Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

may, 2013, desperate, reader, sunday, thursday, the, monday, tuesday, blog, of, 30, wednesday, 29, 27, 26, 23, 21, 19, 16, 13, 12, saturday, 11, about, me, my, list, archive, no, one, but, woman, knows, margaret, llewelyn, davies, drowning, pool, ross, macdonald, bank, holiday, bargains, weekend, with, claude, beryl, bainbridge, blue, castle, montgomery, miss, buncle, married, stevenson, magda, meike, ziervogel, re, decorating, possibly, most, exciting, competition, ve, ever, seen, kitchen, thinking, murder, quality, john, le, carré, revisiting, ring, bright, water, holidays, and, bread,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (382), and (228), that (90), but (68), was (63), with (62), for (62), this (53), book (45), share (44), have (44), ago (41), books (34), which (34), may (33), there (32), are (31), her (31), has (29), not (29), years (28), #reader (27), about (27), all (26), from (26), what (26), one (25), some (25), she (24), desperate (23), been (23), who (23), when (23), had (22), more (22), you (22), his (21), really (21), august (20), july (20), time (20), out (20), will (20), november (18), december (18), june (18), miss (18), buncle (18), now (18), like (18), october (17), january (17), february (17), march (17), 2013 (17), september (16), april (16), life (16), they (16), good (16), quite (16), how (16), first (16), read (16), children (16), reading (15), make (15), them (15), here (15), would (15), magda (14), week (14), other (14), things (14), also (14), can (14), get (14), much (14), old (14), back (13), better (13), pinterest (13), facebook (13), blogthis (13), email (13), posted (13), those (13), over (13), than (13), still (13), women (13), days (12), comments (12), way (12), because (12), ring (11), new (11), labels (11), into (11), around (11), end (11), off (11), something (11), after (11), married (10), their (10), part (10), bit (10), thing (10), well (10), couple (10), last (10), made (10), before (10), seems (10), were (10), could (10), murder (9), carré (9), most (9), bainbridge (9), holiday (9), woman (9), home (9), second (9), year (9), love (9), world (9), far (9), always (9), rather (9), enough (9), published (9), don (9), too (9), bread (8), quality (8), come (8), find (8), best (8), least (8), though (8), looked (8), class (8), maxwell (8), penguin (8), your (8), bright (7), water (7), kitchen (7), castle (7), macdonald (7), knows (7), weeks (7), summer (7), day (7), without (7), nice (7), just (7), know (7), long (7), think (7), never (7), did (7), own (7), any (7), where (7), does (7), despite (7), isn (7), then (7), john (6), competition (6), stevenson (6), blue (6), weekend (6), claude (6), food (6), work (6), tales (6), months (6), cover (6), whilst (6), perfect (6), only (6), why (6), bought (6), particularly (6), little (6), few (6), sunday (6), british (6), place (6), another (6), him (6), short (6), doesn (6), having (6), often (6), works (6), ways (6), wayfarer (6), two (6), mind (6), bed (6), almost (6), going (6), since (6), virago (6), lily (6), working (6), ever (5), ziervogel (5), pool (5), davies (5), look (5), house (5), bookshop (5), very (5), plenty (5), basically (5), sure (5), these (5), certainly (5), lot (5), put (5), each (5), history (5), until (5), between (5), sense (5), war (5), friends (5), times (5), makes (5), see (5), got (5), our (5), sort (5), interesting (5), school (5), system (5), however (5), point (5), might (5), comes (5), cook (5), even (5), turn (5), care (5), idea (5), macfarlane (5), spend (5), bad (5), marriage (5), mother (5), family (5), thinking (4), meike (4), bank (4), drowning (4), ross (4), margaret (4), llewelyn (4), blog (4), thursday (4), winner (4), half (4), start (4), small (4), top (4), classic (4), round (4), posts (4), older (4), bits (4), great (4), kind (4), every (4), excellent (4), recipe (4), aga (4), series (4), recipes (4), away (4), country (4), full (4), means (4), spent (4), generation (4), went (4), along (4), worth (4), being (4), man (4), reason (4), group (4), thought (4), choice (4), liked (4), happily (4), many (4), under (4), odd (4), clearly (4), same (4), important (4), set (4), such (4), charming (4), trifle (4), bowl (4), equipment (4), hand (4), finding (4), looking (4), covers (4), colour (4), french (4), paperback (4), print (4), travel (4), during (4), robert (4), getting (4), came (4), right (4), people (4), known (4), daughter (4), real (4), story (4), possible (4), turns (4), down (4), valency (4), father (4), holidays (3), possibly (3), exciting (3), decorating (3), montgomery (3), beryl (3), 2025 (3), show (3), holds (3), month (3), classics (3), progress (3), rock (3), independent (3), novel (3), through (3), hours (3), river (3), cottage (3), should (3), nothing (3), seen (3), yet (3), scottish (3), saw (3), garden (3), behind (3), although (3), otter (3), onto (3), fascinating (3), familiar (3), consider (3), himself (3), notebook (3), trying (3), close (3), fun (3), details (3), head (3), manners (3), interested (3), decent (3), social (3), victim (3), assume (3), chose (3), memories (3), cooking (3), help (3), longer (3), managed (3), want (3), easy (3), actually (3), content (3), partly (3), moments (3), quiet (3), favourite (3), together (3), receive (3), copy (3), camping (3), team (3), available (3), become (3), someone (3), doing (3), tools (3), didn (3), corkscrews (3), sleep (3), total (3), took (3), started (3), generally (3), bookcase (3), job (3), situation (3), understand (3), son (3), later (3), national (3), bunker (3), believe (3), enjoyed (3), towards (3), else (3), past (3), found (3), mothers (3), persephone (3), abbott (3), happy (3), asked (3), wouldn (3), normally (3), characters (3), gets (3), attractive (3), lives (3), horrible (3), hope (3), norman (3), shebah (3), edward (3), night (3), families (3), surprise (3), pounds (3), pregnancies (3), births (3), simple (2), theme (2), revisiting (2), bargains (2), 144 (2), 2022 (2), 2023 (2), 2026 (2), upon (2), shiny (2), stella (2), button (2), jotter (2), leaves (2), shelf (2), young (2), furrowed (2), middlebrow (2), dozen (2), sell (2), julian (2), green (2), kate (2), stuck (2), woolf (2), killer (2), reads (2), room (2), recommended (2), edition (2), matters (2), crime (2), view (2), handbooks (2), cafe (2), stuff (2), deli (2), fantastic (2), feeling (2), sitting (2), enjoying (2), scenery (2), highlights (2), basic (2), loaf (2), instructions (2), recently (2), discovered (2), taken (2), sounds (2), take (2), muffin (2), simpler (2), quick (2), absolutely (2), waiting (2), remember (2), anything (2), general (2), packed (2), neat (2), package (2), case (2), outdoor (2), oven (2), left (2), borders (2), brilliant (2), lucky (2), comfortable (2), flat (2), living (2), middle (2), success (2), emotional (2), funny (2), writing (2), try (2), post (2), seem (2), gone (2), writer (2), appealing (2), childhood (2), desperately (2), need (2), reprinted (2), page (2), friend (2), considerably (2), difficult (2), truth (2), occasional (2), perhaps (2), admit (2), opening (2), aware (2), pretty (2), everybody (2), relief (2), wrote (2), person (2), both (2), already (2), obsession (2), late (2), further (2), tuesday (2), covered (2), across (2), recommendations (2), piece (2), public (2), eton (2), language (2), upper (2), classes (2), private (2), staff (2), mostly (2), conversation (2), others (2), wife (2), wall (2), tracks (2), wanted (2), chooses (2), specific (2), haven (2), role (2), expect (2), aside (2), reasonably (2), equipped (2), fan (2), gas (2), hair (2), once (2), ends (2), nasty (2), perfectly (2), hard (2), gather (2), collection (2), cookbooks (2), lindsey (2), bareham (2), evening (2), kit (2), use (2), daily (2), utensils (2), style (2), publishers (2), cute (2), problem (2), street (2), coffee (2), planning (2), live (2), particular (2), following (2), cup (2), tea (2), candidates (2), signed (2), donwood (2), based (2), snow (2), select (2), accommodation (2), experience (2), longlist (2), prizes (2), five (2), itinerary (2), next (2), choose (2), vote (2), announce (2), ajourneyonfoot (2), com (2), paths (2), adventures (2), videos (2), able (2), today (2), publication (2), press (2), win (2), forward (2), monday (2), blonde (2), everything (2), looks (2), ready (2), early (2), chosen (2), dark (2), grey (2), tin (2), brown (2), ordering (2), nonsense (2), wasn (2), chance (2), several (2), wine (2), falling (2), apart (2), bedroom (2), ages (2), moving (2), inclined (2), fell (2), meant (2), portrait (2), result (2), act (2), bear (2), eldest (2), stated (2), imagine (2), beautiful (2), helga (2), impact (2), reality (2), defeat (2), talk (2), soldiers (2), likely (2), hitler (2), final (2), amongst (2), uses (2), events (2), must (2), winds (2), century (2), specifically (2), schlink (2), process (2), peirene (2), watched (2), documentary (2), shock (2), insight (2), neighbours (2), younger (2), issues (2), sad (2), search (2), popular (2), average (2), true (2), throw (2), arthur (2), instead (2), afternoon (2), comfort (2), cheap (2), stories (2), step (2), attraction (2), saying (2), thinks (2), spoiler (2), title (2), herself (2), shop (2), picked (2), modern (2), unlikely (2), free (2), dependant (2), themes (2), assumed (2), rightly (2), child (2), crumble (2), habit (2), radar (2), lovejoy (2), letters (2), operative (2), guild (2), harrowing (2), volume (2), money (2), 1990 (2), bargain (2), phone (2), pregnant (2), law (2), archer (2), feels (2), relevant (2), educated (2), afford (2), abortion (2), leads (2), health (2), within (2), 348 (2), experienced (2), miscarriages (2), shillings (2), powered, blogger, 2009, 164, 2010, 150, 2011, 163, 2012, 136, 2014, 2015, 183, 2016, 173, 2017, 157, 2018, 147, 2019, 171, 2020, 140, 2021, 2024, archive, postscript, murders, elly, griffiths, café, society, poem, 103, happiness, gentlewomen, laura, talbot, cosy, german, literature, germanlitmonth, lizzy, literary, challenge, chocolate, secret, vanguard, michael, innes, 1940, harriet, devine, cull, pipers, dancer, benson, gallimaufry, cornflower, fog, random, jottings, opera, lover, fresh, snob, madam, island, tyylikäs, valomainos, antaa, yrityksellenne, uuden, ilmeen, beyond, eden, chair, update, heavenali, parish, notices, ontario, gothic, morgan, jan, hilliard, 1964, pages, substack, shortening, fair, isle, tank, ella, gordon, sophia, holloway, wonderful, regency, allison, busby, northern, caustic, critic, concerts, cities, hogglestock, dutch, courtesan, marston, bodies, persons, souls, wuthering, expectations, adrienne, mesurat, 1927, futile, preoccupations, meeting, positano, goliarda, sapienza, eve, constance, beresford, howe, pyke, nott, girl, kissed, mouth, observe, perpetually, diaries, rohan, maitzen, library, loot, captive, band, tips, designs, winding, 477, plot, nevin, crossexaminingcrime, strangers, belle, burden, vintage, cornell, woolrich, mexican, connection, passing, tramp, midway, brain, 20bos26, blcc, kaggsy, bookish, ramblings, hour, three, parisinjuly2026, duras, vigan, balle, annabel, list, complete, profile, subscribe, atom, newer, combination, ware, stores, manage, cram, sorts, space, crowded, example, done, busy, sum, parts, drinking, champagne, eating, scones, getaway, included, visits, mainstreet, trading, company, fool, proof, thanks, explain, successful, english, muffins, while, discover, holding, dan, lepard, winded, humble, daniel, stevens, version, relatively, yeast, instant, delicious, packing, handbook, sold, guide, beat, format, size, convenient, feel, information, making, pudding, nettle, pesto, beetroot, houmous, course, idyllic, romantic, architecture, deer, badger, martins, nesting, above, windows, heard, wood, peckers, trees, villages, borrow, added, affair, location, pleasantly, dream, gavin, irony, contributed, highland, idyll, impression, mess, maybe, appeal, becomes, tragic, west, highlands, nature, notice, window, grandfathers, men, grown, wars, fought, ridiculously, connected, privileges, introductions, incident, failure, gentlemen, adventurers, terrific, memoir, searching, charisma, jumps, lifelong, suspect, biography, varnished, omissions, romancing, harpoon, venture, elrig, nervous, everyone, knew, sent, fruitlessly, embrace, gamble, hated, nobody, huge, testament, mentioned, postal, accompanying, landed, mailbox, special, heart, homesick, teenager, skin, encounters, shetland, 1960, nostalgic, recognisable, clock, led, simon, peking, picnic, hitches, trousers, sits, indicators, unsettlingly, harshly, judge, whose, aren, contemporary, ground, closest, fellows, nowhere, near, subtle, gratefully, received, whodunnit, observation, commentary, snobs, career, contact, including, taught, versed, mercilessly, exposes, carne, modelled, schools, harrow, customs, boys, determinedly, drop, friendly, local, lord, judging, silver, interloper, grammar, boy, china, ducks, fit, culprit, ties, whether, doubtless, tackling, whole, catalogue, central, spy, novels, flourishing, 1962, bbc, ran, suggesting, definitions, date, identified, devised, belong, entirely, convincing, calculator, approved, reasoning, told, earlier, elderly, gentleman, authors, especially, outside, normal, attracted, sounded, atypical, mystery, george, smiley, detective, cold, thrillers, associate, saturday, inspired, ample, opportunity, shapes, stepmother, trade, beloved, invites, scone, stew, heaven, couldn, mortar, pestle, appreciate, suddenly, won, partners, used, singe, wear, fundamental, rolling, pin, adapted, prejudices, fills, gap, excited, hadn, registered, soup, sat, pieces, premise, basis, meaning, takes, cue, giving, helpful, advice, sourcing, caring, regardless, ones, definite, cookbook, pink, prefer, drawn, stylish, classiest, lost, patience, tessa, kiros, grubby, arranges, parting, resist, lure, opposed, regional, francophiles, annoy, honest, cooked, grub, prospect, comprise, contented, happiest, toys, attribute, mystical, properties, welcome, pressure, emulate, lifestyle, integral, understanding, dish, flavours, define, pottering, radio, background, browsing, longlisted, shortlisted, limited, stanley, linocut, created, jacket, fee, expenses, value, 2500, train, pass, crosscountry, trains, activities, virgin, shortlist, below, stay, touch, travels, online, keep, budget, involve, generously, provided, plan, feedback, approval, flexible, evenings, weekends, mission, getters, sound, entry, submit, minute, video, midnight, shout, please, enter, visit, importantly, strike, discoveries, beaten, path, report, photos, tweets, boots, dirty, string, sentence, creative, journey, networks, produce, ancient, holloways, sea, trekking, 30th, launches, pleased, celebrate, fostering, explorers, thinkers, spirit, adventure, aimed, celebrating, release, amazing, commit, damnedest, whoever, comment, assembled, ease, break, sweat, swear, wait, alphabetise, face, bending, lifting, wincing, meanwhile, rest, morning, painting, remarkably, floor, panic, hates, opened, suspiciously, delivery, sample, paint, dry, cheered, coat, dried, brownish, sorted, bolts, fine, overburdened, screwdrivers, hammer, useful, secures, toolboxes, girlfriends, dad, god, bless, turned, handy, tool, mistake, moment, dismantling, properly, nuts, botheration, factor, overdue, held, boxes, finally, tiring, ikea, billy, bloody, nuisance, unwilling, stand, upright, collapse, moved, uprights, lent, needs, wedged, card, front, damn, crush, emptied, dusted, spidered, battered, complex, emotive, names, monsters, worthwhile, drives, terrible, lingered, imagination, wholeheartedly, recommend, compassion, legacy, letter, previous, quote, lifted, wikipedia, glorious, ruined, marvellous, führer, socialism, therefore, narrative, recording, experiences, growing, unease, future, itself, shielded, possibility, inconceivable, say, iconoclastic, blasphemy, consequences, lady, reich, ziervogal, religious, fervour, blend, loyalty, protectiveness, fiction, carry, arrive, alive, deftly, sketched, mentions, air, bombs, drunken, gathered, corners, whispered, conversations, eva, braun, wedding, preparations, heighten, tension, claustrophobia, inevitable, conclusion, somewhere, anywhere, germany, terms, 20th, accept, discuss, changing, relationship, interest, bernhard, easily, nazi, portrayed, sympathy, heroine, circumstance, moves, hardly, human, founder, novelist, encouraging, inspiring, death, shows, dim, distant, goebbels, character, harm, power, anyway, seemed, empathise, decision, kill, uncomfortable, offers, laugh, loud, anybody, stood, angelic, appearance, leans, demonic, placid, ordinary, inbetween, obsessive, compulsive, heartbreakingly, deals, anxieties, difference, answer, move, follows, crazy, coincidences, threat, suitably, endings, prolific, author, extremely, majority, distinctly, exception, proved, rule, genuinely, appeared, dedicated, publish, sequels, simply, weren, taking, merits, lacks, extra, said, guess, printed, masterpiece, copies, gentle, vague, writes, using, invents, fraught, eventually, forced, flee, village, falls, arms, publisher, picks, line, barbara, mrs, fly, ointment, spending, constant, dinner, parties, bridge, neither, wet, again, cried, humour, uplifting, vibe, belongs, handful, deserve, kindle, seeing, emily, haircut, flattering, dress, emancipation, lead, handsome, renegade, twists, refers, imaginary, creates, escape, contents, cinderella, stirling, wakes, unattractive, unloved, unhappy, 1926, semi, rural, canada, odder, overbearing, cousin, surrounded, hidebound, clan, joke, spinster, status, joyless, news, worse, encourages, caution, adore, loved, truly, suggests, poor, afflicted, widely, original, charity, sometime, shame, hesperus, anne, gables, completely, shared, felt, repetitive, occur, lacked, enjoyment, merciless, portraits, slutish, domestic, habits, affections, chaos, settle, effective, clear, motifs, emerging, alludes, pinch, autobiography, outing, counterbalance, light, altogether, darker, spikier, foil, hangs, narrated, four, different, extent, mistress, julia, treasures, allowed, overly, involved, interdependent, carrying, tell, propose, town, countryside, quieter, gives, transplanting, picking, rhubarb, waited, crop, hotly, anticipated, hoping, overdone, calm, relaxing, purchase, ribbed, prime, viewing, teens, repeated, places, freeview, laughs, watching, tracking, intriguing, passed, 1795, alice, thomas, ellis, sarah, caudwell, doubly, intrigued, constable, robinson, totally, missed, reissue, subtitled, motherhood, compiled, 1915, companion, similar, account, 1931, apparently, virginia, endorsement, voices, haul, adam, nicolson, vaguely, hardback, sit, gathering, dust, mocking, forgo, overpriced, dip, present, hopefully, eccentrics, gentry, amazon, big, lots, discount, bookshops, high, worked, runs, returns, slightly, damaged, stock, lorry, raid, police, trades, colourful, shops, leicester, branch, tend, overlook, surprised, loads, paid, rice, desirable, otherwise, slipped, treat, retail, needed, asleep, friday, sunny, access, tradition, mildly, sunburnt, square, inches, flesh, neglected, finale, reasons, grips, mobile, worried, physcology, massive, husband, gay, attempt, deny, sexuality, save, sixteen, tense, purse, strings, tightly, drowns, swimming, complicated, unhealthy, mutual, sins, haunt, identity, lew, meets, troubled, liners, sticky, extracts, bond, proud, none, enjoyable, nicest, formulaic, heavily, reliant, common, less, intelligently, handled, tiresome, somehow, master, figured, alarm, tonight, baffle, stop, whatever, wednesday, reminds, movement, necessary, eat, security, knowing, ill, strikes, yes, improved, warning, complacent, sister, 1970, minimum, wage, earns, 240, tax, insurance, employers, lower, unskilled, market, increasingly, favour, workers, property, husbands, marital, rape, recognised, pill, nhs, 1961, legal, 1967, illegal, mean, happen, remains, contentious, issue, poverty, expectant, malnourished, sickly, lack, knowledge, medical, litany, sounding, ailments, pregnancy, cause, fear, joy, doom, gloom, birth, control, decently, fed, assured, doctor, unaffordable, call, lightly, baby, born, deal, heavy, housework, washing, machines, considerable, expense, describe, continuously, tells, neighbour, twins, bare, statistics, considering, beginning, 1396, ended, 122, died, 218, 1697, household, income, ranged, roughly, equates, 500, 100, 125, raise, survey, spectrum, buy, indeed, hundred, depressingly, secretary, 1889, 1921, 1914

Text of the page (random words):
m snow rock value 2500 a two month train pass from crosscountry trains select accommodation and activities covered by virgin experience days and the longlist and shortlist prizes below the 20 longlisted candidates will receive a signed copy of the old ways paperback the 10 shortlisted candidates will also receive a limited edition print by stanley donwood based on the linocut he created for the old ways paperback jacket signed by both donwood and macfarlane posted by desperate reader at 9 09 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest sunday may 12 2013 kitchen thinking pottering around my kitchen radio 4 on in the background browsing through cook books a cup of tea or coffee to hand and planning things to make comprise some of the most contented moments in my life in a quiet way it s often where i m happiest it s the room i miss most when i m away and it s where a lot of my favourite toys live i don t attribute any particularly mystical properties to cooking or welcome any pressure to emulate a particular lifestyle but for me it works and the books are an integral part of that i like following a recipe love understanding how a dish is put together and finding the flavours which define a specific style because of all these things i m always looking out for cookbooks and regardless of the ones i go home with it s fascinating to see what s out there i have definite cookbook turn off s i don t really care for pink covers i prefer content over style which is why i m drawn to publishers like prospect and grub street who are quite stylish enough and have the classiest of content and have lost patience with tessa kiros books which are far to pretty to get grubby also one of them arranges recipes by colour which is a cute idea but cute isn t really my thing not that i m parting with it i can resist the lure of classic french as opposed to regional french food this is partly because francophiles annoy me not the french i don t have a problem with the french honest and partly because it s the sort of food that i want to be cooked for me despite those prejudices i ve managed to gather quite a collection of cookbooks and still want more but finding a book that fills a gap isn t easy which is one reason to be so excited by lindsey bareham s the trifle bowl and other tales i hadn t really registered bareham as a food writer before despite having her soup book on my shelf but i m aware now i haven t actually looked at any of recipes in here yet but i ve sat up late of an evening reading about all the bits and pieces of kit the premise of the trifle bowl and other tales is that the equipment we use on a daily basis gather as many memories and as much meaning as the food we cook and share so here lindsey takes the utensils as the cue for each recipe whilst giving helpful advice on sourcing and caring for those utensils memories aside i ve had ample opportunity over the last couple of weeks to consider how much equipment shapes what i cook my stepmother is a cook by trade so despite their place in the borders basically being a holiday home the kitchen is reasonably well equipped and it has the beloved aga the aga invites it s own kind of cooking muffin scone and stew heaven for a week but other things bought me up short couldn t find a mortar and pestle it s funny how much you appreciate something when you suddenly don t have it to hand i won t cook in my partners kitchen if i can help it i ve never got used to his fan oven and no longer like cooking on gas i have long hair and once managed to singe the ends of it on a gas ring i was lucky it could have been nasty i wear my hair up now more fundamental however is that he doesn t even have a rolling pin he and his kitchen are perfectly adapted to each other but for me it s hard work the trifle bowl and other tales has got me thinking and feeling inspired always a good start expect to see plenty more about it here posted by desperate reader at 9 59 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels kitchen the trifle bowl and other tales saturday may 11 2013 a murder of quality john le carré this was my first john le carré i chose it after a conversation with a charming elderly gentleman in a a murder of quality because it was short long books put me off when it comes to authors i haven t read before especially when it s a book outside of my normal reading choice which le carré is i was also attracted to a murder of quality because it sounded so atypical this is a murder mystery set in a private school with george smiley in the detective role rather than the cold war thrillers i associate with him but it does come in a neat little package bookshop although i don t think he really approved of my reasoning he told me the earlier books were by far the best i chose what i really wanted from this book was to know whether i would get on with le carré or not i did so at some point will doubtless set about tackling his whole back catalogue but what really interested me in a murder of quality and what i assume might not be such a central theme in the spy novels is the way le carré chooses to look at the british class system it s a system that s still flourishing in much the same way now as it was in 1962 when a murder of quality was first published the bbc recently ran a thing suggesting that the old definitions of class were out of date they identified 7 specific classes and devised a calculator so you can work out where you belong and whilst it s not entirely convincing it is quite interesting john le carré s own career certainly bought him into enough contact with the public school system including eton where he taught to be well versed in the manners and language of the upper classes something he mercilessly exposes here carne school could be modelled on any of a dozen important private schools but not eton or harrow it has it s customs language and manners as well as a staff mostly made up of old boys who determinedly drop into conversation how friendly they are with the local lord whilst judging the quality of each others silver there is however an interloper a grammar school boy who s made it onto the staff along with his wife stella who has china ducks on the wall and will not fit in she s the victim but who s the culprit and will the old school ties be enough to cover his tracks le carré clearly has a bit of fun with all this and whilst some of the details things like how a man hitches his trousers when he sits were a bit over my head as class indicators most of it was unsettlingly familiar oh how harshly we judge those whose manners aren t quite our own i would be interested to read a contemporary novel that covered much the same sort of ground the closest thing i ve come across was julian fellows snobs which was nowhere near as subtle or interesting so any recommendations would be gratefully received as for a murder of quality it s a decent whodunnit but an absolutely excellent piece of social observation and commentary posted by desperate reader at 11 00 pm 2 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels john le carré tuesday may 7 2013 revisiting ring of bright water when i wrote about peking picnic a couple of weeks ago i mentioned the postal book group i m in well my book was ring of bright water simon was the last person to read it and both book and accompanying notebook landed in my mailbox just before i went on holiday ring of bright water has a special place in my heart it s a book i ve read many times over the years but it was really as a homesick teenager that it got under my skin i already had a bit of an otter obsession after close encounters with them in shetland ring was published in 1960 so in the late 80 s it read as nostalgic but still quite recognisable re reading it last year with another 25 odd years on the clock maxwell s way of life and the world he led it in seems much further away at least all of it s 60 odd years i will admit that i was nervous opening the notebook to see what everyone thought of this book i m aware it s not perfect and knew when i sent it off that it was something i d spent years fruitlessly trying to get the group to embrace so as a group choice it was a bit of a gamble and i would have hated it if nobody had liked it happily pretty much everybody did like it huge relief which is a great testament to maxwell s writing maxwell at his best really is a terrific writer i have most of his books but am only really familiar with the otter series of which ring is by far the most appealing his childhood memoir the house of elrig worth searching out and harpoon at a venture which i consider to be his best book and desperately in need of being reprinted his charisma jumps off the page in ring in a way that s made this book a lifelong friend i suspect the man himself would have been considerably more difficult to get along with which is one reason i ve never read his biography a few of my book group friends had though and it was recommended a couple of times in the notebook i know enough about maxwell to know that ring of bright water is the varnished truth there are omissions and occasional romancing all of which makes for a better book but perhaps it s time to read a little bit more about the man behind the book it s an irony that the success of ring of bright water contributed to the end of maxwell s highland idyll although my impression of maxwell is that he d always find a way to make a mess out of his life maybe that s part of the appeal of this book the otter bit is emotional and funny until it becomes tragic the bits about the west highlands are classic british nature writing at it s best but what i notice now is the window onto my grandfathers generation men who had grown up between wars fought in the second one and had to try and make sense of that post war world maxwell was ridiculously well connected with the privileges and introductions that went along with that his life was fascinating and full of incident but there is so much failure he was part of a generation of gentlemen adventurers who seem long gone now posted by desperate reader at 11 03 pm 10 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels gavin maxwell ring of bright water sunday may 5 2013 holidays and bread i ve been away in the scottish borders for a week it s a part of the country i love more each time i go there it has idyllic scenery packed full of romantic architecture and history we saw a deer in the garden it was a badger last time there are house martins nesting above the windows we heard wood peckers in the trees behind the house and there s a particularly brilliant bookshop a couple of villages away what s not to love we re lucky to have a particularly comfortable flat to borrow it has an aga in it which has rather added to my love affair with the location and basically means i ve spent the last week living a pleasantly middle class dream with the aga waiting for me part of my holiday packing was the river cottage bread handbook i can t remember now if it was the first or second book from the river cottage series that i bought but it was certainly the one that sold me on them i think it s the best basic bread guide around i ve certainly not seen anything to beat it yet what i particularly like about all the handbooks is the general format they share the size is convenient they feel nice and you get a lot of information packed into a neat little package in this case there are instructions for making an outdoor bread oven a few recipes for left over bread the summer pudding is excellent and things to put on it nettle pesto beetroot houmous and of course there are a lot of bread recipes the basic loaf is fool proof thanks to the very good instructions that explain not only what you do to make a successful loaf but also why you do it which i always like to know just recently though i ve discovered a love of english muffins it s taken me a while i m not sure why it s taken me all these years to discover them but it has still now i ve discovered them there s no holding back i had looked up dan lepard s recipe but good as it sounds it s also quite a long winded take on the humble muffin daniel stevens version here is rather simpler relatively quick to make nothing with yeast is quite instant and absolutely delicious the recipe is here other holiday highlights included a couple of visits to the excellent mainstreet trading company it s a combination of bookshop cafe home ware stuff and now a deli the bookshop part is one of those fantastic independent stores which manage to cram all sorts of good things into quite a small space without feeling in the least bit crowded the cafe is very nice as is the deli and all the other bits it s a great example of how this kind of thing should be done every time i ve been there it s been busy and is over all far more than the sum of it s parts there was also plenty of time for reading as well as just sitting enjoying the scenery whilst drinking champagne and eating scones so basically the perfect getaway posted by desperate reader at 10 42 pm 6 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels bread holidays river cottage handbooks newer posts older posts home subscribe to posts atom desperate reader about me desperate reader view my complete profile my blog list annabel s house of books three for parisinjuly2026 duras vigan balle 1 hour ago kaggsy s bookish ramblings classic crime round up part 1 20bos26 books 15 16 blcc 22 hours ago reading matters recommended reads 3 world brain day edition 1 day ago tales from the reading room midway through 20 books of summer 2 days ago the passing tramp ay ay ay ay a look at cornell woolrich s mexican connection 2 days ago vintage reads strangers by belle burden 3 days ago crossexaminingcrime a killer plot 2026 by e c nevin 3 days ago book jotter winding up the week 477 4 days ago kate davies designs button band top tips 5 days ago the captive reader library loot july 15 to 21 1 week ago rohan maitzen observe perpetually woolf s diaries 1 week ago the kissed mouth the other pyke nott girl 1 week ago stuck in a book the book of eve by constance beresford howe 1 week ago kate macdonald meeting in positano by goliarda sapienza 1 week ago his futile preoccupations adrienne mesurat julian green 1927 5 weeks ago wuthering expectations the dutch courtesan by john marston they sell their bodies do not better persons sell their souls 1 month ago hogglestock 7 concerts 6 cities 3 weeks 4 months ago caustic cover critic best of 2025 4 months ago furrowed middlebrow the furrowed middlebrow dozen 2025 7 months ago northern reader an independent woman by sophia holloway wonderful regency novel of a young woman from allison busby 7 months ago ella gordon shortening a fair isle tank top 9 months ago shelf love find me on substac...