Trying to avoid society's pigeonholes
Today was our second visit to Victoria Park in Newbury and most enjoyable it was too. Memories from our previous visit were of slippery mud underfoot as this was just prior to its winter shutdown. On reopening the course had been changed and this is what we wanted to check out. As before, we parked [ ]
Why We Sleep is written by a professor of neuroscience and psychology so one assumes he knows what he is talking about on this, his specialist subject. He has carried out many carefully controlled scientific studies on the impact of sleep, or lack thereof, and taken on board the detailed results of many more studies [ ]
The Silver Linings Playbook, by Matthew Quick, tells the story of a young American man, Pat Peoples, whose life slipped entirely off the rails after his marriage broke down. He ended up incarcerated in a psychiatric facility (the Bad Place). Now back living with his parents, his aim in life is to be kind rather [ ]
Today’s parkrun was to be Husband’s 250th event. Normally when achieving milestones we would try to attend our home course but, this week, it was set to become a war zone. With the Cavaliers due to fight the Roundheads in the battle of Chippenham – 400 soldiers and horses skirmishing in Monkton Park we [ ]
Nothing stays the same. But these are worries for another day. This is now, this is Dubai, and nothing else matters. Diving For Pearls, by Jamie O Connell, is a compelling yet disturbing depiction of life in Dubai told from a variety of perspectives. It opens with the death of a young woman, Hiyam Husayin, her [ ]
This review was written for and first published by Bookmunch. Opening Night tells the story of a friendship which developed over the course of a couple of years after the Covid outbreak, between the author and an American artist, Mollie Douthit, who at the time was based in the same area of West Cork in Ireland. [ ]
The UK heatwave has continued throughout July not perhaps as hot as we suffered earlier in the season but still warm for our normally temperate climate and with a notable lack of rain. The ground is baked hard, the grass like straw. I have continued my walks and runs but try to do the [ ]
Recent picks from my vast TBR shelves have too often proved a tad disappointing so it was pleasing to start The Followers and quickly find myself fully invested in what was happening. Published in 2015, the story revolves around a small religious cult based in a remote farmhouse on moors in northern England. There are [ ]
Having read and not exactly enjoyed The Binding, I may not have picked up the author s next release, The Betrayals, had I not been told it was better and perhaps it is. Certainly the plot is more intricate, much like the game so revered within its pages the grand jeu but this [ ]
With the UK experiencing a summer of heatwaves, Edward has spent much of his time in recent weeks resting on his deckchair in the shade, dressed in his swimsuit and with a cooling towel draped around his neck. However, when Compton informed him that their bearers were planning another overnight stay in Bridgwater, in order [ ]