The Return by Victoria Hislop

Most young people in this country think of Spain in terms of the Costas, as they head off for Sun,Sea and Sand (and perhaps the other S) on cheap flights, but there is so much more to Spain than that. Even close to the Costa del Sol is Granada with the Alhambra built by the Moors during their occupation of Andalusia , which they called El Andalus. This is the most beautiful and awe-inspiring building with intricate carving. They probably don't even head inland to see the mountains behind the coast.

And what about Madrid, the capital of Spain? How many go there?

Or Salamanca, which is home to the oldest university in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe, founded in 1218?

The Return tells part of Spain's history using a family in Granada to help illustrate it.

This is a very dark part of Spain's history - the Spanish Civil War, fought in the late 1930s before the Second World War covering the successful attempt by the fascist General Franco to overthrow the government. The atrocities were many. The Republicans, many communist, were hopelessly outgunned and out manned.

My faithful reader knows that I enjoy reading detective stories, particularly those from the rest of Europe. They tend to be faithful to the tradition of detective stories, but are flavoured with the setting and history of the country in which they are set.

I can refer here to a series of books by Manuel Vasquez Montalban featuring the private detective Pepe Carvalho. He lives in Barcelona and the memories of the Civil War are still there. the Chief of Police was (and is, no doubt) a fascist and Carvalho was (and is) a communist. During the Civil War, the man now Chief of Police held a similar role and carried out torture on his prisoners, including Carvalho. Yet now they must rub along together.

This was my first real glimpse into the Civil War, as a peripheral part of the detective series, so it was enlightening to read more. Victoria Hislop has done her research and she does manage to make the past real. Of particular note was her overage of Guernica, a name that will go down in history as a town that was bombed out of existence from the air by the fascists, although Franco tried to deny it. There was a war correspondent on site who saw for himself and reported it back to Britain from where it was syndicated round the world.

Worth a read.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Last week I finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini.

It is set in war-torn Afghanistan and illustrated by the story of two women from separate backgrounds whose lives come together unexpectedly as a result of the war.

It is a beautiful story, and the best summing up I can give is that if you liked "the Kite Runner" you will love this.

Random Acts of Heroic Love

I bought this book by Danny Scheinman following a recommendation by Jobbing Doctor on his book club site.

Don't be deceived by the title: this is not 'chick lit'. It is a beautifully written novel of the intertwined stories of two men sustained by the memory of love. It carries echoes of Sebastian Faulks, Tolstoy even, but Scheinman has his own voice. It is hard to believe that this is a first novel as it appears the work of a mature writer.

I cannot recommend this book too highly.

If it's Thursday ........

I must have got it right this time. (!)



I have been given an award by Sage , which somewhat stuns me. Here it is:-




I shall award it on to Linda of Just another Day on the Prairie.


It is difficult to think of other women bloggers who might wish this accolade, but can keep it in mind.....



This morning TBSITW came across early (in fact the middle of the night, as it was only 8.30 am) to drive us both to the hairdresser. The appointments on the same day were needed when I had to surrender my driving licence on medical grounds, so mine was at 9.30 and hers was at 12.30.

What we did was she took me there and dropped me off with a book to read if needed and then went hot-foot to the local shopping mall. I gave her a small shopping list, then went on to finish the book "The Cruel Stars of the Night" by Kjell Eriksson, more of a mystery than the usual police procedural, very atmospheric and edge of the seat stuff.

TBSITW then returned and had her hair done, then off we went back home, where she was able to re-insert the sleeper in my right ear which came out a week or two ago.

At home, as well as that, she left me with a pan of lentil soup made with a ham shank stock. I could taste the smoked ham flavour through the soup. She also had cut some nice bits of ham into the soup. It was so good that I ate the whole thing!

I have just had my minister on the phone to see if I am all right. Good to have a blether.

Barack Obama revisited

Later yesterday, my friend from upstairs phoned to see if I still wanted to go to Church tomorrow if the rain were still as bad; apparently 2 other good friends are calling off – they don’t mind getting wet on the way home, but getting thoroughly wet on the way there is a bridge too far.

J and I sat and had a drink of Fever-tree tonic with gin. It is seriously good. I explained that I didn’t think that tomorrow was a good day to start this experiment as my back is still giving me a lot of trouble.

…and indeed it is still giving me trouble. I moved from the view that I should ring NHS24 for advice or if I should get a taxi to A&E. Then I realised that I would be greeted less than warmly when I disclosed that the accident (a fall) took place on 29December.

As the day wore on, I found that, if I were careful about how I moved, then I could keep the pain at a manageable level.

So, today I got two loads of washing done, my changed bed linen and my white underwear wash. My friend J. came and helped me fold the sheets, which is something I would have had difficulty doing myself.

This afternoon I have finished reading “The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama.

His first book, “Dreams from my Father” was largely autobiographical, but this one has moved on.

It is a political novel where he effectively nails his colours to the mast (or sets out his stall) depending on which metaphor you prefer.

Effectively this book looks at all the issues that he sees America facing and offers his views of some of the ways forward.

It is not an easy read, but all the more worthwhile for that.

We always reckoned that George W Bush was using Blair as a glove puppet, but I do not think that Obama would operate in that way.

A “must read”.

What on earth does she look like ?

Yesterday was another blustery day with intermittent showers. The temperature was 9.5 Celsius which is really not too bad.

Off I headed to the Bridge Club. Last week W and I came 4th (out of 6), not bad as we were not accustomed to playing together.

This week there were two people from the beginners’ class, which is not being held this week. S., our leader took one and allocated me to the other. Fair enough and a bit of a compliment. Her play is really quite good but her bidding is hopeless. Still I enjoyed the play. I think I have bitched a bit about my usual partner, but I am desperately looking forward to her return.

Better the devil you know….

Back to the ranch in time for a cup of tea and to a recommendation of a lovely Robert Louis Stevenson book. I have ordered it as it is only 1p (plus postage of £2.75 of course).

Back to an easy meal of farmers market mince with onions and mushrooms served with potatoes, carrots and cauliflower, followed by strawberries and (the end of the ) ice cream.

This morning I wakened up to find my face feeling a bit “odd”, I looked in the mirror and it was all swollen down one side, but not painful or red at all. I made an appointment to see the doctor at 11.10 this morning and she was somewhat puzzled as it looked like an allergic reaction. Had I eaten/used anything new? No, I have washed my face with the same cream for over 2 years and the only food I have eaten is my own cooking.

She has given me some antihistamine tablets to take twice a day and given me an appointment to see one of the other partners on Friday. I am just to cancel it if it is all better by then. That is much easier for me than being asked to ring on Friday if no improvement as, by the time you get through to the switchboard all the appointments have gone, particularly on a Friday.

It is, once again a lovely sunny day, although a bit blustery.

My vegetable delivery was potatoes, lovely carrots with their green frond tops, 2 swede turnips, a bunch of beetroot, onions, leeks and a Savoy cabbage. The fruit was 2 apples, 2 oranges, 2 bananas, a pear and 2 bananas.

I really have to do some work with this lot.

Later:

The lightbulb moment.

Could I possibly have developed an allergy to strawberries? If so, a pity, but not a problem.

Mind you, these were supermarket strawberries, not organic ones.............