CORAL COTTON COAT...

The weather turned from warm(ish) and sunny to cool and cloudy whilst I was in Great Yarmouth recently, and I was wandering around the town centre wearing just a skimpy top and a light cardi...

So I was pleased to see this lovely coral cotton coat, standing outside a charity shop, on a dummy...

It was a bit big for me but belted at the waist so it was very easy to make it fit and I love the pleated rever detail.  And for £6, who's complaining?!

I bought it and wore it there and then- although I usually like to wash second hand finds, it had been outside airing and beggers can't be choosers.

I think the shop was called Great Yarmouth Against Animal Cruelty and when I stepped inside it was packed to the rafters with stuff, including some very nice gowns, a couple of them quite gothic.

But I'm soooo glad the coat was standing outside the shop- the inside smelled of mangy wet dogs foisting on damp nylon carpets.  Yuk! 

THE SILENT TIDE by RACHEL HORE

THE SILENT TIDE

BY RACHEL HORE

THE BLURB:-

London, the present day: Emily Gordon has found her dream job, as an editor at a small publishing house. When the biography of a late great English novelist crosses her desk, she discovers, buried beneath the history, a story that simply has to be told...

London, 1948: Isabel Barber has barely arrived in the city when a chance meeting leads to a job offer, and a fascinating career beckons. But as she develops a close working relationship with a charismatic young debut novelist the professional soon becomes personal, and she finds herself fighting for her very survival...

THE REALITY:-

This book was totally un-putdownable and it was a real race for me to get to the end, to find out how Isabel's story unfolded.

I don't suppose it was that uncommon for a young woman to feel thwarted when it came to her professional ambitions- after all, the 1950s were a man's world and a woman was supposed to give up any chance of a (hard won) career and devote her life to her husband and children after her marriage. Domestic life is not for everyone and it was interesting to read of Isabel's post-natal depression and her inability to adapt to her new role as a mother. The end result, though (I shan't spoil the surprise!) was totally unexpected and made for a couple of great final chapters.

The modern day story of Emily was also interesting, although it didn't touch me like Isabel's tale- but then I suppose that's exactly what the author wanted.

It's with hindsight that I wished that I'd worked in the field of publishing and had learnt a lot about the business before embarking on my own novel. I feel I would have fitted in there (although this is only a thought based upon speculation, not fact) in a way that I did not in the fashion industry. I was unlucky. It was partly my fault, as I did not choose my undergraduate course with care but even with the benefit of hindsight, I do not see what else I could have done. Although I like designing dresses, I noticed that the industry was made up of wall-to-wall idiot, and it was the tutors that were offending me rather than the students. My first job in fashion, at a semi-bankrupt company with very low morale, did not do anything to change my opinion, rather instead enhancing it. I saw how people took themselves and the making of garments too seriously and I cannot get my tits in a knot over a few shitty little dresses!!!!  End of. But had I have worked with the written word, I do believe that I'd have been motivated to do such things as overtime and actually enjoy it, as so much of the work involves reading- one of the great loves of my life, along with writing. Ah well, hindsight is twenty twenty vision, so they say.  Let's hope I find some joy with my first novel. SOON.

This book was a pure dream to read and enchanted me from the very beginning. Its main locations of London and Suffolk during the stark, post-war years came alive, personally helped along by my own passion about the choices of professions of the main characters. All of the other characters were well thought out, especially Jacqueline. You start off by hating her, this cuckoo in the nest, but you end up feeling quite sorry for her. Even a tough old boot like her couldn't control the workings of other people's heartstrings. Like Emily, I kind of agree with Isabel's gut instinct regarding her suspicions of Jacqueline's too-close involvement with her husband, but it was quite clever that this fact was never confirmed- instead the reader is left to make his or her own decision  I also warmed towards Penenlope, a woman who did things her way (although she was far from perfect) and on her terms and was lucky enough to have the financial back-up to be able to do so.  There were many little twists and turns in this book and they all came together and interlaced very easily indeed.  From a historical point of view I liked how the floods of 1953 were documented in a way personal to Isabel. Extremely likeable and readable.  

THE MEMORY GARDEN by RACHEL HORE

THE MEMORY GARDEN

BY RACHEL HORE

THE BLURB:-

Magical Cornwall, a lost garden, a love story from long ago...

Lamorna Cove- a tiny bay in Cornwall, picturesque, unspoilt. A hundred years ago it was the haunt of a colony of artists. Today, Mel Pentreath hopes it is a place where she can escape the pain of her mother's death and a broken love affair, and gradually put her life back together.

Renting a cottage in the enchanting but overgrown grounds of Merryn Hall, Mel embraces her new surroundings and offers to help her landlord, Patrick Winterton, restore the garden. Soon she is daring to believe her life can be rebuilt. Then Patrick finds some old paintings in an attic, and as he and Mel investigate the identity of the artist, they are drawn into an extraordinary tale of illicit passion and thwarted ambition from a century ago, a tale that resonates in their own lives. But how long can Mel's idyll last before reality breaks in and everything is devastated?

THE REALITY:-

Rachel Hore is a novelist whose works I can't resist reading. She is one of a distinguished group of only a few, for me. That group also includes Kate Morton (I've read all but one of hers), Judith Lennox (I've read most of hers) and the Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan series (I've read all but one of those.) Katherine Webb is another author who will also, at some point, reach that distinction, as will Lisa Jewell and Maggie O' Farrell.

I have always longed to visit Cornwall, this almost ethereal, haunted part of England, which is often referred to as, “the oldest part of Britain.” I might just do so, later in the year (I have a holiday in Norfolk to get through first!)

This novel takes you out into a dream world of relaxed bucolic life and historical, abandoned buildings and gardens. The descriptives regarding the characters and the interest involving the time-slip element of the novel, and the way the characters entwine together is really magical. I also like that Rachel Hore offers up a variety of persona types in her novels and, generally speaking, a feel-good happy ending. The Memory Garden certainly evoked pathos... of school holidays and lazy summer days (although the book starts in Spring and the main characters all have work to do!)

The one thing that grated was the fact that the majority of the characters are all middle class with well paid jobs. In these difficult times where myself (and many others) are struggling, this distance from the realities of life does tend to get annoying but it's me who's got the problem, not the author.

I'm glad that the identity of the artist P.T. was discovered but I sometimes wanted to shake Mel and Patrick, both of whom seemed way too absorbed with their miserable recent pasts. They needed to move on, and much faster (or am I being too harsh? You read the book and tell me for yourselves.) I also hated Patrick's ex fiancée, the manipulative cow that was Bella- another middle class twit who appeared to have spent her life living on Easy Street. This little bitch wanted to have her cake and eat it and I'm glad the author gave her the sheep's face that she deserved.

A great read, showing England at its nicest- it would be fantastic to take on a British summer holiday.

THE UGLY SISTER by JANE FALLON

THE UGLY SISTER

BY JANE FALLON

THE BLURB:-

Beauty can be a blessing or a curse. As Abi would be the first to know. She has spent her life in the shadow of her stunningly beautiful, glamorous older sister Cleo.

Headhunted as a model when she was sixteen, Cleo has been all but lost to Abi for the last twenty years, with only a fleeting visit or brief email to connect them. So when Abi is invited to spend the summer with her sister's perfect family, she can't bring herself to say no. Maybe Cleo is finally as keen as Abi to regain the closeness they shared in their youth?

But Abi is in for a shock. Soon she is left caring for her two young, bored and very spoilt nieces and handsome, unhappy brother-in-law Jon...while Cleo plainly has other things on her mind. As Abi moves into her sister's life, a cuckoo in the nest, she wrestles with uncomfortable feelings.

Could having beauty, wealth and fame lead to more unhappiness than not having them? Who in the family really is the ugly sister?

THE REALITY:-

Drab. Drear. A mission to finish. "Skeletons" by the same author, was great, but this story did not really do it for me and seemed to run on....and on....and on....

It did, however, bring up some interesting and personal dilemmas. Is blood thicker than water? No, no, fucking NO! In my experience it most certainly is not, although there are many in that small, shitty fucking town that I grew up in who would disagree, as family values and unity seemed to stand way above everything else in importance there. I suppose you could say that I empathized with this book as I wasn't the favourite child in my family either (or so it seemed) although I take that as a compliment. I personally had a brother with a learning disability (not diagnosed until AFTER my parents' deaths) and I kind of got the impression that it was my responsibility to befriend him, deal with him and bring him out of his shell, even though he was over ten years older than me. Note to my parents from this side of the grave:- bring up your children yourself, and stop trying to palm those you can't be bothered with off onto other people.

Rant over. At school I studied drama at O level and we had to keep drama diaries about the lesson, and I always used them as an excuse to go in depth on a related, personal subject, as I am doing now. But this is my blog, so I can!

Cleo is definitely the ugly sister in this book and will sadly end up very alone. She's used and rejected her sister and, in general, uses people. And not very nicely either. She will meet all of those she abused on the way up, on the way down, and that's something she's currently finding out. The characters were all very believable, but being the devil that I am, I would have loved to have seen Abi get together with Jon. The story gave a good descriptive with regard to the Primrose Hill area of London and there was the odd twist in the tale with- spoiler alert- Jon and Abi's infatuation with each other and also the discovery that Richard was indeed very shallow. I also loved Abi's down-to-earth daughter, Phoebe, who found Cleo very transparent and saw her for what she really was.  I'm also glad that Cleo's spoilt children developed as better human beings under Abi's coaxing.  But the story dragged and dragged towards a very insignificant and nondescript ending. Hardly blockbuster material.

THE TRUTH ABOUT MELODY BROWNE by LISA JEWELL

THE TRUTH ABOUT MELODY BROWNE

BY LISA JEWELL

THE BLURB:-

When she was nine years old, Melody Browne's house burned down, taking every toy, every photograph, every old Christmas card with it. But not only did the fire destroy all her possessions, it took with it all her memories- Melody can remember nothing before her ninth birthday.

Now in her early thirties, Melody lives in a small flat in London with her teenage son. She hasn't seen her parents since she left home at fifteen, but Melody doesn't mind. She's made a good life for herself and her son and likes it that way.

Until something extraordinary happens. Whilst attending a hypnotist show with her first date in years she faints- and when she comes round she starts to remember. At first her memories mean nothing to her but then slowly, day by day, she begins to piece together the story of her childhood. Her journey takes her to the seaside town of Broadstairs, to oddly familiar houses in London backstreets, and meetings with strangers who love her like their own. But with every mystery she solves another one materialises, with every question she asks another appears. And Melody begins to wonder if she'll ever know the truth about her past...

THE REALITY:-

Damn blasted continuity- I know I'm a stickler for these things but when a chapter is entitled 1989 and it's about Melody being thrown out of her home for being pregnant- with a son who was born in 1988, it gets on my bloody nerves. It also makes self-published moi breathe a small sigh of relief. I haven't had the luxury of a professional copy editor (content editors can keep their greasy paws off) and always manage to find a small error in my first novel every time I pick it up. Ah well, such is life.

This isn't the first Lisa Jewell book I've read and this one was every bit as inviting as the last. The author has a real eye for the detail of taking a reader back to a certain time in recent history, through fashions, attitudes and influences. I loved the notion of a single mother living in a council flat in Covent Garden. I know these places exist, I have come across them whilst traversing central London and think that's so cool! And lucky! Talk about getting a good deal out of a tricky (baby at fifteen) situation. I've never visited Broadstairs but would certainly like to, if only to visit the Charles Dickens' House. I've stayed in Margate, up the coast, but didn't have time to see Broadstairs. Next time I take the high-speed link to Kent I'll make sure I see Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.

The concept of a little girl's memory being totally wiped is a strange one. Is it even possible? I suppose it must be, otherwise authors wouldn't have the reality back-up to be able to write a convincing story. It's something I've come across before, with other novelists. I loved the way Melody's memory came back piece by piece, like a camera aperture slowly coming into complete focus. Her life in a commune made for good reading with some very lively characters, from kind Ken with his idealism, Grace and her liberalism and little Matty with his dissection of animals (he turns into big Matthew, a drunk.) This book contains very good descriptions of these people, her London father and Melody's sad mother, Jane. I shan't spoil it by telling you what happened to her and how such rotten luck led to her destruction but read it yourself and see just how bad luck heaped on top of more bad luck can shape a person and cause a domino-like affect on their shattered world.

This story, thankfully has a happy ending, as Melody meets up with her little, adoring, sister and finds out what happened to the rest of her family. She also makes peace with adoptive mother Gloria and moves on with her second chance at life, in her new relationship. A fantastic, un-putdownable read from start to finish. You won't be disappointed with this one.

KIZZY...

This was also one of my childhood favourites and a heartwarming tale.  It was a series televised in 1976, based on the book "The Diddakoi" by Rumer Godden.  It's available to watch on YouTube.

Kizzy lives in a gypsy wagon with her Nan and horse Joe, but her Nan dies and her people move on so she has to go and live in the village and attend the local school, which she hates and where she is viciously bullied.  She's no heroine- she can punch, scratch and throw a strop like the rest of them and is a royal pain in the butt when she stays with, firstly, the Admiral, at his big house and then Olivia, the local magistrate.  There is a happy ending, though, as the latter two marry and she becomes part of their family and gets accepted by her peers.

The ending, with the schoolkids wheeling in her gypsy mini-wagon, which they have lovingly restored after a fire, and leading in her new horse Joey (Joe died) brought a tear to my eye.  Lovely stuff!

COME BACK, LUCY...

Come Back, Lucy was aired on British television in Spring 1978, late on a Sunday afternoon.  It was about a young orphan girl who went to live with her uncle, aunt and boisterous cousins.  She gazes into a mirror and comes face to face with Alice, who used to live in the house a hundred years before.  Lucy slips across the time frame and befriends Alice but it soon becomes clear that Alice's intentions are malevolent.

I loved, loved, LOVED this show!  It was spooky and creepy and therefore right up my street.  I was only six at the time but wasn't in the least bit scared by it (I have read testimonies from children who were- what a bunch of wimps!)

They really don't make 'em like they used to.  I actually pity children today as the offerings available on TV seem lame by comparison.  Those who enjoyed this show will never forget the spine-tingling opening music and the opening scene....Lucy looks into a mirror, but when she turns and leaves the room her body stays gazing into the glass and you see the back of her head, Rene Magritte fashion.  Then the head turns and the face is missing!!!!

Lucy looks into the mirror...

Lucy turns but her head remains...

The head turns but the face is gone!

I remember my mother having to fiddle with the ariel to try and get a picture on our black-and-white TV.  Sometimes that wasn't always possible, and I do remember being very unhappy that I missed this show once due to poor reception.  But when I did see it, I would sit in front of the box eating my Knorr Knoodles (their version of the Pot Noodle) in prawn curry flavour.  It was a weekend treat and, to this day, I love prawn curry and noodles, although I tend to make a proper curry and not chew on something from a pot!

I bought the series on DVD.  I felt I had to before it disappeared forever.  The series has aged well, is something that will appeal to adults as well as children and is well worth the money.