Well, 2016 has been rubbish, but let's try and pick out some more positive things from the year:

• Fiction - Doctor Who - Shada, by Gareth Roberts / Douglas Adams
• Non-Fiction - 1946 - The Making of the Modern World, by Victor Sebestyen
• Music - Prom 51 - the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop
• Museums and Exhibitions - Museum of the Americas in ( Read more... )

Perhaps last week was a good week to be away. The shootings in Orlando, the killing of Jo Cox, and the derailment of a train outside Paddington station all impacted on me in a bad way ( Read more... )

Best of the year:

• Fiction - The Merchants of Light - A Novel of Venice, by Marta Maretich
• Non-Fiction - The Cucumber for Java Book, by Seb Rose, Matt Wynne, and Aslak Hellesøy
• Music - Prom 28 - The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee, and The Poem of Ecstasy
• Museums and Exhibitions - Escher at Dulwich Picture Gallery
• Food and ( Read more... )

Book Review: Station to Station - Searching for Stories on the Great Western Line, by James AttleeAgain this was from the work book sale, though it was one of three volumes that had already been on my wish list. Attlee traces the route from London to Bristol, with one or two diversions. It's a mixed bag: there are some interesting sections, such as ( Read more... )

Book Review: Off the Map, by Alastair BonnettA light volume from the work book sale, the volume examines places that have either been and gone, have somewhat unofficial, proscribed, or just plain baffling status, or barely exist at all. Among the (slightly) more familiar places are Leningrad, the Aralqum Desert, Pripyat and Sealand; I'm in more ( Read more... )

Book Review: The Merchants of Light - A Novel of Venice, by Marta Maretich
This was a spontaneous purchase from the work book sale. The blurb described the book as set in Würzburg at the end of World War II, and in eighteenth century Venice, and sounded intriguing. The cover was a detail from The Banquet of Cleopatra by Giambattista Tiepolo ( Read more... )

After considering a number of options for a holiday this year, we finally decided on a return to Poland, this time to visit the cities of Warsaw and Gdansk. Setting off on Friday morning only slightly earlier than a normal work-day, the trip to Heathrow was smooth enough. Our flight was slightly delayed, but nothing compared to the disruption we ( Read more... )

Best of the year:

• Fiction - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John Le Carré
• Non-Fiction - Continuous Delivery, by David Farley and Jez Humble
• Music - Sibelius: The Swan of Tuonela and Fifth Symphony at the Proms
• Museums and Exhibitions - The Baths of Caracalla in Rome
• Food and Drink - Barbakan in York

We've been home for a week but it's taken time to catch up on things ( Read more... )

I've never had much time for Geoffrey Boycott or Fred Trueman, so for me the above phrase is heavily loaded with arrogance and negativity. Nevertheless, judging by the way I felt on Monday morning I must have had a good holiday ( Read more... )