I've just finished reading Bookworm: a memoir of childhood reading by Lucy Mangan, which does pretty much what it says on the tin. Like her, I was a voracious reader who grew up in the 1970s and 80s, although she's a few years younger than me. However, the main thing that struck me was how little our childhood reading overlapped. I've had plenty of ( Read more... )

Before going on holiday, I posted about my childhood obsession with Swallows and Amazons. I took 3 of the books with me on holiday, thinking I would read them with a mild enjoyment, mostly caused by nostalgia. I actually really enjoyed them in their own right, and have now read all 12 of them. What interests me most is just how differently I ( Read more... )

We're off to the Lake District tomorrow, so I've spent the last week wrestling with the usual pre-holiday question: what books will I take? (Truly, I have no idea why I get so stressed about this issue before every holiday, since a Kindle and a Wifi connection allow me to source any new book I like once I'm there, and I never do much novel-reading ( Read more... )

Sorting through some boxes of sheet music today, I came face to face with something that took me instantly back to c. 1977. This was a book called Jibbidy-F and A-C-E, the book that I worked through when I first started piano lessons. Even before I opened it, I could sing the first tune. Granted, the feat of memory required to remember and perform ( Read more... )

We watched a programme last night in which a family were "sent back in time" to 1950, and made to cook and eat as a British family in 1950 would. Year by year, they moved through the decade, getting newfangled products at the appropriate times. It was a bit gimmicky, but I found it rather interesting. Next week, they're moving into the 60s, and ( Read more... )

From the blurb of a new children's book:

"Until about 30 years ago, there were no mobile phones. How on earth did people manage?"

"Not last night but the night before ( Read more... )

Miles away from anywhere, we sit on top of a hill with our backs against an 18th century monument in a vain attempt to get shelter from the howling gale. Thick fog billows in from the sea, hiding any semblance of a view. Hands are freezing. Boots are caked with mud, and mud is thickly splashed all the way up to our knees, and higher. Valiantly we ( Read more... )

Last night I was prompted to muse about a Top Ten list of castles. I then received encouragement. This is the result, but I couldn't limit it to just ten, so here's my Top Twenty of British castles, in alphabetical order. Why am I posting this? Why not? :-D

( Castles )

Curse you, internet, for making information so easy to find! It's quite killing conversation! I often find myself wondering about the answer to something, and mentally composing an LJ post about it, thinking that it might prompt a bit of conversation. Then I Google it, and find loads of other conversations about it, and all my questions and debates ( Read more... )