The Week That Was ...

A photo of the bunch of flowers that I purchased today whilst shopping at M & S. They smell heavenly!

The Other Half had to go to work even though he'd only arrived home at 2.00 a.m. from work!

That's what happens when you're self-employed.

It has been a busy old week here. Something happened to Blogger during the week as well. Reading other people's blogs it appears that some people lost posts and others lost comments and some lost both!

 It has been a week of non-stop activity here.

Our Daughter played Cricket, had Tennis and Swimming lessons.

On Thursday evening her school had their Summer Arts Festival which involved Year 5 pupils doing some May-Pole Dancing.

There was a lot of twisting and turning and going around and around - making pretty patterns with the May-Pole ribbons.

It was very difficult to get photos as the children were moving very quickly. Such energy! If only I had half of it!

Here they are again. At the end of their dancing - the parents were asked to join in. I did a dance partnering Our Daughter and after one vigorous dance I was quite exhausted! I think that says something about my level of fitness! Must do more exercise!

On Saturday Our Daughter's School had an Open Day in the morning and then she had a Birthday Party to attend to in the afternoon. By the time I picked her up at 6.30 p.m. yesterday she was well and truly a tired little girl. The Birthday Party had been a Dance Party with a dance instructor (who apparantly was quite strict!) teaching them various dance moves! She went to bed last night without any hassle!

A few weeks ago I blogged about buying Daphne du Maurier's "The House on the Strand". I had read it previously but it is such a good read that I just had to read it again!

The book tells the story of Dick Young, an unhappily married man with two step-sons. He arrives in Cornwall for a holiday and stays at the home of his friend, Magnus - a scientist. He takes part in an experiment and by taking a potion is transported back in time to the 14th Century. He meets the people who really existed and who occupied the farms and houses that still exist in the 20th Century of his real life.

There is no happy ending. Magnus is killed as a result of his own experiment and Dick is left increasingly isolated. He lives in the present but is obsessively drawn to the past.

As always with du Maurier a fantastic and compelling read.

This book made me want to go and grab and read all her other books again - Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, etc ...

Whilst in Honiton a few months ago now I had purchased four novels by Dennis Wheatley in a second hand bookshop. One of these was "Black August."

The background to the story is England "some years hence" - England is faced with complete financial ruin and faces a Red Revolution - panic and fear lead to street fighting and a mass exodus of people from the cities to the countryside. One of the key characters is Gregory Sallust - a man with little or no scruples. Self-preservation always being his highest priority. Sallust appears in later books by Dennis Wheatley when he becomes a World War II hero! The character was too good to be just left to end in this book!

After I finished "Black August" I moved on to read Erich Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front."

A very moving account of the plight of a group of German soldiers during the First World War. The book tells the story of Paul Baumer, a schoolboy and of his classmates - urged on by their school master to join the German Army shortly after the start of the War.

The book does not focus on heroic stories of bravery but gives us an insight into the conditions that the soldiers found themselves in. The monotony of battles, the threat of artillery fire, the struggle to find food, the lack of training for young recruits, etc.

The language of Remarque is superb.

"We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces."

So much said in one simple sentence. The futility of war. How young men are killed having yet to experience life.

This book really moved me. Possibly one of the best books I have ever read.

Book round up!

Earlier today Our Dog, Charlie was in the garden - looking straight at me. I rushed to get the camera - look what happened!

I have this watercolour in the spare bedroom upstairs. I love the lady's eyes. I purchased it from Niki at her shop in Shepton Mallet. Niki has a blog called Nostalgia at the Stone House which is on my side bar and is well worth a visit.

Well there goes another week - they just seem to fly by.

Hope you all had a good week.

Let's hope for some rain - the gardens need it but lets hope it only rains at night and that we continue to have good weather during the day!

Until next time.

June.