Books, Cats and Things

This posting will be mainly about books and cats with a few other bits thrown in!

I will start with a books round up. Here are the books that I read last month.

You may remember that I had purchased four Dennis Wheatley books at a second hand book shop in Honiton some time ago. I had read one of them and it was included in my last books round up.

This month I read the remaining three and two Graham Greene books which I purchased from the Waterstones near Trafalgar Square when in London in April.

"A Gun for Sale"

Raven is an assassin, a hired killer, and his brutal murder of the Minister raises the spectre of war across Europe. As the nation prepares for battle, Raven goes on the run, hunted by the Police and hunting the man who paid him in stolen banknotes, eventually unearthing the terrible truth behind the killing.

"Travels With My Aunt"

Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager, meets his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta for the first time in over fifty years at his mother's funeral. Soon after, she persuades Henry to abandon Southwood, his dahlias and the Major next door, to travel through Brighton, Paris, Istanbul, Paraguay ... Accompanying his aunt, Henry joins a shiftless, twilight society: mixing with hippies, war criminals, CIA men; smoking pot, breaking all the currency regulations and eventually coming alive after a dull suburban lifetime.

"The Scarlet Imposter"

When Gregory Sallust landed in wartime Germany he had as much chance of coming out alive as a mouse in a cage of cats. His job was to contact an anti-Nazi organization ready to overthrow Hitler and sue for peace.

Masquerading first as a German General, then as an SS Gruppen-fuhrer, he stayed the course to the very end. A hundred times a day he risked death and the vilest tortures. With all the stealth and cunning of a tiger he pushed forward, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he fought desperately to elude the enemy closing round him.

"Contraband"

'Midnight at the Casino' is the first chapter heading in this strange story of international intrigue wherein planes flit by night to secret landing-grounds and lightless launches nose their way up narrow creeks in a low desolate coastline.

From the moment we meet the beautifyl Sabine, during La Grande Semain at Deauville, until the last page which discloses the end of the romance, the reader is caught up and lives for breathless hours through scene after scene of swift action and stealthy secret work at night.

We meet again that sinister figure of twisted body and twisted brain, Lord Gavin Fortescue, who escaped all penalty for the havoc and suffering he wrought in "Such Power is Dangerous"; and pitted against him we find that cynical but charming egoist Gregory Sallust, whose courage and imagination saved his friends in the dark hours of "Black August."

"The Secret War"

'War is an inexcusable act of barbarity entailing mass murder, mass mutilation, and every other crime in the calendar. Nothing is too terrible a punishment for those who set it in motion.'

Thus a handsome, wealthy young man proclaims his allegiance to the "Millers of God" - self appointed executioners of the world's warmongers. Fed by lust for blood, the young man pursues his quarry across Europe and Africa, relentless in his determination to kill the killers.

Rather than write up my own account of the stories I thought that I would copy what's on the dustjacket - to give you a complete flavour of these books and without spoiling the endings should you wish to read them yourself!

I had read some Graham Greene books whilst at University - a long time ago now and had forgotten how fantastic a writer he is. You just want to carry on reading. Unputdownable!

I also admire the writing of Dennis Wheatley - clearly written in a different age as they are a bit chauvenistic and not very politically correct but still absorbing and thrilling nonetheless. I have now read nine of his books and can't wait to get back to the second hand book-shop in Honiton to buy some more!

Only trouble is I have four books which I recently purchased in the second hand book-shop in Lyme Regis to read and three books which I purchased from our recent trip to London!

This afternoon shortly after lunch I went to throw some rubbish in the bin. There on the path to greet me was a dead mouse! I wondered which of the cats had been so generous in depositing this little mousling almost on the front door-step. I went looking around the house - Oscar was fast aleep in Our Daughter's bedroom amongst the teddies and Mr. Twitter-Hoo on her bed - Not Guilty I thought.

Millie was fast asleep in the lounge on the back of the sofa - Not Guilty I thought.

Ruby was also in the lounge - fast asleep among the cushions - Not Guilty I thought.

Poppy had been asleep in the laundry basket but when she saw me entering the kitchen she jumped out of the basket thinking there's a chance for food here. She's the greediest of our cats and its no contest when it comes to eating as to who will get first dabs - she wins hands down every time.

So until I woke her up by going to the kitchen she had been asleep in the laundry basket - Not Guilty I thought. There was only one cat missing from the house - Archie!

When I showed the Other Half this photo of Poppy he said "Looks as if she's been botoxed by the same guy that did Simon Cowell!"

Here she is cleverly telling me what she wants - I have to feed the cats on the work surface in the utility room otherwise the dog would eat all their food. She doesn't need to talk does she - she just looks at the work surface! Telling me to get on with it!

I opened the front door and there he was, as large as life, coming out from behind a bush - our cat, Archie.

Guilty, I thought!

He turned his head very quickly and I'm sure that he thought there was something in the undergrowth. Shortly after this photo was taken he was off. I'll let you know if I have another little gift waiting for me tomorrow!

Whilst in Our Daughter's bedroom I took a photo of Little Ted.

And a photo of Big Ted - otherwise known as "ESB Ted" as I gave him as a present to Our Daughter when she did well in her ESB exam last year. When she did well this year you may re-call that we bought some wool and knitting needles as she wanted to learn to knit. We have now knitted a few squares in anticipation of making a blanket for a dolls bed - I'm not as fast and enthusastic as other bloggers who create such beautiful blankets and cushions amongst other things and as she's learning Our Daughter is much slower. But, we'll get there in the end!

Until next time.

June.