Relief Reads 24 - A Girl named Disaster

A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer

Charity Shop: St David's Hospice

Charity: St David’s Hospice is a local charity providing end of life care, free of charge, to adult patients from across North West Wales and supporting those closest to them.

Price: 50p bargain!

Book Blurb: Adventure and Survival in a world inhabited by wild animals, and by the spirits of the dead // Nhamo is an unloved and unwanted orphan who determines to flee her village rather than face a hateful marriage. Alone for the first time in her life, she paddles upriver towards Zimbabwe in her canoe. On her long and terrifying journey she is in constant danger from wild animals, and fears the spirits of the dead - both benign and destructive - that crowd around her and need to be appeased. // A girl named disaster is an enthralling adventure story. But it is also a deeply moving and heartwarming account of unquenchable courage against appaling odds, and of Nhamo's rite of passage from childhood in a traditional African village to independent young woman in the modern world.

Expectation: I chose this book because I thought I'd read it before. I was sure she ended up in the man made lake so big you couldn't see across it. However the blurb had no mention of that , so I might have been thinking of a different book.

Reality: A good adventure book, about half and half back story and journey. She does indeed end up in the lake but otherwise I didn't recognise the book. Nhamo is a girl who has extreme bad luck and extreme good luck in equal thus it is very obviously a fiction book set within a historical backdrop.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

As my Granny would say 'It was a bit far-fetched' but none-the-less a gripping read. I sat down to read one chapter and ended up reading half the book.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

It was an adventure story but I knew three things from the off 1) that she left her village, 2) that she ended up in the lake and 3) that she didn't die in the end. This meant that the big twists weren't all that surprising and although the story didn't go in a nice straight line nothing happened that was a huge surprise.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

There were definitely very sad bits in the story and maybe I just wasn't in the mood for emotional involvement but I stayed detached the whole way through, no tears here.

Main Character(s): Nhamo - an absolute genius orphan child. Incredible at picking up and learning survival tools. Never feeling fully included Nhamo enjoys her own company, particularly having tea parties with her dead mother. Although she chats away to her mother, Crocodile Guts and other spirits she is aware of her loneliness on her journey and has the very human desire to be part of a community.

Moral of the Story: All things spiritual can be explained away be coincidences and science but there are a few too many coincidences thus implying that the spiritual dimension could still exist... Imo the book doesn't make any conlusive judgement.

***

Coming up: Tune in next time to find out :-)

In my life: there are so many questions and answers that somehow seem wrong... There's a place for Les Mis everywhere. Anyway, I've had my own adventure in my life this week. I not only fainted at work, but fainted from standing in an area full of people where I was pretty much the only female around, and managed to catch my head on the table on the way down. So if you think you've embarrassed yourself in the past, I may have just succeeded in embarrassing myself even more! I walked away from the incident with a superficial headwound requiring stapling (ouch) but nothing more serious.

Relief Reads 23 - The End of the Affair

The end of the affair by Graham Greene

Charity Shop: Better World Books

Charity: Better World Books is an online store that shares its profit with literary charities. The profits from this book went to Scottish Book Trust. In addition to this, for every book bought, BWB donate a book to someone in need through Books for Africa and Feed the Children

Price: N/A - Christmas present

Book Blurb: The novelist Maurice Bendrix's love affair with his friend's wife, Sarah, had begun in London during the Blitz. One day, inexplicably and without warning, Sarah had broken off the relationship. // It seemed impossible that there could be a rival for her heart. Yet two years later, driven by obsessive jealousy and grief, Bendrix sends Parkix, a private detective, to follow Sarah and find out the truth.

Expectation: Fairly light hearted although possibly a bit deeper based on the whole jealous lover aspect.

Reality: Pretty deep, exploring the concepts of love and faith. It's written from the PoV of Maurice who is horrible, but he's aware of that and recognises his faults but then does nothing to change just gives up.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

I did get absorbed by this book. I was reading this when dining solo. It can be a bit awkward eating out alone, but I get so into this book I didn't care. Although if copying me, I should recommend some dish that only involves one hand to eat because then you eat and read simultaneously as reading requires one hand to hold the book unless you have superpowers.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

The reason Sarah had for breaking off the relationship I wouldn't have guessed. But then it is written from the PoV of Maurice who is so consumed with jealousy and insecurity who presents a warped view of Sarah. You get Sarah's PoV later in the book, I won't explain how. There are also parts where I was thinking surely he wouldn't do that and then he does.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

The ending is sad, but depressingly so rather than teary-eyed so. It's written from the PoV of Maurice who is a bit weird so hard to get that emotionally involved.

Main Character(s): Maurice - utterly self-absorbed and jealous man. He recognises his faults and although he acts particularly maliciously at times you feel sorry for him by the end. The second part of the book also involves his struggle with being convinced that God doesn't exist and yet it becomes more and more obvious he does. He ends with conceeding God's existance but pushing him away which is supremely sad. Last sentence: "I'm too tired and old to learn to love, leave me alone forever". Don't let that be the conclusion to your life.

Moral of the Story: I'm not really sure. I couldn't tell if the author is Christian or not. God seemed to be presented as a love rival rather than the fount of all love. It's a very thought provoking book, I'd love to discuss it, but don't think I can boil it down into an easy moral.

***

Coming up: My reading drought has left me with a surplus of books to chose from. I'm thinking possibly The girl named disaster, but tune in next time to find out!

I'm going to stop putting summaries of my life on t'internet so much, not that I was very good at it before. However I am up in Newcastle (upon Tyne for you midlanders out there) and have space for visitors so if you (presuming I know you in real life) want to come on a trip to the North East I would highly recommend it and then you can have a catch up on my life in person :-)

Relief Reads 22 - The Reurresctionist

The Resurrectionist by James Bradley

Charity Shop: Oxfam maybe - that's what the sticker says on the back. I can't remember where I got this book, but I don't think it was Oxfam

Charity: You've all heard of Oxfam

Price: £1.99 if it indeed was from Oxfam

Book Blurb: Sometimes the worst prisons we build are not of stone  Leaving behind his father's tragic failures, Gabriel Swift arrives in London in 1826 to study with Edwin Poll, the great anatomist. But he finds himself drawn to his master nemesis, Lucan, the most powerful of the city's resurrectionists and governor of its trade in stolen bodies. Dismissed by Poll, Gabriel is pulled into the sinister and mysterious underworld of Georgian London - and must make a journey that will change his life forever.

Expectation: Having just read I was expecting this book to have a supernatural element, but didn't give it much thought.

Reality: A story about grave diggers from the point of view of Gabriel. Gabriel is quite detached from the action which is quite scary as it goes from a very normal, and from the outside what should be quite a happy life, to a very dark and violent underworld, and yet the tone doesn't change. There is a massive twist in the middle, to the point I nearly put the book down because I thought a new story had started.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

It was good, I did follow the story and it made sense. It wasn't always clear what was happening but did make sense with a bit of thought. A very heavy theme, not a light read at all.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

There was a VERY BIG twist in the middle that completely threw me.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

Small children died which is always sad. The end line: "So many lives, so light" summarised what was saddest, in the lightness in which they held life. 

Main Character(s): Gabriel Swift - possible psycopath, very detached from his life. However the book does end with his weeping so he does have emotion.

Moral of the Story: We all have a past, be afraid, be very afraid. 

***

Still on my catch up mission, one more book to go

Coming up: The end of the affair by Graham Greene

Relief Reads 21 - Wormwood

Wormwood by G. P. Taylor

Charity Shop: Severn Hospice, Church Stretton (? - somewhere round there)

Charity: Severn Hospice gives specialist care and support free of charge to families across Shropshire and North Powys who are living with an incurable illness

Price: £1.49

Book Blurb: It is London, 1756. In his Bloomsbury attic sits Dr Sabian Blake - astronomer, scientist, and master of the Cabala. Dr Blake is in possession of the Nemornsis, an ancient leather-bound book that holds the secrets of the universe. Scribbled into one of its margins is a mysterious prophecy, and deciphering it could prove the key to saving London from a catastrophic fate. But there are others interested in the Nemorensis too, for more sinister reasons... // This tale of socery, treachery, intrigue and supernatural strife from the author of the international bestseller Shadowmancer is set against a rich historical backdrop and will enthrall readers to the very last page.

Expectation: I wasn't really sure. This book was chosen by 4yo Albert who I think primarily picked it due to its pretty picture on the front.

Reality: Bizarre, it was set in London in the real world but involved magic and spirits. A very odd thing happened near the beginning of the book, but was mostly ignored afterwards. I found it a hard book to read, it was only near the end that I started getting into the story. I have managed to find a genre I dislike.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

Trying to be deep and meaningful, but it got lost on me.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

There were many bizarre twists in the story, too many.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

Didn't really connect with the story

Main Character(s): Blake and his servant girl Agetta

Moral of the Story: Be wary of making idols out of things, they might be magicified.

***

I'm now well and truly settle in Newcastle which has made me very busy these last few months hence the lack of blogging. I am now three books behind so here comes blogs in quick succession..

Coming up: The resurrectionist by James Bradley

Walking Wanders 7 - Some of Scafell Pike and Great Gable

The Rocky Mountains

Who: Those crazy enough to head to the Lakes in November; Hannah, Monica, Nathan, the dogs and I.

Why: The winter is coming, the days are getting colder (or trying to) and the nights are getting longer. Time for one last trip to the lakes before full on winter gear is required!

The route: Day 1 - an attempt to climb scafell pike aborted due to adverse weather conditions and a slight detour, Day 2 - Great Gable. Here is the map:

The walk:

6.30am is a time no-one should be awake on a Saturday morning, but that is the time that Hannah and I set off from Newcastle to make the sunrise trip along the A69 to the end of a lane known as Seathwaite. Once Monica, dogs and Nathan (who'd sensibly stayed overnight nearby) had arrived and we were all fully waterproofed we were off. 1st landmark, Stockley bridg and from there it was steadily upwards along Styhead gill to Styhead tarn. 

Stockley Bridge

Styhead tarn, with the ominous clouds and Hannah

The promised rain was mercifully absent until we were stopping for a break at Sty Head ( a mountain resuce post with stretchers, so if you're in a party where someone breaks there leg, its a good place to know about) when the heavens opened and our waterproofs tested (one failed, but luckily I had brought a spare). The dogs were looking very sorry for themselves and with the weather only forecast to get worse we decided to part ways and meet at the pub in Wasdale Head. Hannah and I decided to continue up along the corridor route so off we plodded merrily following the other walkers along a very well-kept path until we reached a tarn. Odd, thought we, there is no tarn along the corridor route, so being a sheltered spot and the rain absent we consulted the map. We had reached sprinkling tarn; a very nice spot for lunch but entirely in the wrong direction. With high winds and a crag in the way, there was nothing for but to head back to Sty Head and start again. Take 2 and we discovered that the corridor route is not such an easy path as the name would suggests and involves some fun scrambling and rather steep drops. The dogs would have not got very far! The wind added to the fun but thankfully the rain stayed at bay. At one point we met a stupid man who had set off sans map from Seathwaite at the same time as us on his way down from Scafell Pike and we looked dry enough for him to have to ask if we had had any rain too. I'm glad we met him on his way down as I would have been worried about him otherwise.
We made slow and steady progress and came to decision point, to summit or head back down. We were only about half a kilometre away from the summit horizontally, but ~150m vertically and although the cloud had lifted as we'd climbed we had now reached the cloud base. With the shortened day, the winds strong and the paths scrambly we decided to cop out and head back down to return another day when we may have a chance of a view from the top. The route down Lingmell gill was mostly easy, being the route that the three peakers would take as they peg it up the pike.
After quick drink at the pub in Wasdale Head we had another 4 miles to walk in the dark and pouring rain along the road to our accommodation for the night, yha Wastwater. The spare waterproof was my hi vis which was donned and must have helped as neither of us got run over!

Day 2: Quick march back along the road which looked very different and far more beautiful in the daylight. There were loads of sheep which we must have passed in the night and had not noticed at all! Picking up Monica, Nathan and dogs en route (who'd sensibly stayed at Wasdale Head) we headed up Lingmell Beck to Sty Head along with a mountain rescue lady and her dog. The night previous they were scrambled to go rescue a group that had got 'benighted' on Scafell pike (but thankfully managed to rescue themselves) so our decision to head down early felt justified. Having made good progress and the weather far improved on the previous day we headed up to Great Gable. As expected we went into cloud near the top and Jake (dog) had to be carried partway as he's a wuss and dislikes rocks! Following the well-cairned path we reached the top, success!

The motley crew  and the beautiful view

Success!

 Taking careful bearings as we made our way off the summit to avoid any navigational mishaps we headed off down arran slack and back to Styhead tarn where the sun came out and it was beautiful. Aside from the changeable weather, I think Autumn is a wonderful season to go walking in because the sunshine is just such a beautiful shade.

Sunlit Styhead tarn (and Hannah)

Proof that there was sun

Onwards and downwards back to Seathwaite. Thus ends a weekend of autumn walking in the Lakes. It's just such a beautiful part of England, Praise God! 

Relief Reads 20 - Shadows of the Workhouse

Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth

Charity Shop: Hope House, Children's Hospice, Ludlow

Charity: Located in the village of Morda near Oswestry, Hope House offers its service for the repsite of terminally ill children, covering Shropshire, North and Mid Wales.

Price: £1.75, almost as expensive as Cambridge book!

Book Blurb: When Jennifer Worth became a midwife in the 1950s, she joined an East End where many lives were touched by the shadow of the workhouse. For, although the institutions were officially abolished in 1930, in reality many did not close until several decades later. // In the follow-up to here bestselling Call the Midwife, Jennifer Worth tells the true stories of the people she met. There's Peggy and Frank, who were seperated in the workhouse when their parents died - until Frank's strength and determination enabled him to make a home for his sister. Jane was a bright, lively child, whose spirit was broken by cruelty, until she found kindness and love later in life. Then there in the matchmaking nun, Sister Julienne, and Sister Monica Joan, who ends up in the High Court...

Expectation: I'm now on the look out for Jennifer Worth books in Charity shops, and was very happy when I found this in Ludlow. I was expecting this to be like Call the Midwife but with stories focussed on the social work of her job rather than the babies.

Reality: Rather than being lots of little stories, this book had only 4 main stories, variants of which had been part of the TV series. It was quite tough to read because although it only focused on a handful of people it was indicative of life for many. You hear in the news now where they are trying to get justice for institutionalised cruelty but if what Jennifer Worth says is true then it was just normal and how do you hold a culture to account? You could say lock up the adults and throw away the key, but many grew up in workhouses and never knew a different life. Anyway the lives she focussed on were not all doom and gloom, as life is never (or rarely). Frank and Peggy had a happy adulthood and were a source of friendship for Jane, who ended up marrying Reverend Appleby-Thornton (as on TV) Then there was the story of Joe Collet, a war veteran who had no remaining family and Jennifer was his only friend. He told her the story of his time in the army, he fought in the Boer war. I've never heard anything about the Boer war before, so this book is really good in that it passes on personal accounts of an event of which there are no living memories. There was also an insight into the trenches that I hadn't come across before. History will repeat itself, but the longer we remember these things the longer the gaps between the repetition will be (although Putin seems to want to hurry things along). Joe's workhouse shadow was that he ended up in an old people's home that was a workhouse in its former life, and the conditions were just appalling. According to personal accounts Jennifer had heard of, conditions were such at least until 1985 if not more recently, what about today?
The  story of Sister Monica Jones was a bit different and had no connection to the Workhouse. She is accused of shoplifting and ends up in court. I'll leave it up to you to read the ending. It was a bit of light relief and does highlight the difficulty of distinguishing between senility and mischieviousness!

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

I would recommend it, as a good read and an important read for keeping history alive. However some parts I wonder how Jennifer could have known what happened. She must have changed some details to hide identities, so I do wonder how much artistic licence she used.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

Not that kind of book, but life's not straightforward so there were some twists and turns.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

Yes there were tears shed. But I wasn't reading in public this time, so socially acceptable tears!

Main Character(s): Jane, Frank, Peggy, Jennifer and Joe.

Moral of the Story: I read this on Saturday and on Sunday evening we sang a song at church that I thought was very apt, particularly verse 2. It addresses the sense of hopelessness there is if you remove God from the picture. Praise God that justice will be done! Anyway here are the words of the song;

O Lord, the clouds are gathering,

The fire of judgement burns;

How we have fallen!

O Lord, you stand appalled to see

Your laws of love so scorned

And lives so broken

O Lord, over the nations now

Where is the dove of peace?

Her wings are broken.

O Lord, while precious children starve

The tools of war increase,

Their bread is stolen

O Lord, dark powers are poised to flood

Our streets with hate and fear.

We must awaken!

O Lord, let love reclaim the lives

That sin would sweep away,

And let your kingdom come.

Yet O Lord, your glorious cross shall tower

Triumphant in this land,

evil confounding;

Through the fire your suffering church displays

The glories of her Christ

Praises resounding.

Have mercy Lord, forgive us Lord

Restore us Lord, revive your church again.

Let justice flow like rivers

And righteousness like a never-failing stream

***

Coming up: I have caught up! It will either be Transition by Ian Banks, but I may have temporarily misplaced it so might be Wormwood by ??? instead.

Also coming up, Walking Wanders - Alwinton 

Relief Reads 19 - The Map that Changed the World

The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester

When I was in Cambridge recently for Matt and Anne's wedding I may not have made it to King's Parade, but I had to return to Charity shop street for old time's sake and picked up this gem.

Charity Shop: Scope, Burleigh Street, Cambridge

Charity: Scope is a charity that exists to make this country a place where disabled people have the same opportunities as everyone else.

Price: £2.00, Teuer but all for a good cause

Book Blurb: William Smith was not rich or well connected, but his passion for rocks and fossils, and his twenty-year obsession with single-handedly mapping the geology of Britain made him one of the most significant men of the nineteenth century. However, his vision cost him dear - his wife went mad, his work was stolen by jealous colleagues who eventually ruined him, and he was imprisoned for debt. // Simon Winchester tells the fascinating story of 'Strata' Smith, a man who crossed boundaries of class, wealth and science to produce a map that fundamentally changed the way we viewed the world.

Expectation: Combining reading with a bit of CPD I figured this book might teach me a bit about the history of the field I've ended up working in.

Reality: In the word's of the daily telegraph 'Part biography, part social history and part entertaining yarn' It was really informative and taught me a lot about geology but was also an engaging story of William Smith's life. It was all evidential, so where gaps existed, for example regarding his wife, Winchester didn't speculate but merely presented the evidence available. This is in contrast to Pam Gregory's 'historical' books! Whilst I was reading this (on a train as usual) I got chatting to a woman who had spent the last few years researching a geologist from the 1600s. Therefore it peeved me a bit that Winchester was implying that the 1800s were the beginning of geology, when it was a subject studied by many men and some women in the preceeding years. However the 1800s did see the rather dubious beginnings of BGS so I'll give him that.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

It was well-balanced, informative and entertaining. I'd recommend it to anyone, geologist or not. It also has pretty pictures of fossils and geological maps as a bonus.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line

It starts with the end, so you know where it's heading, but Smith's life was not straightforward.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

Although William Smith was hard done by, he was never broken. And the as a biography, there was emotional distance between the reader and Smith.

Main Character(s): William Smith

Moral of the Story: Follow your interest, and be glad the rigid class system is less rigid and it is no longer acceptable to exclude someone solely because they are of a different class.

***

Coming up: The Shadow of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth (I liked Call the Midwife so much)

Walking Wanders 5 - Blencathra, Bowscale and Bannerdale

B is for Bank Holiday

Who: Four non-Geordie Tyneside dwellers, Myself, Clare, Matt and Sheps.

Why: It's a bank holiday and a day trip to the Lakes is feasible, why not? Never mind the heavy rain initially forecast.

The Route: As tradition, here is my beautifully drawn map;

We did the red route which went, up Halls Fell Ridge, Around Foule Crag, down and up again to Bowscale, follow the edge of the cliff round to Bannerdale, then down, over River Glenmaraken (sp?) and up again over Mousthwaite Comb. Pub at Scales, cross A66, rejoin River Glemaraken and follow back to Threlkeld

The Walk: Parking at Threlkeld, we headed a short way up Gates Gill before turning right to follow a wall along to the next valley. As we were walking along the path like the considerate walkers we are, we were confronted by a herd of sheep charging at us. So we stepped off the path as we let sheep, sheepdogs, farmers and quadbike go past. Onwards and upwards and I was soon left trailing..

Sorry Guys, I'm coming!

 You see that ridge in the background, that was where we were heading and walking soon transitioned to scrambling to climbing (although the latter probably more due to my poor route choice than necessity) Putting my bouldering skills to good use, although it is a bit trickier with hiking boots. Being quite high up, it was getting a bit windy so we found a sheltered spot to stop for lunch and to suncream up :o ! My rock seat was incredibly comfy. If it weren't for one slightly back-poky rock I could have had a nap there and then

Nice spot for lunch

Lunch eaten, onwards and upwards we climbed until conveniently popping out right at the summit. It was fairly busy at the top and also really quite windy, so full layering up was required. I was getting very grateful for the gloves I'd brought along on a whim. At the top we had the view of the Lakes on one side and of Mungrisdale Common on the other. The latter was described by Wainwright (paraphrased) as having as much elegance as a blamanche that has been sat on. That is a fairly apt description, especially in contrast to the Lakes, however it did have the sun on it (which had disappeared from our location some time previous) so I was jealous.

As we ploughed on along the ridge against the full force of the wind (or not quite full force yet, as we discovered later) the collective decision was made to forego the original plan of going down to Scales tarn and back up along Sharp edge, a ridge that has claimed lives of far more experinced walkers than I. That collective however did not include Matt, so the three of us continued along and found a sheltered spot on the face of Foule Crag for a rest whilst he did a detour. The good visibility meant we could follow his progress!

Onwards, and time to decide our next action plan! Having visibility to all potential routes on nice undulating ground, we chose to head to what the OS map named 'pile of stones' aka Bowscale Fell and return to the river via Bannerdale, thus summiting 3 B's in a day. Through the wind and bog we plodded with leg length creating a clear boy-girl divide. Clare and I eventually arrived at the windbreak aka 'pile of stones'. Refuelled and taking Wainwright's advice we headed to the left of the bog, along the sheep track. Dry but also incredibly windy. Layering up now also included hood up and pulled tight. We plowed on through the wind, periodically testing how far it would blow us sideways if we jumped. I was frequently blown over, but being at the back no-one saw! The wind was blowing up-cliff so no fear of falling, if anyone did, they'd get blown back up again.

Turning the corner the wind eased, and we soon reached the summit of Bannerdale. Then it was steep steep down to the river. The steepness was such that bum-sliding was possible, no toboggan required.

The footbridge across the river providing a nice resting point, but unfortunately the water was too tempting for Sheps' chocolate which decided to go for a little swim. Chocolate rescued, and Matt off for a jog up Souther Fell, we were on our way. Up and over one little hill and then we were at Scales. We stopped off at the pub to use their facilities, have a drink and play dominos before onwards to Threlkeld. At Scales we faced our most dangerous challenge yet, crossing the A66! Safely over, we headed over some fields to join the river that had nearly stolen the chocolate. A very pleasant walk along the river gave us a good view of the hill we had just climbed

Blencathra in all her glory

Before long we were back at Threlkeld and ended our walk at the Horse and Farrier pub with its massive meaty portions that we easily demolished, and very nice it was too.

Too soon it was sadly time to return to the real world, back to the East Coast. As we left the pub, Blencathra's summit was now well and truely immersed in cloud. 

So long Lakes, till next time!

Relief Reads 18 - Call the Midwife

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth

Charity Shop: One that uses a green price sticker, lets go with Oxfam

Charity: Oxfam are the provider of charity shops throughout the UK, particularly renowned for its book shops. More importantly however Oxfam is a globally renowned aid and development charity with 70 years of experience, working and campaigning with partners in over 90 countries worldwide.


Price: £0.99

Book Blurb: Life in the London's East End in the 1950s was tough. The brothels of Cable Street, the Kray brothers and gang warfare, the meths drinkers in the bombsites - this was the world Jennifer Worth entered when she became a midwife at the age of 22 (ah, younger than me!) Babies were born in slum conditions, often with no running water. Funny, disturbing and moving, Call the Midwife brings to life a world that has now changed beyond all measure.

Expectation: The TV series. Stories of life as a midwife in 1950s East End, plus incite into behind the scenes at the Nunnery.

Reality: As expected, I recognised some of the stories from the TV series, however it was a bit different. Knowing it was real life made parts heart-wrenchingly sad, more so than the TV version because I get more of an emotional relationship with book characters than TV ones. There was an overriding storyline and that was Jennifer's journey to faith with the closing sentence is 'That evening, I started to read the gospels'

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

I was gripped, helped by the fact I read it (almost) in one sitting on a long train journey. The ending is beautiful and as I finished I looked out of the window to see Durham Cathedral lit up by the evening sun making it even more beautiful.
Didn't give it top rating as as it was lots of individual stories, all linked, it would be possible to put it down and pick it up again later.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line 

Can't really rate it, not that kind of book. The individual stories didn't always pan out as expected, particularly the story of Conchita Warren, but I won't give anything away.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

I shed tears in public over the Mrs Jenkins story. I don't cry.
That said it wasn't all tales of woe. There were positives along with the negatives, like real life really!

Main Character(s): Jennifer. It's her story, so everything is from her perspective. 

Moral of the Story: The book made its own conclusion, so I shall quote (from Jennifer's quotes of Sister Monica Joan)
""Do not ask me to immortalise the great Mystery of Life. I am just a humble worker. For beauty, look to the Psalms, to Isiah, to St John of the Cross. How could my poor pen scan such verse? For truth, look to the Gospels- four short accounts of God made Man. There is nothing more to say" ..... "No one can give you faith. It is a gift from God alone. Seek and ye shall find. Read the Gospels. There is no other way.""

***

Coming up: The map that changed the World by ????

Walking Wanders 4 - The Peak District

Walking Wanders

Upper Derwent Reservoir / Ladybower Reservoir

Who: A motley crew of wedding-goers; Myself, Richard VdB and Florence, united by Becky and Pete

Why: Becky and Pete got married! Then we had some time to kill in the beautiful Peak District, and as it was a sunny day sandwiched by rainy ones what better way to spend it than outdoors (who cares if we were in wedding-party attire?)

The Walk: (see the beautiful map below)
Due to our attire, the walk was a sedate one, but it was the perfect place for a slow wander.
Part 1 - the little purple bit, we walked from car to reservoir edge to find a picnic spot. We had a view of this incredible hill that was a mix of green grass, purple heather and jaggedy rocks. All the aspects of the British countryside rolled into one. Deciding we'd better not cross the reservoir on the tempting, and easily accessible pipeline (which imo should be a bridge), we return to the car and drove 50m down the road to begin..
Part 2 - Following the road round, through the Ladybower carpark, and past the toe of the Derwent dam we headed right along the eastern edge of Ladybower reservoir before we headed uphill through the yard of Old House Farm (which oddly is a National Trust property). At this point we were very close as the crow flies from where we had lunch, but there was a large body of water in the way. We were on our way when we heard a loud plane flying nearby. I looked up and saw nothing and then realised it was just to the side of us through the trees, very close. It was a Lancaster bomber! This didn't mean much to me at the time, but I now know there are only two working models in the world, one in Canada and one in England, and at this moment they are both in England and have just done their last tandem flight. So I don't know which of the two we saw. Onwards and upwards we headed into proper countryside. Despite its name the peak district is not very peaky, more moory, and being August it was a beautiful sea of purple as all the heather was in flower.

As we continued along the past, we got a great view down the reservoir..

We were contemplating our route back down when we bumped into a couple coming the other way, somewhat bemused by our non-hiking attire. They were very happy about having seen the Lancaster, apparently it doesn't fly along the reservoir often, we were lucky to see it. They warned us about the steepness of our proposed route and recommended a longer, but still a bit steep alternative. Obviously, we ignored their advice! The path was fairly steep, and probably would have been easier with hiking boots rather than smart shoes, but slowly does it and we made it down in one piece, no problem.
As we were walking back along the boring gravel path we were tempted closer to the water by the beach that the summer had produced. It was formed of soft sandstone which is nice underfoot and good progress was made.
As we continued further along we realised the path we had left was higher and higher above us, making us hope rather than expect that there would be way off this beach further along. I have had this happen before on a beach in Alderney which ended with some cliff climbing to avoid backtracking. However I wasn't wearing a dress then! Luckily we came across a steep grass slope leading back up to the track that was gratefully climbed. From there is was past the east tower of the dam before rejoining the road route back to the car.

All in all the Peak District is a beautiful place despite its misnomer of a name. If you ever end up in Sheffield, just head that little bit further east, so worth it. I can't believe I've never been there before (at least that I can remember) and hope that I will be able to return one day with walking boots this time.

Walking Wanders 3 - The Great Orme

Walking Wanders 3

Llandudno Great Orme

Who: Me, myself and I

Why: For various reasons I ended up holidaying alone in Llandudno for a few days at the end of July. It was a beautiful day and I wasn't going to let it go to waste. In the morning I had taken the tram to the Great Orme 'summit' with my newly-made friend from the hostel, so rather than do a repetitive summit walk I decided to walk around it.

The Walk: (See my beautifully drawn map below - it was drawn with a touchpad so the wiggles more likely represent my finger wobbling rather than actual route detours!) From Llandudno Hostel I headed to the entrance to Llandudno pier before picking up the Wales Coastal path.

Llandudno pier

 I was disappointed to discover that at this point the path follows a road and there is no alternative route as it is cut into the rockface. I had committed so I continued, and it was a quiet road and the scenery made up for the tarmac underfoot. 

Out of place road markings - the gate leads to a cliff...

At a point where I thought I was approximately half way round I detoured sharply up hill and found a nice spot for some reading and getting sunburnt. I continued uphill and found Llandudno's graveyard which is shared between two small churches, very isolated from the town.

Llandudno's graveyards

 Realising I was in fact nowhere near half way round I followed the road back down to join the coastal path (see big wiggle on map!) Continuing round the path is very peaceful with just the sea for company, with beautiful cliffs and coves below. Concerningly I came across an empty car with no-one to be seen, until I noticed two little figures far below on one of the (almost) inaccessible beaches. Coming around the head of the Orme one is greeted by a view across the bay to the mountains of Snowdonia, quite impressive for a walk that doesn't involve much uphill. Onwards I plodded when I noticed some odd concrete things below along the sides of a road to nowhere. A helpful sign explains that this was a army training base in the 60s(?) which was built to look like an ordinary village. It's now gone but the concrete foundations remain. The path then drops to join more roads and follows above the beach of Llandudno's West Shore. 

Llandudno's West Shore (Why I didn't take a picture of Snowdonia (just off  the picture to the right) I'm not sure!)

The road is popular with cyclists and along this section they were considerably faster than cars! At this point I made a rooky error of taking the less-trodded path, an error as I was wearing a skirt and so had ankles susceptible to the nettles and brambles that comprised this 'path'. However, as before, I had started so I continued and hopped my way through the undergrowth until I popped out into civilisation.

I headed into town to find food and wandered along the promenande to find a spot to sit and eat. I then was drawn further along by the faint sounds of music and discovered the local wind band playing at the bandstand. A lovely end to a beautiful walk.

***

Coming up: Ladybower Reservoir, Peak District

Relief Reads 17 - The Shipping News

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

Charity Shop: The Cyrenians, Eldon Square, Newcastle

Charity: The Cyrenians is now Changing Lives. Changing Lives provides specialist support services for thousands of vulnerable people and their families. They work with people experiencing homelessness, addiction and a range of other problems.

Price: £0.50

Book Blurb: Quoyle is a hapless, hopeless hack journalist living and working in  New York. When his no-good wife is killed in a spectacular road accident, Quoyle heads for the land of his forefathers - the remotest corner of far-flung Newfoundland. With his delinquent daughters, Bunny and Sunshine in tow, Quoyle finds hinself a part of an unfolding, exhilarating Atlantic drama. THE SHIPPING NEWS is an irresistable comedy of human life and possibility.

Expectation: A comedic story of a city-dweller adapting to rural life.

Reality: It was a strange book, that I wouldn't call a comedy. Set amongst a back drop of grief, sexual abuse and murder the book follows the life of Quoyle as he floats unhappily through life until his aunt encourages him to move with his two daughters to Newfoundland following the death of his wife in a car crash (after she had just sold their children ?!) Life in Newfoundland suits him, and supported by his aunt, new friends and colleagues Quoyle begins to stand on his own two feet and find out more about his (sometimes quite dark) family history. The story borders on the supernatural at time, although most odd occurrences are explained logically, but not all. It's written in an odd way, very jumpy and rarely has full sentences. This probably is trying to convey how Quoyle's mind works but it took me a while to adjust to.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

It lost some points because the blurb lied, it's not a comedy. It is odd, but not terrible. Overall it's not a waste of time to read this book and I wouldn't mind watching the film if that opportunity ever arose.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line 

There were child slavery, crashes, murders, sexual abuse, drowning, houses disappearing and supernatural occurences. Some were surprise, some were hinted at prior to their occurence. Not the most straightforward plot in the world!

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

Most events were so incredulous little empathy was generated. However I did feel some sadness at times from the Aunt's life.

Main Character(s): Quoyle - see 'reality' above. Quoyle's aunt is a key and complex character, who's lived through alot. We get her perspective on events too. Her motives are unclear, she is trying to block the past out of her life yet returns to her childhood home...?

Moral of the Story: I'm not sure. Be wary of being blinded by love.

***

Coming up: Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth

Relief Reads 16 - From Notting Hill with Love... Actually

From Notting Hill with love... Actually by Ali McNamara

Charity Shop: Cancer Research UK, Hexham

Charity: See earlier posts

Price: £1.75

Book Blurb: Scarlett loves the movies. But does she love sensible fiance David just as much? With a big white wedding on the horizon, Scarlett really should have decided by now... // When she has the chance to house-sit in Notting Hill - the setting of one of her favourite movies - Scarlett jumps at the chance. But living life like a movie is trickier than it seems, especially when her new neighbour Sean is so irritating. And so irritatingly handsome, too. // Scarlett soon finds herself starring in a romantic comedy of her very own: but who will end up as the leading man?

Expectation: A ridiculous rom-com

Reality: See my comments below. It was passable but was just a trashy romcom.

Overall Rating

It was a struggle           2        3        4        5        6        7        8       9      Gripping page  

to make it                                                                                                        turner

It was passable. This girl is trying to prove to the world that life can be like the movies, which it isn't, but then the book makes out that it is. The storyline is so unbelievable which would be fine in a romcom but because it's a romcom about romcoms it grated on me. All in all though it was a light-hearted story and I did enjoy it except the ending. There was a nice underlying storyline about finding her mother which did move it a bit beyond the sickeningly superficial veneer.

Twist Scale:

Knew the beginning,                                                                                 As twisty as the 

middle and end         2       3        4         5       6        7        8        9      bendy wendy road

from the first line 

It was ridiculous, so the twists weren't much of a surprise.

Tear-jerker Scale:

 As dry as a house       2        3       4         5         6         7       8        9     Cried an ocean

 throughout

As I said, light hearted.

Main Character(s): Scarlett, soon to be engaged who works at her Dad's popcorn machine company. Taking a break from the real world to 'find herself' by housesitting in Notting Hill. She's self absorbed and doesn't have much of a clue about consequences. She just floats along through life letting things happen to her and will continue to do so by the looks of thing

Moral of the Story: I hope it wasn't supposed to have a moral!

***

Coming up: The Shipping News by Annie Proulx (I thought it was called the shipping forecast... But then got confused because it's set in Newfoundland not the North Sea, but then it's the shipping News which makes a lot more sense)