MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS GREENWICH AGAIN...

So, after going to Greenwich last week I decided I wanted to pay the place another visit, only this time I travelled solo.  I've never understood people who can't do things by themselves and have to be accompanied everywhere- sure, it's nice, sometimes, to share in a great experience with another human being but it's equally as good to travel unaided and do exactly what you want, when you want and how you want. 

My first stop was The Queen's House, originally built for Anne of Denmark, consort to James I of England (James VI of Scotland.)  I'd never heard of this place until last week- somehow, its existence had passed me by but I'm glad I've now been as the royally and nautically themed artwork on display was wonderful, and the much-renowned Tulip Stairs absolutely stunning.

Here's an outside photo of The Queen's House.  It was another overcast day.

This is the elegant walkway.

Here's the Old Royal Naval College, taken from the staircase in the Queen's House.

The Royal Observatory on the hill.  I've visited here a couple of times (climbing the hill is certainly a good workout!)  Although I've been to the planetarium that used to be next to Madame Tussaurds and also a delightful southern hemisphere planetarium in Cape Town, I've never been to see a show at this one, and will make a point of doing so in the future.

Front of the house.

The magnificent upwards view of the Tulip Stairs.  Seeing these stairs made my day- little things please little minds, and all that....!

A similar view.

The floor of the stairwell.

Gazing down from a height...

The balustrade.

The densely painted ceiling of the Queen's Chamber.

The Thames And Greenwich Hospital By Moonlight by Henry Pether.

This was my favourite painting in the whole exhibition.  I think it's something to do with the effect of moonlight on water, I just love it!

I retraced my steps and popped into the National Maritime Museum.  Both attractions are free of charge.  You don't have to have a nautical bent to find the exhibitions here interesting.  There are exiting sections dedicated to Asia, the Atlantic, World War I and, of course, Nelson, as well as The Great Map, which is fun to walk around.

This little chap interested me- I found him in the Asian section and he's called a "Scare Devil" and is used outside Nicobari homes to ward off evil.  Maybe I should invest in one!

I finished off my day with a walk through the Greenwich foot tunnel, unfortunately having to encounter pesky cyclists, breaking the rules and using the tunnel as a stunt track.  It is NOT bloody on.

On the train home I also had to put up with a man playing his guitar and crooning in a falsetto voice.  I'm sure he and his female counterpart thought they sounded good, but I would describe it as CAUTERWAULING.  They sounded like they were having their arseholes reamed out with meat hooks.  Why people can't be quiet is beyond me.  What was it that Simon & Garfunkel sang about?  Yes, it was "The Sound of Silence." 

I'm a great fan of THAT. 

MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS GREENWICH...

I went for a day out in Greenwich during the week.  This wasn't the first time- I've been quite a few times before; to visit the Royal Observatory and straddle the meridian line, to pop into the delight that is The Fan Museum, with its fancy and informative collections and gorgeous fan-shaped garden, to go into the O2 (when it was the weird and wonderful Millennium Dome) and to stroll around the market square.  I've also done the Thames river tour, docking at Greenwich, and absolutely love walking through the old foot tunnel.

I like that it's an area that's a bit arty-farty but not at all poncy, pretentious and up its own backside.  I think that comes from it being east-side and I think Greenwich is the part of London I would like to live in the most. 

This is the first time, however, that I've used the Emirates Airline cable car link as a from of transport.  I loved it!  It reminded me of the chairlifts they had in 1970s Butlins holiday camps!  I have to question its location, though- it only seems to be of any use to those who live AND work locally, otherwise you'd simply jump on the Tube or Overground to get about.  I should imagine it was built with one eye to the future- I couldn't help but notice that a hell of a lot of development is taking place around this area, on both sides of the river.

North-side and here's The Crystal, which contains an exhibition about sustainable development.  It was an overcast day.

Here's one of the cars floating past the building.

Millennium Dome (that's how I know it, although it's now technically the O2) and the city.

An unhappy SuperDean (I don't think he'd slept well- but I had to include him as his big head was in the way in this photo I took of the suspended cars!)

Ditto. 

We went for a walk along the Thames path.  Maybe because I hadn't slept that well either, it seemed very tiring, especially when we encountered a closed section and had to take a detour inland, alongside the Blackwall Tunnel southern approach which, incidentally, was choc-a-bloc with traffic.

By the time we made it to the Old Royal Naval College we were exhausted.  This building is vast and we decided to leave it for another day; one when we're hopefully feeling more energetic.

Instead, we ventured onto the Cutty Sark (which I, in my tiredness, kept referring to as "The Cutty Shark!"  That's some malapropism!)  I've always wanted to climb on board and I'm glad we did.  This attraction was easy to traverse and quite bare, but I wasn't in the mood for taking in too much information so that was just as well.  You get to see the bottom of the ship as it's suspended in its glass case, almost like a ship in a bottle.  You also get to see a rather impressive collection of figureheads, including a copy of Nannie The Witch, who hangs from the front of this lovely old tea clipper.  You do get a real sense of atmosphere as the boat still reeks of tea.  It was actually a very relaxing tourist attraction.

Here's a photograph of this beautiful old ship.

A view of the city, taken from the bow of the Cutty Sark.

Greenwich foot tunnel entrance with the Shard in the background.

On the deck.

We still have more things to visit here, including the National Maritime Museum and the Queen's House- so Greenwich, I will be back.

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31 DREAM STREET by LISA JEWELL

31 DREAM STREET

BY LISA JEWELL

THE BLURB:-

Leah and Toby have lived across the street from one another for years without meeting... and in that time Leah has been itching to peek behind the front door of Toby's eccentric house, always packed to the rafters with weird and wonderful tenants. When fate finally lets her in, Leah finds that Toby needs her as much as she is surprised to realize she might need him.

Sometimes life needs a helping hand- with a sprinkle of romance and their own special magic, Toby and Leah's dreams show the glimmer of a chance of coming true.

THE REALITY:-

This was a novel I raced through from start to finish- because I was eager to get through it and move on to the next book waiting in my reading pile, one that will maybe have some bearing on the way I earn my money. For too long now, I have been stuck in a crappy retail fashion sales job. I'm a designer by trade but it seems that there are very few jobs available nowadays so I'm spending my days dumbing down my skills, which is a truly ridiculous situation to be in. I'm not upset about leaving fashion designing behind- I can still do it for myself, after all, and am delighted to be able to embrace writing as my future- but my financial back-up job needs to change soon, and it will... watch this space!

Back to the book... It was easy to get through this novel quickly as it wasn't a bad read but it was the worst of the three Lisa Jewell books I've read. The formatting was very appealing, with short chapters (which meant that finishing “just one more chapter” before going to bed became five more chapters) and also a collection of lists, letters, a postcard, a divorce petition and an engagement party invite. I liked this- it kept the story quite fresh and gave the book a modern feel.

There didn't seem to be a point to this book as I wasn't sure where the story was going. There was no definite obvious conclusion to dwell upon (like, say, in a murder mystery, where the whole story revolves around outing the perpetrator) and it came across more as a documentary detailing the general lives of the characters. Shame, as they were very varied, easy to picture and interesting, as was the magnificent house glorified in the title.

It wasn't until page 154 that the book really started to pick up and draw me in, when we learn that Daisy has cystic fibrosis. Many years ago, I knew a man who had this condition. A fun kind of guy. And the inevitable happened to him. He was only around twenty eight years old, poor chap, so that aroused a few memories. This book shows exactly what bad parenting can do to a person (and yes, there's a lot of it out there) and the person I could relate to the most was Ruby- made superfluous to requirements by her mother, she takes a long while to grow up as she's still in need of nurturing. I also found Con's attitude towards her after they'd slept together not very kind. Yes, he may have regretted it but don't take it out on Ruby- it takes two to tango, after all. And I also empathized with Toby's antisocial, wary-of-people, state. Yep, not all of us are people people and some of us have to really push ourselves to “put ourselves out there” in any way that doesn't involve sitting behind a computer. Joanne was another horror story and her predicament brought a tear to my eye, but I shan't spoil it for you.

I didn't catch on to the (spoiler alert!) Leah and Toby romance thing until right near the end. Maybe the subtlety was the whole point, but it was wasted on me! Having said that, I wouldn't call this book bad and would recommend it. It's something that's not too heavy and something nice to read on holiday on the beach, or while you're off work sick.

 

MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS THE SKY GARDEN...

Situated in the heart of the city of London, 20 Fenchurch Street is a building nicknamed "The Walkie Talkie" due to its shape.  It has a magnificent, split-level "Sky Garden" at its apex and, unlike the Shard, it is free to visit, although you do need to book.  At thirty-four floors it's half the height of the aforementioned Shard and, in my opinion, offers a more personal perspective of the skyline as you can actually see people walking about on the streets below.

Although we didn't have anything to eat or drink, the coffee and alcohol bars seem reasonably priced, unlike certain other London tourist attractions.

Here's a picture of the building, taken from the south bank of the Thames.

Here's the breathtaking view from the bottom.

The building is just around the corner from Pudding Lane, where the Great Fire of London started.

Here's a photo of the Monument commemorating the 1666 fire.

Magnificent view of the Shard.

Here's a similar shot, showing London Bridge in the foreground.

London Docklands and Tower Bridge.

St. Paul's Cathedral. 

Looking west down the river.

A view of the cheese grater and the gherkin.  As far as I know, you cannot visit these buildings as they're not open to the public.

And now we come to the lovely garden itself...

It's a very relaxing experience and one which comes highly recommended!

Seating area next to the garden cafe.

This was my favourite place, nice and secluded and hiding behind a fern.  My SuperDean had to get into the shot, though!

We walked across London Bridge and visited HMS Belfast, moored on the Thames.  I can't believe I've never been on this ship before- it was a fantastic experience!  It took at least two hours to see everything ( normally I can flatten a tourist attraction in half that time- if that) and was really educational, yet fun. 

A photo of the bow of the ship.  I am the black, bat-like figure standing underneath the flagpole.

Rule Britannia!

Y'know, those of us who live in London need to behave like tourists more often, and take in all that this magnificent city has to offer.

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QUEEN'S PAWN by VICTOR CANNING

QUEEN'S PAWN

BY VICTOR CANNING

THE BLURB:-

There was none! No, that's not the blurb, there was no blurb on this hardback. I suppose it must have been on the now non-existent flyleaf...

THE REALITY:-

I found this book in a Wetherspoon pub, as part of their bookshelf décor. Previously, I filched a copy of What Katy Did, by Susan Coolidge, as it was one of my favourites as a child and I wanted to recap. I'd read the whole series, including What Katy Did At School (my favourite of the trio) and What Katy Did Next. So when I was drawn to this scabby-looking novel I had a flick through and immediately thought it was some kind of spy thriller. I like the fact that it's written by a man as I tend to read more books by female authors and it's good to get a male perspective on situations. The novel had that lovely, musty, old library smell about it and this I found pleasantly reassuring- ebooks have a lot to offer but, at the end of the day, you can't beat a fusty old novel! Written in 1969, before I was born, it was great to be able to get a jist of recent history, written on thick paper and with a small font (the way things should traditionally be? Possibly.)

It wasn't a spy thriller- this was a crime thriller, and master stealth fraudster Andrew Raikes is the kind of man who makes you question your own integrity. I am not a people person and indeed, some of the characters in my novel, The Reject's Club, are inspired by individuals I thought very little of, with all of their many faults exacerbated to the hilt. Does my contempt for my fellow human being match his? Well, no. Firstly, my dislike is selective, not universal and secondly, even Raikes has a conscience; as his control over his life starts to unravel and he finds himself having to commit a heist on board (spoiler alert!) the QE2, a beautiful ship governed by a captain he has the utmost respect for. It goes against his grain and does not make him a very happy man.  Interestingly, I read this part only a day after visiting HMS Belfast, my first experience on a real ship (albeit a war ship as opposed to a pleasure craft!) and I suppose it helped with relating to the set-up of this grand climax.    

This book was a superb read from start to finish with some very interesting characters and twists and turns. Despite being set nearly fifty years ago, mainly in London and Devon, it was easy to relate to. The person I felt for the most was Belle, someone who Raikes describes as, “An unfamilied slut, fumbled with by her own stepfather.” When a woman is not the first thought in her mother's affections, she often carries that lack of familial love with her and has to do what she has to do to get by. Belle makes the best of it and just gets on with it in a probably not highly recommendable way, but she is flawed- as we all are- and a bit of a victim.

With a run up to the ending that keeps you wanting to race to the end, this book comes to the only conclusion it possibly could, (spoiler alert again!) with none of the villains getting away with their misdeeds. I'm not sure that the morals of the time when which this book was written would allow for the crooks of the piece to come out jubilant. I will certainly keep my eyes peeled for future Victor Canning novels when I'm trawling through charity shops for good reads.

SPEAKING IN BONES by KATHY REICHS

SPEAKING IN BONES

BY KATHY REICHS

THE BLURB:-

Please don't kill me.

Please don't kill me.

Please. Kill me.

An amateur detective convinced she has identified remains in Dr. Temperance Brennan's lab.

A tape recording of a woman tortured by a monster.

A case more complicated and horrifying than Tempe could ever imagine.

THE REALITY:-

Another corker from the pen of Kathy Reichs- her Tempe Brennan novels never fail to deliver (although, of course, I find some a better read than others.)

Reichs deals with with the subject of multiple personality disorder, so we end up with- spoiler alert!- a victim who's also a perpetrator. What a clever concept. If this is really based on Reichs' actual work as a forensic anthropologist (which I'm sure it is) then she has one hell of an interesting career.

From the opening sequence of horror through to the end conclusion, which is nerve wracking, original and terrifying, I put down another novel to read this book and managed to finish it in ten days. Wahoo! I'm back into my reading again, after a bit of a hiatus at the end of last year. I'm also planning on getting back into my writing again, via the medium of short stories, but enough of that for the time being.

Set in Charlotte, North Carolina, it's informative and interesting to learn about the geography of the area, as you do through Tempe's mountainous hunt for skeletal remains and also the people and customs, as you do through her characters. I particularly liked the religious nuts represented in this novel and it challenges the concept of extreme religion and whether it is actually evil in its judgement of others. I think so. I've met people from the side-shoots of Christianity in my life and have found them VERY unforgiving and (in my agnostic opinion) appallingly unchristian.  I was glad when one such aforementioned individual ended up with a cross stabbed into his neck (I'm talking with regard to the book...  Those who've crossed me in my own life simply end up in a novel...)

Andrew Ryan featured in this novel and, although he and Tempe weren't working together (I love their chemistry and banter when they do) it was good that Tempe decided to take their relationship to the next level and agreed to their moving in together. I do understand her angst and reticence- he did, after all, leave her twice and I'm glad she jumped into bed with someone else the first time he treated her like shit. Go, girl- don't be a-takin' no crap! This was a fast paced page-turner and a superb novel to read and I'm looking forward to the next Tempe Brennan thriller.