The Island - by Victoria Hislop

I had no idea what this was about before I started on it, but it had been voted as the next book to read for our book club. I took a dislike to the cover straight away because it reminded me of "The State of the Union" by Douglas Kennedy which I thought was very superficial.

I was right.

It could so easily have been a comment on attitudes to diseases perceived to be both shameful and deadly but, as it was, it was lightweight and unbelievable. Karonga, where we first lived in Nyasaland, is now a research centre for leprosy, so the subject is of real interest to me. There are some parallels between attitudes to leprosy and HIV/Aids : stigma and discrimination are problems for both.

There was nothing convincing or plausible about the characters. They were either incredibly (nauseatingly?) good, or bad. I certainly didn’t like the characterisation of Maria and Anna: good woman, quiet, retiring and wanting to please, “hands held softly in her lap in a demure pose”; bad woman, high spirited, questioning, “mischief in her eyes and lips that didn’t smile”, “had her arms folded and glared …” I definitely preferred Anna who had a bit of spirit!

Worth noting too, was the immense difference between this description of the occupation by the Germans during WWII and that in Suite Française, especially so as I have so recently read Suite Française, but although that was a few books ago, I remember it more vividly. Another opportunity missed.

It's a shame, but I really didn't find it an enjoyable book in any way. The worst of it is that, reading the reviews in advance, you would have no idea. Where on earth are you supposed to find an honest opinion?

I'm hoping to get hold of a copy of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert which has a very similar theme though set in Honolulu. It has only two reviews on Amazon but both are good. It will be intersting to see how it compares.

Good enough to eat

I was given these gorgeous bath truffles for Christmas.

At first I did think they were white chocolate truffles even though I couldn't detect a chocolately smell (and I would consider myself an expert).

They are from di palomo and are pure indulgence, from their sensual range. Mmmm!

Mind you, you do keep finding rose petals in the most unusual places.

Sixties

Early days

We were students in Liverpool during the sixties. It was well after the Beatles were famous and had left Liverpool but the Penny Lane road signs were still disappearing with monotonous regularity, reputedly turning up in students’ rooms. Eventually the council gave up replacing them and just painted the name of the road on a building.

During that time the fashion was for long, blonde, straight hair. So what have I? Short, dark, and curly. I was scarred for life! The length and the colour you can do something about, but curly, it was such a raw deal. I would have so liked to have hair like Marianne Faithful.

As I finished university I started applying for jobs. The very first one I think was as a research assistant at the Unit of Human Reproductive Biology. I would have loved that job but the interviewer actually told me that I would most likely leave to have a baby in a year or two so he wasn’t going to give it to me. That was something there were able to say in those days but you’d think the Unit of Human Reproductive Biology would realise that I did actually have some choice in the matter. However I had my indirect revenge: the person who did get the job was someone we knew. He lasted seven months, whereas I didn’t have a baby for six years.

It’s amazing now to look back on how employers were allowed discriminate in those days. I remember at one point having a refusal letter because they intended to give the job to a man, no further explanation. They were perfectly happy to put it in print. I was disgusted even then. I remember asking my mother if she would have been a suffragette, although that would have been before she was born.

We have snow!

Ce n'est pas normale, I am told and certainly everything has ground to a halt! All the neighbours are out with cameras so I have to believe them. The mairie has sent out the little tractor to salt and grit the roads, with minimal effect. I can't get the shutters open on the north side of the house because of frozen snow, but I haven't tried very hard. It does at least give us an extra layer of insulation.

Last year we had the river flooding which was quite spectacular, especially as a house on the bank opposite gradually became surrounded. I don't think anyone was in it at the time, indeed I suspect it's a holiday home because I haven't seen it occupied very often at all.


These extremes must be due to global warming, something I really do need to read/learn more about. We do our best but not in any concentrated way. We try to watch our water and electricity consumption. We use energy efficient light bulbs but I have to say they are so bulky and ugly that I am loath to put them everywhere. I am still guilty of having a bath rather than a shower but at least I try not to fill it as much as I did. We recycle fairly assiduously which is made easier here with doorstep collections twice a week - but is that defeating the object? I wonder how much energy is used with the lorries doing the rounds twice a week, compared with the savings. In England they are reducing the collections to once a fortnight, which has its own problems.

Last time we visited our son, he showed us the film of An Inconvenient Truth. It should be made compulsory viewing, but don't you find the people who should listen are always the ones who won't. It's made me want to find out more, but it isn't easy. It's a field of science which isn't all that familiar to me. I can look at biological/medical articles and see where the arguments may be weak but not so readily with this subject. I'll learn.

I Should Have Known Better

I met the man who is now my husband when we were students in Liverpool during the sixties. The Beatles seemed to fill the universe at the time, very much an integral part of our youth. So when I heard there was a remix of all their songs, I thought it would make an ideal present for his recent birthday.

Well I suppose it was in a way. The Beatles seem to fill the universe yet again .....

Never mind, We Can Work It Out :)

One of my favourites, especially as the time approaches fast:

When I'm Sixty-Four
Writer, lead vocal: Paul McCartney

YouTube - listen to the Liverpool accents!

When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine.
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door,
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.

You'll be older too,
And if you say the word,
I could stay with you.

I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone.
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride,
Doing the garden, digging the weeds,
Who could ask for more.
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.

Every summer we can rent a cottage,
In the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera Chuck & Dave

Send me a postcard, drop me a line,
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away
Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.

Happy days!

I don't normally bother with these "tests" but I did this in an idle moment and it does reflect the mood of the moment. Things haven't been nearly so bad this time. I usually hate the first few weeks after we've returned to France.

You are The Sun

Happiness, Content, Joy.

The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.

Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.

The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.