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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