Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire

Posted on 1 November 2023 by Katrina

Bradford on Avon is a small town, hilly and quaint, and it wasn’t until our last morning there that we actually found time to explore it as we had been so busy going elsewhere. It’s a good base for touring the area.

While I was doing a bit of research into the place I discovered that The Bridge Tea Rooms have won a ‘best tea room’ competition this year – and not for the first time, obviously we had to check it out. As you can see it’s housed in a medieaval building, you have to stoop to get through the door, even if you are small. It’s steeped in mock Victoriana kitsch, which might be what had attracted the competition judges, but it didn’t come up to the standards of any of the tearooms that we frequent in Scotland, where it’s normal to be given a choice of flavours of home-made jam with your scone. I could go a lot further but I’ll leave it at that! Possibly it won a competition for Victorian style tea rooms.

If you are into books and you are near the town you will definitely enjoy visiting the shop Ex Libris. Within about seven minutes I had found seven or eight books that I just had to buy.

If you love rivers and bridges as I do it’s almost worth visiting the town just for a look at this ancient bridge. We enjoyed our visit but it’s a ‘once in a lifetime’ visit for us as it’s a long drive from home.

My Brother’s Keeper by Tim Powers

Posted on 30 October 2023 by Katrina

My Brother’s Keeper by Tim Powers has just recently been published and Jack was sent a copy of the book for review in ParSec, He thought that I would be interested in reading it as it involves the Bronte family. I did quite enjoy it, especially at the beginning. It eventually took me a bit out of my usual orbit – no bad thing now and again I suppose. The book is well written and apparently the author is regarded as one of the founders of Steampunk.

The history of the Bronte family is well known and the author has taken the facts and written a fantasy/horror tale around them. The family is down to just the three sisters and Branwell, plus Patrick the father. They’ve all had their time away from The Parsonage and are back home, things hadn’t gone well for any of them and Branwell has been taken over by his addiction to alcohol. While he was away in London (on a three day bender) he had somehow been sought out by people who knew who he was although he didn’t know them. They damaged his hand and recruited him unwillingly as a – werewolf!!

It turns out that he wasn’t the only one in the family to be targeted, it has been going on for two generations, and their father Patrick has been trying to keep werewolves and ghosts at bay for years, hence his habit of firing bullets at the church every morning!

The blurb on the back says:

Though the future will celebrate Charlotte, Emily and Anne, right now they are unknown,, their genius concealed. In just a few short years they will all be dead, and it will be the middle sister Emily’s chance encounter with a greviously wounded man on the moor that sets them on the path to their doom.

For there is an ancient pagan secret haunting the moors, a dark inheritance in the family bloodline and something terrible buried under an ogham-inscribed slab in the church. Not only are their lives at stake, but their very souls.

I ended up quite enjoying the book although I’m not at all into werewolves, ghosts and dark magic. It was a wee bit spooky that the book features Sulis Minerva, just after we had seen her image at the Roman Baths in Bath though.

It was an apt read for the Halloween season.

Kennet and Avon Canal at Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire

Posted on 28 October 2023 by Katrina

On our recent trip down south we stayed for three nights at The Barge Inn at Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire. It’s a scenic small town and is well placed for exploring the area. As you would expect we were right by the canal which turned out to be interesting, although I am now absolutely sure that I never want to go on a canal holiday!

It’s far too much like hard work and it seems that it’s the women who have all the heavy stuff to do, such as getting the lock gates open – while the men just pose about on the back of the barge with their hand on the rudder, watching. It’s the Kennet and Avon canal.

I was surprised that these two barges could get through the canal lock at the same time, below.

We went for a bit of a walk along the canal and saw this lovely family of swans, it’s amazes me that they can stay so white when the water is so mucky (the adults).

I was surprised to see the remains of a World War 2 pill box by the side of the canal, I don’t know why because they still have them by railway lines in Fife. No doubt during the war the Home Guard would have been in them, ready to defend the area if any Nazis managed to reach the place. Luckily there was no invasion but everyone at that time was terrified that there would be, but determined literally to fight them on the beaches.

Tamlane by Anne Rundle

Posted on 27 October 2023 by Katrina

Tamlane by Anne Rundle was first published in 1970. The setting is Halloween/Hallowmas in the Scottish Border country.

Seonaid was born at Hallowmas, it’s her 17th birthday and she’s the daughter of a Border Chieftain. Her mother died on the night she was born and she’s looked after by her nurse Anna who has warned her never to wander far from her home at Hallowmas as it’s the night the spirits are abroad.

Anna is preparing for the Hallowmas/birthday gathering when Seonaid asks her if she can ride out on her horse, but Anna says she must take Wat with her, he’s part of the household. But Seonaid is determined to get away on her own and she manages to do so by duping him, and so begin all her troubles.

She finds what she thinks is a talisman in the woods. When she meets a tall young man Seonaid assumes that it’s his talisman and he is looking for it, but when she offers it to him he seems afraid of it and backs off. His name is Tamlane and Seonaid can’t stop thinking about him. As people born on Hallowmas have the second sight she wonders if he was real, or did she imagine him? The Hallowmas gathering ends in disaster which starts a feud between families and more disaster. Seonaid has to fight with elves and fairies.

This is a fantasy which is loosely based on the folk tale Tam Lin

It was a good Halloween read, although not particularly a happy read. I had completely forgotten that when I was a wee girl we called the face masks we wore at Halloween ‘false faces’. It brought back the memory and even the smell of them – not at all a nice smell, but I quite enjoyed the book which I must admit I bought because I liked the cover design.

Tartan – the V&A Dundee

Posted on 24 October 2023 by Katrina

A few months ago we visited the Tartan exhibition at the V&A in Dundee. It runs until the 14th of January 2024. I wasn’t all that sure if I wanted to see it to be honest. In Scotland we have a history of leaving tartan to the tourists, but I enjoyed the exhibition which has the oldest piece of tartan on show, but it’s not all history. There are tartan outfits by designers such as Vivienne Westwood who was fond of using tartan as are some Japanese designers. Sadly I can’t remember who designed the modern outfits below.

Some designs are quite wild!

Then we get back to a bit more traditional, allthough I’m not sure about the bikini top below.

Of course Victoria and Albert were very keen on tartan, so there was a lot of it about in their time, not bad considering it had been completely banned by the government after the Jacobite rebellions.

More modern again.

Below is an army recruitment poster.

Below is some tartanware Mauchline Victoriana, made from wood. There are shortbread tins and such in the exhibition too. Tartan seems to have ended up on a lot of merchandise over the years.

Below is a portrait of the actor Alan Cumming, with a kilt wrapped around his neck, and nothing else on for some reason.

The outfits below are apparently Manhattan tartan. The colours are supposed to be the skin colours of the ethnic groups found in Manhattan. Designed by J Morgan and Suzanne H Bocanegra of New York. Pink is supposed to be Caucasian flesh colour. See also Manhattan Financial.

Just recently Billy Connolly donated a kilt to the exhibition. He explained that when he was a youngster you rarely saw a man in a kilt, and if you did see one then the kids all chanted Kiltie, kiltie cauld bum at them! It’s absolutely true, it’s only in recent years that kilts have become so popular to bridegrooms, and then of course there’s the Tartan army, Scotland’s football supporters but they didn’t get a mention in the exhibition at all.

Although I enjoyed the exhibition I felt that there were some glaring misses. If I had been setting it up I would have asked for donations of stage clothes from Rod Stewart, The Bay City Rollers (a fan donated her tartan trousers) tartan was popular among punk bands. The film below is about the making of Billy Connolly’s kilt, they got him into one at last! Honestly someone should have ironed or steamed it as it’s badly wrinkled now, it’s a real shame it wasn’t taken good care of. You can see Jack’s post on the exhibition here.

Secret Water by Arthur Ransome

Posted on 23 October 2023 by Katrina

Secret Water by Arthur Ransome was first published in 1939. It’s the eighth book in the Swallows and Amazons series and the setting is islands just off the Essex coast.

A planned sailing trip with their father has to be postponed when he is called away on naval duty. The children are desperately disappointed so to make up for it their father maroons them on an island and tells them to map the whole area naming any geographical areas of interest, creeks and islands.There is a farm nearby so at least they’ll have access to fresh milk. As ever though they’re well off for food and equipment and in no time they’re all set up in their camp. Bridget, the baby of the family, has been allowed to take part in a family adventure for the first time.

The whole place is very tidal and the mudflats appear and disappear, making it a dangerous place to be sailing around, but almost immediately they make friends with a local who can give them tips on how to cope with the tides. They name their new friend ‘the Mastodon’ as they had seen his giant footprints in the mud before they met him and had speculated as to what had made such large prints. He wears ‘splatchers’ which are like huge snow shoes but specially for walking on the mudflats safely.

It turns out that the Mastodon is part of another gang of child sailors who call themselves Eels, and the others aren’t keen on joining up with the newcomers, but of course everything works out fine in the end.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the books which are set in the Lake District, probably because I really dislike mudflats, and the children were always dripping with mud. There was no mention of smell, but I could smell those mudflats, because they always stink – not pleasant.

Samuel Johnson’s birthplace, Lichfield

Posted on 22 October 2023 by Katrina

After we visited Lichfield Cathedral we had a swift look around the town and walked across the historic market place. where according to the blue plaques quite a lot has gone on over the centuries, including poor souls being burnt at the stake in the 1550s, during Mary Tudor’s reign.

It looks like neither Jack or I managed to take a photo of the house from the outside but you can see it on their website here.

When we visited the member of staff, probably a volunteer, was very friendly and helpful. I managed to buy a couple of books there, but nothing Johnson or Boswell related. The only such book I have read in the past is Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, definitely entertaining.

Samuel Johnson of dictionary fame was born in this house which was built by his father. The bottom of the house is a bookshop and gift shop, but you can wander all over the rabbit warren of a house which has plenty of interest on show, related to Johnson. It also has a bureau bookcase which belonged to James Boswell and came out of his family home Auchinleck House in Ayrshire, Scotland.

James Boswell stands in one corner of the marketplace.

At the other side of the marketplace stands Samuel Johnson, overlooking his birthplace.

I believe that the photo below is of the room that Johnson was actually born in.

Johnson left a large part of his estate to his manservant Francis Barber who had been born into slavery.

Samuel Johnson’s birthplace in Lichfield is definitely worth a visit – and amazingly it’s free although they will obviously be thankful for a donation. They also had a copy of Johnson’s Dictionary on display which you could thumb through to see his definitions of words.

Limbo Lodge by Joan Aiken

Posted on 21 October 2023 by Katrina

Limbo Lodge by Joan Aiken was published in 1999 and it’s part of her Dido Twite series, coming after The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, but I don’t think it’s really necessary to read this series in strict order.

Dido had been about to sail for the Port of London when the ship’s captain had been ordered to find Lord Herodsfoot and pick him up too. So they had to sail to the island of Aratu also known as the Island of Pearl Snakes. As they approach the island all of the cockroaches abandon ship as they’re the snakes’ favourite food.and they can smell them on the island.

Lord Herodsfoot has already left the island, bound for New Guinea and Australia, he’s searching for a game called Fish, Prawn, King Crab – it’s what he does.

As they try to track him down they get involved with all sorts of witchcraft, gods and natives who abandon girl babies. It’s a good read.

The Ipcress File by Len Deighton # The 1962 Club

Posted on 19 October 2023 by Katrina

The Ipcress File by Len Deighton is I suppose what could be described as being charmingly dated. It was the first spy novel by the author. I wondered how many readers would be flumoxed by this:

Getting Keightley to tell one the punch line immediately was like trying to get an aspirin without first removing the cotton wool.

I’m sure you have to be a certain age!

Anyway, I enjoyed this one although as usual with spy novels you’re (I’m) never quite sure what’s actually going on.

The Cold War is in full swing and the book’s unnamed protagonist has just recently been transferred from a military intelligence unit to one within the British intelligence services, reporting directly to the British Cabinet. Top biochemists are disappearing, it’s presumed they’ve been abducted by the Russians. There have been eight top rank disappearances within six and a half weeks. Who is masterminding it all?

I can’t say too much about the plot, but it features brainwashing, the CIA, a neutron bomb test, kidnap, mental torture and class distinction as the working class protagonist from the north of England is unimpressed by what amounts to the ‘old boy network’. There’s a wee bit of romance thrown into the mix too.

Len Deighton was inspired to write this first spy novel because as an 11 year old he had had the experience of having as a neighbour a woman (Anna Wolkoff) who had been arrested as a spy. She had been a White Russian emigree but had ended up spying for the Germans during World War 2. Deighton witnessed her arrest by MI5 in 1940.

The Ipcress File was made into a film in 1965 and a TV series was loosely based on the book in 2022.

# 1962 Club – The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard

Posted on 18 October 2023 by Katrina

The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard isn’t exactly an uplifting read. I was trying to imagine how it would have felt to read it back in 1962. I imagine that it wasn’t quite as unnerving as I found it to be. The fact is that the world in which the story is set is getting too close for comfort nowadays.

Global warming isn’t actually mentioned as that phrase hadn’t been coined by then, but that is what is causing the death of the Earth. The temperatures are reaching unbearable heights (some places have already reached the temperatures mentioned) and the consequences are the growth of rampant tropical jungles which are being over run by all sorts of alligators. The year is 2145.

It’s a watery world which is clogged with sargasso type weeds and only the tops of tall buildings poke out of the water. Later in the book it’s revealed that the city below the water is actually London.

Solar radiation has melted the polar ice caps and has caused much of the world to be engulfed with water. The main character is Dr Robert Kerans and he’s part of a group of people who have been sent to study the flora and fauna that is appearing in the lagoon which is covering London. Kerans is living in a penthouse in what had been The Ritz Hotel, poking above the lagoon. The scientists are all having nightmares, but one of them, Beatrice, has decided that she won’t be leaving her hotel room when the time comes for them to leave the area, despite the fact that she wouldn’t be able to last long with the heat becoming ever more unbearable and food running out.

When a group of pirates headed by a man called Strangman turn up things go from bad to worse. They’re looting whatever they can from the water above London and they have quite a haul of gold, jewels and historical artefacts. It all turns into a horrific experience, particularly for Kerans.

So, as you will realise, this was not a relaxing and enjoyable read although I found the characters and the situations to be believable.

This is the first book that I’ve read by Ballard, but Jack has read most of his books and he says they tend to be depressing. It’s probably not all that surprising given that as a teenager he spent two and a half years in a Japanese internment camp during WW2. I dread to think what he experienced then.

Pining for the West

Meanderings about recipes, books, craft and more