What I've been reading

The Kalahari Typing School for Men
by Alexander McCall Smith

"Life is never without its problems. It turns out that her adopted son is responsible for the dead hoopoe bird in the garden; her assistant, Mma Makutsi, wants a husband and needs help with her idea to open the Kalahari Typing School for Men."

The least satisfying of the series so far - nothing much happens compared with the previous books. But still pleasant and easy to read.

Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers
by Grant Naylor

"The first lesson Lister learned about space travel was you should never try it. But Lister didn't have a choice. All he remembered was going on a birthday celebration pub crawl through London. When he came to his senses again, he had nothing in his pockets but a passport in the name of Emily Berkenstein."

I've read this before, evidenced by the fact that it was in my bookshelves, but I didn't remember anything about it so a pleasure to read again. The experience is definitely supported by the memory of the TV series and the actors portraying the characters, but it manages to do something new with the story and my only criticism is that it doesn't have a satisfactory ending - there must be a subsequent book that picks up the pieces and resolves things. Another thing that the No. 1 Detective Agency series accomplishes superbly - each book can stand entirely alone.

The Shipping News
by Annie Proulx

"When his no-good wife is killed in a road accident, Quoyle heads for the land of his forefathers - the remotest corner of far-flung Newfoundland. With 'the aunt' and his delinquent daughters in tow, Quoyle finds himself part of an unfolding, exhilarating Atlantic drama."

At last, a book from my 'classics' list that I've enjoyed reading, even if I'm not sure why. It was made into a good film though. The story meanders about, never really having any shape, but creates the atmosphere of the Newfoundland settlement at the end of the earth next to the ocean where almost everyone has lost someone to the sea, or worse. But it manages to have a happy ending.

The Penguin Book of Southern African Stories
by Stephen Gray (editor)

"From the pre-Christian African legends full of people, animals and death, to the tales of the white settlers colonizing in a land both beautiful and inhospitable, to the later stories of a civilization that had established itself, this selection reflects a thriving, diverse and colourful tradition."

A selection of short stories, some just a page or two and others a bit longer, some written in English and some in translation. None was particularly memorable, but an interesting contrast as a more academic compilation alongside the populist No 1 Detective Agency series set in the same part of the world. Best of all, I left the book with the friends I was staying with when I finished it.

The Betrayers
by David Bezmozgis

"When Baruch Kotler, a disgraced Israeli politician, refuses to back down from a contrary but principled stand regarding the West Bank settlements, his political opponents expose his affair with a mistress decades his junior. He and the fierce young Leora flee the scandal for Yalta, where, in an unexpected turn of events, he comes face-to-face with the former friend who denounced him to the KGB almost 40 years earlier."

I was offered this by some friends I was staying with, and read it all in a morning after waking up quite early and waiting for the rest of the household to emerge. It is based loosely on the story of Natan Sharansky, but offers a fictional idea of how a meeting between him and his betrayer might arise and what might transpire. Very satisfactory.

Scaramouche
by Rafael Sabatini

narrated by B. J. Harrison

"Set during the French Revolution, this classic novel of swashbuckling adventure and sweeping romance is also a thought provoking commentary on class, inequality, and the individual's role in society."

I didn't have high expectations about this one, especially as it's my American-narrated podcast, but he got help from a French-speaker so the pronunciation was much improved, and the story isn't bad at all. There was a (plot spoiler) "I am your father" incident at the end which I spotted just before it happened, but apart from that I was carried along nicely with the adventures of the lawyer-turned-actor-turned-fencing master-turned politician hero, who also got the right girl in the end.

The Full Cupboard of Life
by Alexander McCall Smith

"Mma Precious Ramotswe helps indecisive fiancé Mr J.L.B. Matekoni when orphan farm manager Mma Potakwani persuades him to jump out of an aeroplane, and a bullying dishonest competing mechanic calls."

Back to form with this one - there's a nice balance between the personal lives and the detective work of the characters.

The story of a dress

August 2020

Before Lola II and Mr M's wedding, more than seven years ago, I persuaded Lola to let me make her a dress from a pattern she'd chosen. It was supposed to be made from stretchy fabric but we couldn't find any at the time, so I made it from different fabric and it was nice but a bit difficult to get in and out of because it wasn't stretchy. I blogged about it at the time.

It was such a nice pattern that I thought I'd make one for myself, and found some stretchy fabric and spent one solitary holiday many moons ago in Harrogate making the dress. I remember wearing it on just two occasions, mainly because I don't ever wear dresses except at parties and I don't go to parties any more.

I can't remember how it came about, but I offered to make another one from the same pattern for Sister D. This went well, but I have a feeling that almost immediately it was too small for her. However, along with both Lola II and myself, Sister D has lost a load of weight, so I wouldn't be surprised if it fits her again now (except it was quite a warm, heavy fabric so too hot for the summer).

So now we all three sisters had one of these dresses, but Lola II's wasn't stretchy so, having got so good at this particular pattern, I offered to make her a better one. We found and ordered the fabric on the Internet, but when it arrived for some reason it got put in a drawer and I didn't come back to it for 18 months. When I did, I discovered that the supplier had made a mistake with the order and there wasn't enough material, but much too late to return for a refund and the fabric design was no longer available.

More time went past, but this was on my conscience, so eventually Lola II and I managed to choose and order some more fabric, which I paid for this time, and I got started on another dress. I reached about two thirds of the way through before it got put in a drawer and neglected. Until now.

I reached the point in lockdown when I was at long last ready to tackle a more time-consuming job that didn't require a tradesman and wasn't part of the LTRP. A little while ago Lola II concocted a plan whereby we would all self-isolate for two weeks and then she would drive mum up to stay with me for a night as a treat. It occurred to me that it would be lovely if I could finish the dress in time, as a surprise.

I got started with working out where I'd got up to, then sewed the first seam which then needed to be ironed open (this is routine for dressmaking). Somehow I managed to get everything completely wrong and melted a hole in the stupid thing.

So after a number of exasperated expletives, that's where I left the situation and put the half-finished dress back in the drawer. Lola II and mum did come to visit, and it was a lovely visit, and I showed them the mess I'd made. I tried to give Lola II the dress I'd previously made for myself from the same pattern but she is a different shape from me and it didn't look right on her. Instead, we agreed that I will patch up the hole which is in an unobtrusive place on the waistline at the back, and we'll call it 'individual' and 'unique' and nobody will notice unless their attention is drawn to it. This is why I like Lola II more than your 'normal' person who would never accept a home-made dress seven years late with a patched-up hole in it.

A bevy of tradespeople

Sidekick and Doors and Windows Ulf hard at work

You wait for ages for quotes and availability, and then they all turn up on the same morning.

To be fair, my Lady Gardener's date was well established, and she's no trouble at all. She generates a few bags of green waste in a couple of hours, and this time I'd booked a slot at the tip the following day so I could get rid of it straight away, as well as a few other things I'm getting rid of. (I'm still trying to empty all unnecessary stuff out of the house, and took a big bag of books to the Oxfam book shop, but neglected to phone ahead as I should have. Thankfully they took the bag anyway, because it was pretty heavy and I wouldn't have fancied taking it home again.)

The others to arrive at the same time were Doors and Windows Ulf and Sidekick to replace the front door, and Damp Man Dlf 3 to treat the walls in the wet room and the porch. I'd put the order in for the front door a week before lockdown, and then manufacture immediately stopped in the place abroad where the doors are made. When the door was finally available we struggled to find a suitable date when I would be at home. The damp treatment was needed before work could continue in the wet room and it was just one of those things that the date we arranged clashed with the work on the front door.

Dlf 1 was the damp estimator who lives round the corner, Dlf 2 was the damp man I called to make the arrangements for the work to be done, and he sent damp man Dlf 3 to do the first stage of the work, which is to remove plaster up to 1 metre from the floor and then inject some sort of gel into drilled holes along a mortar line just above floor level. Except that the quote had stipulated that the wet room plumbers would remove the plaster in the wet room, and they hadn't removed quite enough of it, and Dlf 3 said if it wasn't in the quote he couldn't do it. I gave him some cash to do it, so he did it. The next stage is to add a membrane and then replace the plaster, and I checked with Dlf 2 who said that damp man Dlf 4 would be coming to do that part next week.

Meanwhile Doors and Windows Ulf and Sidekick were getting on with the front door, ripping out the old door and frame, fitting the glazed panel at the top, putting the new door in and adding architraves and generally making it nice. It's actually a very dark blue, although it looks black in the picture. They didn't do the final sealant because Dlf 3 was about to generate a whole load of dust which would stick to the lovely fresh sealant and make it look bad, and they have to come back anyway because they need to fit the spy hole. We agreed that it was a good thing the spy hole hadn't been factory fitted because it would definitely have been too high for me to look through. 

I have also ordered a new door number which they offered to fix to the wall for me as part of the job. The only thing that was forgotten was the doorbell, and the sound of knuckles rapping at the door can't be heard beyond the hall. Luckily I happened to be in the hall this morning when there was a parcel for me, which was a very lucky coincidence. If I do happen to have any visitors they will have to phone me for the time being.

I had stocked up with biscuits and even remembered to buy some instant coffee (so in a couple of years it will turn into a solid black mass and I'll throw it out like the last jar). D&W Ulf's Sidekick made good headway with the biscuits, though. I'll be taking any of those that are left over to work.

Dlf 3

Birthday happiness

July 2020

In the week leading up to my birthday I signed up to an online Buddhist retreat, to be undertaken at home. Usually a retreat takes you away from all mundane cares, with nothing to worry about except trying not to be late for meals and the scheduled sessions, and there aren't all that many of those. On the other hand, at home there's still all the usual stuff to be done, and in my case many tradesmen to communicate with, and it was difficult to separate myself from phone and Internet and TV. 

I also signed up too late to be able to take time off work so I missed the sessions on Monday and Tuesday, and as well as work there were still my usual evening meetings on Monday and Tuesday, and I had a pre-existing meeting on Wednesday. The retreat sessions were recorded and available through a web page, but I never did catch up. It was a very full week.

The day before my birthday Lola II and Mr M and I went to see mum and dad, and I brought shopping from Lidl which mum misses above all things. The weather was perfect so we could sit outside, and we brought our camping stoves and cooked our own lunch. I went home with Lola II and Mr M and we ordered takeaway Japanese food in the evening, and took part in the latest scheduled Zoom meeting with friends - a quiz.

Lola II and Mr M gave me some plum chutney made from their home-grown plums which I'm looking forward to trying. Such a shame that their grape vine has died, I really enjoyed the grape jam, although the diet doesn't really allow for much jam at the moment. I'm still losing weight but more slowly - 5.7kg down now, and hoping for just 1kg more. I started the diet because my clothes were too tight and I didn't want to have to go shopping for new ones, so there's little point in reaching a situation where I have to go shopping because my clothes are too loose.

The weather for my birthday was as lovely as the previous day, and as I chatted to the man behind the fish counter at Waitrose about it and mentioned that it was my birthday, he stuck a label on my purchase indicating that it would be free of charge! Then when I arrived home I noticed a skip outside my neighbour's house which had a couple of bar stools in it. They looked a bit dusty but seemed intact, and were a perfect match with my existing bar stools and the colour of my kitchen walls. It has occasionally been awkward having only three stools, so I took one out and cleaned it up (with permission from the skip owner who is having a clear out before moving away). 

And so endeth the birthday, with a fish supper, while sitting on a stool, enjoying the glorious sunshine of a lockdown summer.