Serendipitous Moments

SYMPOSIUM ON THE WORK OF PAULA ALLMAN

2012-01-14T03:34:00.000-08:00

Marxism and Education: Renewing Dialogues XVI

A Day Seminar, 10.30 – 5.00
Saturday February 4th, 2012
Institute of Education, University of London
20 Bedford Way, WC1
The Drama Studio

Speakers:

Sara Carpenter (University of Toronto)
Helen Colley (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Margaret Ledwith (University of Cumbria)
Peter Mayo (University of Malta)
Michael Neary (University of Lincoln)
Glenn Rikowski (University of Northampton)

This is an open seminar and tickets are free.

To reserve a place email Alpesh Maisuria: amaisuria@ioe.ac.uk

Convenors: Tony Green, Alpesh Maisuria & Glenn Rikowski

Times Higher Education (Obituary): Paula Allman (1944-2011) – http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=418263&c=2

Major Works of Paula Allman:

Critical Education Against Global Capitalism: Karl Marx and Revolutionary Critical Education (2010) Second Edition, with a new Foreword by Peter McLaren and a new Afterward by Paula Allman, Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. (paperback)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=paula+allman+critical+education+against+global+capitalism&x=0&y=0

On Marx: An Introduction to the Revolutionary Intellect of Karl Marx (2007) Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. (paperback)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marx-P-Allman/dp/9087901925/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326541111&sr=8-1-fkmr1

Review of 'On Marx' by Ruth Rikowski

http://www.wwwords.co.uk/rss/abstract.asp?j=pfie&aid=3438

Critical Education Against Global Capitalism: Karl Marx and Revolutionary Critical Education (2001) Westport, Connecticut: Bergin & Garvey (hardback)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Critical-Education-Against-Global-Capitalism/dp/0897897439/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326541202&sr=8-1

Revolutionary Social Transformation: Democratic Hopes, Political Possibilities and Critical Education (1999) Westport, Connecticut: Bergin & Garvey (hardback)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Revolutionary-Social-Transformation-Democratic-Possibilities/dp/089789667X/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326541276&sr=8-2-spell

Revolutionay Socail Transformation: Democratic Hopes, Political Possibilties and Critical Education, Greenwood Press, 2001 (paperback)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Revolutionary-Social-Transformation-Democratic-Possibilities/dp/0897898036/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326541276&sr=8-1-spell

Social Dancing at the Guildhall

2011-11-11T03:02:00.000-08:00

Social Dancing at the Guildhall Catholic Church, High Road, Ilford

Nearest station: Ilford (overground).
10 min walk from station, or catch 86 bus which stops right outside.

Every Thursday, 8.00pm - 11pm

£4 entry

Raffle (£1). Drinks from the bar.

Ballroom and sequence dancing, with a little bit of disco and line dancing.

Very friendly group of people.

Everyone welcome.

Party night with free nibbles on the last Thursday of every month

Come and join in the fun.

Great variety of dances, nice and interesting people to talk to, good atmosphere, lovely music, wonderful for your health. Beginners welcome. What more can I say.

Life is for living, and all that!

Diana Edmonds, Head of Libraries Division within Greenwich Leisure Ltd

2011-10-31T03:29:00.000-07:00

David Marzella, Library Union Steward for Greenwich (and someone that I connected with whilst writing about cuts in public libraries and relating it all to the General Agreement in Trade in Services - GATS) alerted me to this important news item. He asked me if I would circulate it for him. So here it is:

News item in CILIP UDATE October 2011

" Diana Edmonds , Ast Director Culture Services Haringey leaves her post in October. Diana will be taking up a post as Head of the Libraries division with GLL , a charitable social enterprise which currently manages leisure services for more than 20 local authorities. GLL expects to become a significant provider of library services in the coming years. "

David informed me that Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) was sent up some years ago, initially for the purpose of taking over and running Greenwich Leisure and have now expanded. There is little union recognition, David says.

The intention of the council it seems is to transfer Greenwich libraries over to a ‘trust’. Now, I foresaw such developments years ago now – I started writing about all this back in 2001. Libraries getting taken out of state control, being handed over to a trust, thereby paving the way for commercialisation and eventual privatisation.

Whilst writing on the GATS I referred to ‘Instant Library Ltd’, which Diana Edmonds was in charge of at the time. ‘Instant Library’ was traditionally a library recruitment agency, but then moved into other areas. As I explained Instant Library took over and ran Haringey public libraries for 3 years (after Haringey was deemed to have failed its Best Value Regime). Also, that this incident was the first time that a public library service had been taken over and run by a private company. I foresaw that this would likely be the start of more to come, and this news item clearly indicates that this is the way things are going.

Alan Wyllie in Islington also provides more information about privatisation on his blog – see http://www.dontprivatiselibraries.blogspot.com/

Some Brief Thoughts on Descartes

2011-10-20T00:52:00.000-07:00

The topic of the great philosopher, Descartes, leads on nicely from my previous blog.

Now, 'The Wise Man and the Foolish Man' - as I said, this was a Christian chorus that I used to sing as a child at church.

So, what was the message in this Chorus? Well, that the Wise Man aimed to lead a good life, and to follow and pursue goodness, so his house was solid. But the Foolish Man was not pursuing that, so his house fell down. (bit sexist all this 'Wise Man' and 'Foolish Man' stuff - but won't pursue that one right now!).

Now, Descartes. The only subject that all 5 of us (Glenn, Alexander, Victor and Gregory and myself) have studied so far is Philosophy and guess what - yes, we have all read and studied some Descartes. I read Descartes as part of my Prelims at UEA when I was just 18 years old.

Now, Descartes has often been called 'the father of modern philosophy' - so he has to be taken seriously, does he not.

All of us (apart from Victor) have also all read Descartes 'The Meditations' but the other day, our youngest son, Gregory, decided to re-read it, and persuaded me to re-read it (which I am currently still reading). I have also just read Descartes 'Discourse on the Method of Properly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking the Truth in the Sciences'.

I will probably write more about all this later, but for now, I just wanted to draw attention to why Descartes argues for the existence of God - as this leads on nicely from 'The Wise Man' and his pursuit of goodness.

Descartes starts by doubting everything and then famously says, of course:

"I think, therefore I am."

However, he points out in Discourse that "...it was a greater perfection to know than to doubt..." (p.55 in Penguin edition, 1968) and that the fact that he doubted his existence at all, showed that he was imperfect.

And yet, he has some notion of perfection and he says:

"...I decided to inquire whence I had learned to think of some thing more perfect than myself; and I clearly recognised that this must have been from some nature which was in fact more perfect." (p. 55)

So, the idea of perfection:

"...must have been put into me by a being whose nature was truly more perfect than mine and which even had in itself all the perfections of which I could have any idea, that is to say, in a single word, which was God." (p.55)

Now, I am someone that rejected religion many years ago, but various circumstances and changes in ones life and around one lead one to continually think and re-evaluate. I seek the truth, knowledge and wisdom - as Descartes did. And within this, my aim is also to make some break-throughs in my own thinking and writing.

So, we ponder and we think on.

But at this point I would once again, like to give great praise and credit to these great philosophers, who help us to get away from the rubbish and to think clearly and coherently. I do not know how some people manage to get by in life without reading and thinking about some of these great philosophers. But there you go.

Over the last couple of years or so, I have been really influenced, helped and inspired by 4 great philosophers, in particular - Marx (as always), Wittgenstein, Sartre and now Descartes.

The Wise Man and the Foolish Man

2011-10-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, these days, I find myself reflecting on various people's behaviour and having these words (see below) ringing in my ears. Now, these are the words to a Children's Christian Chorus that I used to sing at church, as a child - and we used to put actions with it all as well. As a child I just sang it and enjoyed it, but suddenly I realise just how poignant these words can be.

So, here it is:

The Wise Man and the Foolish Man

The Foolish Man built his house upon the sand,
The Foolish Man built his house upon the sand,
The Foolish Man built his house upon the sand,
And the rains came tumbling down.

The rain came down and the floods came up,
The rain came down and the floods came up,
The rain came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the sands fell down.

The Wise Man built his house upon the rock,
The Wise Man built his house upon the rock,
The Wise Man built his house upon the rock,
And the rains came tumbling down.

The rain came down and the floods came up,
The rain came down and the floods came up,
The rain came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the rock stood firm.

10 Most Lucrative Industries for Women

2011-10-18T04:08:00.000-07:00

Tina Sans, from 'Online Degrees' emailed me about my 'Serendipitous Moments' blog and wondered whether I would be interested in including an item about an article that they posted on my blog.

The artile is entitled “10 Most Lucrative Industries for Women”. The message in the article is certainly not something that I agree with - that women have it all made today, that they have broken through the glass ceiling etc. However, I thought it might raise some eyebrows and some level of interest, so decided to blog it. So, here is the link:

http://www.onlinedegreeshub.com/blog/2011/10-most-lucrative-industries-for-women/

CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS

2011-10-15T02:29:00.000-07:00

CREATIVE WRITING AT THE IDEA STORE – EAST LONDON

DESIGNED, PRESENTED AND DELIVERED BY VICTOR RIKOWSKI

Discover the Writer within You – by taking part in our new CREATIVE WRITING Workshops!
FREE

Tuesdays, 4.00-6.00pm [11+] from 29th November 2011

Do you have a passion for writing, telling and sharing stories?

Have you ever wanted to be an author?

If so, then take part in this FREE Workshop to start your creative journey, whilst also improving your IT and literacy skills.

Novels, poetry, TV scripts, film scripts, plays, short stories or even comic books.

Set the stories of your imagination free!

IDEA: Library Learning Information

Idea Store
Chrisp Street
1 Vesey Path
East India Dock Road
LONDON
E14 6BT
Tel: 0207 364 1506
Website: http://www.ideastore.co.uk/en/articles/libraries_your_local_idea_store_library_idea_store_chrisp_street

TRACE YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

2011-10-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

TRACE YOUR FAMILY HISTORY WORKSHOP AT THE IDEA STORE

PRESENTED AND DELIVERED BY VICTOR RIKOWSKI

Thursday 13th October 2011

10.-00am - 12 noon

Looking to find your great grandmother?

Come to our workshop and use our free online Ancestry Library Edition to be able to trace your roots and find other family members!

Venue

Idea Store Chrisp Street

1 Vesey Path, East India Dock Road

London, E14 6BT

Tel; 020 7364 4332

Web: http://www.ideastore.co.uk/

Idea: Library Learning Information

Learn to Sing

2011-09-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours, asked us if we would advertise this 'Learn to Sing' advert for her, so here it is:

'Learn to Sing'

Have fun finding & developing your voice with an experienced singing teacher.

Ages 7+. All standards. Adult beginners welcome.
BMus (Hons), ARCM, ISM member. CRB checked.

Call 07714 268151
London based

15 of the First Female Professors in History

2011-09-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

Jasmine Hall from Online Colleges emailed me saying that she liked this blog and would I be interested in posting a link to an article on their Online Colleges website, entitled
'15 of the First Female Professors in History'.

I thought it was an interesting read, so said I would be happy to blog it, so here is the link:

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2011/08/29/15-of-the-first-female-professors-in-history

'The Moment' by Douglas Kennedy

2011-08-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

I went into a Waterstones bookshop a few weeks ago, and browsing through the fiction shelves I decided to 'check out' the Douglas Kennedy books, to find out if he had written a new novel. And hey presto - he had. Sitting there on the shelf (and in paperback!) was:

'The Moment', published by Hutchinson in 2011.

Wow - a must buy. I took it over excitedly to the counter and purchased it right away. This is very rare for me; to follow a fiction author and to buy all of their latest books. But with Douglas Kennedy nearly every single book turns out to be an absolute winner; real page-turners; with wonderful, exciting and meaningful plots. Yes, I am now a devoted Douglas Kennedy fan!

And yes, indeed, 'The Moment' (Kennedy's 10th best-selling novel) was another gripping read; another real page-turner; another book that it was impossible to put down. Yes, Douglas Kennedy does it again and again and again.

As well as being great reads, Kennedy's novels also make many important and insightful social and political points. 'The Moment' carried on with this tradition, and it also had a philosophical dimension.

The philosophical dimension revolved around the concept of 'The Moment': around issues such as whether or not one should live in and for 'the moment'. The main character, Thomas Nesbitt falls in love straight away, but then tragedy hits. Was this because he had been living in 'the moment' or was it down to some other outside factors?

Then, there is also the value or otherwise of being 'spontaneous' and/or 'impetuous' - a topic that I discussed recently with two of our sons, who were quite cynical about it all.

Now, for me it has always been important, indeed necessary, to be rational, sensible and level-headed for much of the time, but that on occasion there is a definite need to break out of this type of mentality, and do something spontaneous, irrational and/or impetuous - i.e. 'living in the moment'. Enjoying life in the particular instant; being carefree; being out of character, perhaps; putting ones concerns and responsibilities to one side for a while. I see 'spontaneity', in particular as being something very positive in this regard. And here, my thoughts turn to D. H. Lawrence - another one of my favourite fiction authors.

Being impetuous can, of course, be taken the wrong way - not making sound and considered judgements etc. Indeed, in what I saw as being in an 'impetuous moment' I decided to start up this blog. That was a good thing, mind. But I was actually going to call it 'Impetuous Moments' but upon discussing it with Graham Coult, the editor of 'Managing Information' (who is keen on blogging), he suggested that 'Serendipitous Moments' might be a better name, as that is clearly positive. I thought that was a sound idea, so took it on board. But being impetuous can also be a good thing. We need to break out of the rat race type of mentality sometimes, that's for sure.

Indeed, important decisions can sometimes be made in 'the moment'. And moments of genius thinking can suddenly appear; the inspiration in the moment; thinking outside of the box and outside of the confines and convention of society; such moments need to be cherished, and wherever possible, preserved. But of course, big mistakes can also be made in 'the moment'.

So, anyway, Douglas Kennedy discusses 'The Moment' in the opening pages of his book. There is a discussion between two of the characters (between Thomas Nesbitt and his father) and this is how it goes:

"
'Because I worry I'm a 'not now' sort of person.'

'Why do you say that?'

'I can't live in the moment, I can't let myself be happy with where I am.'

....

'The moment...' I said, as if trying out the word for the first time.'It's a very overrated place.'

'But its all we have, right? This night, this conversation, this moment. What else is there?'

'The past.'

'I knew you'd say that - because that's your obsession. It's in all your books. Why 'the past', Dad?'

'It always informs the present.' " (p.7)

And so on and so forth. There is so much that could be said. The importance of being able to 'let go' and live in 'the moment'.

But there surely has to be more than just 'the moment'; there is the long-term view; the hopes and aspirations.

There are also the sociological terms; 'immediate gratification' and 'deferred gratification'. 'Immediate gratification' - more working class; 'living in the moment'; living in the here and now; enjoying life and not planning much for the future. As opposed to 'deferred gratification', a more middle class concept - planning careers, buying houses and working towards creating a secure and happy life for oneself etc. etc. The latter is also very important, otherwise things can go badly wrong!

And at the end of the book Kennedy returns to 'the moment' again. That quote is at the end of this blog.

Anyway, let's move on for now. Is it a good idea to outline the main plot? Probably not - I might spoil it for potential readers. So, rather I will just say that the novel combines a love affair with writing and other creative outlets, politics and philosophy and that it is really something. Delicious; captivating; enticing; can't put downable.

But there are a couple of other particular themes in the book that I would like to discuss a little more.

The opening few pages starts off with Thomas as a child, and this quote amused me. Thomas Nesbitt says:

"I was always the last kid chosen for teams at school. I always had my head in a book." (p. 29)

Well, that one is so very like me, I must say, and I suspect that this might have applied to Douglas Kennedy himself - i.e. liking books over team sports as a child. I hated PE at school; I was always the last one to be chosen for the horrible team sports, such as netball and rounders. And as for hockey - well, that was even worse. Good job that I also had a sense of the importance of being healthy, otherwise I might be a couch potato by now, she says laughing!

Anyway, I digress.

Then, on p. 16 we have Thomas Nesbitt as a child, wanting to go off and escape (away from his parents) - and so he decides to go off to the local library. I certainly know what he means on that score and where he is coming from. I frequently escaped home and went off to the local library as a child, and got myself some delicious stories to read. I wonder if Douglas Kennedy also felt like that as a child? I suspect that he probably did. Much of fiction writing comes from our own experiences. 'The Moment' for example, is set in Maine and Berlin and these are some of the places where Kennedy currently lives. Nowadays, he divides his time between living in London, Maine, Paris and Berlin. Cool places, eh!

Then, I thought a quote about creative works was also very powerful; a quote about creative works remaining with the creator. One of the characters in the book, Alastair (someone that Thomas is sharing a flat with) is an artist; whilst Thomas himself is a writer. Yes, many of the characters in Kennedy's books are writers, editors, journalists, painters etc - i.e. creative people. Anyway, here is the quote about creative works, with Thomas reflecting:

"That's the great consolation lurking behind all art: the fact that, during the act of creation, you have power over things. Once the painting is in the hands of your gallery owner - or your manuscript with your editor - you no longer own it or possess command over its destiny. But when you are at work, it's still all yours. You own it." (p. 108)

Douglas Kennedy sums up my thoughts and feelings on this one very well. When one is in the process of creating it is all very much ones own work; but once it is 'out there' it becomes, in one sense, something completely different. It is a strange feeling. Writing, keeping it close to ones chest - very important. But when it eventually goes 'out there' it becomes something else. It becomes transformed into something else. One feels differently about ones writing once it is 'out there'. One thinks about how other people might be interpreting and seeing the work for one thing; one looks at it through various lenses.

One also feels less attached to it in one sense. One does not know quite what will happen to the work, or what will come about as a result of it all. Glenn, for example, was invited completely 'out of the blue' to speak in Dublin earlier this year, leading on from his book 'The Battle of Seattle', which was published 10 years ago now. Seattle clearly must have very much inspired the Dublin folk - all the group had read the book! So, one never quite knows: as Douglas Kennedy says, one does not have 'command over its destiny'. The work also takes on another kind of form; it becomes more important in one sense.

And one certainly knows that one works is not going to be confined to the dustbin, which obviously scrawls on paper and/or screen can end up as, if one is not careful. But the best thing surely is to get the writing published. That way ones work can be taken more seriously and hopefully will be read by a wider audience. And for an artist, it is to exhibit and sell etc.

But of course, writing can be kept 'closer to ones chest' than paintings can. A painting would have to be hidden in a locked door, if one wanted to try to make sure that non-one saw the work in progress, as it were.

Anyway, enough reflections - let's move on.

The political dimension in the book was also fascinating and very gripping. These political issues clearly occupy Kennedy's mind quite a lot - put simply these are issues largely around communism versus capitalism. It seems to me that Kennedy hates the extremities of both, and that he is probably on the soft left. These themes pervade many of his novels.

Quite a lot of 'The Moment' deals with the bad communist regime, the STASI that there was in East Germany, during the Cold War, and how terribly it treated the main heroine, Petra Dussmann, who Thomas falls in love with, in 'the moment'.

Glenn and I are, of course, against capitalism; we do not accept the 'There Is No Alternative' philosophy; but the communist regimes that have existed so far, are clearly not the answer. We must persevere; exercise some patience; and aim to think and work towards creating a better, fairer and a kinder world for ourselves.

And I thought this quote was really something as well; the power of writing and all that. Here are Thomas Nesbitt's thoughts on writing:

"When I write, the world proceeds as I would like it to proceed. There is an order to things. I can add and subtract what I want to the narrative. I can create any denouement I desire...When I write there is an order to things. I am in control." (p.25)

I very much feel this; that when I write I bring order to things; I am in control; I know where I am going; I can make sense of things. And writing can also be therapeutic, of course.

There are also elements of the book that might be autobiographical, I think. The main character, Thomas Nesbitt, becoming a novel writer; up to now, having just written one non-fiction book on Egypt. And Douglas Kennedy himself wrote a book about the pyramids.

In some of Kennedy's previous novels it said that he was married, had two children, and was living in London. But in 'The Moment' there is no mention of his wife. I wonder if the jet-setting, successful life has taken its toll? Also, there is a part of him that is clearly very American (the fast pace in the novels etc), but there is a part of him that it also very critical of the American way of life, I think. Which no doubt partly helps to explain why he is currently living in 4 different locations!

And then there are the similarities between Douglas Kennedy and myself - that also interests me. We are both about the same age (he was born just a year before me); we both have 3 non-fiction books published; we both enjoy writing; we are both married; we both have children; we are both interested in politics and, as I say, I suspect that Kennedy is on the left; we are both critical of both capitalism and communism (as constituted so far); we are both interested in writing novels about writers and creators; we are both keen to include some politics and philosophical issues in our fiction writing; we are both interested in exploring the minds of talented, educated and troubled people. The artist, Alastair, in 'The Moment' for example, is a wonderful artist, but has personal issues - he is a gay drug addict. And so on and so forth.

As I say, Kennedy wrote 3 non-fiction books and now this is his 10th best-selling novel. And as I also say I have 3 non-fiction novels published and am now venturing into fiction. I wonder if I can follow a similar path to Douglas Kennedy? That would sure be wonderful. But I am a heavier writer than him; that has to be said and acknowledged.

I do, indeed, often find myself identifying with certain and various creative people - whether they be alive or dead. But there is something very special about identifying with a living person; one can see how they develop and progress; one can relate to the period that they are writing about - the simple fact of sending emails that are in Kennedy's novels, for example. One can feel it all so much.

My thoughts turn, yet again, to Michael Jackson. Douglas Kennedy helps to fill the gap left by Michael Jackson for me to some extent. I am very fortunate in that regard. I can also compare it all to where I personally am at.

Douglas Kennedy does also have a certain advantage for me, because my discovery of his artistic talent was much more personal. I mean, the world knew Michael Jackson, even though I did appreciate his brilliance in quite a solitary way. But anyway, Kennedy is not in the same league exactly as Michael Jackson, when it comes to world fame of course. I simply discovered Kennedy's work on my own by being attracted to one of his book covers in W. H. Smith, where the book was on display (a few years ago now). So, in this way, it is more personal for me (although not in other ways).

One could also make some interesting comparisons with Jean-Paul Sartre's work - Sartre who dealt with many philosophical issues in his novels. Now, Douglas Kennedy is not in the same league as Sartre, when it comes to depth of philosophical thinking of course. But even so, he makes many insightful philosophical and political points. And perhaps, in the future, his work will become deeper. I like that idea - so that he goes down in history as not only being a best-selling novelist, but also as a really classical novelist - i.e. so that his place in history is secured.

Personally, I am approaching the novel from the opposite angle, I think. I seem to be going in at the deep end; with moments of lightness. The exploration of many philosophical issues are absolutely key and crucial for me. But perhaps, in the future, I will also write some more lighter reads; or at least, that the balance will change.

Although, let's also give credit where it is due. The 'Independent on Sunday' has this to say about 'The Moment':

`Kennedy, like William Boyd and Paul Watkins, has always managed to walk that precarious tight-rope of credibility between the twin towers of popular and literary fiction.'

Yes, Kennedy does indeed combine popular and literary styles in his novel writing - a real achievement. And the fast pace (no doubt influenced by his Manhattan upbringing) and fascinating plots makes his books really gripping; real page turners. I certainly would not want that feel and pace to be lost or lessened. But on the other hand, I think Kennedy's books could be made richer by exploring the political and philosophical issues in some more depth and where they play more centre stage in the books. A difficult artistic accomplishment, but one that I am sure Kennedy is very capable of achieving. As Christian House in 'The Independent' on 8th May 2011 said:

"The Moment remains a great read but I can't help thinking there are better things to come from this fine raconteur, if he can only eschew the demands of his publishers."

Yes, a very good point that, I think.

Anyway, I am very much aiming to do both; to lessen the great divide between fiction and non-fiction, and where one can feed off and benefit the other. But that is not something that all that many people try to do in any really meaningful way.

And the 'Irish Times' has this to say about 'The Moment':

`Douglas Kennedy's 10th novel, The Moment, a tome running to almost 500 pages, is weighty enough to crush any doubts about this prolific author's status as a stylish popular novelist and a classy purveyor of the gripping yarn... It is the quality of evaluation, this conscious appraisal of unforeseen loss, of gallant naivety, of the bullish youthful belief in the right to happiness, that sets Kennedy's work apart from that of many other popular novelists... It is a gripping read and an honest attempt to address human frailty while playing out our minor destinies in the face of great love and desperate loss.' --The Irish Times

Douglas Kennedy concludes his novel talking philosophically about 'The Moment' again, saying:

"The moment.

The moment that can change everything. The moment that can change nothing. The moment that lies to us. Or the moment that tells us who we are, what we search for, what we so want to unearth...and possibly never will.

Are we ever truly free of the moment?"

Yes, 'The Moment'.

I also wrote a long piece about Douglas Kennedy's novels in October 2009, that is both on this blog and on our 'Flow of Ideas' website. I wrote, in particular, about the amazing ability Kennedy has to get into the minds of educated but troubled women - writing in the first person as a woman. Re-reading these novels, and writing this piece, really helped me leading on from the death of my father-in-law, two and a half years ago now.

Here is the link to my article:

http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Douglas%20Kennedy:%20best-selling%20novelist

And now Kennedy's novels are starting to be transformed into films and on to the stage. One is a French film that is based on 'The Big Picture' (a great read) and the other is 'The Women in the Fifth' which is being performed in the theatre.

And finally, here is a picture of Douglas Kennedy - wow!

Moving

2011-05-28T04:28:00.000-07:00

MOVING

The time has come to make clear, or not as the case may be. Three years after Rhodes, Glenn gave a talk at GradCAM in Dublin on 25th May. This draws a line under the silence and long hair over this period, though long hair might be grown once more.

Taking stock and considering what next emerges will be a joint decision. Whatever is decided upon, we have confidence that the power of our project will be uncovered.

Glenn and Ruth Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/

All that is Solid for Glenn Rikowski: http://rikowski.wordpress.com/

Capitorg

2011-05-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

CAPITORG: EDUCATION AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE HUMAN IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY – GLENN RIKOWSKI

The Praxis and Pedagogy Group of GradCAM (the Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media) Dublin present:

Glenn Rikowski
“Capitorg: Education and the Constitution of the Human Contemporary Society”

Wednesday May 25th 2011
6.00 – 8.00pm
Henry Clarke Room, NCAD, 100 Thomas Street, Dublin

Our lives are increasingly constrained by the social relations that capital coordinates. The educational discourse of neoliberalism; promoting literacy for job opportunities, economic advancement, and individual success are of paramount importance to producing human capital rather than human beings. Neoliberal literacy includes training students and workers to accept “a new work discipline” and conditioning their will to maximise the accumulation of capital and wealth. As students increase their marketability, they are “always already shaped by the labyrinthine circuits of capitalist desire” (Peter McLaren and Ramin Farahmandpur, 2002)

We not just learning, teaching, and living in neoliberal capitalist societies, but are becoming “a new life-form: human-capital” through “the capitalization of humanity” (Glenn Rikowski, 2002).

Flyer for the event: http://www.gradcam.ie/glenn_rikowski.pdf

The Capitorg: http://www.ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/v10n02/html/kim/kim.html (Many thanks to Soowook Kim: Glenn)

2011-03-01T04:28:00.000-08:00

'The Mayor of Casterbridge' and 'Jude the Obscure' by Thomas Hardy

I have always loved Thomas Hardy; the way he writes, his style of writing, the wonderful countryside, the beauty of Wessex, the characters and the characterisations etc., even though, he is a determinist and such awful things happen to so many good, albeit flawed human beings. Things just to be forever conspiring against many of the main characters in his novels (such as for The Mayor of Casterbridge, Michael Henchard, for 'Jude' in 'Jude the Obscure' and for Tess, in 'Tess of the D'Ubervilles); and this happens, no matter how hard they try and how good they aim to be. It all seems so unfair and unjust. But clearly, Hardy must have felt quite passionately that this is how life can often be in reality, and particularly for certain people, (and indeed, he is certainly right on that score, I think!). Many of us have suffered in this way (although Hardy is very extreme about it, it has to be said). Society can be very cruel. However, personally, I do like to try to look on the bright side, and to somehow think and hope that things will come good in the end. Well, I have to really, for my own survival. I couldn't carry on living from day to day otherwise!

Anyway, re-reading both 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' and 'Jude the Obscure' recently, I felt this even more passionately. In fact, I actually began to find the whole process of reading the books very draining; it was actually taking it out of me. The whole atmosphere, the whole way in which Hardy writes, leads one to think that the main characters are doomed. No matter how hard they try, one knows that in the end, they will lose out; that more bad things will happen to them rather than good, and that the bad things will triumph over the good. So, although I still found the books very enticing, I was not quite so sure that I always liked the feeling they were giving me - a feeling which when I first read the books, many years ago now, I actually felt quite OK with. In fact, I loved the feeling in many ways. I felt at home; I loved the sense of community that they engendered. But on the other hand, this time around, I found the way in which everything that the characters touched, how so many people that they associated with somehow seemed to end up being bad news for them, doing them harm in one way or another, was all very draining. This shows how we can change over time, I guess.

Also, the endings in both of the books are so terribly tragic (as is also the case in 'Tess of the D'Ubervilles' of course). Both Jude and Michael die comparatively young; they both die with more or less nothing; and all that after having tried to live decent (albeit not perfect) lives! Michael could, for example, have killed his good friend, Donald Farfrae, the person that he was so kind to and nurtured, who then in various ways started to take everything that Michael had. This included Donald becoming the Mayor of Casterbridge himself and marrying the 2 women that Michael loved; Lucetta and his daughter, Elizabeth-Jane; even though all this was not done through evil, malicious intentions by Donald. Anyway, Michael chose not to kill Donald of course. He also gave the love letters back to his one-time lover, Lucetta Templeman - letters that if discovered would have destroyed her reputation. Michael still wanted to marry her - but no, she decided to marry Donald. It all starts to go wrong, of course, from the day that Michael, in a drunken state, mistakenly sold his wife; and no matter how much good he tried to do, such as becoming the Mayor of Casterbridge itself, and trying to do some good for the people in the Casterbridge community, the odds are always stacked against him; fate had other plans for him.

And look at how tragic his final words are:
" 'Michael Henchard's Will'
That Elizabeth-Jane Farfrae be not told my death, or made to grieve on account of me.
& that I be not bury'd in consecrated ground.
& that no sexton be asked to toil the bell.
& that nobody is wished to see my dead body.
& that no murners walk behind me at my funeral.
& that no flours be planted on my grave.
& that no man remember me.
To put I put my name.
Michael Henchard"
Dear oh dear!

With Jude, in 'Jude the Obscure', Jude loved books and wanted to get himself an education. He goes to Christminster (rather like Oxford). But he mistakenly married Arabella before he went, and all that comes back to haunt him as the books progresses. He cannot get into university at Christminster (it is not in his class, his league). He falls in love with his cousin Sue Bridehead in Christminster, but they never formerly 'tie the knot' (even though Arabella had long since gone). They were frightened to commit, as they had both made bad mistakes in their previous marriages, Sue marrying someone that she did not love. But after the children die (the older killing the younger two and then himself thinking that they are too burdensome for Jude and Sue), Sue decides it all happened because Jude and her have been wicked, that they should not have lived togther, and that they should return to their original marriage partners. They do; they are unhappy and in the end Jude dies, with basically nothing.

So, Michael, Jude and Tess, all well-intentioned people, trying to lead decent lives, whilst at the same time making some human mistakes on the way, die relatively young and with nothing.
All so very tragic.

Of course, these stories are all very well-known. Still, it is useful sometimes to reflect.

Hardy's style of writing though is fantastic, it has to be said, and reminds me of how Jane Austen can rephrase things in a certain very effective, enticing and beautiful way. It is a rare gift. Reading 'The Hand of Ethelberta' by Thomas Hardy also brought home to me what an art such effective writing is. This was because this book fell seriously short; as it says in the Introduction, it is indeed 'the joker in the [Hardy] pack'. Perhaps, it would have been better if it had not been published. But I suppose it at least gives us an opportunity to compare and contrast, and to help us to appreciate a good novel from a poor one. This was probably a novel that Hardy should have realised was only in draft form, and needed to be edited, rephrased, reworked in various ways. So be it. It didn't happen. But it provides a useful illustration.

This will be my last blog on the novels that I read for the foreseeable future; and indeed, blogs on 'Serendipitous Moments' in general now, will be rare. Next, I need to concentrate on my own novels; on my own writing and on my own life. I do this by forward thinking; by being optimistic; by embracing life; by connecting with certain types of people and organisations and by making certain decisions. And by thinking in the opposite way to Thomas Hardy in many ways, in fact. By believing that no matter what obstacles one may be presented with, it is possible to find positive ways through, and to come out successfully and on top. Romantic thinking perhaps, but it is how I prefer to think and to be. And for me, it has certainly brought forth good results. We do what best suits us. And so for all these reasons, my energy must be conserved, so this door will now close, and will make way for another one to open.

I hope and trust that these blogs of mine on the novels that I read have provided some interest and enjoyment. Novels have been, are, and will always continue to be a very important part of my life. And on this note, I will leave the final few words to Lizzie in Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice', who says that:

"How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!"

I could not agree more! There can, indeed, be no finer words in my book!

'Girl Friday' by Jane Green

2011-02-24T06:29:00.001-08:00

This book was OK, but I did not enjoy it as much as the other Jane Green books that I have read. But then again, perhaps, I am getting a little tired of her books or something. And of course, I have been very busy organising a book launch for my third non-fiction book on digitisation.

In 'Girl Friday' Kit splits with her husband Adam, but then a sister (Amanda) that she never knew she had appears on the scene, and goes off with Adam. There are also other sub-plots.

Whether I continue to blog the novels that I read remains to be seen.

I re-read 2 Thomas Hardy books recently, which led me to do some re-thinking; which I shall probably blog at some point.

'Jemima J.' by Janet Green

2011-02-08T12:09:00.001-08:00

'Jemima J.' by Janet Green (Penguin Books, London, 1998) - this was a very enjoyable read. It is about Jemima Jones, an overweight journalist, who is very attracted to her good-looking colleague Ben from the Kilburn Herald. But she's convinced he won't be attracted to her. She then goes on a very strict diet, really slims down, goes to America and gets attracted to another man - Brad. She thinks it is love, but then discovers that he is using her to keep his 'real' relationship going. Finallly, Ben comes back on the scene, they fall in love, and she goes back home to UK. The book helps to illustrate what an important part food, diet, how we think we look etc. plays in our lives.

A powerful, engaging read.

'Darkest Before Dawn' by Katie Flynn

2011-01-30T23:34:00.000-08:00

'Darkest Before Dawn' by Katie Flynn (Arrow Books, London, 2005) - another good read.

This revolves around the Todd family at the time of the 2nd World War. There is Martha and Harry Todd, with their 3 children, Seraphina, Angela and Eve (the first 2 names being very cherub-like names which was why the 3rd was called 'Eve' and not Cherub). You see the family go through various highs and lows in war time, with jobs and relationships etc. But the love and loyalty between them all remains strong, and finally we see Eve and Toby (after Toby originally went out with Seraphina) fall in love.

'Sweethearts' by Emma Blair

2011-01-30T23:32:00.001-08:00

'Sweethearts' by Emma Blair (Sphere, London, 2007).

This was another good read; when I started reading it though, I realised that I had read it before. Still, I very much enjoyed reading it again.

The story revolves around two sisters, Lexa and Coredlia Stewart, and how they cope with life leading on from the death of their father. First of all, they tried to take over and run their father's fruit and vegetable business, but this became impractical, particularly given the prejudice against women. Then, they both get other jobs and fall in love, but inevitably there are various complications.

Invitation to a Book Launch for 'Digitisation Perspectives'

2011-01-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

INVITATION TO A BOOK LAUNCH FOR ‘DIGITISATION PERSPECTIVES’

Digitisation Perspectives
Edited by Ruth Rikowski
Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 2011

ISBN 978-94-6091-297-9 (pbk); 978-94-6091-6 (hdbk);
978-94-6091-299-3 (e-book)
£35.00 (pbk); £75.00 (hdbk)
https://www.sensepublishers.com/product_info.php?products_id=1158&osCsid=f255a6ffa2e20417688cf96c4ae8976e

Part of Book Series:
‘Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice’
Series Editor: Michael A. Peters

Digitisation Perspectives will be launched on Wednesday 16th February 2011, 17.30 - 20.00
At: Wilkins Terrace Restaurant
University College London
Gower Street
London, WC1E 6BT, England

Digitisation Perspectives includes contributions from 22 experts worldwide.

Foreword by Simon Tanner, Director Digital Consultancy, King’s College London, who says that the book: “…seeks to address and answer some of the big questions of digitisation…It succeeds on many levels…”

Topics covered include: electronic theses, search engine technology, digitisation of ancient manuscripts, citation indexing, reference services, digitisation in Africa, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, new media and scholarly publishing. The final chapter explores virtual libraries, posing some interesting questions for possible futures.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

FOREWORD: SIMON TANNER, DIRECTOR, KING’S DIGITAL CONSULTANCY SERVICES, KING’S COLLEGE, LONDON

INTRODUCTION: RUTH RIKOWSKI

PART 1: BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW TO DIGITISATION AND DIGITAL LIBRARIES

Chapter 1: The Rise of Digitization: An Overview - Melissa M. Terras
Chapter 2: Digital Libraries and Digitisation: an overview and critique –
Ruth Rikowski
Chapter 3: Digital Knowledge Resources – M. Paul Pandian
Chapter 4: Digitisation: research, sophisticated search engines, evaluation: all that and more – Ruth Rikowski

PART 2: DIGITISATION AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Chapter 5: Improving student mental models in a new university information setting – Alan Rosling and Kathryn Chapman
Chapter 6: Electronic Theses and Dissertations: promoting ‘hidden’ research – Susan Copeland
Chapter 7: Learning Systems in Post-Statutory Education – Paul Catherall
Chapter 8: Going Digital: the transformation of scholarly communication and academic libraries – Isaac Hunter Dunlap

PART 3: DIGITISATION AND INEQUALITIES

Chapter 9: Hegemony and the Web: the Struggle for Hegemony in a Digital Age – Tony Ward
Chapter 10: Digital libraries: an opportunity for African education – Dieu Hack-Polay
Chapter 11: Critical Perspectives on Digitising Africa – by Leburn Rose

PART 4: DIGITAL LIBRARIES, REFERENCE SERVICES AND CITATION INDEXING

Chapter 12: Digital Library and Digital Reference Service: integration and mutual complementarity – Jia Liu
Chapter 13: The New Generation of Citation Indexing in the Age of Digital Libraries – Mengxiong Liu and Peggy Cabrera

PART 5: DIGITISATION OF RARE, VALUED AND SCHOLARLY WORKS

Chapter 14: Building the Virtual Scriptorium – Tatiana Nikolova-Houston and Ron Houston
Chapter 15: SPARC: creating innovative models and environments for scholarly research and communication – Heather Joseph
Chapter 16: Impacts of New Media on Scholarly Publishing – Yehuda E. Kalay

PART 6: FUTURISTIC DEVELOPMENTS OF DIGITISATION

Chapter 17: Meeting and Serving Users in Their New Work (and Play) Spaces – Tom Peters
Chapter 18: Virtual Libraries and Education in Virtual Worlds: twenty-first century library services – Lori Bell, Mary-Carol Lindbloom, Tom Peters and Kitty Pope

CONCLUSION: RUTH RIKOWSKI

Cover designed by Victor Rikowski

Refreshments provided.

Confirmed speakers at the launch include:

An Introduction by Andy Dawson, Senior Teaching Fellow and MSc Information Science Programme Director, Department of Information Studies, UCL.

Ruth Rikowski is a Freelance Editor, commissioning books for Chandos Publishing, Oxford. She is an Associate of the Higher Education Academy and a Chartered Librarian. Ruth Rikowski is the author of Globalisation, Information and Libraries (Oxford: Chandos Publishing, 2005) and the editor of Knowledge Management: social, cultural and theoretical perspectives (Oxford: Chandos Publishing, 2007). She has also written numerous articles and given many talks; focusing in particular on the topics of globalisation, knowledge management and information technology. Ruth Rikowski is on the Editorial Board of Policy Futures in Education and Information for Social Change. The Rikowski website, ‘The Flow of Ideas’ can be found at www.flowideas.co.uk and her blog, ‘Ruth Rikowski Updates’ is at http://ruthrikowskiupdates.blogspot.com/

Paul Catherall is a librarian currently working at University of Liverpool, UK. Paul has worked in E-Learning and technical support roles over a number of years and his current role involves providing library services to students studying online. Paul also worked for several years as a college lecturer in Information Communications Technology. Paul is also undertaking a PhD within the area of E-Learning and is a graduate of Glyndŵr University, formerly the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education (B.A.) and John Moores University (M.A. Dist). Paul is also an associate of the Higher Education Academy and chartered member of Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). Paul has also been active in various CILIP affiliated groups, including the Career Development Group and is a member of the Editorial Board for the collective forum and journal Information for Social Change. Paul has authored various published journal articles and texts including a stand-alone book Delivering E-Learning for Information Services in Higher Education (Chandos 2005).

Julianne Nyhan – on behalf of Melissa Terras, who is a Senior Lecturer in Electronic Communication in the Department of Information Studies, University College London, and the Deputy Director of the UCL Centre for Digital Humanities. With a background in Classical Art History and English Literature, and Computing Science, her doctorate (University of Oxford) examined how to use advanced information engineering technologies to interpret and read the Vindolanda texts. She is a general editor of DHQ (Digital Humanities Quarterly) and Secretary of the Association of Literary and Linguistic Computing. Her research focuses on the use of computational techniques to enable research in the arts and humanities that would otherwise be impossible.

Places limited for the book launch: R.V.S.P: Rikowskigr@aol.com

Purchasing Digitisation Perspectives:

From Sense Publishers:

Paperback: https://www.sensepublishers.com/product_info.php?products_id=1158&osCsid=6db6323c10ad4cd5490353b1a892f650

Hardback: https://www.sensepublishers.com/product_info.php?products_id=1159&osCsid=6db6323c10ad4cd5490353b1a892f650

From Amazon.co.uk:

Paperback: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digitisation-Perspectives-Ruth-Rikowski/dp/9460912974/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295640711&sr=1-5

Hardback: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digitisation-Perspectives-Ruth-Rikowski/dp/9460912982/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295640711&sr=1-6

From Amazon.com:

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Digitisation-Perspectives-Ruth-Rikowski/dp/9460912974/ref=sr_1_2_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295640919&sr=1-2

Hardback: http://www.amazon.com/Digitisation-Perspectives-Ruth-Rikowski/dp/9460912982/ref=sr_1_2_title_1_h?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295640919&sr=1-2

'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen

2010-12-27T03:36:00.001-08:00

'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen - one of my all-time favourite novels (I also adore the BBC dramatisation of it with the gorgeous Colin Firth).

Well anyway, I was prompted to re-read it yet again the other day. Why? Because our eldest son Alexander's girlfriend Simone is studying it as part of her English Literature degree with the Open University. She is reading a posh, large edition of it, with lots of lovely pictures of the BBC dramatisation in it. Whereas the edition that I have sitting on my shelf (published by Pan books) is a very small paperback edition, but includes a superb introduction by Brigid Brophy. However, unlike me, Simone unfortunately (especially for her, as she is studying it) doesn't seem to like the book much at all. She is struggling to read it, it seems, and the whole process is taking her a long time (even though she is a quick reader). Then, again, of course, reading Jane Austen is challenging. But let's just hope that such things do not effect her ability to obtain a good degree. She has been finding the degree challenging, although has also made some good progress overall.

So, anyway, I decided to read 'Pride and Prejudice' again. With the classics (whether this be in literature, music or whatever) I find that every time one reads, listens, watches, or observes, or whatever one usually gets something new and different out of the whole experience.

This time I got many new and different things from reading 'Pride and Prejudice'. First of all, I thought in more concrete terms about some of the similarities between Jane Austen and myself. This is something that I have felt instinctively for many years; but reading 'Pride and Prejudice' again, this time I thought about it more explicitly. It is a well-known fact, of course, that Lizzy in 'Pride and Prejudice' represents a side of Jane Austen (and that Emma in Jane Austen's novel 'Emma' represents another side). I also love the book 'Emma' and, once again, also particularly loved the BBC dramatisation of it, with Doran Goodwin and John Carson. I can see elements of both of these characters (Lizzy and Emma) within myself. This includes factors such as looking at life through both intelligent and satirical eyes; wishing to be cultural and accomplished whilst also having awareness of one's own limitations (Lizzy's awareness of her limitations on playing the pianoforte, for example); being attracted to a certain type of man (intelligent, dark, strong-minded, sometimes distance, having manners in certain circumstances but not necessarily so in others if it does not seem to be appropriate etc); loving to read novels (Jane Austen enjoying this from a child, as I did - her father had a library of 500 books by 1801 and Lizzy enjoying books); a religous upbringing (Jane Austen herself, with her father being a clergyman); the need to use our brain within the situations that we find ourselves in (this applied to Emma on a large-scale, which was why she became a match-maker of course and obviously to Jane Austen herself); having a family that could often be embarrassing (this applies to various members of Lizzy's family, including sisters Lydia and Mary as well as her mother; also to Emma's father who was always complaining about the drafts etc) and to having a particularly annoying and silly mother (in this case, Lizzy's mother).

I feel a great affinity with Lizzy in regard to her mother. Like Mrs Bennett my mother was confused, silly and always going on about her nerves! We are introduced to Lizzy's annoying and daft mother on just the 2nd page of 'Pride and Prejudice', with Mrs Bennett saying this to Mr Bennett:

"You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves."

And he replies:

"You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty five years."

I love the satire! Similarly, my mother - she was always going on about 'her nerves' and all the things that were wrong with her. She was a right hypochondriac!

In regard to Lizzy's mother, Mrs Bennett, we have various gems. Jane Austen says that Mrs Bennett was:

"...a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; her solace was visiting and news." (p. 3)

'Nerves' for a certain type of woman could be just so useful!

And here we have something about Mr Bennett's view in regard to Mrs Bennett:

"Her [Lizzy's] father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her. Respect, esteem, and confidence had vanished for ever; and all his views of domestic happiness were overthrown." (p.175)

Then, towards the end of the book, when Jane, Lizzy and Lydia are all married we discover that Mrs Bennett still:

"...was occasionally nervous and invariably silly." (p. 286)

So, she never fundamentally changes. And Mr Bennett, by marrying such a person, caused many and various problems for the family of course. Still, he was an intelligent man and managed to see his way through many and various situations, somehow or other (although he recognised the fact that he was also often very fortunate in how things finally turned out).

In regard to the humiliation and embarrassment brought upon the family by the behaviour of Lydia with Wickham we have statements such as this:

"But she [Lizzy] had never felt so strongly as now, the disadvantages which must attend the children of so unsuitable a marriage, nor ever been so fully aware of the evils arising from so ill-judged a direction of talents; talents which, rightly used, might at least have preserved the respectability of his daughters, even if incapable of enlarging the mind of his wife." (pp. 175-6)

Also:

"Lydia - the humiliation, the misery she was bringing on them all..." (p. 204)

I similarly, have suffered considerable embarrassment from certain members of my family on and off over the years!

As I have already said though, what I particularly loved and appreciated reading the book this time round, was the powerful and insightful introduction to the book by Brigid Brophy. Brigid Brophy made me think very clearly about some very important points about the novel as an art form; thereby emphasising the brilliance and genius of Jane Austen in a slightly different way for me (as opposed to enjoying the novel on a somewhat simpler level).

Brigid Brophy talks about the beautiful forms that Jane Austen created, and how she did this partly by being ruthless with her work, and destroying that which needed to be destroyed.

"Jane Austen's novels are beautiful forms because of what she destroyed in uncovering them. No element is without counterpart. No action merely ends a phase - it is always a resolution, not merely the last note but the key note, exactly in tune by virtue of its relation to all the notes that went before and theirs to one another." (p. x)

This reminds me of Mozart's work in some ways; having just the right amount of notes, and in the right order etc. (as opposed to some of his critics at the time, that said that his compositions had too many notes! Dear oh dear).

And then there is Mr Collins, the silly and annoying cousin of Lizzy's that also never read novels. As Brigid Brophy says:

"...Mr Collins declares he never reads novels. Jane Austen couldn't have said anything more damning than that." (p. xv)

Here then, Jane Austen is emphasising again how infuriating she can personally find silly and annoying people to be, whilst also making it clear just how wonderful she thinks the novel is. And Lizzys' love of reading is also articulated in the following way when she is reading a book, and then looks up to say to Mr Darcy:

"How pleasant it is to spend an evening in this way! I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! - When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library." (p.40)

'How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book." I couldn't agree with her more!

Yet, in 'Emma' we witness here the compassionate side of her in regard to those that are less intelligent, with Miss Bates, who is so good-hearted and kind, but not very bright. Also, how guilty Emma felt at one point, when she felt that she had not treated her right and where she had spoken in public about the limits of her conversation.

Moving on, Brigid Brophy rightly turns on its head, the notion that Jane Austen wrote limited novels that just mirrored the society and the surroundings that she was brought up in. This is an accusation that is often thrown at her work, and is really just so unfair. I am reminded of the work of the philosopher J.S. Mill which I have written about in my newsletters and on my 'Ruth Rikowski Updates Progression' blog. J.S. Mill had an amazing ability to be able to write clearly and in an approachable way, which can then sometimes perhaps be taken for granted. I think something similar can apply to Jane Austen's novels. On one level they can appear to be so clear and simple and just lovely, creating a beautiful environment with interesting people - we can just escape into it, and perhaps wish that the real world was more like it, and leave it at that (or at least I can on one level, that's for sure). But although this is all very nice, if we leave it at that, then we are grossly under-estimating the power and brilliance of Jane Austen's work of course (although in reality, to be fair, that does not really happen much). As Brigid Brophy rightly says:

"It is sometimes implied that Jane Austen was a great novelist despite these limitations on her own experience and on her subject matter. But there is no 'despite' about it. Her subject matter constituted bricks quite adequate to building the structures her imagination conceived, as the perfection of the finished structures bears witness. Her own circumstances were actually helpful in that they included the opportunity for her to make herself technically competent - indeed, virtuoso - at writing novels. The technique of fiction is every bit as hard and lengthy to acquire as that of architecture or counterpoint" (p.v-vi)

Charles Hazlewood also thought this about Mozart's work; that much of the brilliance and passion of Mozart's work arose precisely from the life circumstances that he found himself in; and that his work should not be seen as something separate from this. But geniuses have the unique ability to be able to do this; to transform everyday occurences and passions into something else; into something creative, artistic and wonderful, that we can then all enjoy. This is what I see as being the big difference to be.

Brigid Brophy continues, says that:

"Far from passively and impartially reflecting back everything in her own milieu, she is a ruthless suppressor of all items which would not forward her plot or carry a structural weight in her design. A mirror reflects an assemblage in which the elements don't, as old-fashioned water-colourists used to put it, 'compose'; Jane Austen's novels are cogent, dynamic designs - structures of organic engineering." (p. vii)

Then, Brigid Brophy makes it clear that she thinks that Jane Austen's level of genius is on a par with that of Marx, Freud, Shakespeare and Mozart, and I quite agree with her about all of this. She says:

"The twentieth-century, which has been rightly taught by Marx and by Freud to get down to economic and sexual brass tacks, would quickly dismiss a merely mirroring Jane Austen as reflecting far too small a corner of England, too well protected against the intrusion of brass tacks to be statistically significant...Instead, of fading, Jane Austen is in the twentieth century standing out more and more unmistakenably. For the first time since one of her contemporary reviewers [Whately, later Archbishop of Dublin] recognised her as a Shakespearean genius, it is clear that she wrote her books not as a more entertaining way of passing the long rural, upper-middle-class winter evenings than needlework, but because she was a passionate artist whom nothing - not even if she had been a vivandiere - could have stopped." (p.ix)

And:

"The imagination of a great novelist is an instrument as penetrating and analytic as the imagination of a Marx or a Freud. And indeed Jane Austen's artistic insight into the worlds she created carried her down to the very same brass tacks as those two thinkers reached by thinking their way down into the structure of the real world outside themselves." (p.x)

Furthermore, Brigid Brophy says that:

"The ground-plan of all Jane Austen's structures is laid out round two axes, her two great realistic perceptions: the economics of being a woman at a time when marriage was the only key to financial independence; and the power of sexual attraction, which may tempt you towards an imprudent marriage or towards a love which, not being reciprocated, won't lead to marriage at all. The novels Jane Austen constructs about these two great pillars are no more naturalistic than Mozart's operas or Shakespeare's comedies." (p. xii)

She concludes by saying that:

"...like many great works of art, Pride and Prejudice is itself a metaphor of art: an ever-living monument to the power of the imagination, constructed by an imagination of genius round imagination's two principles." (p.xvii)

Wow - Brigid Brophy's introduction is almost an amazing piece of art work in itself, I think!

The ability to re-create life in its various forms, into a beautiful work of art - what a truly wonderful, wonderful gift that is! And how much we can benefit from all of that. And of course, Jane Austen had this gift in abundance.

So I come to the end of another little episode for me in regard to Jane Austen. Although, perhaps now I will re-read one of her other novels, perhaps with new, refreshed and different eyes. Have to see.......

'An Apple from Eden' by Emma Blair

2010-12-20T04:02:00.000-08:00

'An Apple from Eden' by Emma Blair (Little, Brown and Company, London, 1998).

Every novel by Emma Blair is proving to be a winner for me! I find them all page-turners, whilst also giving me the 'feel-good factor'.

The story focuses around two families; the rich Seatons and the working class Flynns, whose lives become intertwined at the time of the Great War. The book deals with passion, romance and tragedies set amidst various social class issues.

'Moonlit Eyes' by Emma Blair

2010-12-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

This was a great book - 'Moonlit Eyes' by Emma Blair (Time Warner paperbacks, London, 2002). I couldn't put it down.

This is about a black couple, New York saxaphonist Pee Wee Poston and his wife Beulah coming to live in Islington and living next door to Albert and Jess Sykes and their children Ellie and Paul. Pee Wee and Beulah have come to London in order to be near their son Julius, a high-flying diplomat at the American embassy. The Sykes are friendly and helpful to Pee Wee and Beulah, even though they see them as being in a class above them, and there is also the race issue.

War then breaks out. Son Paul is evacuated but is unhappy. He comes home, but it results in him getting killed. Ellie is heart-broken and blames herself a lot. Then tragically, a bomb hits the house and Ellie is also killed.

Albert goes to convalesce in a home supported by his trade union. He is really happy there, does lots of odd-jobs for the matron there and decides to stay. Meanwhile, Ellie and Julius fall in love.

At first, Albert is concerned about the race issue, but then he accepts them.

So, there are various tragedies throughout the book, and the book addresses various social issues, but there is a happy ending.

'P.S. I Love You' by Cecelia Ahern

2010-12-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

I tried giving this book 'a go', 'P.S. I Love You' by Cecelia Ahern (HarperCollins, London, 2007) but I was disappointed. I only got a third of the way through it; it just did not engage me enough.

Holly and Gerry had been childhood sweethearts but Gerry dies suddenly at only the age of 30 years. He leaves Holly a lot of letters that she must read at times that he has stipulated. May be that was it - the topic was just a bit too depressing for me. It seemed fairly obvious to me roughly where the plot was going, but I didn't feel that I wanted or really needed to know somehow.

'The Other Woman' by Jane Green

2010-12-06T05:27:00.001-08:00

This was a good book - 'The Other Woman' by Jane Green (Penguin, London, 2005). I read one other book by Jane Green, so I thought I would try another, and yes, I enjoyed it.

Ellie and Dan are in love, and are proof that opposites attract. Ellie's mother died when she was a baby. Dan's mother is possessive, wanting to organise everything, including their wedding etc. But Ellie took this in her stride at first, thinking that it was nice, that there was a mother figure around. However, after a while, it all got a bit much. A big problem is that often Dan won't defend her in regard to it all.

Dan says, for example, "Oh, for God's sake...can't you just give it a rest? All I've been hearing for weeks now is you bitching about my mother." (p. 91)

Ellie replies, saying:

"That's because you never stand up for me. If you were to actually show some balls and defend me, or agree with me when your mother is manipulative or unreasonable, then it wouldn't wind me up as much." (p.91)

But then "...Dan explained how he feels pulled between the two most important women in his life..." (p. 92)

A difficult situation.

The Daily Express describes the book as "A compelling page-turner from start to finish" - and I very much agree.

Music

2010-12-03T07:59:00.001-08:00

I love music; I can't live without music; it is my lifeblood; it is like bread and water to me.

My love of books is fairly well-known now, I think, but not so much my love of music. Well, in essence, music is just as important to me as books. I just could not carry on/live without either. Books and Music - the essentials of life, as far as I am concerned!!

I have been a little reticent about talking about all this publicly; when I first got published, I took the professional approach; then the political and Marxist theoretical approach.

It is only over the last year or so that I have started making my love of literature and music more public. And as I say, the focus has still been very much on the novel (apart from my long piece about Michael Jackson - as I was so beside myself over his sudden death).

Anyway, I now feel that it is time to rectify this anomaly, and to say something more about my love of music. As with books, I have loved music for as long as I remember. But I guess the big difference is that with books, reading books, it was all very much my decision (well reading a book has to be doesn't it - it is such a personal, individual experience). As a child, I took myself off to the local public library; I choose which books to borrow; I went home and read them. Then, of course, there were the books that I got for presents. But even then - one chooses whether or not to read them, what order to read them, whether to read all or some of them, whether to re-read them etc. And of course, this love of books has remained with me forever. When some people say that they never read a book I am very puzzled - however, do they get by in life, I think? But of course, that is only my way of looking at it all. We are all very different, when all is said and done. I love getting into the minds of different people; or at least, people that think, that have things to say and express; and that can do this well - i.e. getting into the minds of published authors. This is so, whether it be fiction or non-fiction, but of course, fiction was my first love.

As a child, music, in contrast, was all around me (it was not something that I decided to do on my own in the way that reading books was). My mother loved to sing and dance; I sang hymns at church; I was in a choir; my mother was in a choir; I went to concerts (I remember being very keen on Gilbert and Sullivan, for example); I listened to music on the radio; and I learnt the piano and the recorder (although I wasn't so keen on the 'learning the piano fiasco' - the cold front room and all that - no central heating in those days). Anyway...But then in my mid teens I started buying some records of my own. Cat Stevens was one of my first loves here.

Then, when I went to university I bought myself a record player and lots of records (certainly did not want a TV). Lovely! I also used to go to university discos about 3 times a week and danced very energetically and enthusiastically; I was in heaven. I absolutely loved it. Lots of wonderful music used to waft across the campus as well; Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon' was the ultimate; it was brilliant. The sounds of that wafted across the campus, from student's rooms, more than any other album or artist. We all loved it. The sun shone, and Pink Floyd sang.

And so, this love of music has continued ever since - always looking out for the next interesting album, the next artist etc. These days I borrow lots of CDs from my local library in Ilford - that way I can get familiar with a large repertoire of music without it costing me too much. Great. I love it.

So, I read, I write, I listen to music, I dance, I sing etc. Truly wonderful; I am in seventh heaven as long as I have all this. Take it all away from me and I would be doomed. But I certainly don't intend to go down that path!

Although I had private piano lessons as a child (and also learnt the recorder actually), I was not properly classically musically trained. This is one of the problems with music. It can still be very much a class/elitist thing, when all is said and done. You know, middle class parents having the money and inclination to send their children to private music lessons (particularly important given how poorly resourced music departments in schools tend to be). Breaking out of that mould is very difficult. And can folks make a living/make money out of music? Well, very difficult. So, folks often choose the 'safer' career options; but without music we are all the poorer. What an impossible life it would be without these wonderful creative outlets. Dear oh dear! But it is wrong that, once again, those that are not so well off can tend to suffer.

In regard to music and libraries, whilst we all know that libraries are for borrowing books, we can sometimes forget, or at least look over the fact, that they can also be very good for borrowing music!I have gone through various phases with this one; well, I go through phases with my library-usage anyway, but more so with music....

When I was on maternity leave with our eldest son, Alexander, I used to borrow a lot of music records from our local library in Coventry - yes, it was still records in those days!

Then, on and off over the years, I have borrowed music CDs from the local library - and of course, this was easy when I worked in the public library service myself. Furthermore, our middle son, Victor, worked at Kensington Central Library for a couple of years. They have a wonderful music library there -with lots of music CDs but also lots of music scores and books about famous composers etc. Anyway, he borrowed lots of CDs whilst he worked there; some of which I liked but quite a lot of which did not appeal to my tastes all that much. Still - it was all an interesting experience!

Then, last year, after my father-in-law died I picked it all up again. The music selection in my very local library was useless; but Ilford Library (not far away) has a wonderful collection I discovered. Now, months later, I am borrowing music CDs again on a regular basis. It means that I can listen to a large repertoire of music without it costing me too much. I also like the physical thing of going into the library - so, no I don't want to get it all from the Internet, if anyone asks. I have heard some wonderful music by this method. I love listening to new music as well - so this is a great way in which I can keep cheerful, listen to and absorb a lot of new music, sharing music with others, as well as having a great time dancing around, relaxing etc - without it all costing a lot of money. Winners all round - until the cuts start biting. Whatever is Cameron and his crew doing to the public library service, and indeed, to our public services and way of life, in general. But I try not to think about it all too much; it is too depressing, and just all to dreadful. Why did people vote in all this rubbish? But then again, whilst the electorate can be blamed for voting in Thatcher, they can't be blamed for voting in Cameron in the same sort of way. Cameron does not have a mandate from the people for this right-wing government; but still, he continues, never-the-less.

I love such a lot of different types of music; I could not begin to say where it begins and ends. A lot of the time, these days, I prefer the softer artists over the heavy rock and metal ones, it has to be said; but then again, I/we go through phases with music, and a lot of the time, it can depend on one's mood, can it not. It is the continued freshness and the difference that I love; and the ability that music has to reflect your mood - I put on a certain type of music when I am in one mood; and a different type of music when I am in a different mood. One can express oneself through music in ways that it is not possible to in any other way. And we need a variety of ways in which to be able to express ourselves.

But certainly, I love listening to new music; to music that I have not heard before. I am not one of those that likes to keep listening to the same thing time after time after time.

At the moment, there are a number of strands to all of this music for me: listening to music (CDs etc); dancing; singing in a choir; going to concerts; seeeing live bands (including our local folk night, 'Forest Roots'), watching music programmes on the TV and DVD; enjoying our middle son Victor's band, 'Cold Hands & Quarter Moon' and all the excitement around watching them grow, develop, listening to the new songs that Victor writes etc. etc.

Perhaps, I will write some other blogs about particular artists and albums that I enjoy/have enjoyed. Have to see.

But for now, let's sing and dance, and enjoy all the wonderful things that music can offer and bring to us.

'Forget-Me-Not' by Emma Blair

2010-12-01T01:21:00.000-08:00

In the Emma Blair mode, I decided to re-read 'Forget-Me-Not', (Little, Brown and Company, London, 2001) as I managed to pick up a copy in a library book sale the other day. This is a good book; by which I mean that it is a book that really engages me, a book I can't put down! Over the years, this has been the most most important criteria for what I classify as being a 'good book'. I have gone down various other paths, of course. and doing A' level English Literature obviously made me think a lot about the beauty of classical literature, which I then read and enjoyed much of over the years. But my childhood love of novels stemmed from picking up a book that enticed me, engaged me, took me to somewhere else, that enabled me to forget about day-to-day reality, for a period. And it is that main love that has remained with me throughout the whole of my life. A sort of socialisation process that I gave myself, I guess, if you get my drift.

Anyway, themes of boarding houses, newspaper reporting and acting run throughout this novel - an interesting combination. Tim Wilson, a newspaper reporter for the Torquay Times (yes, 'Fawlty Towers' springs to mind!) and his mother run a small boarding house and the interesting actress Elyse Davenport comes to stay at it.

Meanwhile, Tim is besotted with Katherine Coates, the daughter of a business colleague of his late father. But Katherine's mother Ruth has higher sights for her. In order to make what she wants happen she tells Katherine that she only has a few months to live. Katherine complies and marries Miles; but then Miles tragically is killed at war. Meanwhile, Katherine's father Jeremiah can hardly bear Ruth any longer and has an affair with Henrietta. As war is looming, Tim doesn't want to die not knowing what sex is all about, doesn't want to have sex with a stranger, so Elyse and Tim decide to make it together. But tragically, Elyse is actually dying (and not fabricating it as Ruth was). She dies, and finally Tim and Katherine are together.

So, it was interesting, having a novel that combined all this plot against the backdrop of the artistic, creative world.

'Little White Lies' by Emma Blair

2010-11-25T04:38:00.001-08:00

I enjoy Emma Blair books, so for relaxation decided to re-read this one - 'Little White Lies'. I read it very quickly; couldn't put it down, in fact.

It is about the antics of a family that move to Glasgow, after the father loses his job in the small town Tomintoul. Lizzie moves there with her parents, although the 2 grown-up sons do not join them. Lizzie quickly finds work as a machinist and makes friends with Pearl. We witness Lizzie growing up; her first alcoholic drink; her first boyfriend; her first sexual encounter etc. But all suddenly goes pear-shaped when she discovers that the first and only time that she has sex, she falls pregnant (whilst Jack has gone off to sea - he was too young to be tied-down, he thought - even though he was mesmerised by Lizzie). The family were really worried about the disgrace it would bring on them. So much so that the mother, Ethne, decides to make out that she is pregnant; she pads herself all out. Meanwhile, Lizzie goes to stay with her brothers, supposedly to help to care for them through a bout of sickness, whilst in fact, she has the baby. Ethne joins them then returns telling everyone in the area that the baby is hers - i.e. 'Little White Lies'. Everyone seems happy with this solution. Later Jack returns, realises he loves Lizzie and they settle down, although he is never told about the baby!

Another story running alongside this is in regard to Pearl. She marries Willie; very keen to tie the knot, only to realise what a big mistake she has made. He is always complaining, comparing her to her mother. Then, he is desperate for a child, but no joy. In the end, she does something very dramatic - has sex with Willie's friend Pete, just to try to get pregnant and please Willie. She succeeds - she falls pregnant, only to discover later that Pete and Pearl love each other. Pearl ends up going off to London to live with him, and hopefully in time, to marry him.

The final story is in regard to Doogie, the father, who can't resist the bountiful and sexy Daisy at work.; especially as at the time, Esthne is not so keen. But it is only for a short duration; then Daisy finds someone else and luckily no-one gets hurt. Doogie is also a hard worker, which probably helped him to 'get away with it all'.

'Push' by Sapphire

2010-11-18T07:15:00.001-08:00

'Push' by Sapphire, Vintage Books: London, 1998 - another book that Alexander's girlfriend Simone lent me the other day. It is a book that she rates highly. Not the sort of book that I would normally read, it has to be said. But surprisingly, it kept me engaged and I read it quickly, in fact (it is only a small book mind - 140 pages). It is described as being 'The Colour Purple for the Nineties' - and 'The Colour Purple' was certainly a book that I found to be very powerful and engaging, and this is why Simone lent me 'Push', I think (a long time since I've read 'The Colour Purple' though).

'Push' is really a very tragic story, about a 16-year old girl black Precious who is raped by her father and now has 2 children as a result of it. Her education has obviously been completely messed up; the book is written in the first person and we witness Precious trying to express herself, through her tragically poor and inadequate English. How brave she is. One can feel the pain that she is going through. And to add insult to injury she then discovers that she is HIV positive.

How can any one human bear so much pain? And yet somehow she does, and through it all she still manages to be cheerful in some way.

The book deals with some really important social issues, although I must admit that I did find it very painful and disturbing, and I am not sure that I would want to read too many books like that! But thanks for lending it to me Simone. It certainly made me think.

'Northanger Abbey' by Jane Austen

2010-11-18T01:53:00.001-08:00

I decided to re-read 'Northanger Abbey' by Jane Austen, having recently enjoyed watching the film again (the perfect way to relax for me). For me, it doesn't quite match up to 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Sense and Sensibility' and 'Emma', but still all 6 of her novels are very special; really something. What a shame it was that Jane Austen didn't live longer, and wasn't able to write more. Still, we must just enjoy what we have, and it helps me to focus and sobers me up, to contemplate on the fact that life is quite short really, and if we do not really 'go' for externalising what is deep within us, and making it happen for us, and live life to the full, then we can end up living a life of regrets.

So, Jane Austen died at 40 years of age, with 6 novels written; so far, I have not completed one! I have my non-fiction books and articles which I am, of course, very proud of, and I am so very glad that I broke through that barrier. However, my first love was fiction, my first fantasy was to write a novel, and I really must and will make this happen. There always just seem to be so many things stopping me from progressing with it. I must and will find another window soon, so that I can return to it.

Anyway, Jane Austen's ability to create something beautiful through the words she used, the way in which she phrased things, is breath-taking, I think. She creates something very special and wonderful out of what, on one level can be seen to be something quite ordinary. 'Emma' for example - about match-making. And one of the main themes of 'Northanger Abey' is about how a young girl, Catherine Morland's love of reading Gothic romance novels, clouded her judgement on reality, leading her to mistaken believe that Henry Tilney's mother had been murdered by Henry's father, General Tilney. Well, there is more to it than that, but that is a very important theme. But all comes good in the end anyway, Catherine matures, and Henry and Catherine are married.

'The Magic Cottage' by James Herbert

2010-11-17T01:51:00.000-08:00

Our son, Alexander's new girlfriend, Simone, kindly lent me this book the other day, because she thought I would like it and it did prove to be an enjoyable read: 'The Magic Cottage' by James Herbert, New English Library, 1987. For some reason, I have never tried reading a James Herbert book before. But anyway, this one was quite gripping.

It is basically about this couple, Midge and Mike who buy a cottage, Gramarye, that turns out to have special magical powers. All sorts of weird things happen in the place; there are bats in the loft, for example, cracks in the building mysteriously appear, and Mike's injured arm rapidly and mysteriously heals. They then discover that there is a religious sect in the village, called the Synergists; this group start interfering in Midge and Mike's life. Then they realise it is because the Synergists want to take over and move into Gramarye, wanting to benefit from its special powers. But in the end the cottage is destroyed.

In the final page Mike and Midge are thinking of looking for and buying another cottage in the country, perhaps in the Cotswolds. But this time, not surprisingly, they are not so sure about it all!

'Alexa' by Andrea Newman

2010-11-12T00:41:00.001-08:00

'Alexa: a novel of three people caught up in feelings they can't control' by Andrea Newman, Penguin, Middlesex, 1976. I have read this little novel just so many times - I really have lost count of the number of times! For me, it is a little gem. It sits on my shelf and when I am in a particular mood, and when I have a real need to regroup/rethink/take hold of life somehow in a new and different way etc, off it comes from the shelf again and I read it. Andrea Newman is a powerful writer, and a number of her books (including this one) were made into TV productions.

It is such a little book (just 157 pages) and yet it says so much; for me, it covers so many important topics; topics that are so very dear to my heart; issues that basically I have grappled with all my teenage and adult life in fact.

What do I mean by this? Well, to put it in a nutshell, it captures something about the real dilemma within myself, and which many other women must clearly suffer from. This is the dilemma between wanting security, a stable and secure relationship, a home etc. with wanting a risk-taking, adventurous, creative life etc.

The book centres around 3 characters: Alexa, Christine and Paul. Christine and Paul are married with 2 children. Paul has a secure job as a teacher; they have a nice home in the country, and in theory have 'domestic bliss'. Alexa, on the other hand, is a successful, creative novelist; living in London; having different relationships with men and a seemingly exciting life (although in reality, it often just involves her spending lots of time writing). Anyway, Alexa and Christine are long-standing friends; Alexa has chosen the creative, risk-taking path; whereas Christine has taken the security, earth-mother path.

Christine is feeling stale; she is also a pianoist, but never plays the piano these days. The children are just too demanding, and she gets too tired. Alexa comes to stay to see how she can help. They decide that Christine will go and stay in Alexa's flat in London for a few days, and live the high life, whilst Alexa stays in Christine's home and looks after her children.

But all goes 'pear-shaped' when Alexa and Paul have a brief affair. Alexa tells Paul that she only wants to go ahead if he promises that he will feel no guilt afterwards. Alexa is into free, no-strings attached, no guilt-attached love-making. Paul agrees; but he can't sustain it. He ends up telling Christine. Christine overdoses and tries to kill herself.

Luckily, Christine does not succeed, and the pages end with her and Alexa maintaining very infrequent communication through letters, and with Christine telling Alexa that she is pregnant again.

The characters of these two women portray the two sides of my personality that I am forever trying to juggle up, and that are sometimes in conflict. All very difficult; but then, life is difficult! So be it, we carry on and try to make it all work, somehow or other.

The Hand of Ethelberta by Thomas Hardy

2010-11-09T00:46:00.001-08:00

I decided to read 'The Hand of Ethelberta: a comedy in chapters' by Thomas Hardy (Macmillan, London, 1975). I love Thomas Hardy, but had not read this one before. However, I was pretty disappointed, it has to be said (so much so that I did not actually finish it). The Introduction by Robert Gittings, in this case, proved to be absolutely right; he said that the book was 'the joker in the pack'. And then goes on to say that "...it fascinates by its very strangeness. Among much that may seem clumsy or fumbling, there are flashes of amazing insight and poetic delicacy." (p. 15) However: "The truth is that a large part of Ethelberta is badly written, and often shows Hardy at his worst in style and thought." (p.18) I quite agree

The book deals with some important topics; class issues and the struggles a woman faces (Ethelberta) in trying to be a writer. But Ethelberta drifts from one group of people to the next; from one society to the next; the book is just not well-written and does not engage the readers attention. Oh well - can't win them all!

Firework Display on Wanstead Flats, 5th Nov 2010

2010-11-08T06:01:00.000-08:00

I went to see the Firework Display on Wanstead Flats on Friday, 5th November 2010. It was rather a wet evening, but thankfully not raining when the display was on. There were loads of people there, and all in all, it was very emjoyable. And below - here are some photos of it.

'The Big Picture' by Douglas Kennedy

2010-11-05T02:54:00.001-07:00

I re-read a Douglas Kennedy book the other day 'The Big Picture' (Abacus, London, 1997). I love Douglas Kennedy's books, and indeed, wrote a long piece about his books a while back, which went both on this blog and on our website - see http://www.flowideas.co.uk/print.php?page=360&slink=yes. As I said in this piece, Douglas Kennedy has a remarkable ability to be able to get into the minds of educated and intelligent, but troubled women.

Anyway, 'The Big Picture' is somewhat different, as it is written in the first person, but as a man, not a woman. It is full of adventure and intrigue, and the plot, on first reading, really surprises you and goes to places where one would never imagine it would. It is a very clever plot; illustrating once again, the intelligence and capability of Douglas Kennedy himself of course.

The first person is Ben Bradford, who has a wife, two children and a steady job, but discovers that his wife is 'playing away'. In a heat of passion, he ends up mistakingly killing Gary Summers, the lover. Now, what to do? Ben decides to fake his own death, and to take on Gary's identity (forging his signature etc.). His own death is faked by him saying that he was going on a boat trip on his own; the boat blows up along with the remains of Gary's body that are in the boat.

Ben then starts his new life as Gary, the succesful photographer, which is very exciting for him, because he always wanted to be a professional photographer anyway. But things get complex, when a certain Rudy tumbles him and then blackmails him.

They are in a car together, with Rudy driving. Suddenly, the car turns over, Rudy is killed, but Gary escapes. Now, what to do? Ben decides to reinvent himself yet again, and to take on Rudy's identity. Wow - a real page-turner.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

2010-10-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

I have always loved so many of the traditional classics - Jane Austen, the Brontes, D.H. Lawrence, George Eliot, Aldous Huxley, Emile Zola, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy etc. etc. I could go on and on.

Elizabeth Gaskell, though, tends not to be rated in quite the same league; but probably somewhat unfairly.

And so, I came to re-read 'North and South' by Elizabeth Gaskell (Vintage Books, 2008) recently. What a truly wonderful book it is; a kind of 'Pride and Prejudice', with a political and social conscience. Although, the last part of the book is not quite so powerful (in terms of a piece of writing), it has to be said. Therefore, despite the fact that, on one level, the plot can be seen to be somewhat more poignant and relevant to many people, perhaps, than 'Pride and Prejudice' does, as a piece of writing it does not really fall into quite the same league.

Never-the-less it is a wonderful book (and anyway, for me, it would be very hard for any book to be able to come up to 'Pride and Prejudice').

Furthermore, the BBC did a wonderful dramatisation of 'North and South', in 2005, starring Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe. The book illustrates the differences between the north and the south, with the heroine Margaret Hale (played by Daniela Denby-Ashe) having to move from the south to the north with her parents. And in the north she witnesses dirt and poverty and then meets up with the dashing John Thornton (played by Richard Armitage), the local mill owner. First of all, Margaret thinks John is ruthless and cruel to his workers. She battles with herself.

"She disliked him the more for having mastered her inner will. How dared he say that he would love her still, even though she shook him off with contempt? She wished she had spoken more - stronger." (p. 245)

But in the end, she realises that she has been mistaken and she falls in love with him.

One thing that really impressed me was when I found out that Richard Armitage read the whole of 'North and South' before he started acting the part of John Thornton. That shows real dedication, I think; he holds the book in very high regard. Colin Firth did not do the same before playing the part of Darcy, I understand. But on the other hand, 'who cares'. He was truly wonderful in it! Well, both of the actors are wonderful. I say no more.

Although, I must try to get along to see 'The King's Speech'; the new film that Colin Firth is in. That looks very good.

'Shadows in the Watchgate' by Mike Jefferies

2010-10-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

I read this book, 'Shadows in the Watchgate' (Grafton, London, 1991) by Mike Jefferies a few years ago, and decided to re-read it. The first time I read it I just could not put it down. It is a really unusual read. And for me it had a special appeal because it is set in Norwich, Norfolk and refers to places like Castle Meadow and Elm Hill. It is a fantasy revolving around the Norwich taxidermist Ludo Strewth who manages to conjure up evil through the Hand of Glory.

Ludo then also becomes obsessed by the lovely American model Tuppence Trilby, and decides that he wants to preserve her - i.e. kill her and stuff her. She could then sit along all the other stuffed animals in his shop and he could admire her as and when he wanted to. He is able to bring the stuffed animals to life through the magical evil powers that he has been able to conjure up through the Hand of Glory and he uses them to help him with his mission.

Meanwhile, Tuppence buys the Watchgate House, but that can't protect her. Dec Winner the volunteer fireman saves her life, falls in love with her, and tries to help her escape from the taxidermist's dangerous, 'live', stuffed animals. Finally, Dec is able to destroy the Hand of Glory and they are then safe.

Certainly a worthwhile and gripping read. I shall, perhaps, try reading some other books by Mike Jefferies at some point.

'To Be the Best' by Barbara Taylor Bradford

2010-10-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

Finally, on the Barbara Taylor Bradford trail, I read 'To Be the Best' - and now that's enough of Barbara Taylor Bradford for a while! 'To Be the Best' continues with the 'A Woman of Substance' story.

Again, Emma Harte's grand-daughter, Paula, continues to protect and build the Harte empire.

"Harte's of Knightsbridge was the best. The only one of its kind. A legend." (p. 512 - in Omnibus edition, which includes both 'Hold the Dream' and 'To Be the Best', published by Diamond Books in 1993).

Emma Harte opened Harte's of Knightsbridge in 1921. Paula marries Shane O'Neill (descended from Blackie O'Neill, who loved Emma but they never married - somehow their paths never crossed together at the right time). Towards the end the Harte empire is under serious threat, but Paula O'Neill uses her brains and determination and comes out winning.

And on the final page, we learn that Paula and Shane are to have another baby, so all ends happily.

10 Fascinating Sub-Movements within Feminism

2010-10-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

I received an email from a Jena Ellis, informing me about a website entitled 'Online Certificate Programs' - onlinecertificateprograms.org.

Also, about a short article that has just been posted on this website, about different types of Feminism. It is entitled '10 Fascinating Sub-Movements Within Feminism' and it briefly describes 10 different types of feminism; namely, Liberal Feminism, Socialist Feminism, Radical Feminism, Anti-Pornography Movement, Sex-Positive Feminism, Cultural Feminism, Separatist Feminism, Conservative Feminism, Postmodern Feminism and Ecofeminism. I did note though, that there was not a section on 'Marxist Feminism'.

Anyway, it is worth having a quick look at (and I told Jena that I would create a short blog entry about it). So, here is the link:

http://www.onlinecertificateprograms.org/blog/2010/10-fascinating-sub-movements-within-feminism/

Elton John supporting talented Musicians

2010-10-16T04:19:00.000-07:00

Elton John is another musician that I have always very much liked and admired; he has a lot of natural musical talent, I think, and I enjoy a lot of his music.

So, it is wonderful that he is now trying to help young up and coming talented musicians. He seems to be disillusioned with the music industry today, in many ways, with programmes such as 'Pop Idol' and the 'X-Factor', which does not provide very much opportunity for real musical talent to be able to shine through in.

The Sunday Times of 10th October 2010 included an article about the help he is giving to some of these musicians (p.3). The article, by Dalya Alberge is entitled 'I'm still spending - on complete unknowns'. The article reports that Elton John has spent over £1million financing dozens of students at the Royal Academy of Music, London personally financing 42 students to train there. Elton John enrolled himself at the Royal Academy as a classical music scholar over 50 years ago, when he was just 11 years old. He won a scholarship to the academy in its scheme for talented musicians and studied Bach and Chopin there for 6 years, although he dropped out before his final exams. Elton John received a doctorate from the college in 2002. He says that the training that he received at the Academy was 'vitally important' to his career. I think he is very thankful for it, and wants to try to pay something back in some way.

Elton John told the Sunday Times:

"I am so proud to be able to support the academy in any way I can and will always be grateful to them for opening the doors for me and so many other young musicians to develop our talents and live our lives in music."

Next, he is planning a second concert; this time at the Royal Opera House, in order to raise a further £600,000 for the Academy.

Elton John has also helped various other people in the past. Michael Jackson thanked him for helping him to stop taking prescription morphine, for example, and he helped Princess Diana to deal with her bulimia.

I read the newspapers these days, and my heart sinks. The government is 'putting the boot in' here, there and everywhere, and young people are suffering really hard, I think, with the huge proposed increases in tuition fees, along with debt, the recession and a lack of jobs, and unaffordable housing. But anyway, amidst reading all this gloom I suddenly read this wonderful, uplifting article. I think that we should start putting more of our faith in musicians and less in politicians.

Our son Victor Rikowski is doing very well on the music front; his musical talent is really starting to shine through in Bangor in a significant way. Quite a lot of new, good things have already been happening to him on this front, following on from the local Bangor radio programme that he was on a couple of weeks ago, with his band, 'Cold Hands & Quarter Moon'. The person that interviewed them, James McAllister, really rates them, I think, and is doing his best to try to promote them more.

How wonderful it would be if 'Cold Hands & Quarter Moon' could somehow or other be brought to the attention of Elton John!

'Hold the Dream' by Barbara Taylor Bradford

2010-10-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to carry on with the Barbara Taylor Bradford reading, and so next read the sequel to 'A Woman of Substance'. This book is entitled 'Hold the Dream', first published in 1985 by Grafton Books. Emma Harte's grand-daughter Paula McGill Fairley (Paul McGill being the real love of Emma's life) is given the challenge of 'Holding the Dream' - the dream that Emma created, with the huge successful empire that she built up. Towards the end of the book Emma dies. But Paula is very successful; she is very much like her grandmother in many ways; very determined and she certainly manages to 'Hold the Dream'. A good read, although really not nearly as good as 'A Woman of Substance' in my view. The plot and ideas were very similar to those in 'A Woman of Substance' and it did not really have enough new things to say.

20 Essential Works of Feminist Fiction

2010-10-13T00:07:00.000-07:00

I received a surprise email from one Anna Miller alerting me to an interesting short piece, entitled '20 Essential Works of Feminist Fiction'. I said that I would include a link to it on my blog, so here it is:

http://www.onlinedegree.net/20-essential-works-of-feminist-fiction/

The list includes one of my all-time favourites - Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice', as well as two other favourites of mine - 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte and 'The Colour Purple' by Alice Walker.

Perhaps, I will read some of the other suggestions myself at some point; who knows - have to see.

As it says in the piece: 'The real heroes in our society are those who overcome obstacles to achieve their goals. Women in particular have risen above much of the inequality that previously hindered them from participating in a male dominated world."

Some Ex-Colleagues in Newham Library Service

2010-09-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

I have had a few interesting encounters recently (either directly or indirectly) with some ex-colleagues in Newham Library Service. These included: Pat Lloyd, Kathy Walker, George Bye, Anne Brooke, Andrew DeHeer, and Angela and Kim.

Pat Lloyd, for example, phoned me up saying that Kathy Walker had sent him a letter, and in it she had included an article of mine that she had downloaded from the web - 'Library Privatisation: fact or fiction?' -
see http://www.libr.org/isc/articles/17-Rikowski-2.html
So, that must suddenly have had an impact on her - interesting!

Anne Brooke is a member of Forest Voices Choir; Margaret Griffith was on the stall for the Newham Writers Group (which she is a member of) at the Forest Gate Festival this year and Andrew DeHeer was on the stall for the Forest Gate Library and Local Service Centre, known simply as 'The Gate'. Then, I bumped into Angela and Kim going round in the van with the Housebound Readers Service.

I guess the biggest surprise though was bumping into George Bye, who was sitting on a seat outside our local pub recently, 'The Golden Fleece' with someone. I hadn't seen George for years. My rapid exit from Newham Library Service was achieved in considerable measure through the handiwork of this person; and that was after I had greatly assisted him with the implementation of the Dynix library computer system there. I actually referred to this work of mine, in an article that I wrote for Managing Information (in the July/Aug 2003 issue, Vol 10, No 6), entitled 'Females, Computers and Libraries' saying that:

"When I assisted with the implementation of Dynix in the London Borough of Newham...I was designated the task of training all the staff on circulation on Dynix. This was a very large and demanding job, and yet it is a task that often falls within the remit of 'women's work' - training staff, helping staff, being available and helpful. There is often an assumption that women are willing and able to share their knowledge and information in this way. Indeed, that they should be willing and happy to share it. Yet, at the same time, I was not given the opportunity to be involved in the some of the important decisions, in regard to the implementation." (p. 8)

'The Women in his Life' by Barbara Taylor Bradford

2010-09-20T02:06:00.000-07:00

'The Women in his Life' by Barbara Taylor Bradford (Grafton Books: London, 1991) proved to be an enjoyable read and something of a page-turner.

I loved Barbara Taylor Bradford's 'A Woman of Substance', which I read years ago, and also watched on DVD. It said so much to me about how a determined, intelligent, clear-headed and hard-working woman could win and succeed against so many odds and right various wrongs, if she really wanted to. I know that the level of success that the character Emma Harte received was certainly delving into the world of fiction, and is certainly not something that most women could achieve, but still, I thought the book conveyed a real message of hope. My son Victor also watched the DVD recently and was very moved, affected and inspired by it (Alex, Gregory and Glenn also really like it).

An;yway, with all this in mind, I decided to read 'The Women in his Life', also by Barbar Taylor Bradford. This dealt with various struggles that people went through in World War 2, focusing in particular on the character Maximilian West, who ended up losing both his parents in the war (who were beaten to death) and how he was bought up by Teddy. All this was described very vividly and powerfully, I thought. Maxim then becomes a successful businessman as well as having various women. But in the end, he finds true love.

Inspiralled Cafe in Camden, London

2010-09-16T04:54:00.001-07:00

On Monday 13th September 2010 Glenn and I had a lovely day out clothes shopping in Camden - one of our favourite places to shop. But what inspired me to write this blog was the 'Inspiralled Cafe' that we went in - an organic, vegetarian, alternative cafe with music, poetry and much else besides. The cafe was situated by the canal, where you can also get boat trips from. It was really something we thought. We took some photos of it all and these are below. It was a lovely weather as well, and we bought some pretty awesome clothes (well, we thought they were anyway!). Michael Jackson fashion-sense dominated the scene, much to my surprise. I thought it was great, but proved to be a problem when Glenn tried looking for a Denim shirt. Anyway, he found one in the end!

www.inspiralled.net

Emily Christophers and Public Libraries

2010-09-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

One of Glenn Rikowski's ex-undergraduate students, (who is now studying for a PGCE at Northampton), Emily Christophers (a great Education Studies student, graduating in July 2010) gave Glenn two articles last week. It was very thoughtful of her to cut out these articles from The Week (28th August 2010) and give them to Glenn for us to read.

As an Education Studies student at the University of Northampton, Emily read some of both mine and Glenn's work from 'The Flow of Ideas' website (the Rikowski family website). Furthermore, she also obtained my single-authored book, Globalisation, Information and Libraries (Chandos Publishing, 2005) from the Open University Library and read some of that as well. This reading led to her cutting out these articles for us.

One of the articles Emily had cut out (for Glenn) from The Week was about BBP University College of Professional Studies; the UK's second private higher education providers. The first was University College Buckingham (UCB, now University of Buckingham) which was set up in 1973, when the Conservatives were in power. Margaret Thatcher formally opened UCB in 1976. The establishment of BBP indicates how the private sector is looking to get into higher education provision in the UK on a bigger scale, especially now that potential providers (such as Kaplan, a US outfit) view the current Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government as being sympathetic to their plans.

University of Buckingham Biology Research Labs

Emily gave me a short piece to read from The Week (of 28th August 2010, p.14) entitled: 'A sneaky way to destroy our public libraries' by Terence Blacker, from The Independent. The Week summarises various news items from the previous week.

In this piece, Blacker talks about the current UK coalition government's 'Future Libraries Programme' which was launched by the Culture Minister, Ed Vaizey, last week (early September 2010) and the fancy words about 'community' and 'partnership' which are embedded in it. As Blacker points out, if the fancy words are stripped away, we find that they are really simply code for the privatisation of our public libraries. And this of course, is what I have been warning people about over the last 10 years or so. In my book, Globalisation, Information and Libraries I go into it all in great depth, seeking to demonstrate how global agreements made far from home, will and are impacting clearly and directly at the local level, bringing in the commercialisation and privatisation of our dearly loved state-funded libraries.

So, the Culture Minister's plan will trial 'new governance models' for libraries; in Suffolk local community groups will run the libraries, for example, whereas in Bradford they will be run in supermarkets. Also, for a while now in the London Borough of Newham (where I worked for quite some years), public libraries have been running alongside Community Information Services (so unfortunately Newham has been very much a pioneer here!).

As Blacker points out, whilst one one level this might all sound 'very modern and inclusive' it actually:

"...amounts to back-door privatisation, a way for central government to 'wriggle out' of its obligation, under the 1964 Libraries and Museum Act, to step in if a local library authority fails to provide basic library services."

The leading article in The Guardian of 31st August 2010, also speaks about the 'Future Libraries Programme' in a piece entitled 'Open Books' (p.30). It starts off with saying:

"Naturally, those who most loved libraries as children are now their most articulate supporters."
Well, I know what they mean there, although there is only so much time and energy any one person can give to any one cause! If certain powers that be and certain folks are really determined to destroy something, then well, it will be destroyed in some fashion, although on the optimistic side something else is likely to emerge in some form or other (so don't let's get totally despondent!) Capitalism can't have it all its own way; that is impossible. It would suit capitalism if humans worked 24/7 for example, but of course, humans need sleep, rest, food and drink etc, so that just isn't on. So, then we come up with the concept of the 'length of the working day'. Anyway, I digress somewhat...

The article in The Guardian points out that there are 10 projects in the 'Future Libraries Programme' and that these are:

"...testbeds for many of the ideas that the coalition would like to apply to other public services. Two London boroughs are considering merger of their library provision. Suffolk wants community groups to manage them. Most controversially, some of Bradford's books could be moved into shops."

The article argues that faced with budget cuts many councils will:

"...freeze new acquisitions, cut opening hours, and perhaps charge for book clubs and children's story-times. Some libraries will close altogether."

Others will see the introduction of more volunteers, and less professional staff in libraries. The article concludes by arguing that working-class areas will suffer in particular, as the people in these communities are less likely to defend their public libraries as vigorously as those in more middle class areas.

And so, my concerns and predictions are all starting to come to pass.....And even worse, libraries rather than being in the background/a backwater to future trends, are actually paving the way it seems. Heavens!

One wonders if and when folks will actually and meangingfully sit up, take notice of what we have been saying and actively and determinedly try to do something to stop the rot. Not that it will be at all easy, but even so...It all remains to be seen, but it is great that Emily is taking up some of the issues in this way, and many thanks to her for all of that.

On a personal basis, as well, we wish Emily all the best of luck for her future career in primary school teaching.

Urban Green Fair, Brockwell Park, Lambeth

2010-09-06T02:56:00.001-07:00

At the initial suggestion of Chris Keene, in the Green Party, our son Victor Rikowski, recited some poems (or to be more precise lyrics to some songs that he has written) at the Urban Green Fair at Brockwell Park in Lambeth, London on Sunday 5th September 2010.

Originally, Victor thought that he would be singing, then it materialised that the Green Fair did not have a licence to sing which apparently costs £5000 so folks recited poems. Our choir leader, Jenny Beeching, also spoke about this, saying that many musicians have been very annoyed about it all. So, now we can listen to people singing on Sky TV in the pub, for example, but we can't listen to live people singing, unless the pub has forked out for the £5000 music licence fee of course. What a ridiculous scenario. Makes you think about that witty but insightful song, by George Formby - ' You don't need a licence for that', with lines that include:
'You may think I'm romancing, but they even tax you for singing and dancing'
For the whole song - see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWHHKMFY4yc

Anyway, Glenn and Victor went along to the Fair, and Victor's session went well (and there were about 30 people listening) and the whole event was good, they said. There was lots going on at the Fair in general, all taking place in different zones - these were 'Climate Change and Energy Zone', 'Sustainable Transport Zone', 'Social Justice Zone' and 'Food and Garden Zone'. Activities included yoga, meditiation, dancing, singing, bike fixing, book stall, politics etc. etc.

Victor recited 4 poems including ' Today', 'Bigger' and 'Dignity'. The pieces included some political messages.

Here is a selection of lines from 'Today':

"What have you done today?

Lying on the bay?

Bathing in the sun, on holiday?

Have fun for just a day, a slave for another year

Justify yourself with crap

We're rats inside a cage and nothing will come near

To justifying this global trap."

And here is a selection of lines from 'Dignity':

"But if we put our hearts and minds to the test

We can make for ourselves

A better house, a better street

Humanity standing on its feet

Come on, dignity is our big weapon

Getting us all out of prison."

Following on from Victor's reciting, there was some good poetry reading from the 'E11 Eco, Transition Leytonstone Poetry Group'. Diana Korchien was one of the members of this group, and she helped to make this event 'happen' for Victor, so many thanks to Diana for that.

And here are some photos:

E11 Eco, 'Transition Leyt0nstone' poetry group

MySpace page for Victor Rikowski's band, 'Cold Hands & Quarter Moon' can be found at

http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic

'Thyme Out' by Katie Fforde

2010-08-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

'Thyme out' by Katie Fforde, published by Century, 2000, was a pleasant read.

The central character is Perdita Dylan, with a vegetable business. On delivering vegetables to a local hotel she finds that her ex-husband, Lucas, has taken over the kitchen. She grapples big time with her feelings in regard to him. Meanwhile, her 87- year old friend Kitty has a stroke and subsequently dies. There is concern that a distant relation might get the money; but thankfully it comes to Perdita. In the end, Perdita and Lucas plan on re-marrying and using Kitty's money to open a new restaurant.

'A Sweet Obscurity' by Patrick Gale

2010-08-10T03:36:00.000-07:00

'A Sweet Obscurity' by Patrick Gale, Harper Perennial: London, 2004.

This book was readable - i.e. I finished it, but with comments like "Intriguing, impressive, memorable" (Sunday Times) and "It amuses and startles. 'A Sweet Obscurity' is worth every minute of your time" (Independent) I thought the book was very over-rated. The central character is around a girl called Dido, who is 9 years old, and has a couple of mother and father substitutues (both of which had their good but also their bad points). So, on the surface it appears to be a book that deals with the emotional difficulties and insecurities that a child would experience when not being brought up in a very stable family environment. But in practice I did not think that it dealt with these complex emotions in any real depth. This was probably partly because the story was not told through the eyes of the first character - i.e. through the eyes of Dido. But I think there was a bit more to it than that. There was something about the book and the way that it was written that gave it a very much a 'take it or leave it' attitude, I thought.

On the other hand, as with many novels there were a couple of gems in it, I thought, about humans and human relationships. Novelists can summarise so many situations/emotions so well; situations that it would take pages for a non-fiction writer to explore and explain.

So, in regard to Giles, who was one of her substitute fathers, we find out this about his mother and the wonders of boarding school: "His father died when he was eight, which sent his mother spiralling into lost years of alcoholism. Boarding school was a kind of prison for other boys; for him it brought blessed release from a mother's incoherent moods and unwanted confidences, a place of orderly restraint as respite from a damaging lack of boundaries." (p.14)

Yes- boundaries are important.

And then the reasons why some folks love birds is explored later on:

"Bird love was the refuge of people for whom intimacy was perilous and personal loss too traumatic to be risked. Reptiles in feathered disguise, birds would never come close enough to break a person's heart or upset their equilibrium the way a dog or daughter might."

Interesting!

The book also informs us that the author has a relationship with a gay farmer, that he met on the internet, after having been interviewed for a web magazine!

The Big Lunch

2010-07-21T03:47:00.001-07:00

Our neighbours organised a wonderful picnic last Sunday, 18th July 2010, through the Eden Project - see
http://www.thebiglunch.com/map/event.php?id=8a41c1a62cbdacdd672a05cca133d028.
The idea is that local communities are all over the country organise their own picnics and get-togethers on a particular day, once a year - it is a wonderful way of bringing people together. It is is also ecology-based.

Our neighours organised the event on Wanstead Flats, and there were about 140 people there altogether (both adults and children). Our son Victor played acoustic guitar and sang and others joined in. This included songs for children, such as 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' and country songs. The neighbours that organised it all and invited Victor to play, said that Victor's playing was the highlight for them; that was a lovely surprise for us. Another neighbour of ours, who also composes, and has some material on MySpace, under the name of 'Arthur Dust' was also there, and Victor and him played together a little. The weather was wonderful, there was lots to eat, and in addition there were various games going on, such as the egg and spoon race.

All in all, it was a great day. So, many thanks to our neighbours for organising all of this.

And here are some photos of the whole event.

Forest Roots

2010-07-21T03:13:00.000-07:00

We are very fortunate in that at the Forest Gate Hotel, which is a pub that is just around the corner from where we live, on the last Friday of every month, we are treated to a free evening of country, folk and blues music. The events includes a main act, plus the resident Flats Family Band and various guests and surprise musicians. The events are called Forest Roots. For more information about the events and/or if you want to perform, contact forestroots@gmail.com.

At the next one, which is this Friday, 23rd July, our son, Victor Rikowksi, will be playing a couple of numbers, which will include one of his own compositions.

To find out more about Victor's band and listen to their music see:
http://rikowski.wordpress.com/cold-hands-quarter-moon/
Cold Hands & Quarter Moon profile on MySpace:
http://rikowski.wordpress.com/cold-hands-quarter-moon/
Some of their songs are also on YouTube - www.youtube.com

Also, Victor’s PowerPoint story (in 6 parts), The Ockress, can be found at: http://www.theockress.com

Acoustica are the headline band at Forest Roots this Friday. They play a varied selection of Irish folk and modern acoustic music. There will also be the resident Flats Family band, and various other guest and surprise musicians, including a couple of songs from the Forest Voices Choir, which I am a member of.
Jenny Beeching runs both Forest Voices and Forest Roots.

So come along to Forest Roots on Friday, 23rd July!

It starts 8.30pm at the usual venue:

The Forest Gate Hotel Function Room, Godwin Road, Forest Gate.

Free entry (with a whip-round)

Forest Gate Carnival

2010-07-15T00:08:00.001-07:00

The Forest Gate Carnival, a yearly event which takes place about 5 minutes from our home took place a couple of weeks ago (on 10th July 2010). It was a lovely, hot and sunny day. There were plenty of stalls, people, singing and dancing. The choir that I am in, Forest Voices sang a few songs, including singing some songs with Godwin Road School Choir (see first picture below); all led by Jenny Beeching. All in all, it was a very enjoyable event. There was even a Tea Dance at the church at the top of the road.

'Highland Fling' by Katie Fforde

2010-07-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted a bit of light relief from Sartre for a while, so decided to read 'Highland Fling' by Katie Fforde. It proved to be a pleasant read.

Jenny Porter, a 'Virtual Assistant' goes off to Scotland to sort out a failing mill for one of her clients. When she arrives she is more determined than ever to save it. But she is very attracted to Ross Grant, which doesn't help because Dalmain Mill owes him a lot of money. Also, Lady Dalmain is domineering and over-powering, to such an extent that her son Philip walks out on her and her mill.

Anyway, in the end, Jenny (moving on from Henry) and Ross come together (they just can't resist each other) and Ross says that he will do all that he can to try to save the mill. So, everyone ends up reasonably happy.

'The Age of Reason' by Jean-Paul Sartre

2010-07-06T00:04:00.001-07:00

Next, I decided to read Jean-Paul Sartre's trilogy, 'The Roads to Freedom'. The BBC did a brilliant serialisation of this years ago, and although it had a very profound effect on me, I never actually got to read the books. I decided that it was time to rectify that. The first of the three books is entitled 'The Age of Reason',(Penguin, London, 1961; originally published in hardback in 1945), and so obviously, that is where I began.

The development of Sartre's thinking, the sophistication of his novel-writing is very marked. 'The Age of Reason' is just such a better and more engaging read than 'Nausea' (and he wrote this book only just 7 years after writing 'Nausea'). Philip Kerr is certainly praise-worthy of the book, saying "For my money...the greatest novel of the post-war period". Well, that was something of an exaggeration, in my view, but still it was a good book. And of course, what is so important and special about Sartre's work is that he wrote both non-fiction and fiction, and decided presumably, that some of his philosophical ideas and messages could be conveyed more effectively (or at least the contradictions could be expressed better) through the novel than through non-fiction writing. A shame that Nietzsche did not arrive at the same conclusion; the world would have been better off for that.

The big philosophical issue that Sartre addresses in this book, involves his wish and aim to somehow marry up Existentialism with Marxism. Not that he does marry it up in the book, but this just, in itself, illustrates how difficult it is to do this. Indeed, perhaps, it is impossible. Which is precisely why the topic had to be addressed in a novel. A good non-fiction, academic and worthy work requires consistency of thought; now that is very difficult achieve, if not impossible, with this topic. But never-the-less the topic is of earth-shattering importance, in my view. I am becoming very close to agreeing with Sartre here, although I started off more clearly from the Marxist perspective, whereas Sartre started from the existentialist perspective. (although, in another sense, I guess that many of us, when growing up in particular, crave for freedom in some way).

Anyway, to turn to the plot. The main character in the book, Mathieu Delarue, is living an existential-type of existence. But within this, his long-term partner Marcelle falls pregnant. Having the baby would disrupt Mathieu's life, and indeed, the free, existential life that he wants to continue to live, so he wants her to have an abortion. But Mathieu can't find the necessary cash for it. Neither is Marcelle necessarily 100% happy about having an abortion anyway. Somewhat ironically, Daniel, the gay character in the book, tries to talk her out of it, and even offers to marry her so that she can have the baby. Then Mathieu thinks that perhaps he should marry her himself, even though the person that he is actually in love with is Ivich.

Mathieu is a philosophy teacher, and the whole book is set around just 2 days, with Mathieu walking about, going into the cafes and bars of Montparnasse, talking to friends on various topics whilst also trying to obtain the money. His friends, for example, think that he wants to be free:

"Only, he wants to be free, just as other people want a collection of stamps. Freedom, this is his secret garden: a little scheme with himself as sole accomplice...An idle, unresponsive fellow, rather chimerical, but ultimately quite sensible, who has dexterously constructed an undistinguised but solid happiness upon a basis of inertia, and justified himself from time to time on the highest moral grounds. Is that what I am?", asks Mathieu. (p. 49)

Whilst all this is going on he ia also approached and asked if he would like to join the Communist Party. His instinct tells him 'no', although he does consider it, but then rejects it. It would inhibit his freedom too much (and this is where the Existentialist/Marxist dilemma is addressed). Here are some of Mathieu's thoughts on the matter:

"I refused because I want to remain free: that's what I can say. And I can also say - I got the wind up. I like my green curtains, I like to take the air in the evening on my balcony, and I don't want any change. I enjoy railing against capitalism, and I don't want it suppressed, because I should no longer have any reasons for so doing. I enjoy feeling fastidious and aloof. I enjoy saying no, always no, and I should be afraid of any attempt to construct a finally habitable world, because I should merely have to say - Yes, and act like other people. From above or below: who would decide?" (p. 124)

Then, a bit later a few more thoughts on the matter, this time from Mathieu's friend, Boris:

"...in the philosophy class there had been a a good deal of lively interest in Communism, and Mathieu had evaded the issue by explaining what freedom was. Boris had promptly understood: the individual's duty is to do what he wants to do, to think whatever he likes, to be accountable to no one but himself, to challenge very idea and every person. Boris had constructed his life on this basis, and he kept himself conscientiously free: indeed, he always challenged everyone, excepting Mathieu and Illich: that would have been futile, for they were above criticism. As to freedom, there was no sense in speculating on its nature, because in that case one was then no longer free." (p.138)

Sartre led much of his personal life in a free, existentialist-type of way, and indeed, had many lovers, and was also deceitful in the process. And of course, living such a way can lead to one hitting up against many and various problems, as well as probably hurting various people in the process. The existentialist is supposed to be responsible for their actions, but all that is very difficult of course. And so we run up against these types of problems. Marxism, on one level can seem to overcome some of them, not on another level, I don't think it can. Still, some of these issues can be addressed in fiction as I say, so that's great.

Finally, Mathieu realises that he has entered 'The Age of Reason'.

Folk Festival at Leigh-on-Sea

2010-06-28T05:54:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, 27th June, Glenn, Gregory and I went to the Leigh-on-Sea Folk Festival - see
http://www.oldleigh.com/folkfestival.html.

It proved to be a lovely day out. Folk singing and dancing was going on all day, and the weather was wonderful as well - really hot (well, bit too hot, but shouldn't complain).

England were playing against Germany in the World Cup in the afternoon though of course, so Glenn and Gregory insisted in going off to the pub to watch it. Still, while it was going on, I went off and had a nice cup of tea in a cafe and got talking to 2 ladies who turned out to be librarians, who had cycled from London to the event - how about that for a coincidence. I was sitting there reading through some draft work of mine, and making some notes. They were curious about what I was doing, and that led to the conversation!

I even went for a paddle, participated in a country dance, and bumped into a friend. Oh yes - and there were some people there performing Salsa dancing, so Glenn and Gregory could see what that was all about. Their favourite dance though was the Flamenco dancing - very pretty.

We found out about it all, as we wanted to see the Kittiwakes perform again. We first saw them at 'Forest Roots' - a free folk music event at our local pub and then we discovered that they were playing at this festival.

This Leigh-on-Sea event is also free - amazing. Such talent; such variety; such colour; such enthusiasm. Definitely something that we would recommend - a yearly event, on for 2 days.

And here are some photos of it all.

The Kittiwakes

The Kittiwakes

The Kittiwakes

Flamenco dancing

Flamenco Dancing

Salsa Dancing

Salsa dancing

'Nausea' by Jean-Paul Sartre

2010-06-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

For various complex reasons I decided to read Jean-Paul Sartre's novel, 'Nausea' (Penguin Classics, 1963) and found it to, indeed, be a very sickening read!

In his Introduction, James Wood, who has been Chief Literary Critic fo the Guardian and editor at the New Republic, in Washington, DC had this to say about Nausea. It:

"...is one of the few books devoted to the logical exploration of a world without meaning. It is a philosophical novel which, if it does not quite propose philosophical arguments in the formal sense, discusses and dramatizes them...it is one of these books...which becomes the document of its own making....in such books, the writer-narrator talks about writing, and exhorts himself to write a great, solving work; only slowly do we realize that we are reading that very work."

(p. vii).

So, the narrator, Antoine Roquentin in the book is himself writing a book. Even so, he lacks any real purpose and direction in his life; and walks around in a state of sickening confusion. He frequently visits the library and the art gallery and talks to the Autodidact. As James Wood says:

"He goes for walks in the town; watches his solidly bourgeois fellow-citizens; writes his book; goes to the library; has occasional encounters with a man he has nick-named the Autodidact; thinks about his former love, Anny, and so on." (p. viii)

Whilst writing this book Sartre (as an existentialist) believed that we were truly free and could make free and sensible choices. Roquentin is left with the responsibility of trying to implement this; and he wasn't doing it all that successfully in many ways. Although he did write the book of course, and that was a big deal. Writing it must have really liberated Sartre, I think, and enabled him to move on.

Sartre was only a young man (33 years old) when he wrote Nausea and this fact, in itself, probably tells us quite a lot. I think that he was trying to sort out and make sense of, many of his own thought processes. However, in the process, he seemed to care nothing, or next to nothing, for his readers at all. It is very hard to engage with the book and the character; instead, one just does indeed feel sickened by it all! Perhaps, in that way, it achieved its objective anyway, although I do think it was rather self-indulgent on Sartre's part. I also think that Virginia Woolf's writing was very self-indulgent. But Sartre really changed and progressed.

Even so, Sartre certainly portrayed vividly what can happen to someone if they think in the way that Antoine Roquentin did: with no clear aims and direction; with muddled and circular thinking and being and ways of operating; with an unwillingness to take responsibility and to engage properly with life; with a lack of interest in communicating effectively with others etc. Take this paragraph from the novel, for example:

"My thought is me: that is why I can't stop. I exist by what I think...and I can't prevent myself from thinking. At this very moment - this is terrible - if I exist, it is because I hate existing. It is I, it is I who pull myself from the nothingness to which I aspire: hatred and disgust for existence are just so many ways of making me exist, of thrusting me into existence. Thoughts are born behind me like a feeling of giddiness, I can feel them being born behind my head...If I give way, they'll come here in front, between my eyes - and I go on giving way, the thought grows and grows and here it is, huge, filling me completely and renewing my existence." (p. 145)

And here we have something about the nausea - he is indeed, heartily sick of himself, it seems.

"The Nausea is giving me a brief respite. But I know that it will come back: it is my normal condition. Only today my body is too exhausted to stand it. Sick people too have happy weaknesses which relieve them for a few hours of the consciousness of their suffering. Now and then I give such a big yawn that tears roll down my cheeks. It is a deep, deep boredom, the deep heart of existence, the very matter I am made of. I don't let myself go, far from it; this morning I took a bath, I shaved. Only, when I think back over all those careful little actions, I can't understand how I could bring myself to perform them. They are so futile. It was my habits, probably, which performed them for me. They aren't dead, my habits, they go on bustling about, gently, insidiously weaving their webs, they wash me, dry me, dress me, like nursemaids. "

(pp. 223-224).

And so it goes on and on and on.

Enough of all this sickening stuff!

'Past Secrets'

2010-06-16T00:44:00.001-07:00

I have just finished reading 'Past Secrets' by Cathy Kelly; another very readable book. Here we have various people living in Summer Street. The three main characters are: Fayy, Maggie and Christine Devlin. Faye has a teenage daughter, Amber; she hides a secret from Amber, in regard to her birth, but regrets this when Amber goes off and does a similar impetus thing - leaving home and abandoning her studies to go off with a man in a band that she thought she was in love with. Some important messages here, about how patterns in life can be repeated, and how difficult it can be to overcome all of that - e.g. the physically abused becoming abusers themselves in later life. Then, we have Maggie who finds her husband in bed with another woman and she decides that she has to leave him. She goes back home to Summer Street to look after her sick mother where she also falls in love with another man. Interestingly, Maggie is also a librarian, and is someone that was bullied at school and was called a 'swot'. Whilst Christine is wise and forward-looking and has foresight into other people's problems and can help them to solve them. However, a man (an artist) comes back into her life, but now she is married and settled so that complicates things for her. All ends quite happily though; Christine's marriage remains strong and Amber realises that her boyfriend is no good, and comes back home and embraces her mother. And Maggie decides to move in with her boyfriend Ivan. An enjoyable read, which also made some good points. Maggie, for example, is sceptical about the supposed charmed and exotic life of academics and politicians. She says:

"Nobody in academia ever had any money and the only glamour resided in the feverish dreams of brilliant students who longed to star on University Challenge." (p. 421)

Janet Daniels Open Garden

2010-05-31T01:32:00.001-07:00

We had a lovely weekend on Sat 29th and Sun 30th May 2010. We went to visit our neighbour, Janet Daniels, 'Open Garden and Plant Sale'. Janet has a truly beautiful garden, which is also featured in 'London Gardens 2010', the guide for the National Gardens Scheme (gardens open for charity) - see www.ngs.org.uk.

'London Gardens' includes information about beautiful gardens that are open to the public in London. Visitors are asked to donate money for charity; rather than there being a fixed entrance fee. Janet's garden is open to the public a couple of times a year. It will be open again on 24th and 25th July 2010.

Janet's garden has also been featured on BBC, ITV, BBC Radio and in the local press. She is described in the guide as being a 'plantaholic' and it continues, saying that her garden is:

"...behind terraced house, with every planting opportunity maximised through a colourful abundance of baskets, climbers, shrubs and fruit trees...exuberant mixed borders..."

We saw the advertisement for the Open Garden in our local newsagent, and the leader of the local choir, 'Forest Voices' that I am, Jenny Beeching, also informed us about it. Then, on the Saturday our neighbour knocked on our door, telling us that she had just visited the garden and that it was truly beautiful. She thought that we would really love it and that we should go and have a look for ourselves. This neighbour came to our Summer Party last year, with the grand opening of our pond! So she knows about our own quiet enthusiasm for all of this (but it is absolutely nothing compared to Janet's enthusiasm of course).

So, anyway, on the Saturday, Glenn, Alexander and I went along to visit the garden, although unfortunately it was raining. Then, on the Sunday, I went again, with my neighbour, Pauline - and the weather then was beautiful; really sunny. So, very lucky there.

We had a lovely conversation both with Janet and her daughter, Kirsty. By strange coincidence, we discovered that Kirsty lives in our road and that her son has been cleaning our car! Anyway, Janet told us that she sometimes gardens for 10 hours a day - that's shows just how enthusiastic he is. Pauline and I were amazed! I like a little gardening but could never do anything like that. I would find it far too exhausting apart from anything else. Still, Glenn, Alexander and I do good teamwork with it all. Glenn likes the intricacies of gardening; I like doing the general maintenance such as cutting the lawn and Alex is very good at looking after the pond. So, we get there. But that's 3 of us doing a small garden! Whereas Janet does tons of work in a big garden - a lot of it on her own. Amazing!

What else can I say about Janet's garden? Well, there are an incredible variety of plants and flowers in it; all different shapes and colours. It is truly spectacular and I have never seen anything like it. And every time I asked Janet the name of a plant, she knew it straightaway! There are also three ponds, including a koi carp pond and a wildlife pond. Some of the fish in the pond are really big. There are different sculptures and ornaments; an iron-wrought swing; enclosed seating areas; a lawn area; a secret garden which one can walk right round; arches; enclosed seating areas and an artistic shed with shelves. It is truly incredible!

Janet informed us that she took on an extra piece of land at the back of her garden 9 years ago; and so this has made the garden even bigger and more spectacular. We also saw a picture of Janet's husband digging the garden, when it was all just concrete and looking very sparse - many, many years ago, of course. Now, Janet can buy whatever plants she likes, and does not have to watch her pennies any more. To our utter astonishment, she also has no less than 3 allotments.

Tea and cakes were also for sale, which was also very enjoyable (all proceeds to charity).

The London gardens raised 141,000 in 2009 for charity altogether. All the proceeds from Janet's Open Garden days went to Asha Trust, supporting community projects in Sri Lanka.

So, gradually I am getting more and more into my local community, which has been very much my aim over the last couple of months or so, so that's all great. What I have discovered that I particularly like doing is Salsa dancing. They actually run free Salsa dancing classes in my local area, which is really something, especially as I enjoy it so much. I like the fast pace of it all. I now go to these classes with another neighbour in my road. By strange coincidence, I have also just discovered that Salsa dancing is a Cuban dance!

Anyway, I just had to take some photos of Janet's garden - it was just so very, very beautiful - so here they are below. As you can see, lots of people went to visit her garden. And it was taking these photos that prompted me to write this blog!

Janet in her garden

'Second Chance' by Janet Green

2010-05-21T02:58:00.000-07:00

I picked this book up at a 'Book Swap' party and it proved to be a very enjoyable and entertaining read. The book is 'Second Chance' by Janet Green, Penguin, 2008.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Second-Chance-Jane-Green/dp/014102173X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1274435964&sr=8-1-fkmr0

Also, there were a couple of coincidences. Firstly, the title ' Second Chance' bears the same name to a choir that I joined for a while, in Blackheath, Kent. Secondly, the book is set around school friends, of some 20 years ago, reuniting. I also had a reunion with some of my school friends a year or so ago!

The book explores these different school friends; what they had been doing with their lives; the experiences they had gone through; their jobs, careers, relationships etc.

It then looks at how they are coping with their current situations. Tom, for example, sadly dies, and they all had to cope with that/deal with that, as best they could. Holly does it by falling for his brother, Will (who reminded her of Tom). In the process of all this she leaves her husband Marcus, and then realises that actually Will isn't the one for her either! But it as a learning experience. She realises that her marriage was a big mistake, and now she has the time to think about what it would be best to do next.

Meanwhile, Paul and Anna are trying to have a baby but nothing is working. Whilst Olivia gets pregnant, but doesn't want the baby. Paul and Anna suggest that they adopt her baby; they said they would really like that. But in the end, Olivia has the baby and bonds with it. Saffron, the actress wants to make it big, but is finding it difficult to make the breakthrough. So, she turns to alcohol instead, and then has a bit of a fling with Marcus. That is the final straw for Holly, in regard to her marriage. Then, Saffron's relationship with the famous Pearce is cemented and the book ends with Pearce saying that he has been graced with a 'second chance'.

'Cosmopolitan' had this to say about the book (which I agree with):

"Will keep you entertained to the last page'

The author, Janet Green, is a former journalist of the Daily Express who gave up her job to write a real woman's story about being single in the city. This became her first novel, Straight Talking, and she has written several other novels since then. She has four children and lives in Connecticut. So the author has rather an interesting background as well, I thought. I am sure that many novelists turn real life situations into fiction. Douglas Kennedy remarked on the fact, for example, that he got much of the material for his novels from that messy thing called 'Life'!

'The Septmeber Girls' by Maureen Lee

2010-05-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

This was another enjoyable read - another Maureen Lee story that is set in Liverpool. In a stormy September night in 1920, two women from very different backgrounds (one very well-off and one very poor) give birth to two daughters - Cara and Sybil. 19 years later, Cara and Sybil come together when they both enlist and are stationed in Malta. The story, woven around these characters, is full of intrigues, twists and turns, love affairs, secrets, death, heartache and much else besides. It gives one a powerful sense of history and the great difficulties that people went through in war time periods.

'Taming the Beast' by Emily Maguire

2010-04-27T02:02:00.000-07:00

I thought this book was going to simply and clearly explore the topic of teachers taking sexual advantage of children, and how this can affect children/young teenagers later in life. So it interested me. However, I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it did address these issues, but in a way that I really found very distasteful. After rampant sex and declarations of love, Mr Carr, the English teacher, goes abroad with his wife, and abandons the 14 year old school girl, Sarah Clark. Sarah was a very intelligent girl and they had lots of discussions about English literature together. This bit of the book was good, and there even some interesting quotes in it from English Literature But this was no way to treat a young, vulnerable girl, even though she claimed that she knew what she was doing. When he leaves her she becomes a nymphomaniac, having sex with anyone and everyone; she becomes completely obsessed by it all. She also smokes pot, and lives a hedonistic life in general (although does also continue with her studying). Finally, he returns having divorced his wife, and they get together again. But their love is always on the verge of destroying them, especially when the abusing, violent side starts to take a hold, and they draw blood from each other. There are some very positive reviews of the book on amazon, and on the front cover there is a quote from Matt Thorne, of the Independent saying that it was 'The best novel I've read all year.' It is well-written, it has to be said, and it kept me engaged to the end, but I also thought it really was a very sickening book and I wasn't sure whether I really wanted to continue reading it (even though I did). It is not a book I would recommend, but I decided to blog it - don't always have to be writing good reviews!

'Laceys of Liverpool' by Maureen Lee

2010-04-19T05:01:00.001-07:00

This was an enjoyable read. It centred around 2 sister-in-laws - Alice Lacey and Cora Lacey. They both give birth to sons, on a chaotic night in the height of the war, in Liverpool in 1940. Alice was married to John Lacey and Cora was married to Billy Lacey. Alice's son was called Cormac and Cora's was called Maurice.

But for some reason, Cora was always jealous of Alice; Alice had indeed lived a better, more honourable life than Cora. But Cora seemed to have her hang-ups. Cora wanted John rather than Billy, and thought she'd got lumbered with second best. But then John is seriously disfigured in the war; he felt ashamed and did not see how Alice could ever still be attracted to him, with his face looking like that. She tried and tried to convince him otherwise, telling him that she still loved him, but he wouldn't/couldn't believe her. He became very jealous and possessive. She reacted by wanting to manage a hairdressers. Cora lent her some money to help her, but Alice did not realise when she signed the agreement (she was very uneducated and not very literate) that this would mean that Cora would have a share of the profits for ever more. Cora had deceived her.

Meanwhile, John ends up going off with a one-time, prostitute called Clare who had a harelip -he somehow thought they would be well-matched. She ended up having his children, and he lived a double-life. When Alice finally found out she was obviously devastated, and John moved out permanently. John then encouraged Clare to have an operation; she looked so much better after that, but then he became insecure and jealous, just as he had done with Alice. The whole thing was beginning to seem impossible. In the end, Clare walks out on him. She didn't want him doing the same thing to her that he did to Alice.

He goes back to Alice, but she won't have him. He goes to see Cora; she is delighted. She thought that she had finally hooked him; they have sex (although he was too drunk to know what he was doing). He is very down; he accidentally sets fire to the house, and dies. Cora is devastated; having finally got him, so she thought and then lost him in such a short space of time. She also at the same time confided in him that she had, kind of, murdered two of her aunts.

Cora is later in trouble and Alice offers her a cleaning job in one of her 3 hairdressing salons -yes, the business thrived and grew. Alice is always trying to do right by Cora, even though Cora always seems to want to do harm to Alice.

Alice has 4 children; in the end, the 4 children are fed-up with Cora's antics, and manage to find a way to stop Alice from having to pay all this money to Cora. One of Alice's children manage to get hold of the agreement, and tear it up in front of Cora's face.

As for Cormac and Maurice, Cormac is becoming very successful - wins scholarships and studies at Cambridge. Meanwhile, Maurice, tragically, on the other hand, ends up in prison. His mother used to beat him with a cane, and then love and cuddle him - he grew up very confused.

Cora seeing Cormac doing so well, is jealous once again. She tells him that she swapped the babies at birth, and that Cormac is actually her son, and Maurice is Alice's. Cormac is devastated. He doesn't want Cora to be his mother; he doesn't want it at all. He loves Alice, but can no longer call her 'mum'. He drops out of university; forms a music group and is on the road, making music and smoking pot etc. Then, it later seems that Cora was lying about this all along anyway.

Meanwhile, Cormac comes home after a while, with a pregnant girl. Maurice falls in love with her, and takes her from Cormac. Cormac doesn't mind; he thinks that's fair enough, as he got the better woman to bring him up. He eventually marries someone else.

Alice's children have children; the Lacey family grows. Towards the end of the book, 4 members of the family are pregnant. And in the closing pages, both Alice and Cora find some peace. Cora seems to realise that she has not treated Alice right over the years (as opposed to thinking that she was always the one that was hard done by, that kept coming out worse off), and Neil, the man that Alice loved after it went wrong with John, returns.

'Going Dutch' by Katie Fforde

2010-04-06T02:06:00.001-07:00

'Going Dutch' by Katie Fforde proved to be quite an interesting read, although I did not enjoy it as much as other books of Katie Fforde that I have read recently. This novel is set around life on a barge. When Jo Edwards husband trades her in for a younger model, she decides to go and live on a barge. Meanwhile, Dora Hamilton decides that she cannot go through with her wedding (to her childhoold sweetheart). So she takes up the offer and suggestion of her friend Kate and goes to live on the Three Sisters barge with Jo (Kate's mother). They then find they go travelling around on the barge quite a lot (which was not something that they had originally intended to do) and get to know various people. At one point, a man goes overboard, for example, and has to be rescued. The novel spends some time exploring all this barge life, so the book will particularly appeal to those that are thinking of starting up a barge life, I think. Then, two men come to feature in their lives - Marcus for Jo and Tom for Dora.

'Wedding Season' by Katie Fforde

2010-03-31T03:51:00.000-07:00

This was an enjoyable read. So, looks like I've found another author that I really like - Katie Fforde. The story is around the theme of wedding planning - not traditionally my area, but anyway... Sarah Stratford is a wedding planner - and a very competent one at that. That's how she earns her living. But she suddenly finds herself having to organise 2 weddings on the same day - her sister Lily's (who is also pregnant) and the famous Carrie Candy's. She can't possibly turn either of them down. And so the fun begins. Sarah is helped by Elsa, an accomplised dress designer and Bron, an excellent hairdresser. And then they have their own relationships going on in the background as well. Sarah finally gets together with Hugo, the photographer, who she had the hots for from the very beginning. And the two weddings go off successfully. A very cheerful read.

'Forgotten Dreams' by Katie Flynn

2010-03-21T04:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided, after all, to give another Katie Flynn book a chance, this time reading 'Forgotten Dreams'. I found the style very similar to the other book of hers that I read ('In Time for Christmas'). The stories are interesting, and one feels that one wants to carry on, but they are not exactly gripping, not 'can't put downable books'. I suspect, now, that this is Katie Flynn's general writing style.

This story is about a mother (Louella) and her daughter (Lottie Lacey) , who are theatre performers, singing and dancing at the Gaiety Theatre. Louella also acts as Max Magic's assistant. Max is also her boyfriend and has a son, Baz. Yet, Lottie is not very happy, and her mother does not seem to be treating her very well in many ways. For one thing, she keeps making Lottie dye her hair blonde, because she thinks it is good for their stage performances, but this is not good for Lottie's hair, and Lottie just isn't too keen on it all. Then, Merle joins the act, and the women perform as a trio, but Lottie feels rather left out in some ways, and Merle does not always treat Lottie very well. She complains, for example, about having to share a room with Lottie. To complicate matters further, Merle then gets pregnant.

Meanwhile, Lottie keeps having these recurring dreams, which she cannot make sense of. Then, she meets a boy with golden-eyes who calls her Sassy and he accuses her of running away from them. Lottie is confused; she asks her mother some questions, but does not get very satisfactory responses. She is told though, that she had an accident when she was 6 years old, and lost her memory. The dreams continue, and become more powerful. Then, gradually, Lottie/Sassy realises/remembers that she was bought up by someone she called 'Gran' for the first 6 years of her life, and she lived with both Gran and Troy (Gran's grandson) during this period. She is upset about her mother lying to her and is determined to find out the truth. It then materialises that her mother wanted/needed to go back and work on the stage after giving birth to Sassy/Lottie, so she gave her over to 'Gran' to bring her up (who was not her real grandmother). Louella found herself another young girl to sing and dance with, but this girl then left her. She then decided to go and get Sassy/Lottie and to train her for the stage, to sing and dance with her. And so she took her away from Gran. Sassy/Lottie felt that her mother had used and exploited her, and did not really love her.

Finally, Lottie decides to go back and live with Gran and Troy and to work on the barge with them, and to forget all about the theatre work. She loves working on the barge, as opposed to appearing on the stage. She feels bad that she left Gran, who missed her so much (even though it was not Sassy's fault). One is left with the impression that Sassy and Troy will eventually marry. Meanwhile, Louella marries Jack Russell (not Max, who goes off with someone else). Jack is another stage performer, and Jack and Louella then perform together, so all ends up well and everyone seems pleased about the decisions they have made.

'Flora's Lot' by Katie Fforde

2010-03-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

I really loved reading this book. Two cousins, Flora and Charles inherit the family antique business. But Flora's percentage is slightly larger than Charles, even though Charles has been running the business over the years, and not Flora. Flora decides to leave London and move to the countryside, where the business is, for a while. There she gets to know Annabelle, Charles's fiance, who wants to buy some of Flora's share of the business. She said that Flora was not interested in the business, so it would all be for the best.

However, Flora decides to get more involved in the business; in particular, she argues that it is important that they have a website. She starts to work quite hard and finds it all quite interesting. At the same time, she starts going out with good-looking Henry, but realises after a while, that he isn't really doing a lot for her. Meanwhile, she helps Annabelle to improve her dress-sense and takes her shopping. She also keeps telling people that her cousin Charles is dull , uninspiring and ploddy. Then, she suddenly realises that she is saying all this to cover up something else; that actually, rather than finding him being dull and ploddy, she really fancies him and thinks he is really something. How on earth can she cope with these mixed emotions, especially as she discovers that Annabelle's father has also paid for the rewiring of the antiques business - so Charles is indebted to her even more.

Then, suddenly Charles realises that he feels just the same about Flora. He leaves Annabelle, and rushes over to see Flora. They end up going off to a hotel together and having a night of passion.

Some read!

'Mother of Pearl' by Maureen Lee

2010-03-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

I very much enjoyed reading this book the other day. The book begins with the reader discovering that Pearl's mother Amy is about to come out of prison, having been convicted many years ago of having killed her husband, Barney. Pearl was brought up by her aunt and uncle. It all sounds really quite shocking, and yet, when Amy is released she seems to be quite a nice sort of person.

Then, gradually the truth unfolds. Barney's mother, who is mentally unbalanced, says to Barney that Amy and Barney's father have been having an affair (prior to this Barney had volunteered to fight in the war). It is all absolute nonsense about the affair, but Barney comes home in a rage and accuses her of this, and much else besides. Pearl, a little girl of only 5 years old, gets a knife out, trying to protect and defend her mother, but doesn't realise that she puts the knife into Barney by mistake and kills him. Amy cannot bear the idea of her daughter taking the blame for this, and having such an awful thing hanging over her for the rest of her life. So she puts her own fingerprints on the knife, and let's people conclude that it was her that killed Barney. And so she goes to prison. A very interesting and gripping story.

In Time for Christmas' by Katie Flynn

2010-03-13T01:59:00.001-08:00

'In Time for Christmas' by Katie Flynn proved to be quite an enjoyable read, although I don't necessarily find myself rushing to want to read more Katie Flynn books! The story is about two sisters, Addy and Prue Fairweather who live with their widowed mother, Nell, in a flat above her shop. But Prue is the favoured and the spoilt one. But then Prue has an accident and ends up in a wheelchair, so Addy has to look after her even more. Nell is under pressure to marry Mr Bentley, the landlord of the local pub, the 'Vines', but she resists. She wants to keep her shop and her independence. Meanwhile, there is also Giles Frobisher and his twin sister Gillian, who live in Devon. Giles leaves university and joins the Fleet Ari Arm, but eventually Addy and Giles marry.

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

2010-02-23T13:12:00.000-08:00

Glenn and I went to see a very good play on February 5th 2010 with some friends - this was 'Every good boy deserves favour' by Tom Stoppard and André Previn at the National Theatre, London. We also bought the script for it afterwards. André Previn usually, of course, conducts music composed by others; so it was wonderful here, to see him composing his own music and putting this all together with Tom Stoppard.

The play is about two men in a mental hospital; one of which is a political dissident (Alexander) and the other that really is mad (Ivanov). Ivanov thinks he has an orchestra. And there was a real orchestra on the stage at the National Theatre, so that was also an unexpected, but nice, surprise. The play was dedicated to Victor Fainberg and Vladimir Bukovsky, who were both former Soviet political dissidents. In the National Theatre programme it says that:

“Bukovsky spent a total of twelve years in Soviet prisons, labour camps and forced-treatment psychiatric hospitals and was one of the first to expose the use of psychiatric imprisonment against political dissidents in the Soviet Union.”

The play had many important things to say about both how badly political dissidents are often treated (and how labelling them ‘mad’ can be so convenient) and the complexity of the concepts of madness and sanity in themselves. There were many really witty and clever lines in the whole play. Here are some samples.

Alexander, for example, as a political dissident, is obviously very sceptical about how and why people end up in mental hospitals, and says that the people that are locked up in mental hospitals are sane, whilst those that walk free are mad. But the Doctor replies to Alexander, saying:

“The idea that all the people locked up in mental hospitals are sane while the people walking about outside are all mad is merely a literacy conceit, put about by people who should be locked up. I assure you there’s not much in it. Taken as a whole, the sane are out there and the sick are in here. For example, you are here because you have delusions that sane people are put in mental hospitals.” (p. 23)

What a great play on words and concepts.

Then, the Doctor says:

“If you’re not prepared to discuss your rationality, we’re going to go round in circles.” (p. 23-4).

But of course, if he is mad then how on earth can he discuss his rationality? I laughed so much at this line.

Then a little later the Doctor says to Alexander that:

“Stupidity is one thing I can’t cure. I have to show that I have treated you. You have to recant and show gratitude for the treatment. We have to act together.” (p.25)

The absurdity of it all is clearly and obviously apparent.

A bit later still the Doctor then says to Alexander:

“Your behaviour is causing alarm. I’m beginning to think you’re off your head. Quite apart from being a paranoid schizophrenic. I have to consider seriously whether an Ordinary Hospital can deal with your symptoms.” (p.28)

Heavens!

Alexander replies, saying:

“I have no symptoms, I have opinions.”

And the Doctor says:

“Your opinions are your symptoms. Your disease is dissent. Your kind of schizophrenia does not presuppose changes of personality noticeable to others. I might compare your case to that of Pyotr Grigorenko, of whom it has been stated by our leading psychiatrists at the Serbsky Institute, that his outwardly well-adjusted behaviour and formally coherent utterances were indicative of a pathological development of the personality. Are you getting the message? I can’t help you.”
(p.28)

‘Your disease is dissent’ – what a brilliant and clever line that is!

Subsequently, the Doctor in talking to Alexander’s son says:

“He’d rather die than admit he’s cured? This is madness, and it’s not allowed!”

Sacha, Alexander’s son replies:

“Then you’ll have to let him go.”

The doctor says:

“I’m not allowed to – it’s a logical impasse. Did you tell him he mustn’t be so rigid?”
(p.36)

At the end of the play, a Colonel arrives. The intention is to ask the 2 in-mates some questions and if they answer them satisfactorily then they will be discharged. But he gets the 2 muddled up. So, he asks Alexander if he has an orchestra and Ivanvov if he thinks that sane people are being locked up in mental hospitals. Of course, they both say ‘no’ to these questions, so the Colonel then discharges them. So, the Colonel is also pretty ‘off his head’ himself, is he not?

The cleverness and the absurdity of it all, and of course, this is a reflection of the craziness of life in general; of this mad capitalist world that we have to live in, that we also have to operate rationally in, in some way or other. It also demonstrates how political dissidents are often treated in this mad world.

Reference
Stoppard, Tom and Previn, André (1978) Every good boy deserves favour and professional foul, Faber & Faber: London (Playscript)

'All Because of You' by Melissa Hill

2010-02-16T03:19:00.001-08:00

I have read yet another really good book by Melissa Hill – every one of her books is turning out to be a winner! This one is ‘All Because of You’, Published by Arrow Books: London, 2007 – see http://www.amazon.com/All-Because-You-Melissa-Hill/dp/1842232746/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266326708&sr=8-1.

In this book, we have Tara Harrington, who is a life coach, and is living happily with Glenn. Now then, once again, we have the delight of the twists and turns that Melissa Hill always seems to bring into her novels. One never quite knows where they are going to go. I was absolutely convinced by the impression that she wanted her readers to have; the way in which she wanted her readers mind to go. On reflection, I think that to some extent this is her way of having fun with the readers, as well as engaging them, and it certainly makes the books very intriguing – hey, she could probably write some good detective novel if the mood ever took her! On the other hand, it can be a little maddening at times, I have found; I am not too sure that I always like having my mind played about with in this way. Oh well – it all makes for an interesting life! But why do I feel moved to say this right now, one might ask? Well, this is because, in this story, in the beginning it seems that Tara is living very happily with her partner Glenn. And ‘Glenn’ even has 2 "nn’s" – just like my Glenn. My Glenn gets very mad actually when people only insert one ‘n’ – our names are such personal things to us, are they not. Anyway, on page 14, for example, we have her saying:

“With his almost jet-black hair, liquid brown eyes and naturally sallow skin, Glenn was the kind of guy that always turned heads, and, not for the first time, Tara couldn’t quite get her head around the fact that he was really hers.”

Wow!

Then, on p. 22 it says:

“Tara…had no interest in marriage whatsoever, and she and Glenn were perfectly happy the way they were.”

Then, in order to keep the reader thinking in this way, much later, on p. 205 she says that:

“Tara had always been attracted to dark, brooding, creative types..”

After all this, wouldn’t you, like me, be convinced that Tara and Glenn were partners and lovers, and very close ones at that?

At the same time, it also seemed rather odd, because in some ways Tara and Glenn did not seem to get on very well. When they went on holiday to Egypt together, for example, Glenn went off on a scuba-diving course whilst Tara met a friend, Natalie and went off looking at the pyramids and sight-seeing with her. Not exactly the way that you’d expect a devoted couple to behave, is it? Then, it all really turns sour when we discover that Glenn has got a girl pregnant. So much for them being a devoted couple one thinks. Then – here comes Melissa Hill’s surprise. Glenn is not Tara’s lover at all, but her son. Heavens. I couldn’t believe it. She is really having fun with the readers mind; certainly keeps one gripped to ones seat anyway.

Then, here is the second twist (there are 3 main twists in the whole plot altogether). Natalie is beautiful and longing to get married, but she is always too impatient with her men. As a life coach, Tara gives her some sound advice with her latest catch, Jay. This includes not sleeping with him straightaway. Tara is very successful here to such an extent that Natalie and Jay’s relationship really blossoms. This is all done through phone calls. Then, when Tara finally comes face-to-face with Jay, she discovers to her utter shock and amazement that Jay was the first love of Tara’s life. They went out when they were teenagers; Tara got pregnant by Jason and this resulted in Glenn, and Tara ended up bringing Glenn up as a single parent.

Meanwhile, Tara’s best friend Liz is married to Eric, with one son Toby. Whilst Tara's sister Emma (who has always been indulged) announces that she is pregnant, but can’t and won’t say who the father is. Various things happen which makes Liz suspect that Eric might be the father. Then, it turns out to everyone’s utter amazement to be Colm, the well-known gay in the community. Still feeling slightly unsure of his sexuality Colm went with Emma for a while, but this just helped him to clarify his thoughts and feelings and to recognise that he was definitely gay. He then moves in with Nicky. Emma always liked to try and go for and get that which was difficult to obtain (as she had been spoilt) – this partly explained her desire to go for Colm. But:

“…she’d been stupid to think that she had a chance just because the long-term object of her affection hadn’t been living an openly gay life. Colm had struggled for years with his sexuality (when they were younger, in this village an admission would have been impossible) and she’d been stupid to think that he would – or even could – change his mind. But you couldn’t help who you fell in love with, and unfortunately for her, Emma had been in love with Colm for a very long time…despite what she knew herself to be true, for as long as Colm struggled, she’d always thought she was in with a chance. (p.420)

In the end, Tara goes with Liz’s neighbour Luke. Luke really thinks Tara is something and is happy to take her baggage as well (which I could relate to!). It ends with him jokingly talking to her about her baggage and saying:

“Well, knowing you…it’ll be environmentally friendly and biodegradable baggage, so I’m sure we won’t have to deal with it for long.” (p. 449)

And they end up kissing.

Perhaps, some of the coincidences seem a bit unlikely, but still, all in all, another really great read!

'Feminism and the Novel: 1880-1920' - and Thomas Hardy

2010-02-15T06:39:00.000-08:00

I picked up an interesting book in a book sale at Ilford Library recently. It was entitled ‘Women and Fiction: feminism and the novel, 1880-1920’ by Patricia Stubbs, Harvester Press, Sussex, 1979.

I skim-read it – particularly as I had not read some of the authors referred to, so did not want to delve into some of it too much. Nevertheless, some interesting angles and topics were covered. Authors examined in the book included Thomas Hardy, George Moore, George Meredith, H.G. Wells, E.M. Forster, D.H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf.

However, what particularly caught my attention, and why I decided to write this blog was in regard to what Patricia Stubbs had to say in regard to Thomas Hardy and feminism.

Thomas Hardy

I have always loved Thomas Hardy’s books. The first book of Hardy’s that I read was ‘Tess of the D’Ubervilles’, which was part of our English A' Level; I have also seen the film. I loved Tess and then went on to read all of his books in time. The Tess story is, though, of course incredibly tragic.

Also, of course, Hardy was a determinist. Now, this is not a position that I adhere to or, indeed, agree, with. I think it is best to think that we are in control of our own lives - even though this is obviously strictly limited within the confines of society. But nevertheless, one will get further on in life, and more likely to break through various barriers if one adopts this approach I think (whilst also remembering not to get too despondent if it doesn't work out!).

But no matter – despite all this and the rather negative and depressing messages that he gave overall in his books – I was, and still remain, hooked and absorbed by the books.

There is just something about Hardy's books that really draws me to them. I love the description of the Wessex county and countryside for one thing, and the way that all the novels were set in this fictitious county. I also love Hardy’s description and portrayal of the characters. I find that I get very absorbed in the whole atmosphere. And I find the plots compelling. Three of my other particular favourites are 'Jude the Obscure', 'Far from the Madding Crowd' and 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' (loved watching Alan Bates in the televised version of this). Well, 'Jude the Obscure' did also have some message of hope as well of course- with someone taking himself off to Oxford like that, to try to get himself an education.

Also, many years ago, when Glenn and I were on holiday in Weymouth, we went to see Thomas Hardy's cottage in Dorset. It was incredible; exactly how one would imagine the place that Thomas Hardy would live in to look like. So often our imagination does not tally with reality; but this really did! What was surprising though, at the time, was that no-one else was there and it was not open to the public or anything. There were no signs of commercialisation at all. Searching now on google, I see that Hardy's cob and thatch cottage is owned by the National Trust and was built by his great grandfather in 1840. By the look of it, one can visit by appointment only. Hardy also lived a long life, which has always pleased me to know (unlike so many gifted people, such as Jane Austen dying at the age of only 40 years).

Thomas Hardy's Cottage in Dorset

Now, what Patricia Stubbs said about Hardy I found to be very revealing and was not something that I had ever really considered much before. It also gave me a better understanding as to why, perhaps, I have always loved the books so much. Stubbs said that Hardy could get into a women's mind, and that he could to this much more effectively than getting into a man's mind.
She says that:

"Critics continually comment on the relative weaknesses of Hardy's male characters, and are right to do so. It is the women who dominate, and they do so through their sexuality." (p. 65)

Then, a litle later Stubbs says that Hardy:

"…was consistently interested in women and became more compassionate towards them...Hardy showed how women's lives were distorted simply because they were women, trapped in a moral order rooted in sexual discrimination, and in a social structure which refused to acknowledge them as complete human beings." (p. 80)

This is, indeed, very correct I think - but we must not fool ourselves into thinking that this has all been solved today and that now everything is perfect in regard to these matters. The way that society is structured still means that women are kept in their place in many ways, and that it can be very difficult for them to really flower.

Hardy also focuses on the destructive nature of sexuality, and Stubbs says, that there was no joy in sex for Hardy in his novels. I found all this absolutely fascinating.

Of course it has to be remembered that Patricia Stubbs, whilst a feminist wrote the book very much from an overall academic perspective, I think. She was a tutor at the Open University, a Lecturer in English and General Studies, and also worked as a Research Officer for the Equal Opportunities Commission. But still, I found it very interesting and enlightening.

'Wishful Thinking' by Melissa Hill

2010-02-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

I have now read another really excellent book by Melissa Hill - 'Wishful Thinking', Hodder and Stoughton, 2008

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wishful-Thinking-Melissa-Hill/dp/0340953446/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264946742&sr=8-1

There is something about Melissa Hill's whole style of writing that just really appeals to me SO much. They are books that I can engage with quickly, whilst at the same time they are quite a challenging read - one often has to get to know different characters that seem at first to be quite disconnected but as the stories unravel the connections start to unfold. The books are written in a very feminine-type of way - sorry if this sounds like stereotyping, but writing is all about liberation and self-expression as far as I am concerned and so this is what I am finding in regard to these books! The plots are very clever, ingenious in fact, I think - they twist and turn and go to places that one would and could never imagine - they really surprise you. Furthermore, they deal with the complexities of human emotions and relationships and the various ways in which people try to deal with different situations. The characters are well-formed and one can relate to them. Also, whilst the plots are complex on one level they also have a certain level of wonderful simplicity to them - the author does not try to be 'flash' just for the sake of it, if you get my drift. Yes, as you can see - I am hooked! I feel sure that Melissa Hill must really enjoy writing her novels as well - I don't think she'd be able to write this way, if she didn't. And what she says in the Acknowledgements about her husband is very nice, I thought: "...much love and thanks to my lovely hubby Kevin. I really couldn't do any of this without you."

So, what is the plot in 'Wishful Thinking' about then? There are 3 different female characters in it, leading 3 very different lives. There is Louise, who got run over (the driver went through a red traffic light), and she is putting in a legal claim for compensation (but it spending rather too much on the credit card in anticipation of this 'windfall'!). She is also now very concerned about her looks and has lost a lot of weight. Secondly, there is Dara who has a good job in the legal profession, but is being pressurised by her family to get married; the family seem very worried about her being 'left on the shelf' now that she is past 30 years. So much so that she marries Mark, but in her mind, he is not the love/the passion of her life. Instead, Noah was - but that went wrong and he has now married someone else. Then, there is Rosie, who has lost her husband and is so very kind to her 2 children, but they take dreadful advantage of her. Personally, I found the Rosie-story line the most enticing; I really liked Rosie, but also really felt for her, and wanted her to 'stand up' for herself' more - which she did in the end, thank goodness.

What happens to these various characters then? Well, everything really comes good for them in the end - the book is very optimistic in this way.

Firstly, Louise gets taken in by a gorgeous looking guy Sam, who it then turns out is just using her for his own purposes/material gain. He testifies against her in court, saying that she is a spendthrift (including her getting persuaded to move into an expensive flat with her friends). Also, he said that she said that the accident was probably partly her own fault, because she wasn't paying enough attention when she crossed the road! Then, we find out that Dara is working for the defence in this court case; she is very concerned about the possibility of Louise losing the case. But Louise doesn't - she gets eighty thousand euros in compensation, so all comes good.

In regard to Dara, Noah comes back on the scene, claiming that he got it wrong and he wants to be with her. Dara thinks that her real passions and feelings lie with Noah, not with Mark, so she sees Noah (although doesn't sleep with him). Meanwhile, Mark shows what a kind, caring person he is - he shows concern about Dara's father's health for one thing, and goes to the hospital with him. Then, it all comes out about Noah - Mark is furious. Dara says she has to make a decision; Mark says, what makes her think that the decision is all hers? He might decide that he doesn't want her any more (they have only been married for about 6 months) - he needs to go away and think. He says that Noah likes it in 2's, like Noah in Noah's Ark - very funny that, I thought. In the end, they sort it out - Dara decides that she does want Mark, and that Noah was in the past, and now over and done with. But how that decision is arrived at will be explained more shortly...

Meanwhile, Rosie is being treated just so badly by her children - I couldn't believe how selfish they were being. Her daughter Sophie wants to buy this really posh house for her husband and child, but they want Rosie to be the guarantor for the mortgage. Which would mean, of course, that if they defaulted on payments that Rosie would have nowhere to live. But she loves her daughter, so she agrees. Her daughter then starts spending money like water, and doesn't seem interested in her mother at all - even when her mother goes to see her, phones her up and makes it clear that she needs her daughter's company and advise. Sophie does not even seem to want Rosie to look after her own grand-daughter, now and then - she prefers to employ someone because she thinks they are 'expert'. Whilst her son David's marriage has gone wrong, and he wants to come back to live with her. He comes back; but he treats his mother quite shockingly. Taking over the house; redecorating it and moving the furniture about in a way that Rosie does not like; being cruel to her dog (to such an extent that he lets the dog out on the street and it gets run over and dies - heavens!); not liking his mother's cooking (he has become a vegetarian) etc. Meanwhile, Rosie joins a painting class, and meets a nice man (the teacher) who rates her artistic ability.

Now, what unites these 3 people is a train crash - they all live fairly near each other in Ireland, by the way. Louise would have been in the train when it crashed if she hadn't been sick and got out - could she use this as a way of disappearing, she wondered? (these were her thought processes before the court case went in her favour). Dara and Mark were both in the train crash, and injured, but Mark's injuries were far worse than Dara's. And it was when facing the possibility that Mark might die, that Dara realised just how much she loved Mark. And Rosie should have been on the train as well, but wasn't either. But her daughter and son arrived at her house, and she overheard them talking, saying that she had been killed in the train crash, and thinking about how best to divide up their inheritance! Poor Rosie - she is speechless. This part of the book reminded me somewhat of 'The Shell Seekers' by Rosamunde Pilcher - a book I read a short while ago (again, being attracted by the cover and the look and feel of it - see previous blog entry). The main character in this book had 3 children who seemed far more interested in their inheritance, and in what they could get out of their mother, than their actual mother. Both of these mothers had to draw a line under their children - and both did this very effectively. Also this makes one think about how important it is to do this in general! For Rosie, this meant moving house, and being nearer her painter teacher, Steve; stop being the guarantor for her daughter's house and telling her son that he can't live with her any more. That all worked out fine; her daughter was able to learn to be more prudent; her son went back to his wife, and she was now going to enjoy her life in the way that she wanted to - relaxation, good friends and lots of painting by the sea.

So, as I say, good things came to all the characters in the end. But of course, this has to be done by making decisions, and not just by wishful thinking. Rosie advises her son not to just live on wishful thinking; him and his wife have not been able to have children (which caused all the problems in the first place). Melissa Hill says:

"But Rosie understood now that wishes didn't just grant themselves. You had to take your wish, and make it happen all by yourself." (p. 373)

All-in-all, a great read!

King's College London and Education Cuts

2010-02-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

KING'S COLLEGE LONDON AND EDUCATION CUTS

The CUTS bite deeper and deeper whilst the world gets madder and madder!

Our eldest son, Alexander, recently told us about 3 Professors in Philosophy that are going to be made redundant at King's College, London. One of these Professors teaches logic and is a really excellent teacher, Alex says (of what is, after all, a very difficult subject) - nearly all the students get Firsts in logic with him apparently. King's management is arguing that it wants to terminate 'Computational Linguistics' (a radical new field of philosophy, where IT meets the outer reaches of logic). However, the two philosphers in question do not see themselves as being primarily Computational Linguists, but philosophers within the philosophy department. At the moment, a lot of meetings are being held and many protests are going on, against it all. At least it is good to see staff and students working together in this way, but what a frightful situation.

Following on from this, Graham Coult, the editor of Managing Information then informed me that 22 posts were being cut in Arts and Humanities at Kings; also that the Chair of Palaeography there was going.

Then, Glenn went to the bookshop, Bookmarks and found out about a whole day teach-in that is taking place at King's against the education cuts in general. Publicity information about this is below - we hope to go along.

"TAKE BACK EDUCATION"

Join the teach-in to build the resistance!

King’s College London, 27th February, 11.00am – 4.00pm

Hosted by: King’s UCU, The No Cuts @ King’s Campaign, and the London Education Activists Network

Education is under attack. Up to a third of university funding - £2.5bn – is to be cut, 30 universities could shut down and over 14,000 lecturers may lose their jobs.

Big businesses exert more and more control over the university system. Cuts in student places and higher fees could exclude many people from higher education altogether.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Education workers are lobbying for strike action, following the victory at Tower Hamlets College. Students are protesting across Europe, organising occupations to stop neoliberal reforms – and taking control of campuses for another kind of education.

This February we will be hosting a day of alternative lectures and tutorials in King’s College London to bring together staff and students to celebrate what education could be – and to prepare for the battles ahead.

Initial line up includes:

Terry Eagleton: literary critic
Michael Rosen: poet, children’s author and education campaigner
Alex Callinicos: lecturer and radical theorist
Juan Carlos Piedra: Justice For Cleaners

Also:

Activists from Ireland and Austria
Education workers who have led successful strikes
Voices from students and campaigns around the country

(Other speakers – to be announced)

Alternative Lectures and Tutorials include:
*The crisis in our universities and the battle for education
* Education for liberation – what could our education look like?
* The corporate takeover of our universities
* How do we fight for free education?
* Building fighting unions
* Education for all – challenging Islamophobia, racism and the points based immigration system
* The tasks ahead – building resistance that can win

London Education Activists Network: http://educationactionlondon.blogspot.com/

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Exercise Classes

2010-02-02T05:42:00.001-08:00

Well, I have put myself on a somewhat vigorous exercise regime. When writing and working on the computer a lot, it is important to get enough energetic exercise to balance things out. But I must, of course, be careful not to overdo it!

Anyway, twice a week I am now going to what is known as 'The Exercise Clinic'. The session is taken by a lady who used to be a classical ballet dancer; she has a wonderful figure, and an amazing posture of course. I would like to look a bit more like that - but that will take a bit of doing (to put it mildy)! But she is a very good teacher, and comes round and gives us personal help and advice as well, which is also all very good.

Then, I am going to another session on circuit training - very energetic that one! I am with quite a few young mums, which is rather nice. Their toddlers get looked after by the vicar's mother-in-law whilst we all run and jump around. Works really well.

And in between all this I am going swimming and walking etc (things I have always loved doing), and am really trying to think more about my body and my posture in general. Finally, I feel that I am in a position where I can give it some better attention. But of course, as I say, I must also try to make sure that I don't overdo it! Life, as ever, is a fine balancing act.

I was also interested to discover the other day that the lady that takes 'The Exercise Clinic' is hoping and intending to compile a DVD and an ebook around her exercise class. With this in mind, she has been taking a lot of photos. Many people that to go her class have really benefitted from it all; and will continue to do so. It is an overall all-body exercise, so it can particularly help older people that have arthritis. One lady, for example, was even able to 'throw away' her walking stick after attending the class.

It is noticeable though, that there are no men at all in the class - and it is not a ladies only class or anything. It is sad that men seem to feel awkward about attending such classes, or think it is a waste of time, not for them etc. All such attitudes helps to explain why women live longer than men on average, I am sure. I was talking about all this to our eldest son, Alexander, recently, and it is interesting and useful to try to bring all these different elements together. He himself has noticed the difference in attitude between myself and Glenn on these health matters, for example!

So, it is not simply the case that men get the best deal in capitalism; it is far more complex than that. Because men are physically stronger than women, society wants and expects them to work harder and longer. This can be related, specifically, to Glenn Rikowski's labour-power theory. More value is embedded in men's labour-power than in women's; this is then transferred into the workplace and men work harder and for longer hours. And so they earn more. See Glenn's article, 'Against What We Are Worth', on our website, which explores this whole topic in a lot of depth -

http://www.flowideas.co.uk/print.php?page=255&slink=yes.

At the same time, society is more understanding with women in regard to their health. People are very aware of the fact that they would look pretty callous if they did not take women's issues (such as monthly cycles) on these matters seriously. Also, of course, the consequences could be very serious; women could, indeed, become very ill; tribunals could result etc. There is little such sympathy or concern for men on these matters though; instead, they should stop just being a wimp, is more of the mentality that is generally foisted upon them. But it is certainly somewhat ironic that the sex that is physically weaker, and so has to take better care of its health in order to survive, ends up doing just that, and then, on average, lives longer. We are back, once again, to the inequalities and the horrors of capitalism.

'The Power of Yes' by David Hare

2010-01-26T06:32:00.001-08:00

Simon Williams and Anthony Calf in 'The Power of Yes'

On 25th January 2010 I went to see the play 'The Power of Yes' by David Hare, with our friends Les Levidov and Anne Gray (at their suggestion) at the National Theatre, London. This is a political play about the current financial crisis.

The script by David Hare was astoundingly clever and it was also a very witty play. The play looks back over what has happened over the last few years, which has led to this current banking and financial crisis. The setting on the stage was plain and black, in order to convey the necessary overall impression of bleakness.

The play has been given a lot of praise. The 'Guardian' gave it a 4-star rating, for example, saying that it was:

"Engrossing...Asks questions to which we all want to know the answers."

However, I particularly liked this quote from the 'Independent on Sunday':

"If you want to understand the financial crisis you should go to the theatre."

Indeed - the theatre nowadays will probably inform one better than the government can and does! (LOL!)

I decided to buy a programme, and guess what - it contained an incredible quote from Karl Marx where he predicted what we have currently been going through in regard to the crisis. His foresight and brilliance never ceases to astound me. Here is the quote:

"Owners of capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more expensive goods, houses and mechanical products, pushing them...until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to the bankruptcy of the banks, which will have to be nationalised, and the State will have to take the road which will lead eventually to communism."

However, there is a danger that the overall happening can be taken out of context - which is one of the limitations of the theatre, I think. Whilst all very clever, one can perhaps lose sight a little of the fact that it is all very much a part of the bigger picture, and that it is inevitable that such scenarios will happen in capitalism. Also, that real people are actually suffering!

Still, nevertheless, it is definitely a play worth seeing and is one that I would recommend.

P.S. When Glenn came home I talked to him about this supposed Karl Marx quote. He knows Marx's work very well, and he was immediately sceptical and was very doubtful about whether in fact it was a genuine quote! So, he did a google search, and guess what - it is a hoax! Heavens, this raises a lot of questions. Why would anyone want to make up such a hoax; why on earth are the National Theatre including it in their programme; is it really this easy to hawk false quotes around etc? I have to 'take my hat off' to Glenn though, for being on to this straightaway. Glenn found one particularly interesting article on a google search posted by Michael Rainey entitled 'Wall Street's Marxist moment'; Rainey suggests that perhaps it was made up and circulated by the right-wing in order to discredit any effort to nationalize banks in the U.S. That seems like quite a plausible idea to me. And finally, I have to confess to being a bit daft myself, don't I, for falling for the bait. I mean, the concept of nationalisation wasn't around at the time, was it? But then again, I'm one amongst many. Anyway, all makes you think, does it not? And also, once again, why on earth was it in a National Theatre official programme?

Avator 3-D

2010-01-24T04:39:00.000-08:00

Glenn and I went to see the film 'Avatar' in 3-D on 23rd January. Glenn and Alex had already been to see it and thought it was amazing and very moving and that I would also probably enjoy it. Glenn was even moved to tears, he said, as the film symbolised the power and domination of greed and money. Alex said that quite a lot of people came out of the cinema depressed because of the stark message in the film. Glenn related the film to the ways in which things of beauty and hope are being destroyed today, partly as a result of the current crisis of capital, but also, sadly, because these things are no longer valued sufficiently. As Glenn said "The Institute of Contemporary Arts and Senate House Library are under threat, some universities may have to close according to press reports and aspects of our way of life and culture will increasingly be sacrificed at the alter of capital or spurious arguments regarding the need to 'modernise'".

'Avatar 3-D' is a science fiction film that is written and directed by James Cameron and stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Stephen Lang.

So, I went along to see the film full of hope, but it has to be said, that I was somewhat disappointed. The 3-D experience was incredible - it was the first time that we'd seen a 3-D film, and there were many very beautiful shots of the Na'vi, a race of indigenous humanoids, flying through the air, riding on horses etc. It was all very colourful and rather wonderful. In fact, the film is seen to be a breakthrough in terms of film making technology. It was certainly very expensive to make apparently as well.

However, overall I found that there was just too much action in it. James Cameron is repeating his style of directorship here, leading on from 'The Titanic', which he also directed. I did enjoy watching 'The Titanic' actually, but I thought it was very much full of emotional overload. I felt very drained when I had finished watching it, and would not be in a hurry to repeat the experience! I also thought there was too much violence in 'Avator' , not enough dialogue, and that not enough time had been spent on developing the characters (which I found really rather confusing). Also, on a basic level, I find that my capacity to deal with the many horrors that are taking place today are really now quite limited - I find that, just for my own sanity and survival I have to block much out and/or at least deal with it in a different way. People today seem just so intent and determined today to destroy just so much that is worthwhile, beautiful and of value.

So be it.

In terms of the plot, the film is set in the year 2154, on Pandora, a moon in the Alpha Centauri star system. Humans are mining Pandora's reserves of a precious mineral called unobtanium, which threatens the Na'vi and the Pandoran ecosystem. The Na'vis live in harmony with nature. Wanting to improve relations with the natives, humans grow Na'vi bodies modified with human DNA. These are called avators and are controlled by genetically matched, mentally linked human operators - the avators only work when the humans are in the machine.

In the film, we witness the attempt to destroy this beautiful civilisation and its way of life for material gain.

N.B. The next day, though, we experienced another problem - our eyes. Glenn found he couldn't read for a short period (which was very scary) and my eyes felt very sore. We did a google search and found that 3-Dimensional films can cause various health problems - including sickness and migraines. The eyes have to work very hard when watching a 3-D film apparently. I also discovered to my surprise that 3-Ds have been around for years, but obviously today they are far more sophisticated. And now more films are being made in 3-D and computer games are starting to be made in 3-D. Our health just can't stand all this technology, the fast pace of it all, I am sure. I think that in the future, as the pressure grows for humans to be more and more closely connected with computers, that some humans will become very ill and some will die - only the fittest will survive (Darwin's 'survival of the fittest'). Then, and only then, will society wake up to the fact that this all needs to be looked at and researched into in a lot more depth. This is, kind of, the 'natural' process of evolution, one could argue. But it would be nice to think that we were more advanced than that today; that we could find a way to avoid such a dramatic situation, but the signs are not looking good!

'The Last to Know' by Melissa Hill

2010-01-23T01:29:00.000-08:00

I said in my last but one blog that I intended to read some more novels by Melissa Hill. Well, I have just finished 'The Last to Know: can you keep a secret?' by her (published by Hodder and Stoughton, London, 2008, ISBN 10 0340953314; 13 978 0340953310 (pbk) and it was a truly incredible book. The plot went to places that I never, ever imagined it would go. It was also all extremely cleverly and powerfully written. Full details of the book on amazon can be found at:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Know-Melissa-Hill/dp/0340953314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264239461&sr=8-1

The book starts off as seeming to be quite a straightforward novel. We have Anna and Ronan and Eve and Liam who are all good friends, and have been so since childhood. Then, we have Sam who is Eve's sister, who lives in London, is a very successful novelist and a columnist and is going out with Derek. Well, immediately of course, I am connected!

Eve has 2 children by Liam - she is very maternal, and loves Liam but Liam is not keen on committing himself in marriage. He also works away a lot. We are quickly informed about the difference in the characters between the two sisters. At this point I am reminded of one of my favourite novels - 'Alexa' by Andrea Newman, which revolves around two friends, one who is an earth mother (and puts her all into her husband and children) whilst the other is a successful writer. Anyway, whilst Eve is desperately keen to marry Liam, Sam keeps fighting off her man Derek. This is because he is making her choose between a normal, conventional married life with him and her writing. Sam reflects thus:

"He [Derek] didn't just want the ring on Sam's finger, he also wanted the house in the Cotswolds, the kids, the Labradors, the budgies, etc. And even worse, she knew he'd want her to forget all about the writing career she adored and had spent years trying to build." (p. 26)

As children, Sam and Eve had always been very different in this way.

"As a child, Eve had always been the one dressing up dolls and pushing them around in her toy pram, while Sam had sat in a corner, poring over the latest Mallory Towers book. But she and Eve had always been very different in that respect." (p. 28)

And then later we have Eve reflecting thus:

"When Eve called last night her sister wasn't planning on going to sleep but was instead reading a book - a rare event in Eve's house, reading having never been particularly high on her own list of priorities. In fairness, most days she was lucky if she found the time to peruse the outside of a milk carton never mind a couple of hundred pages! But Sam had always been the same, and when the two girls were kids her sister's nose was forever stuck in some boring book while Eve much preferred playing with her dolls. So it was no great surprise really that their adult lives had pretty much followed suit, Sam becoming a writer and Eve a housewife and mum." (p. 133)

Well, of course, I immediately connected with the Sam character. I have 3 sons but even when they were small I still read loads. So, the idea that there is no time to read seems very strange to me; very strange indeed. Rather, without my books I would not have kept my sanity, and would not have brought the 3 of them up at all well! And I think (and hope) that the way that I was, has helped them to find themselves, and to become what they want to become. Anyway, of course, we are all different.

To return to the book: Sam thinks it would be good for Eve to have a break and it would be beneficial for her to find out more about domestic life; so they do a swop (another similiarity here with the book 'Alexa'). Eve goes and stays in Sam's flat in London for a weekend, and explores the London sights, and Sam goes to Ireland to look after Eve's children. Eve enjoys herself but soon realises that she wants to go back to her family. Sam resumes her life in London, but then realises that she needed to finish with Derek. Later she moves back to Ireland herself, whilst continuing with her successful career as a novelist.

Then, suddenly we are introduced to a new character in the book - one Brooke Reynolds in Australia, who is a publisher and is reading this manuscript - she finds all the characters, Sam, Eve etc and the plot very interesting. Hey, this is strange - so it is a novel within a novel, it seems, and is about a novelist! Perfect book for me, eh! Brooke is gripped by the manuscript; she thinks it is definitely publishable. She found it on the top of a pile on her desk, with a note that she should read it, give it priority etc. Yet, she can find no author details, no contact details. Strange again. Anyway, she reads on, and we are, once again, returned to the novel and the characters.

We discover that the first time Sam sees Ronan she thinks that he is the man that she is destined to be with; there is a chemistry there, he lights her up, despite herself, and there is little she can do about it. He belongs to Anna, but that doesn't have any bearing on her feelings, which basically seem to be beyond her control. At the same time, she has this instinctual feeling that for all their talk and appearance, that Anna actually has a 'thing about', perhaps is really and deeply in love with Liam rather than Ronan. Is this just wishful thinking on Sam's part, one wonders? Things are getting complicated!

Then, we discover that Anna is pregnant. Now, is this Ronan or Liam's, one wonders? Anna and Ronan do not seem at all keen to tie the knot. Why is that, one wonders? Also, why is Anna so reluctant to tell Ronan that she is pregnant? (which she doesn't do until she is 7 months pregnant).

Meanwhile, suddenly Eve (with the help of her children) persuades Liam to marry her - even though he still does not want to take much part in the actual preparations. Then, there is the most tragic of tragedies. Liam and the 2 children (with Liam driving) are killed in a car crash.

Now, the novel returns to Brooke who, of course, is highly confused. Why kill off one of the main characters in this way? This did not seem to make any sense to her at all. She is getting puzzled. We also see her having to deal with a successful novelist that is late with the delivery of her latest manuscript, demonstrating the pressure that successful authors are under in this regard (p. 115)

Once more, we are returned to the novel. Eve cannot take it in; can't believe it or come to terms with the accident and the death of Liam (the man that she loved so passionately) and her 2 children at all. Those around her are worried about her. But then she seems to cheer up a bit. She offers to babysit for Anna and Ronan's by now 8 week old baby. Whilst babysitting she finds a teddy that Liam has given to the baby; she becomes convinced that the baby is Liam's, not Ronan's. She runs off with the child; Anna and Ronan return, realise that both Eve and the baby have vanished and are besides themselves.

Meanwhile, Eve is on an aeroplane to the other side of the world - Australia. She brings the child up (who we now discover was called Brooke); she has no regrets. In her eyes, Anna had everything, whilst she had lost everything. Then, Eve becomes ill. She doesn't want to die, leaving Brooke thinking that she has no family. So she makes contact with Sam. Still, it is some while before Sam lets Anna know - she was worried that things could go wrong. Sam still wasn't able to contact Eve directly at first; but she cracked that one through the newsletter that she sent out now and then to her readers, which she then posted on her site. Wow - I do that as well of course - another coincidence!

We return to Brooke who is now, obviously, beside herself. Is this no novel at all, but someone trying to tell her about her family history and to fill the gaps in about her own life? Or is she going mad or what? She can't stand it, she has to find out. She flies to Ireland and meets up with Sam directly. And yes, Samantha Reynolds, the famous best-selling novelist is her aunt, and it is Sam who wrote this manuscript and got it sent to Brooke to read (via Eve's best friend, Bev). Oh wow! We then discover that Liam never was Brooke's father; it was Ronan all along. We also discover that after Eve ran off with Brooke things went badly wrong with Anna and Ronan and in the end they separated; and Sam and Ronan did, indeed, get together! We see Anna at the end who is sad but so glad to be reconciled with her daughter. Brooke goes back to Australia and of course, the manuscript is never published!

The book also included some discussion as to why Sam and Anna decided to inform Brooke about her family history through a novel rather than directly through a letter or some other means (such as a phone call or email). They thought that any other method of communication would be too much of a shock for Brooke and/or that she might not take it all in fully. So, once again, this demonstrates one of the many ways in which the novel can be so powerful, I think. In discussion with Glenn about the book (I just had to tell him a little about the book - the plot was just so amazing), an idea hit me - that at some point I could, perhaps, write a novel based around the success (or otherwise) of our non-fiction works. Perhaps, such a method would be a more effective marketing strategy, than the more typical ones used! It is all food-for-thought anyway.

A truly amazing book, with an ingenious plot.

Meanwhile, as ever, happy reading to one and all.

And yes, the book has another lovely book cover and here it is!