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Hello, all! Spring sprang for a few hours last week, the grass needs mowing and flowers are blooming everywhere. Now we're back to gray skies and intermittent rain. How are things where you are?

I've had an update from Justine's family this week. They've found her will and a handwritten note saying that she wishes to be cremated 'quickly and inexpensively. No funeral! No religious service! Ashes to be scattered wherever convenient. No plaque or stone.' (So like her, don't you think?)

The cremation will take place on Friday 9th April at 8:30am at East Surrey Crematorium. The ashes will be scattered in the garden at the crematorium. It will be private due to lockdown restraints; only crematorium staff will attend. I plan to set my alarm (1:30 am) to say a few words to her and maybe light a candle. I sure do miss her.

Justine's sisters suggested that "those who were close to Justine and happen to live in London might get together for a meal in a restaurant some time in the summer (Covid permitting ��) in memory of Justine. They feel that's what Justine would have felt most happy about." Her friends intend to organize this event in the near future, and I will keep you posted when plans are finalized. Who knows...if my ship comes in, I may just pop over to attend.

Some links:

From the New York Times:

John Warner is book critic at The Chicago Tribune, booth commentator at The Tournament of Books, and the Biblioracle.


Literary Birthdays:
Here.

Elements of sleet and sun , a raw cold wind in the shires but i love slow springs..

Lovely to hear about Justine and her service being organised, we all miss her loads

Nothing new in my reading, its

Bostridges lively, witty account of 1914,

Wilsons tale of female independence in 1950s British Columbia(a superb Canadian classic),

Pla's diary of rural Catalonia, summery fiestas and holidays homes i have got to September 1918 and he is back in a suit and feeling constricted....he is a wonderful writer, observing so many things in a small corner of NE Catalonia, i think Sept 1918-1919 will be a more urban section as he returns to uni in Barcelona.

While Jeffersons "Notes on Virginia" is a wonderful study of what was the most populous state in the 13 colonies, back in the 1780s

(been hard to update or load this page all day till now....grrrrr)

Lljones wrote: "Hello, all! Spring sprang for a few hours last week, the grass needs mowing and flowers are blooming everywhere. Now we're back to gray skies and intermittent rain. How are things where you are?

I..."

that Hemmingway doc sounds fascinating, i think its on the BBC over here, he is endlessly fascinating as a writer, thinker and character, even if he isnt my favourite writer, i still love to engage with his ideas and life. I still,amazingly, havent read "To Whom The Bell Tolls", one of those "what???" moments for me

wrong about the BBC....i cant find it on there..

Lljones wrote: "re Justine...'a handwritten note saying that she wishes to be cremated 'quickly and inexpensively. No funeral! No religious service! Ashes to be scattered wherever convenient. No plaque or stone.'

What an excellent way to bow out. Perfect.

As for the flowers and weather - our magnolia is in full bloom, just in time for the cold northern winds... hope the flowers survive a few more days. We'll see. It's still sunny today, but there is an overnight warning for snow and ice... unlikely here on the coast, but in the hills a few miles inland - not at all impossible.

AB76 wrote: "Elements of sleet and sun , a raw cold wind in the shires but i love slow springs..

Lovely to hear about Justine and her service being organised, we all miss her loads

Nothing new in my reading, ..."

AB - I'm recommending which I am reading at the moment. (I bought it as a companion piece to a picture of the Raven which will be a wedding gift. The recipients met as bird watchers (peregrines).)

The preface and introduction are especially nice.

Lljones wrote: "Hello, all! Spring sprang for a few hours last week, the grass needs mowing and flowers are blooming everywhere. Now we're back to gray skies and intermittent rain. How are things where you are?

I..."

I listen to this piece about Hemingway as I write -

Makes me want to watch.

MK wrote: "Lljones wrote: "Hello, all! Spring sprang for a few hours last week, the grass needs mowing and flowers are blooming everywhere. Now we're back to gray skies and intermittent rain. How are things w..."

thanks MK
still having issues with accessing this page, it slows down and freezes and has done since last night

MK wrote: "I listen to this piece about Hemingway as I write - ...

Makes me want to watch."

I've seen several clips and interviews with Burns and co - looks like it will be good.

AB76 wrote: "still having issues with accessing this page, it slows down and freezes and has done since last night..."

Is anyone else having issues? (I am not...)

Are you using a PC or a phone? Have you tried some of the usual old tricks - reboot? Clear cache? Restart modem?

Lljones wrote: "Is anyone else having issues? (I am not...)"

I have noticed that in the past few days the "Notifications" flag at the top of the page has been slow to update.

Bill wrote: "Lljones wrote: "Is anyone else having issues? (I am not...)"

I have noticed that in the past few days the "Notifications" flag at the top of the page has been slow to update."

Yes, I'm having issues too. It either takes very long, or even throws the occasional over-capacity error message. I suspect that GR is not equipped to cope with Easter bank holiday traffic...

AB76 wrote: "Lovely to hear about Justine and her service being organised, we all miss her loads"

You mean and her absence of service being organised!...

Yes, it is very much like her. She never liked people fussing about her, she's not about to start now. I watched The Big Lebowski again last night, and I think she'd have loved the idea of having her ashes stashed away in her favourite coffee can (probably not Folgers though) before being scattered to the wind (hopefully not to end up on somebody's face either).

Lovely to get the update on Justine's cremation arrangements and possible commemorative dinner. Thanks Ll.

I'm reading Alan Garner's Elidor, which I expected to love, but on the whole I'm not really feeling it. Perplexed.

Lljones wrote: "AB76 wrote: "still having issues with accessing this page, it slows down and freezes and has done since last night..."

Is anyone else having issues? (I am not...)

Are you using a PC or a phone? H..."

still slow and having issues,,,tried all the fixes. its first time its ever happened

I just watched the 7th episode of Amazon's Japan documentaries, this was about cats. It started with a quotation from a cat, a man and two women. So far, so good. But then during that episode they said what goes on and how the novella ends! Spoiler!

Finished Swamp Angel a brilliant novel that i recommend to all of you

Next up is the following:

The Hungry Grass by Richard Power(1970) another beautiful Apollo Classics packaging surrounds this Irish novel by an author who died young. I havent read anything with a Catholic theme in 2021, so am interested what this novel about the life of a priest may reveal...

Also, Coming of Age: Constructing and Controlling Youth In Munich 1942-73, a study of the post-war german teenage culture, which should be a very absorbing topic, a generation growing out of the total destruction of the war years. The 1942-45 youth situation will hopefully be covered as well

So far, this entry hasnt suffered from slow, lagging issues. I'm on a pc, LL, to answer your earlier question

The Final Country by James Crumley

This appears to be the last Crumley featuring PI Milo Milodragovitch - as I have missed one or two earlier books, there are references to events which I have yet to read about. However, that isn't the reason why I found 'The Final Country' less satisfactory than other books in the series.

It's a very long book - or maybe it just feels long... and unfortunately contains a plethora of characters, but no list. Unless you have a far better memory for names than I do, I'd strongly recommend writing brief pen portraits of the (major) characters as you go along, otherwise you may feel as lost as I did - by the end, I had little idea who had killed who, who had shagged who, or what exactly the double-crosses were all about.

Some authors, when they write stories as convoluted as this one, help the reader by including recaps every so often for idiot readers such as myself - usually in the form of a discussion of the points between two characters. Crumley doesn't do this, either because he trusts the reader to remember everything (wrongly in my case), or because he couldn't be arsed. In any case, it was a far more confusing story than the others I've read to date.

I did wonder how Crumley worked - some authors have the plot planned in advance of the writing, whereas others develop the story as they write. This didn't have the feel of a well-planned book, but meandered all over the place. It also includes more description of the sex than in previous books - not that I minded, but it didn't add anything. (I should probably have warned sensitive readers that the language Crumley uses is 'earthy', to put it mildly, when I reviewed his other books.)

You may think, then, that this was not an enjoyable experience - but it was, in spite of everything, for Crumley's use of language keeps even the most basic descriptions fresh and interesting, without the artificial 'forcing' that is often found in so-called 'fine writing'. I enjoyed it, but would have enjoyed it even better if I had understood what was going on!

(The plot is too confusing to attempt any sort of summary; I'll just mention that whereas the previous books play out mainly in Montana, the action here is based in Texas, with trips here and there while hunting for people or information.)

Edit: One point I forgot to mention earlier - not only are there many characters, but some have aliases, which doesn't make things any easier! This is, at least, true to life - have you noticed how often in news reports, it transpires that the evildoer goes under more than one name - Smith aka Brown?

scarletnoir wrote: "It's still sunny today, but there is an overnight warning for snow and ice... unlikely here on the coast...

I spoke too soon yesterday - it's hailing at this very minute! So much for the magnolia...

Hushpuppy wrote: "I watched The Big Lebowski again last night..."

One of my favourite films. Me and the partner are currently working our way chronologically through all the Coen Brothers films again and watched Fargo at the weekend. It was interesting to see how so many disparate techniques in the previous films came together, although it was a lot darker than we remembered it.

As for the scattering of ashes, I was reminded of The Big Lebowski by a scene in Great Granny Webster which I finished last month. I'll be getting my second jab around the time Justine's ashes are scattered, so will take a moment to think of her.

Last week I finished Burnt Sugar, which I enjoyed. I think there might be something wrong with me tho', as I didn't find the mother-daughter relationship so awful as other reviewers. It was much more interesting for the thoughts it provoked about memory and how we continually re-invent our past lives with each telling.

Last night I started The Invoice, which is billed as Kafkaesque. I'm reading with some trepidation - forced to read Kafka as a student I hated him for ages, but have recently come to appreciate him, especially Der Prozess.

No trips to the library or book shops yet, so am once again casting around my bookshelves. Did enjoy Sara Collins�� The Confessions of Frannie Langton, a loan a friend left on the porch front bench. However, have decided to have another run at A L Kennedy’s Serious Sweet, Booker Longlist 2016. Have read a few of her novels over the years, and heard her speak. So far am making a little more progress than I did when I abandoned it previously. Onwards!

I’ve just seen the news that Persephone Books will be moving from Bloomsbury to Bath. Enjoyed wandering round Bloomsbury and Persephone on a London trip a few years ago.....but have wanted to to explore Bath. Another one on my list when we’ve been let out.

In my town the Clown approved opening up is being embraced without caution, its a worry, large multi generational family groups wandering about in large conga lines....i'm leaving any visit to my parents for a good fortnight(give second jab time to kick in)

Coming of Age: Munich Youth 1942-73 has started well with a rigorous, intellectual positing of the argument that governments will create delinquency or the "other", as a means to exert control in social situations. He channels the spirit of the great Foucalt here

Of course badly damaged wartime and post-wartime Germany was a society in complete breakdown, where i would imagine dislocation and despair were a common thread among all ages.

Klemperer provided my best non-fiction study of this with his observations of Dresden in 1945-6, the Nazi bigwigs all vanished but scores of "respectable"ex-Nazi members, trying to curry favour from their victims in the face of de-nazification. Fictional accounts from Boll, Grass and other german novelists supplied the descriptions of otherwordly living among ruins, the black market crises and the americanisation of the new BDR.

I hope the author will look at the youth organisations that followed the disbanded Nazi ones and look for continuity. In his brilliant study of France from 1936-46, Phillip Nord observed how the continuity between regimes in that era was far stronger than many would imagine, Vichy lived on in some ways in post-war French government and the civil service but adapting to the new way as well. It was "ideas" more than "policies" that were retained....the less progressive ones obviously dropped

Machenbach wrote: "Lass wrote: "I’ve just seen the news that Persephone Books will be moving from Bloomsbury to Bath. Enjoyed wandering round Bloomsbury and Persephone on a London trip a few years ago.....but have wa..."
And you can sit in the Pump Room and listen to a string quartet, imaging your name is Jane, and later wander down to the Baths and feel that warm water...l

Machenbach wrote: "Lass wrote: "I’ve just seen the news that Persephone Books will be moving from Bloomsbury to Bath. Enjoyed wandering round Bloomsbury and Persephone on a London trip a few years ago.....but have wa..."

Bath is on my list too, always loved that place, ever since family canal boat holidays in the late 80s. Remember stopping on a cold october evening as the darkness fell to eat as much as i could at a river/canalside pub and then strolling in the city

“The Year of the French�� �� Thomas Flanagan (1979, NYRB reprint 2005)

A longish fictionalized account, through the eyes of several narrator-participants, of the French landing in County Mayo in 1798, and the social conditions that made a mass of Irish peasants armed with simple but fearsome pikes rise up against their English masters. The country, the characters, the talk, the bloody fighting �� it is all very believable and skilfully done. If, for me, it fell a little short of enthralling and I didn’t feel swept away in a flood of history, I would still recommend it strongly to anyone interested in the period. It is far more vivid than anything that non-fiction would convey. TF creates a world and he peoples it with scores of actors, some of them historical, including revolutionary Wolfe Tone, viceroy Cornwallis (career unhindered by Yorktown), and writer Maria Edgworth of Castle Rackrent.

Lass wrote: "I’ve just seen the news that Persephone Books will be moving from Bloomsbury to Bath. Enjoyed wandering round Bloomsbury and Persephone on a London trip a few years ago.....but have wanted to to ex..."

I can recommend the hop on and off tourist buses in Bath, saves the feet no end! Last time I was there I went into the abbey and there were some beautiful embroidered scenes from the Bible. Apparently around 3,000 hours work went into them.

I have uploaded some photos, they aren't too brilliant as they were taken through glass.

@Mach, @AB, @CC...all sounds delightful. Much there to entice, though I fear the high waisted, floral sprigged, Austen style dresses I favoured in my younger years will remain a memory. Speaking of the inimitable Jane I must previously have mentioned Fay Weldon’s “Letters to Alice. On First Reading Jane Austen��? Probably have, as I have a habit of repeating m’self.

AB76 wrote: "In my town the Clown approved opening up is being embraced without caution, its a worry, large multi generational family groups wandering about in large conga lines....i'm leaving any visit to my p..."

This film may be of interest to you, 'Long is the Road' though not sure how to get to see it. A while back I got in touch with the organisers of 'The Jewish Film festival', in the hope that they might enlighten me, but they never got back to me. Anyway it is based on Saarburg kaserne in Landsberg, in Bavaria, which is where I lived as a child. An old 'Prussian' era army camp that, after WWII was turned into a proto 'kibbutz', by Jewish people that had survived the camps. I was completely oblivious about its history of course when I lived there, in the 1960s, it was an RAF camp.

Anyway I would still love to see the film sometime. There was a short excerpt that was on You Tube a while back. My German alas is hardly there these days, so I would need to see a subtitled version, but it might stir your 'history' interests and fit with your interests in the Munich of that period. The kaserne has a fascinating history by itself, though a lot of the stuff about it is in german of course.



Israeli president Ben Gurion visited Saarburg kaserne, and was inspired by the model of industrial workshops that had evolved there, to go back to Israel and diversify the embryonic 'agricultural' kibbutz movement into a modern diverse 'manufacturing' one...

Russell wrote: "“The Year of the French�� �� Thomas Flanagan (1979, NYRB reprint 2005)

A longish fictionalized account, through the eyes of several narrator-participants, of the French landing in County Mayo in 179..."

Machenbach wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "Lass wrote: "I’ve just seen the news that Persephone Books will be moving from Bloomsbury to Bath. Enjoyed wandering round Bloomsbury and Persephone on a London trip..."

Russell wrote: "“The Year of the French�� �� Thomas Flanagan (1979, NYRB reprint 2005)

A longish fictionalized account, through the eyes of several narrator-participants, of the French landing in County Mayo in 179..."

@clue The embroidered scenes in the abbey sound glorious. Saw the Bayeaux Tapestry years ago. Stunning. I was amazed by the vivid colours after over 1000 years.

Russell wrote: "“The Year of the French�� �� Thomas Flanagan (1979, NYRB reprint 2005)

A longish fictionalized account, through the eyes of several narrator-participants, of the French landing in County Mayo in 179..."

sounds interesting, will make a note of this

Tam wrote: "AB76 wrote: "In my town the Clown approved opening up is being embraced without caution, its a worry, large multi generational family groups wandering about in large conga lines....i'm leaving any ..."

thanks tam

Machenbach wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "Lass wrote: "I’ve just seen the news that Persephone Books will be moving from Bloomsbury to Bath. Enjoyed wandering round Bloomsbury and Persephone on a London trip..."



Bath and Dublin, along with Edinburgh are great examples of the Georgian period on a fairly large scale, albeit with different building material. Dublin of course has grown far outside the Georgian centre but has some of the most beautiful streets , while Edinburgh is a joy to the eye. Bath is much smaller but always feels like home...Pulteney Bridge is a fave and the pump house of course...

giveusaclue wrote: "Lass wrote: "I’ve just seen the news that Persephone Books will be moving from Bloomsbury to Bath. Enjoyed wandering round Bloomsbury and Persephone on a London trip a few years ago.....but have wa..."

Vicariously, a mystery reader can travel to Bath by reading Peter Lovesey. Peter Diamond is acerbic, but he gets his man or woman.

Lass wrote: "Russell wrote: "“The Year of the French�� �� Thomas Flanagan (1979, NYRB reprint 2005)

A longish fictionalized account, through the eyes of several narrator-participants, of the French landing in Co..."

I would have loved to have seen the Bayeux Tapestry when there was nobody else around so I could study it for longer! Not that I am selfish or anything!

Robert Louis Stevenson’s house is in Heriot Row in Edinburgh’s Georgian �� New Town��.

MK wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "Lass wrote: "I’ve just seen the news that Persephone Books will be moving from Bloomsbury to Bath. Enjoyed wandering round Bloomsbury and Persephone on a London trip a few years..."

Ashamed to say I have never read any Peter Lovesey so must give him a try.

has anyone here read any Richard Power?

Richard Power

Havent started "The Hungry Grass" today yet, got a bit sidelined by an article on the catholic church in the Canadian Maritime Provinces 1781-1830 (as you do)

Apollo Classics do such a good job with the wraparound art and the choices in their fairly small but excellent catalogue. in the mood for a quiet reflective read before Larteguy(Algerian Revolution novel) and Bosco(Argentinian crime)

Machenbach wrote: "So, despite experiencing something of an over-reaction to my recent CV jab..."

Another fainting episode?

Machenbach wrote: "This morning Postie bought me a book - Excavate!: The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall - which my oldest friend had sent me out of the blue for no other reason than a mut..."

any side effects from the jab Mach?
i have mine on the 13th and a few friends have been very feverish after the jab, what is it with us 40 somethings...i hope i dont have any side effects...

AB76 wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "This morning Postie bought me a book - Excavate!: The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall - which my oldest friend had sent me out of the blue for no othe..."

i had the AZ jab in February and was fine as were most of my friends.

Machenbach wrote: "This morning Postie bought me a book - Excavate!: The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall - which my oldest friend had sent me out of the blue for no other reason than a mut..."

I saw them at the elephant fayre, at Port Eliot in Cornwall. It was a completely and utterly bizarre weekend. Most of the really odd people were Lord Eliots friends and family, but the bands playing came a very close second... We were picked up by the police on the way there and searched for drugs ( a group of 6 or so fellow art school students). Kerys had a pile of two hundred or so painted tobacco tins to sell there, after they opened about fifty or so of them, they said we give up, if you have any drugs we cant be bothered to continue to look for them, so they let us go (he didn't he just wanted to sell his rather bizarre and baroque painted tins!)

The Fall I vaguely remember, not my kind of music, but there was a whole aura of decadence that hung over the whole site, but my main memory was of watching a film and a talk by one of Perry Eliots friends on her do-it-yourself 'trepanning' in her Cheyne Walk flat, complete with exotic Morocan furnishings and a whole load of doves, with a dentists drill!... Happy days!....

Lass wrote: "@clue The embroidered scenes in the abbey sound glorious. Saw the Bayeaux Tapestry years ago. Stunning. I was amazed by the vivid colours after over 1000 years.

For anyone interested in tapestries, I was even more impressed by the far less well known (in the UK, anyway) Apocalypse tapestry, which is on display in the also very interesting Chateau d'Angers - I'm actually sitting on a cushion whose cover is copied from a small panel of this work (our daughter spent a year abroad in Angers...)



As for the Bayeux tapestry - we saw that when the same daughter was quite young, and spent half our time attempting to distract her from an interest in the goings on 'below the line'...!

AB76 wrote: "has anyone here read any Richard Power?

Richard Power"

No.

But I am unsure what to make of his GR biography, which includes this cryptic comment:

"He fathered six children while working as a civil servant."

Make of that what you will!

Machenbach wrote: "...those side effects... which some people do experience are really pretty mild and certainly not worth getting worried about. Unless, that is, you're the kind of person who thinks it's not worth going outside because of lightning and buses."

Yup - a two-day chill and a sore arm was about it for me (first dose - second to come by the end of the month).

As for 'going outside' - my mother-in-law had a rather novel take on this: in the morning it was "too early" to go out, but after lunch it was "too late". As I start to chew the carpets if I haven't been outside by 9am at the latest, we had 'issues' over this. (I'll often sneak out around dawn in my jim-jams to hear the dawn chorus, or see the sun come up...)

Machenbach wrote: "AB76 wrote: "any side effects from the jab Mach?
i have mine on the 13th and a few friends have been very feverish after the jab, what is it with us 40 somethings"
Yeah, feverish (but only 38.1) an..."

familiar experience to a few of my friends. i'd better stock up with paracetamol before the 13th!

Glad it wasnt too awful, i'm not too keen on injections either

scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "has anyone here read any Richard Power?

Richard Power"

No.

But I am unsure what to make of his GR biography, which includes this cryptic comment:

"He fathered six ch..."

thats brilliant!

Zero degrees overnight....perfect, i do love a chilly April, which makes May all the more glorious as the higher temps can be savoured.

Saying that it will probably be 25c next week!

I started The Hungry Grass and its a mix of sedate commentary and wry humour on the life of a Catholic priest (who dies in the khazi at a parochial house dinner in the second paragraph!)

Parochial houses do make me think of Father Ted...

AB76 wrote: "Coming of Age: Munich Youth 1942-73 has started well with a rigorous, intellectual positing of the argument that governments will create delinquency or the "other", as a means to exert control in social situations..."

Thanks for posting. I'm partial to 20th century German history myself, tho' most recently have been reading inter-war books. I'm also a fan of Heinrich Boll, especially short stories such as Mein Teures Bein.

Lass wrote: "I must previously have mentioned Fay Weldon’s “Letters to Alice. On First Reading Jane Austen��..."

Very glad you repeated yourself. Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen sounds intriguing and have added it to my list.