Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Post 325. BACK TO NORMAL

WELL, ALMOST. 
Depends what you call normal.

We were never all that normal anyway. The picture of housemate daughter Roz and her adoring dog Buddy says it all. Awash with books, clutter, and animals, we are hardly the stuff that Ideal Homes recommends. People who proudly pose in pristine palaces seldom visit us, people allergic to cats (three now) or dogs (just the one) do not visit us, and people we have come to recognise as sound friends still turn up on a regular basis to accept us as we are.
One such made her annual visit here last week when longtime friend Anne Wilkening (pictured) drove up from Cornwall to stay for a few days. 
With Roz's blessing, she slept in the room left vacant while Ellis was skiing in Austria (a school trip). 
We very much enjoyed her company and our grandson reports that he thoroughly enjoyed his time abroad. 
Success all round. 
Oh, the photo was taken in Mallorca last year, but it looks quite like the Isle of Wight and Anne doesn't alter at all.
TELEVISION. 
Line of Duty is back and as good as ever. 
Adrian Dunbar and colleagues never fail to impress and writer Jed Mercurio's obsession with dicey coppers makes for lively viewing. 
Game of Thrones is back. too. Last series. 
Will anyone still be alive when it ends? 
Along with half the world, we shall follow every twist and turn. 
READING. 
I have just finished the late Terry Pratchett's A Blink of the Screen and advise anybody who thinks they can write to read it and think again. I have also read Last Stories by the late William Trevor (a Christmas gift from our daughter Jac). The ten short (ish) stories were beautifully written, immaculately observed and, so far as I could judge, without plot or point. Well, that's life. 
Mr. Trevor (Picture below) won the Whitbread Prize three times and was four times shortlisted for the Booker. 
Anybody who thinks they can write should read him and try harder.
All being well I shall be back at the end of the month. 

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