Six books this month, so I've read 31 so far this year.

Their Finest by Lissa Evans
Having read one of Lissa Evans WWII books last year I decided I'd see what else of hers the library had, and this is the first of two books.  It tells the story of the making of a film about Dunkirk by a ragtag collection of individuals.  I liked it, sympathised with the main character, but also enjoyed seeing various other characters and how they dealt with the difficulties caused by living in London during the war.

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
I didn't enjoy this book as much as many of the other Discworld stories.  Very much a standalone, I really missed the regular characters.  Also, while I understood where Pratchett was coming from, and would agree with a number of his thoughts, I felt it lacked some of the lightness of touch he usually has.

Plenty under the Counter by Kathleen Hewitt
Republished by the Imperial War Museum and written during WWII, this was one of the runners up for the Shedunnit wartime month.  As such I liked the sense of the period, but as a detective story I didn't find it that strong.

The Body in the Dumb River by George Bellairs
A couple of people have recommended Bellairs to me, so I borrowed this from the library.  Written in 1961, so outside the usual Golden Age period, although Bellairs started writing earlier.  Chief Inspector Littlejohn is my sort of detective, sorting through all the facts and working out what happened and why.  There's a definite sense of the people and the period, and although not an exciting crime, it's all very believable.

The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu
Goodreads has started running some different challenges, and this is one of the books in the Heritage category of the current seasonal challenge.  Having read a similar book last month, I thought it would be fun to read another (also from the library).  I quite enjoyed it, but I think that will do me for this particular type - too much time on the people, too little time on the cats.

Mrs Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn
This was recommended as a slightly different take on the crime genre.  The basic crime is financial via the internet, and the interest comes from how Mrs Plansky deals with it.  The first third of the book is quite slow, but then it improves and I was definitely cheering Mrs Plansky on by the end, which was not as I'd initially expected.


My book bingo card.  Finally achieved a row and a column.  I'm expecting to complete this in July/August, slowly reading books in the last few categories.

Back in September 2021, J and I went to the Cheltenham Everyman for the premiere of Sir Matthew Bourne's New Adventures 'The Midnight Bell'.  It was my chance to go to something which was entirely new, and something I'd probably never get the opportunity to do again.  And I really enjoyed it.

This summer the production is being revived and yet again, to great excitement on my part, the first performance was in Cheltenham.  I booked tickets as soon as booking opened, and got excellent stalls seats.



As I said when I originally reviewed this piece, it's very much Sir Matthew Bourne does fan fiction.  The Midnight Bell is based on a pub and the characters from six of Patrick Hamilton's books: the trilogy 'Twenty Thousand Streets under the Sky', 'Hangover Square', 'The Slaves of Solitude' and 'The Gorse Trilogy'.  I had read the books prior to going the first time, and knowing their stories does help a bit with the characters, but it isn't essential.  The dancers and the set were excellent and the music fits in perfectly.



As for the fanfic - take ten characters from different books, put them in the same venue, but use dance instead of written words.  For three of the couples keep to canon pairing, for one couple take characters from two different books who have never met, and finally add two original characters.  

Because it was the first performance, Sir Matthew Bourne was in the audience, sitting three rows directly in front of me.  Sitting next to him was Etta Murfitt, associate artistic director of New Adventures.  As we left after the performance, both were standing in the side aisle.  J said to Sir Matthew that he'd really enjoyed the performance, and then I got to say that it was brilliant, that we'd been at the very first performance and how delighted I was to be able to see it again.  And all without getting totally tongue-tied and spouting rubbish.  Which, as you can imagine, made my evening!

We had a full day tour around Jersey looking at a number of the sites of the German occupation.

Today's thefridayfive  questions:

1. What is your all time favorite book?
Difficult to answer, but generally when I answer this question I say The Seamstress (also known as The Time In Between) by Maria Duenas

2. What is your all time favorite movie?
Casablanca, no question!

3. What are you reading right now?
Their Finest (Lissa Evans), Plenty Under The Counter (Kathleen Hewitt), Mrs Plansky's Revenge (Spencer Quinn), Small Gods (Terry Pratchett), and The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers 1804-1999 (Misha Glenny)

4. What is your favorite show on TV?
Call The Midwife, which is about the only thing I do watch on TV

5. What is the last movie you saw in the cinema?
Conclave - at the end of February.

Picked up a bit this month, achieving just over 10k words, bringing my total for four months to 41.5k, so slightly over one-third of my goal for the year (120k).

I've started writing for whatif_au bingo card with The View from the Hill BBC Sherlock (dystopia) and Easter at Holmes Hall BBC Sherlock/Hamlet (podcast).

The other major enterprise was filling stonepicnicking_okapi requests for spring_renewal : Sussex in April ACD Sherlock Holmes, retirement era; Poirot at the Spring Fete Hercule Poirot; Easter at Brinkley Court Jeeves & Wooster; and Whit Monday in St Mary Mead Miss Marple.

I've read (or at least finished, having started last month) 8 books this month, so am back on track with 25/75 books in my Goodreads Challenge.

The Lake District Murder by John Bude
I'm not a great fan of Bude, but still read his books.  This was a Shedunnit runner up for first book featuring a series detective and also filled the book set in somewhere I've been, having holidayed in the Lake District in years gone by.  It's an okay book, very procedural and drags a bit, but easy enough to read.

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson
A couple of people had recommended this, and although I was dubious I thoroughly enjoyed it.  First published in 1938, it's the story of a very down-at-heel governess who when searching for a new position accidentally ends up at the wrong address.  She and the young lady who admits her to her flat become unlikely friends, and Miss Pettigrew resolves that, although she will have to return to her normal life, she will have one day really enjoying herself.  It's a great portrait of life at the time.  A library book, I was forced to renew it so J could finish reading it as well.

Network Effect by Martha Wells
The fifth book in the Murderbot series and this time a full-length book.  I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous ones, although it was still good.  I felt too much was jammed into it, but I do generally prefer shorter books rather than long convoluted stories.

Death at the Chateau by Ian Moore
The third main story in the Follet Valley Mysteries.  Another slightly daft plot, but highly entertaining and the recurring characters are growing on me.  A film about Napoleon is being shot at a French chateau, with the inevitable result in a murder mystery.  Good fun, and not to be taken seriously.

A History of Britain in Ten Enemies by Terry Deary
This is the same author as the Horrible Histories series and written in the same jokey style.  I was given it as a Christmas present.  I learnt a few things, but nothing major, having already got a reasonable basic grasp of British history, and there was one major error, which annoyed me.  I could have done without the preachy epilogue as well.

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
Using Read Christie I'm slowly working my way through the Agatha Christie books I haven't read for a long time.  This was written in 1929 and involves espionage and totally unrealistic action.  I'm not impressed with Christie's thriller writing.

Not Quite Perfect by Annie Lyons
I've read a number of books by Annie Lyons and enjoyed them, so this year I decided I'd read the two in the library which are more romantic in nature - I don't normally read romance.  The plot is quite well done, and things don't go as expected, but I wasn't convinced about the ending.  The story is about two sisters, one with three young children who finds herself at odds with her husband, the other who begins to have doubts about her fiancé.  A bit too much 'Hallmark Movies' for me, but okay.

We'll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ashida
Chosen because two people on my Goodreads list both read it and the library had copies and a waiting list.  I like cats, which helps, and I enjoyed the concept of being prescribed a cat for various problems.  I'm not so sure about the underlying theme.  It's a Japanese best seller, and, if you like cats, I'd recommend it.

And my book bingo card.  I've got books lined up for some of the remaining squares and by using free squares and substitutes I know I'll complete it.

Having set my last annual goals in April 2024, it's time for my annual review.

Goal 1: To do something new each month
In January I went to London and Sadler's Wells by myself, which was something I've not done before.  February I joined the church trip to look at the heating system in Rugby - not successful as the vicar's car broke down on the M5, but I did get to ride in two breakdown trucks, something none of us had done before!  In March I met Catherine who had worked at Nature in Art at a reunion she'd organised and we went to the Elmore Chamber Group launch of their summer festival.  And this month saw the end of my reduction in meat consumption, which I was doing for Lent.  That was really successful and J and I will be continuing with eating less meat.

Goal 2: To do a monthly review
That's been achieved.  My thinking behind this was to reflect on how my life was going, and whether changes needed to be made.  Being retired means there are less specific goals now than there once were.  On the whole it established that in general things are going well, my involvement with both Gloucestershire Bundles, the charity I'm treasurer for, plus our church is at the right level.  Inevitably church commitments vary depending on the season but that's within my bounds of commitment.  I've decided that there's no reason to specifically plan holidays and activities as they tend to turn up anyway and I can just take part if they appeal.  If anything, sometimes I'm trying to do too much writing/crafting/courses/reading but that's because there's so much that appeals and one way or another it gets done - and since they're all entirely my own choice I could cut back on things - except I don't want to!

Goal 3: To complete a bigger knitting project
This one didn't work out, for cost reasons I've already explained, but I have managed to complete one new garment and am well on the way to finishing another.


Which leaves me ready now to set my goals for 2025/26!

I have four months to work on this card for whatif_au 

radio/podcast	dystopia	sports
superhero	Wildcard	crack!fic
air travel	high/low fantasy	Regency

Today's thefridayfive  :

1. What do you like most: Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays (and why)?
Friday afternoons, after I've finished volunteering are good, and then Saturdays are the best when normally I don't have anything I'm supposed to be doing.

2. What was the best weekend of your life?
I'm sure many of them were good, but I don't have one which stands out above the others.

3. What weekend of the year is your favorite?
The one between Christmas and the New Year when I have Christmas presents to enjoy, but nothing pressing on.

4. Do you have any weekend routines?
Sit and read in bed Saturday morning, Sunday morning is church so trying to remember if (and what) I'm supposed to be doing.

5. Describe your ideal Saturday night.
Knitting (or cross stitch), listening to a radio programme/audiobook and reading.  I like to chill.

Apparently today is National Greetings Card Day - all day!  At least it is in the States.  

However, I see no reason why we shouldn't celebrate it wherever we are, so if you would like a card from me, please let me know in the comments.  Comments are screened.  And if you would prefer an e-card then I'm happy to send them too 😊

I did send a few cards last week, but when they'll arrive is a totally different matter 😂