84 Charing Cross Road

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
A two book volume, a two part review.



84 Charing Cross Road

Well, it was quite a route to get to this book. Having read Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945 I research the author, Leo Marks, and find that he wrote the screenplay for a movie about his fathers bookshop 84 Charing Cross Road. I am interested, the shop is mentioned in Leo's book. I rent the movie and find it to be a charming story, the DVD reveals that the movie is based on a book. Ok, I research the book... Wow, this is a true story. I had no idea, good grief, I must read the book.

So, I approach this book knowing the story, knowing the ending, knowing it is a true story (ok, others knew this and are suprised I hadn't twigged it). Well, it now less of a charming story for me but very captivating, happy and sad all at the same time. I loved the clash of cultures, the meeting of minds, the growing friendships. Helene was truly a special person, her thirst for knowledge, selfless charitable acts (I'm sure she didn't see it as charity), the ability to create friendships (not just with Frank, but all at 84). I wanted a fairytale ending but it wasn't to be, this is real life, and how could it have been a perfect ending? Far too many complications would have arisen from any alternative ending.

A superb book; I have read nothing like it before, I recommend to all, but maybe American anglophiles especially.



The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

It just gets better doesn't it. Helene makes it to England and we are treated to a very personal view of London and its people in the early 70s. It is a treat to discover locations old and new and have them described in Helene's forthright American way.

For me, and of course Helene, any ghosts from 84 Charing Cross Road are laid to rest very nicely. Although, there was a tear in my eye when she first arrives. Books that can do that to me just have to go in to my top-ten, so in it goes.



Oh, dear Helene is taking me to New York the next time we get together, Apple of My Eye.


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The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead by Gerald Seymour

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
A very topical storyline, with an interesting insight into both sides of the picture.

Not the best Seymour I have read though; at times I wondered if it had not been proofread, it may have been me but I found myself having to re-read some paragraphs that didn't seem to make grammatical sense. It has been a long time since I've puzzled over writing like this.

Good characterisation though, as always, and the typical headlong rush into the dramatic ending didn't disappoint.


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Blood, Sweat & Tea: Real-Life Adventures in an Inner-City Ambulance

Blood, Sweat & Tea: Real-Life Adventures in an Inner-City Ambulance by Tom Reynolds

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
As others have said, blogs don't seem to transfer well to books, but for me it makes a different sort of read. 1001 mini-stories that make for a book that can be dipped into at any time for any amount of time.

The overall content of this book is fairly depressing but it is real life, warts and all. I'm glad I read it, I have learned a lot, recommended.

[ You can follow the author at Twitter, http://twitter.com/Reynolds ]


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At Close Quarters

At Close Quarters by Gerald Seymour

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another good Gerald Seymour, standard fare, but nail biting all the way. Loved the ending, seemed a bit rushed at first, but on reflection it was just right.


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The Heart of Danger

The Heart of Danger by Gerald Seymour

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow, just wow. An amazing tale of human tragedy, it goes straight into my top ten all time books list.


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Expedition to Earth

Expedition to Earth by Arthur C. Clarke

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Excellent. Very early Arthur C Clark and absolutely timeless.


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Generation Kill

Generation Kill by Evan Wright

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very good. A quite enthralling first hand account of an embedded reporter in Gulf War 2. Hard to put down, a very easy to stick with writing style.


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Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945

Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945 by Leo Marks

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Good grief, what an excellent read. I'd settled down for what I assumed would be a dry but interesting read. Not at all, it was all about the characters, brought to life in a superb way. I was enthralled from start to finish, and only realised at the end that I had also been learning code breaking. Wow, will read again.


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The Right Stuff

I happened upon this draft speech inside the internets, it would be an understatement to say that the fact that it remained a draft pleases me enormously.

"Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding. They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel
as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of
man. In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search
will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts. For every human being who looks up at the Moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind."

— 'In the event of Moon disaster,' speech drafted by William Safire for President Richard M. Nixon to give to the nation should Neil and Buzz not be able to rejoin the command module and be faced with death on, or around, the Moon, the memo to H. R. Haldeman was dated 18 July 1969. This text remained secret for thirty years.

http://www.skygod.com/quotes/spaceflight.html

Roof Ladder

Here's a nice little anecdote from one of my previous lives, my telephone engineer phase.
The job involved the installation of a payphone and telephone line into one of Oundle School's boys boarding houses. This was a two man job due to the size and age of the building (100s of years old with no modern infrastructure) and the necessity for multiple overhead wire spans to get the line into the building.
The internal work is completed without drama, payphone installed, internal wiring completed. I cannot recall if it was the case here, but previous boys houses had their payphone bells disconnected and mains powered flashing lights used instead, "to avoid disturbing the boys during prayer".
The external wiring is a bit more physical, thankfully there are poles erected to carry wires from the rear of this building round to the front and the road. This initially goes fine, some clambering about with the dropwire dispenser between poles, but the spans are going up ok. Then the sticking point.
Two spans left to go, pole to a chimney on a bungalow, from the chimney to the final pole and connection to the outside world. Ah, a chimney. Other wires are already attached and we can share of one of their brackets. But, how to get up on the roof to it? This needs a roof ladder, which we don't carry as routine. This isn't good, 45 minutes back to base, paperwork, and return. Is there another way?
Well, we only need to be up there for a couple of minutes. Attach clamps, tension and clamp first span, clamp second span, and down. Hmm... this isn't a tall bungalow, I can reach up and touch the rain guttering. Ok, a plan. We extend our 3 section ladder to 2 sections. Stand it at the bungalow front, lean it against the roof edge, with one section now pointing into the air. I will climb the ladder, as it pivots the bottom will lift and my partner (the heavier of the two of us) will grab the end and take the weight of the ladder and me. I will climb up the now flat on the roof ladder with clamps and wire between my teeth, at the top I will sit astride the roof and do the job. Easy.
Not quite so easy, here's what happened... I climb, the ladder pivots on the roof edge. My partner grabs the ladder, I start to climb. He yells out, "I can't hold it...!" The ladder slides down the roof, I do the cartoon-like scrabbling my way up the ladder without making any headway. As the ladder disappears beneath me I throw myself up and forwards onto the roof. This could still work, I am now on the roof, just need to clamber up...
Nope, the roof is old. Wooden tiles, covered in moss, slippery moss. I am sliding backwards, no grip, fingernails scraping their way down. I stop with my legs hanging over the edge, not high up, only 8 feet or so. Looking down I assess the situation and politely ask my partner to get out from lying under the ladder and put it back up for me.
After a hearty laugh we consider our options. The proper roof ladder will have to be brought to the site, no doubt about that. But first, hmm... I seem to have kicked down a huge section of this innocent customers rain guttering. We spend the rest of the day fixing the guttering, nobody was home, we did a good job.
The job is finished the next day, with an official roof ladder. And yes, I did get my current job based on my excellent health and safety knowledge...

Wild Country

Wild Country, this film was a pleasant surprise. The film was rented as a speculative try this new to DVD low budget horror movie. The selling point was that it was Scottish made with a cast of unknown actors that had received good reviews.
I've seen a lot of horror movies, ghost movies, slasher movies, etc. It's not necessarily a favourite genre of mine, but is the preferred genre of a family member. Which I guess means for the most part I have seen it all before.
The film was at its heart a teens roaming in the dark being eaten one by one by an unknown beastie affair. But it managed to be a lot more than that. The performances were very good, the fear believable, the camera work setting the mood just right, definitely scary in parts. The low-ish budget animatronics could be off putting, but I've seen worse. It managed a couple of good twists too resulting in an ending that should have been predictable but caught me by surprise.
The mood of the film must have caught me just right. This is only the second film to have me feeling quite uneasy when walking the dog in the dark immediately afterwards.
Nice one, has to be an 8 out of 10.

I Eat Brains

I eat brains, once weekly, on a Wednesday.
Well, what I'm really referring to is faggots. The brand, Mr Brain's Faggots. I am an absolute faggot fan and have renamed Wednesday, Faggot Day. (No sniggering from over the pond, please.)
I was reminded to blog this weekly treat of mine by a Wikipedia article. I am a plodding WikiGnome at Wikipedia making small edits throughout many articles, and had popped into the faggots slang word article to correct a misspelling of the word argument.
Reading the article confirms that the version I eat is made of liver and onions rolled into meatballs and served in an oh so delicious West Country sauce/gravy.
The traditional recipe though has faggots made from pig heart, liver and fatty belly meat or bacon minced together, with herbs added for flavouring and sometimes breadcrumbs. The mixture is shaped in the hand into balls, wrapped round with caul (a membrane from the pig's abdomen), and baked. This isn't quite the basic version I'm used to, but I think I'd try them out given the chance.
They're more of a niche product nowadays, but have had a book written about them, and a most unique advertising campaign.
And the ultimate test of how great they are? My 7 year old German Shepherd dog Buddy, who will eat dead things on the street, gets a faggot of his own on Faggot Day. He sniffs it, walks away, repeats a few times then eats it because it's there and he obviously feels obliged. It takes all sorts I guess...