H and I went to the Destinations travel show yesterday, and had a chat with the Mountain Kingdoms team about what trek to do next, given we enjoyed their Annapurna Circuit trip so much. I'm tempted by Everest, not Base... Read more
Starting in 1970s, The Northern Clemency focuses on the lives of two families, the Sellers, and the Glovers. When Mr Sellers' job takes him and his family from London to Sheffield, they move into house opposite the Glovers', in a... Read more
As belated birthday treat for Rachel, we went for afternoon tea at the Langham Hotel. Escorted to our seats in the plush environs of the art deco Palm Court, we spent the next two hours trying (in vain) to eat... Read more
Recommended to me in Libya by Lois, in exchange for my Bernard Cornwell and Dorothy Dunnett tips, the first in the Emperor series introduces us to Gaius and Marcus, two boys growing up on an estate just outside Rome. As... Read more
A relatively old novel by Helen Dunmore, telling the twin tales of independent women two generations apart. Teenage Nadine is lured away from home by her exotic experienced older man, Kai, whose plans for her involve satisfying a British politician's... Read more
I started this yonks ago, before my trip to Libya I think, but had to return it to the library half read. Finally getting it out again over Christmas, and the second half was as fascinating as the first. Philip... Read more
A pair of parallel stories about the Latter Day Saints - one revealing the faith's early history from a number of narratives focused around Ann Eliza Young, Prophet Brigham Young's 19th wife, whose divorce and subsequent crusading public speaking against... Read more
I spent two days over the Christmas break getting photos from the second half of my Annapurna Circuit trip onto Flickr. Hazel's (390) photos are on Flickr too. So, here are my edited highlights, and a link to each day's... Read more
This second novel in the Marshall Guarnaccia series is much better than the first. A good mystery involving the untimely death of a half Dutch, half Italian jeweller in a vacant top floor apartment, lots of detail on daily life... Read more
A speedy read, on a lazy New Year's Day, and so an appropriately festive time to read the first novel in the Marshal Guarnaccia series .... not that you'd be able to tell that from the list of other novels... Read more