Book Review - Wickham Hall

This is my first ever book review.  I enjoy reading novels and have 'pinned' a few of my favourite reads onto 'A Good Read' board on Pinterest.  I have left a few words on Amazon when I have had a book from that source but it was Carole Matthews who got me thinking that the Author appreciates feedback and other readers like to know how you experienced any particular book.  No doubt I will review one of Carole Matthews' 29 novels next, but I have just finished this one.  Isn't the cover appealing?  This is what I found when I delved inside and read the story.

It is about an ordinary village girl who enters the world of a well-to-do upper class family who inherited the stately home she and her mother visited every year and so begins a journey of discovery.  Holly Swift is a friend to all and helpful to all she comes into contact with.  Those of you who visit National Trust homes and grounds will be delighted with the wonderfully descriptive picture Cathy Bramley gives of Wickham Hall but you will also feel that Holly is your friend too.

The Hall and grounds holds secrets of the protagonist's family line which is uncovered when Holly Swift takes on the job of Events Manager.  Holly lives in a small cluttered cottage in the village near to Wickham Hall where there are acres of grounds and grand historic rooms.  Holly's two worlds collide bringing thrills, dreams and heartache.  She gradually changes from planning everything to learning to live in the moment and appeals to both sides of our psyche - organised -v- spontaneous.

Fashion, art, gardens and cooking all have a place in this dreamland world where Christmas glistens with snow, where love blossoms and she experiences magical starry nights.

It is every girls fantasy of a knight in shining armour being the character who leads you through tears and laughter, suspense and predictability, hope and surprises.  It will appeal to all of your emotions.

Very well written, thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommended.

Me and my shadow....

I posted this picture on Facebook and a friend took me down memory lane.  I vaguely remembered acting on stage in High School, a double act with a bowler hat, black trousers and tie and singing a song entitled 'Me and My Shadow'.  My friend added the next lines of the song on Facebook and then later, posted the You Tube version - Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jnr on FB too.  It was lovely to hear it again.

Our fun didn't stop there.  She had taken me back over 50 years and the next sketch I remembered from those school days was 'Island of Dreams' when, at an early age, I was dressed in a coloured grass skirt, white t-shirt, a big necklace of flowers and a halo of smaller flowers on my head.  I was a background dancer along with other classmates!  I looked 'Island of Dreams' up on You Tube.  There it was sung by The Springfields (filmed in black and white as colour vision had not been invented then!)

Lastly, I was the driver on stage when we did 'Seven Little Girls sitting in the back seat, hugging and a kissing with Fred'.  I could remember most of these words and enjoyed singing along with The Avons, again courtesy of YouTube.

If I was younger I feel sure I would know how to upload these YouTube videos onto this Blog page but alas I have tried and failed.  However, I hope I have sparked off some of your memories and you will visit YouTube and singalong to your long forgotten favourite songs.  I have stored them on my tablet, no not my blood pressure tablet, the electronic device.  Oh dear, I fear I am really an old person now - black and white tv, songs my offspring will never have heard of, and getting mixed up with the meaning of words.  Oh well, fun of the past can still be fun of the present thanks to the progress of time and inventions.

But, have you heard, these are coming back into fashion and I have one!  Get those old records out.

Never judge a book....

by its cover is a metaphorical phrase meaning 'don't prejudge by outward appearance alone'.  Good advice you may think, except that I wonder how many of us do precisely that when choosing our next read?

There are some fabulous covers on novels and children's books that draw you to pick them up and perhaps read the synopsis on the back cover to see what they are about and whether they appeal to your 'type' of reading matter.  It is only when I have read a book because I feel I 'should' that I am disappointed, not necessarily with the content but with myself for not enjoying it, learning from it or persevering to the end of it.  I do, mostly, probably, judge a book by its cover.  Please tell me I am not alone in this?

Or perhaps I read a book because I like the author, or of recent years, know the author.  They are good reasons not to take much notice of the cover.  Knowing the writer's style of writing or who the person writing the novel is, makes choosing a book to read so much easier when there are thousands out there to chose from.

Like a good film or television programme you enter the story and get lost in the characters and theme.  I am a slow reader and like to savour the story, not wanting it to end.  The protagonist has become my best friend and family member in my home.  Picking a book off the shelf or downloading one onto a kindle often is the start of a journey.  Company for the weeks ahead as you read, an imaginary world to enter, discover, feel, and love. 

We all have our favourite genres: crime, love story, thriller, action packed, historical etc.  But what happens when we reach the end?  I have come to appreciate that the author likes feedback and Amazon have a quick and easy way to share your thoughts about the book you have just read.  Just click on the 'review' and leave a few words of appreciation a) for the author and b) for other readers to judge whether this book might appeal to them also.  There is always word of mouth reviews as we tell our friends about our latest book, or passing the book on to someone who likes the same sort of story as you do.  I am finding there are many, many Book Bloggers out there that write extensively about books they have read, some read so quickly that it makes me feel quite dizzy. 

I can only read one book at a time, at my pace and of my choice.  I can't remember a time where I didn't read, I have been a library member all my life, had bookshelves full of paperbacks and study books and find parting with some of the most precious ones quite difficult.  But now, in this digital age, I take a photo of the cover and pin it on Pinterest with a little reminder of the story.  I write reviews to and for the author.  I move onto the next book more easily.

Now, if you imply the saying to people rather than books, that is a whole new subject to blog about as I am sure I am not the only person to have fell into that trap! 

Musical Groups

Last Saturday night saw me on a coach trip with hubby and friends.  We were travelling to Wolverhampton theatre for a Sensational 60's Experience.

The 1960's were called the 'Swinging 60's' and the pop culture was at an all time high.  I was only little then, it was late 60's early 70's when I became interested in what was in the charts.  My first record (you know, those black vinyl disks that you put on a record player) was 'You were made for me' by Freddie and the Dreamers.  A member of this group, Alan Mosca, was the compare for our evening of entertainment - a white haired, white suited gentleman that I didn't recognise.  I wanted to sing the song as I felt sure I could remember all the words, yet often I can't remember what I need from the shops without a list.

Unfortunately, we had chosen a night when Herman's Hermits were replace by the Fortunes.  I remember Herman's Hermits but alas not the Fortunes.  The other Groups were: The New Amen Corner, a tribute band that perform with Chris Farlowe and Steve Ellis; and The Union Gap.  It was nice to think I wasn't as old as I thought as there were some songs I didn't know.  However, they did sing some old favourites like - You've Got Your Troubles, Caroline and Young Girl which had me dancing in my seat, clapping to the rythymn and singing as no-one could hear.  Were they always that loud?  Echo's of mother shouting up the stairs "turn that down" as I recorded song after song, on a Sunday night, into my reel to reel tape recorder with a little microphone on a stand next to the transistor radio. 

I stared at the men on the stage.  They were old.  No zimmer frames but grey hair, bald heads, false teeth, and I am sure a body full of medications.  It was a weird sensation.  My eyes felt like I was just 30 years of age but my head told me different.  Don't get me wrong, they could still sing, they could still play their instruments extremely well but the look was all so very confusing.  Old men doing what they have done for more years than any of us wanted to remember.  The confusion was - did I admire them or did I think they should retire.  There comes a time when we are no longer at our best, our sell by date expires even if we do not, and I think I wanted to remember them as they had been originally.

Arriving home, with ringing in my ears, after midnight was a mood killer.  I mean, the youngsters today are just warming up on a Saturday night at that time!  Ahhh, I love my bed.  I wonder if One Direction, The Spice Girls, Little Mix and Union J will all still be performing in another 40+ years????

The Value of Groups

I treasure the groups I have, and still do, belong to.  In many circumstances it is easy to feel alone, isolated, lost.  But for just a little effort of leaving your comfy arm chair and stepping out into a new place you can find long lasting friendships, a feeling of being 'normal', encouragement, fun, new learnings, compassion, help, guidance, advice and so much more.

When I was a new young mother I took myself to the local Mother and Baby group.  I lived in an isolated spot where there were no footpaths and I didn't know the people in the few houses nearby.  I had to walk along the very busy main road to get to the pavement to even post a letter and walk so much further to find life in the Post Office or local store.   But no-one spoke to me on a personal level and I felt very alone with my little one.  So when I went to the Mother and Baby group and two other mums started chatting to me it felt really comforting.  We probably compared our off-springs progress in growth and activity, then got to know each other better over the following weeks, went on trips to the park together, babysat for each other and became firm friends that has lasted nearly forty years! 

Then I belonged to a local Childminder's group, being a founder member of the Association in our town.  They were a lovely group of women all caring for other people's children and having a common bond.  Again I have a life long friendship with the parent's of one of the children I 'minded' and was thrilled when the adult man I had loved as a child reconnected with me on a visit to a friend's house. 

Friendships have been formed through work, college, places I have lived but mostly through belonging to a group.  Craft Group and Writer's Group are what I am into now.  They are small groups but we have fun and laugh a lot and create cards and pieces of written work that we share with each other.  We talk the talk - each group has a language of its own with terminology that doesn't interest others outside of the circle of friends.  One of these friends goes to a Singing group in her own town and tells me how uplifting it is.

Alone we are only one person, we may believe we are not of much use to our community, we may be battling with mental health or serious illness or caring for an elderly person.  But joining a group be it for pleasure, support or education, there comes with it a benefit.  It gives us a medicine not prescribed on the national health - happiness, purpose, a sense of belonging, support, encouragement.  These are invaluable and worth seeking out.

You may have read my blogs about the Group of Holidaymakers I met in Skyros.  We formed such a close knit group for two weeks, being there for the common factor of wanting change in our lives.  We underwent personal development, attended our various courses, ate, swam, drank and enjoyed the sunshine together.  Saying goodbye at the end was very hard, we had become like a close knit family.  However, many of us have kept in touch by way of various mediums.  Such was our reward for leaving our comfort zones for the unknown, a bonus that was not indicated in the brochure when booking. 

I recently went to an Authors & Bloggers Meet Up and felt instantly part of a new group that is taking me into a new phase of my life.  Connections are made and no matter how close or far away these people live from me there is a sense of belonging, a sense of 'I know what you are going through', an excitement of following in some 'already published' author's footsteps, a buzz about meeting someone whose book you have read. 

The road of life is richer for having people in it along the way who love the things you love - animals, music, artwork, gardening, books, sewing, knitting, photography, golf, cycling etc etc etc.  There are groups for anything and everything.  Don't be shy, don't let that damning little voice tell you - you are not good enough.  Feel the fear and do it anyway.  Go to a club, a meeting, a group.  You will be surprised at how welcome 'belonging' can make you feel and how life enhancing it will be.