I have David Austin's Handbook of Roses 2020 in one hand, and my credit card in the other. Will someone please come and take them both away from me?
Daphne will eat half the rotten carcass of a bird, scrape something foul off the tarmac with her teeth, lick up filthy birdseed, but trying giving her a Pepsid and she is a cowering wreck.
I have never listened to an audio book! But yesterday I listened to Madeleine Leslay narrate POPPY REDFERN AND THE MIDNIGHT MURDERS, and to my surprise I really enjoyed it. She has such an expressive voice and added an entirely new dimension to both the characters and the story! I am sending two copies as Valentine's Day presents to family in England who are no longer able to read!
I don't know about you but I am delighted to be 'back to normal' after the holidays. Not a scrap of cake, tart or pie to be seen anywhere in my kitchen. Rolling up my sleeves to do some more work on POPPY REDFERN AND THE FATAL FLIERS!
After a long day hiking in the snow, here is how you spend the evening: warming your under-carriage by the fireside. We call this 'rafting'
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Stories my Father Told Me About the War
My father was given a thrashing because he and his cousin sat up on the roof of their house in Greenwich with their Spam sandwiches to watch a dogfight between Messerschmidts and Spitfires over the London docks. Continue reading
Sir Thomas Beecham and the Importance of Starting, and Finishing, Together
April 29, 1879 – March 8, 1961 There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn’t give a damn what goes on in between. —Sir Thomas Beecham Beecham’s grandfather, also Thomas Beecham, … Continue reading
Maud, Lady Cunard and the Wounding Repartee
‘Let me introduce you to the man who killed Rasputin,’ Maud Cunard said to guests attending her large dinner party for the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich. Pavlovich and his friend Prince Felix Yasupov were indeed the men who had … Continue reading
Mrs. Jackson and the Golden Rules
It was between the wars that the whodunit murder mystery reached its greatest popularity. We call them cozies today, because they contain a minimum of violence –although the murder can be gruesome –and there is no sex whatsoever; even romance … Continue reading
Why does the Britain of the early 1900s intrigue and delight so many of us?
Today the great houses of Britain’s landed aristocracy with their vast, exquisite interiors and views of sweeping parkland attest to the power of rank and wealth of a bygone age. They also provide a stunning backdrop for elegantly clothed men … Continue reading
Iyntwood and the Chocolate Challenge
Thanks to author Martine Bailey for inviting me to take part in her Chocolate Challenge in which we choose three of our favorite books and liken each to dark, milk or white chocolate. Martine is author of: An Appetite for … Continue reading