Angel Jem's City Cottage

A slightly different wind up today; the big event of my life this week has revolved around this, my handsome and funny eldest son. On Tuesday he celebrated his 18th birthday. I'm pleased to say he decided to celebrate by wearing his deerstalker to school, then to Anchor Boys where he was happy to be sung to and cake-laden. And a family meal out. This is my Mum with him. She wanted to get him cuff-links, or a watch, but which young man nowadays wears cuff-links or watches when they have t shirts and phones? So I said was there any thing else. She thought for a while and then offered him her fountain pen set, a 1950's gold plated Parker pen. What else would you give an aspiring writer but a really good pen to sign the multi-million pound book deal? Which reminds me, I must check my lottery ticket tonight. It was a roll-over, so I treated myself to a lucky dip.  The Gang. David, Peter, Sarah and James. My four best loved people in the entire wor...

On time for once! What am I reading this week? Claire Tomalin's biography of Hardy. In small bits. And to go with that, The Hand of Ethelberta. It's a lesser-known Hardy, probably because it's not his rural idyll style, but a comedy of manners about a young girl who, having been a governess and married to the son of the house before being widowed and taken care of by her Mother in Law, finds herself without an obvious means of support and has to live with her natural family in a London town house, with her family acting as her servants while she tells stories and decides which titled character she might marry. I am enjoying it; there are some humorous moments. What have I watched this week? Game of Thrones series 1. We only watch this when Mr K is out of the house, because the blood and guts don't suit him (and the sex is very in your face as well. I don't want to go giving him ideas if I can help it). Tonight he's out at a meeting, so we may we...

I've never done a round up of books monthly begore, but a couple of the blogs I follow have done one and it seems like a good thing to do as a way to record my life and living (as well as being an easy way to fill a blogpost every month). So here goes for January. I started this year by picking up Claire Tomalin's biography of Hardy, The Kindle edition link is here; Thomas Hardy: The Time-torn Man and the hardback link; Thomas Hardy: The Time-torn Man . I've read a few Hardy novels and the title drew my attention (I think as I was watching Sherlock, actually, and browsing for a new read.) Hardy is interesting, a young man from Dorset who goes to London and makes money writing about Dorset (his fictional Wessex). He's an enigma, and I am glad to be reading his story. But I never just take the easy path. As I was reading, and it got to the point when he published his first novel a strange challenge presented itself. How about if I broke off from the biography t...

I am not allowed into school today because my last blast of.... well, I won't say.... was on Saturday and we are under strict orders at school to let 48 hours pass before returning. Yet, apart from a slight muscle ache and tiredness I feel fine. So today is a day of grace, a day when I am home (never alone now, of course) with no illness tying me to chair or bed and no responsibility. I could spend the time cleaning, or visiting my Mum, or catching up on a thousand thousand homey responsibilities. I could offer to sort out business affairs for Peter, or find out details about the new office, the carpets, the blinds...... But I am not going to do that. I'm taking a mental health day. I am going to drink chai, to watch something (possibly Outlander on Amazon TV) and to do no more than gentle sifting and sorting. I may bake biscotti this afternoon as a treat, or pootle quietly around the kitchen to make a stew. But this morning I am sorting out my many boxes of magazine pictu...