'm just knitting scarves to go in Christmas shoeboxes for children who won't otherwise get a present. I've done one, nearly finished another and I might have enough spare yarn for a third if I don't get sick of knitting them. I also need to get back to my cardigan, not even half-finished and the winter is upon us!

My Blog Action Day post

2008-10-15T07:40:00.001+01:00

I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.

When I heard about Blog Action Day, I instantly wanted to get involved. I wanted to join the thousands of bloggers writing about poverty today. And I started writing a paragraphs on how modern society has got the wrong priorities, and the virtues of Fairtrade and the ‘Big Issue.’

Then I thought, who am I kidding?

The truth is many of the other blog posts that will form part of this day of action will be far more insightful, and probably written by people who are actively fighting poverty. This makes me feel very small, because I know that so much of the way I live my life is short-sighted and selfish. I don’t do enough to fight poverty, either through fear, greed or apathy. I don’t give money to homeless people because I find them intimidating; I don’t tithe my earnings because I’d rather have a bit saved up for a rainy day; I don’t participate in activities aimed at reducing poverty because I feel like I don’t have the time or energy.

I’m hoping that, by being honest, anyone who reads this will think, ‘thank goodness, I’m not the only one,’ and not, ‘God, what a selfish cow.’ If you do think the latter, I am trying. I try to buy Fairtrade goods as much as I can to support the initiative of allowing people to work their way out of poverty, I sometimes buy the ‘Big Issue’ (not often admittedly) and I do give some money to charity. I give to and buy from charity shops, and try to avoid cheap fashion because you never know how they’ve cut their costs. I try to reduce my carbon footprint, aware that the people most adversely affected by climate change are very often the poorest. These are all achievable little things, and I know I should do more.

So, for my Blog Action Day post, I ask you to leave a comment suggesting another action I can take. If this day is about anything it’s about sharing ideas, and it seems I need more than I can share. So please leave a comment. Thank you.

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-10-13T12:10:00.002+01:00

... reading 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee
... watching 'Casablanca'
... knitting another scarf
... sewing ribbon into the band of my now-felted beret
... blogging about poverty on Blog Action Day (Wednesday)
... getting leeched on Thursday (or giving blood as it's normally called)
... going to a ceilidh on Saturday, weeeee!

Another link

2008-10-09T20:00:00.002+01:00

I was just having a browse on Recycle This when I came across a post about refashioning clothes - and it referenced a blog by a woman called Amy Quarry. This is my kinda blog - craftiness and a love of green-ness combined. So I've added it to my ever-growing list of quite interesting websites so I don't forget her. And if you're interested, you have a look too!

200-word review: 'The Five People You Meet in Heaven' by Mitch Albom

2008-10-09T19:47:00.003+01:00

What a load of sentimental codswallop! I read this book because it was on the list of 100 best novels I posted a while back – the only explanation for this is that it was inserted by the kind of person who sends sickening chain e-mails about ill children or dying old men. I expected the epilogue to contain a demand to pass the book on to ten people in exchange for something good happening to you.

Here’s the story: 83-year-old Eddie dies in an accident at the amusement park he’s worked at most of his life. He goes to heaven where he meets five people from his past who explain his life to him. Even in a nutshell this book sounds nauseating, and it lives up to its promise. If the premise wasn’t bad enough, then Albom’s visualisation of heaven is cringeworthy. He half-heartedly describes skies changing colour and people flying, but in a disjointed way that just feels like he thought, “Hey, this isn’t ethereal enough, I’ll stick some trippy stuff about dry snow and clouds in there, that’ll work.”

Sorry, but it doesn’t work. What you have here is the world’s longest glurge e-mail put into book form.

Blog Action Day

2008-10-07T12:20:00.003+01:00

I heard today about Blog Action Day. It's on 15th October, and bloggers everywhere will be posting something about poverty. I think it's a great idea - get people talking about the issue, and maybe action will follow. All I need to do is think of something to write next week!

If you're interested in this, click on the title of this post and it will take you to the website, you can register your blog and join in. It's going to be really interesting to see what sort of posts will come out of this, so sign up!

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-10-06T12:10:00.002+01:00

... reading 'The Five People You Meet in Heaven'
... watching 'The Count of Monte Cristo' (a more recent and hopefully better version)
... knitting a scarf
... practising for my driving theory test on Thursday (eep!)
... wrapping up warm, it's turned freezing suddenly!

It pays to be a vegetablist!

2008-10-01T12:22:00.001+01:00

Just a little sidenote - apparently turning veggie could reduce carbon emissions generated by production of meat:

http://generous.org.uk/news/103-go-veggie-just-for-one-day

So I've been unwittingly cutting carbon emissions for 14 years! Love it!

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-09-29T12:44:00.002+01:00

... reading 'The Five People You Meet in Heaven' by Mitch Albom
... watching 'Strictly Come Dancing' and related programmes
... knitting a scarf - really! I've cast on and everything!
... back to my mega-hectic schedule - theatre group Monday, singing Wednesday, youth club Friday, arrgh!
... practisting for my driving theory test next week

Knitter's Block

2008-09-28T15:03:00.003+01:00

I have a confession to make - despite promising to start a new knitting project this week, I haven't. In fact, it's nearly a fortnight since I knitted.

There are a few reasons for this. One is that I've just started a new job and feel permanently tired, so the thought of lifting a pair of needles at the end of a day just seems too strenuou, particularly in comparison to stroking Millie's tummy. (Millie's a cat in case you're not a regular reader)

Another reason is the project I've just finished. Well, it's not really finished, but I'm done knitting it. It's a beret knitted from a pattern in 'Let's Knit' magazine and not only was it rather awkward to knit with lots of short-row shaping, I had to use some short needles which worsened my hand cramp so it took ages, and now it's done it's enormous! I've no pictures yet to back this up because taking it out of my knitting bag makes me feel sad. It's a disaster like I haven't experienced since I was a very new knitter and attempted mittens for my Mum. So I feel rather disheartened by this. Plus, I've decided to felt it to try and shrink it a bit, then I need to sew some ribbon on the inside of the band to stop it itching, so it's not really done, and I hate leaving things unfinished but I never remember to put it in the washing machine with a load so I'm falling at the final hurdle a bit.

Then there's the simple indecision about what to knit next. I could do some more of my cardigan, but I also need to knit at least one scarf or hat before the middle of November to give to the Christmas shoebox appeal and I'm not sure I could do both in time. I've still got about a skein of the black wool I used for the beret to use up which I was going to use for a scarf, but I've never liked scarves so the thought of making a start on one is enoguh to put me off doing anything remotely crafty.

So I've generally lost my knitting mojo. Any other knitters out there experience this?

200 word review: 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon

2008-09-28T15:02:00.002+01:00

It’s a brave author who narrates a novel from the perspective of a teenage boy. Braver still is the author who narrates a novel from the perspective of a teenage boy with Asperger’s syndrome. Mark Haddon does this so convincingly, it made me wonder whether he was autistic (apparently not, but he has worked with autistic children.)

The story of ‘The Curious Incident …’ starts out simply – Christopher finds his neighbour’s dog killed and decides to find the murderer. Using this simple concept, Haddon not only explores the workings of Christopher’s mind, but also the repercussions that autism can have on a family and community. The reading experience is at times unsettling, particularly when the main narrative is interrupted by Christopher’s thoughts about science, but this creates awareness of how unsettling the world must be to a child who notices absolutely everything in a room but cannot understand jokes, irony or metaphors.

Apparently Haddon was surprised when his publishers suggested marketing this novel to both adults and children. However, I think this novel should be part of the national curriculum; not only is it a sound literary work, it may also create more acceptance of autistic children in mainstream education.

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-09-22T12:37:00.003+01:00

... hoping I'm not as ill as I was last week, blimmin' colds!
... looking after hubby as he's caught my cold
... reading 'Curious Incident ...'
... watching 'The Count of Monte Cristo'
... knitting either a scarf or more of my cardigan, not decided yet
... tidying, the house is a mess!

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-09-15T12:37:00.001+01:00

... reading 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time'
... watching 'The Count of Monte Cristo'
... STILL finishing the beret (it's a beast!)
... shopping for my Mum's birthday present
... seeing the family at the weekend

200 word review: 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens

2008-09-14T14:23:00.002+01:00

Usually when I read a book I write the review in my head as I go along. But, with ‘Great Expectations’, I became so engrossed in the story that I forgot to do this. So writing this review is going to be tricky!

I already knew the story from the BBC adaptation, but this didn’t affect my enjoyment of the novel at all. There were still moments when I read faster because I desperately wanted to know what happened next and I still created my own images of the characters. The real mastery is the way the emotions of the narrator (Pip, a village boy who comes into money and becomes a London gentleman) are conveyed, both in the moment of the narration and in the melancholy hindsight. There is a bitter tinge to his telling of how he came into his fortune, and yet this doesn’t betray how his expectations turn sour later – although I knew it was coming, I still felt the shock and profound disappointment of Pip when he discovered the identity of his benefactor.

Despite avoiding Dickens for years, I greatly enjoyed this shining example of his skill in storytelling, and would recommend it to anyone.

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-09-08T18:56:00.002+01:00

... reading 'Great Expectations'
... finishing the beret and going back to the cardigan
... watching 'The Terminal' (didn't get round to it last week)
... getting over the horrible cold I got after getting soaked on Friday
... officially a permanent member of staff at LMU!

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-09-02T19:31:00.002+01:00

... reading 'Great Expectations'
... watching 'The Terminal'
... knitting a beret
... learning my new job, eek!
... busy (was out with theatre group last night, got a driving lesson Thursday and back to youth club Friday, phew!)
... aching (the 20-minute walk from the train station to my office is taking it's toll after just two days)

Generous inspiration

2008-08-31T18:49:00.003+01:00

This month I've been inspired by, of all things, a BBC blog. It's written by a woman who decided to avoid buying or otherwise collecting any plastic products for the whole of August. What I've found most interesting in a way is the debate that raged in the comments pages as to whether such lengths are truly necessary - and Chris, the blogger, joined in this theme by examining the pros and cons of plastic alternatives in her posts. But the main theme that seemed to come back again and again was that plastic is not a bad thing, it's the 'disposability' of many plastic products.

The eco-geek's motto is 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'. I'm pretty good at recycling and reusing, but never really gave the reducing part much thought. Putting the plastic debate aside, I send vast amounts of cotton pads and wipes to landfill just through washing my face - I have mega-sensitive skin and using water to wash off face cream brings me out in spots, so I wipe off the face cream with cotton pads or, if I'm in a hurry, use cleansing wipes. My bedroom bin is usually about 80% full of these items alone. I try to reuse them, perhaps to wipe excess cream off my hands when they've dried out or to wipe condensation off my window, but as they're covered in cream or some other cleansing product there's not many options to reuse or recycling. So, inspired by Chris's blog, I'm thinking up reusable alternatives. I might try using flannels, although they might be a bit rough and I'd need to remember to wash them often enough to make sure I didn't run out (a similar problem to that encountered by Chris with reusable nappies, only less icky!).

So in terms of environmental stuff, I'm sticking to my new year's resolution of learning more about the causes I support. But I'm still struggling when it comes to finding out more about ethical things - Fairtrade, the clothing industry etc. The problem is everything's so biased that I can't really compare like for like, might have to do more digging there.

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-08-26T18:36:00.002+01:00

... reading 'Great Expectations'

... watching repeats of 'Friends'

... knitting a beret

... enjoying the last week of the summer hols (no more free Friday nights and househusband after this week!)

... hoping my last week in my temp job goes fast!

New look!

2008-08-23T14:41:00.004+01:00

As you can see I've made some drastic adjustments to the colours on the blog - this is because apparently having a black background on a webpage uses less power than a white or pale background. So I'm saving on your electricity bill (probably only a few pence though) and using up fewer resources. A little change but, as a well-known supermarket chain in the UK would say, every little helps!

Call off the search!

2008-08-23T14:11:00.002+01:00

Well, the big gamble paid off - I got a job at the uni! Starting on 1st September as a temp while the contracts go through. It's even a higher grade than I thought I'd get, I only went to the interview as practise but I'm thrilled that I got it! It just goes to show that a bit of persistence (and a lot of guts) pays off in the end.

The weird thing is that I've been jobhunting since April last year, and now I don't need to anymore, at least not for a few years. I kind of feel like I'm at a loose end now! Hubby almost asked if I had any application forms to do this weekend and then suddenly realised that that answer is no, and will be for every foreseeable weekend!

Still got the medical screening to get through which I'm a bit worried about, but hopefully it'll all go well. Yippee!

(DISCLAIMER: Bec would like to apologise for the number of exclamation marks in this post)

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-08-18T09:00:00.001+01:00

... on reception (God help me)
... reading 'Great Expectations'
... knitting a cardigan
... watching whatever LoveFilm sends
... looking forward to the Bank Holiday weekend
... hoping the rain goes away

A nice surprise

2008-08-15T18:39:00.002+01:00

The other day I got home from work and had a nice surprise waiting for me. It was a letter from the National Blood Service - at first I thought I was due an appointment to donate blood but they'd actually just written to thank me! I even got this lovely card:

I don't give blood to be thanked or praised, but it was still really moving to receive this. I kind of look at giving blood as a duty and forget that there's a lot of people out there who don't even show an interest in giving blood, so what I'm doing is actually pretty special.

Thank you National Blood Service, you made me smile!!

A hat for hubby!

2008-08-13T20:44:00.004+01:00

Remember that gorgeous but illicit yarn I bought in Staffordshire? If you need a reminder, here it is:

So beautiful ... mmmm ... anyway, now around half a ball has been transformed into this lovely head cozy for my equally gorgeous hubby:

I should explain ... my hubby doesn't have a freaky alien pixelated face in real life, he just doesn't like his face being on the internet so he photoshopped it. But that's fine, because the real star of the picture is the hat! It's based on 'Hot Head' from 'Stitch n Bitch' but without the striping effect and using bluey-green instead of reds and yellows, so I've dubbed it Cool Head (clever, eh?). I love the patterning effect and the supersoftness of the Blueface Leicester wool, I think it may spend more time on my head than hubby's!

Unfortunately it didn't use up much yarn, so there is still plenty of evidence of my torrid liaison. Oh well, I found a fab pattern for a scarf in this month's 'Let's Knit' that should use up the rest, but for now I'm back onto the cardigan.

Illicit yarn, project bigamy ... what am I turning into?!

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-08-11T12:06:00.002+01:00

... reading 'Great Expectations'
... knitting a hat and maybe more of the cardigan
... watching 'Rumour Has It' and/or 'Good Night and Good Luck'
... eating eggs (Dad gave us three dozen yesterday!!)
... bored at work, it's so quiet
... practising my turn in the road

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-08-04T17:59:00.001+01:00

... reading 'Great Expectations'
... knitting a hat
... watching 'Memento'
... working in the IT Faculty of LMU
... going to a wedding on Saturday (yay dressing up!)

This Week I will mostly be ...

2008-07-28T11:21:00.002+01:00

... reading 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens
... watching daytime TV
... knitting a cardigan
... hoping work comes in soon
... not walking - got a very sore foot so can barely hobble round the flat
... eating chocolate as comfort food to distract me from the foot!

Stash Wars: fighting a losing battle?

2008-07-27T14:15:00.007+01:00

Well, my attempts to deplete my stash have fallen on rocky ground recently. Not that I haven't been knitting - I've been a busy bee! First I made a tea cozy for my Mum:

The slogan on it isn't very clear but it says 'Coffee, Tea or Me?' I got the pattern from 'Stitch n' Bitch Nation' by Debbie Stoller and hoped that not only would it provide a nice present for my mummy, but that it would up a good chunk of my not-too-pleasant acrylic yarns, which I don't really want to use for clothes. I got through a lot of the pale blue but it barely touched the white or cream. Then I made myself a lace pattern skinny scarf:

I designed this myself using a lace pattern from 'How To Knit' by Debbie Bliss. It was supposed to use up a spare skein of Jaeger Trinity yarn but I don't think I even halved it before the scarf got stupidly long and I got sick of repeating the same four rows over and over, so I have to think of a way of using that yarn up too. My next project was to make a little cozy for hubby's new DAB radio:

I figured out the design myself from the gauge and dimensions, and knitted it up in moss stitch to make it a bit more cushiony to protect hubby's precious new toy. Sadly it used up a puny amount of my aran-weight denim-effect yarn.

Not downhearted, I decided to abandon the little projects for a while and embark on a biggie - a cardigan knitted with the yarn from a frogged old jumper. It's going to take months but currently looks like this:

That's just the start of the back. Hopefully this'll be one big stash-buster! I don't like big projects so may break up the monotony by doing a different project in between pieces.

The biggest blow to my Stash Wars, however, was this:

I mentioned in an earlier post that I went to The Threshing Barn on holiday. Their craft shop had some gorgeous yarn. A non-knitter cannot begin to understand the temptation this poses. So I bought two hanks of this gorgeous, hand-dyed British wool. My excuse is hubby picked it out because he wants a hat. But it's so beautiful I want to just cuddle it and drool over it with glee rather than knitting it. Oh well.

So all in all, I'm not winning the war. But I've learnt a lesson: small projects just don't cut it when it comes to stash-busting. I've also learnt that going into a shop that sells yarn so gorgeous I nearly explode is too much temptation for me.

200-word review: 'Audrey Hepburn, an Elegant Spirit' by Sean Hepburn Ferrer

2008-07-27T14:14:00.002+01:00

Audrey Hepburn is one of my idols – brilliant actress, style icon and a wonderful person. So this book, written by her son, appealed to me as I thought it would tell me more about her personality. It didn’t disappoint.

It’s not really a biography. If you want details on her life and career, there are plenty of biographies around (I recommend ‘Hepburn’ by Barry Paris). But to learn more about the real Audrey this is perfect. It’s unashamedly sentimental in tone (what do you expect from an adoring son?) but this shows what a good mother and inspirational figure she was. There is little discussion of her films, as it focuses more on her humanitarian work, something I was interested in. This confirmed her idol status for me; she really was a wonderful role model in a way that no modern celebrity can emulate.

There are lots of photographs of and about Audrey, including many family photos. These give a clearer picture of the woman behind the stylish clothes - although there’s plenty of that too!

If you’re a fan, I thoroughly recommend this book. All proceeds go to the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund, so it’s definitely a good buy.

Books galore

2008-07-26T15:02:00.001+01:00

Saw this on my friend Fi's blog and thought it was pretty cool. Apparently this is a list of the Greatest Ever Novels, although it's debatable I have to say (for a start, since when was the Bible a novel?) but it's a bit of fun and makes me feel all well-read and brainy:

Look at the list and:
1) Bold those you have read.
2) Italicise those you intend to read.
3) [Bracket] the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list on your own blog.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2.The Lord of The Rings - JRR Tolkein
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 [Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte]
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (actually starting this next!)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (I’ve read a lot of sonnets and 19 plays, I think I can count this one!)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 [Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky]
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 [Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis]
34 [Emma - Jane Austen]
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (I agree Fi, this should be included in the Chronicles surely!)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 MISSING
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 MISSING
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby-Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (I think, probably ages ago)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - A. S. Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo