Just Wondering

Would you like to have a minion or five?

What was the last thing you got in the mail?

What were you doing thirty minutes ago?

Good Morning

That Was The Week That Was

{Title borrowed from an old TV show name or radio show from Auntie Beeb}

The week went by quickly despite being a very quiet one work wise. Apart from Monday and yesterday when i mystery shopped my local pub -  and not forgetting the cinema visit on Friday - it has been one of quiescent relaxation.I will need this repose as the week ahead will be a very busy one.

Three dead early starts on Monday Tuesday and Thursday ; doing visits in London starting with a rail station job from 8.15 am. Then i have that rescheduled footfall count in Rainham on the Wednesday.

Friday i shall be off to Seaford for a long weekend and visits to do in Tunbridge Wells , Lewes, and Brighton. Then we have the lunch club again on the following Tuesday which is the day i shall return to Kent.


The film i saw on Friday was the self contained pre- Star Wars “Solo” feature. Having been disappointed with the last SW movie i came to this one with trepidation. However, my queasiness was unfounded, as this wasa rollocking thrillling journey , with great dialogue and superb special effects.I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the fact that i thought it could have been less long.

During the week i did find a few books that might be interesting reads from various charity shops here in Faversham and elsewhere. A couple of CD’s arrived via Amazon as well, and in particular one by Animal Collective/

At some point during my three days on London i will probably pop over to Notting Hill to Music and Video Exchange although i doubt i will take any to exchange this time.

Also,because i will have loads of reports to do i will be blogging much less during these days.

Meanwhile,these are my recent book finds-

Repose

This is what i will have to do after the busy week ahead.

Teac Vinyl and Cassette Copy Station with AM/FM Radio

The lady who lives at number 27 here in Waterstone Place no longers wnats her audio unit,which she says  has hady used and she thought of me knowing that i love music so much. I went to have a look at it and she played an LP on it and it sounded great ,despite the fact it was Elvis Presley.
She bought it seben years ago and she said it cost her £250 - i just checked Amazon and it is £299. The price we agreed on is £45 !



( Product description )

So once i have done all my visists next week and my stay in Sussex i shall have that

Birthday Greetings

Birthday greetings go to cornerofmadness today.Hope you are having a great day.

Sunday Music Selection - Mixed Bag

Time for some music selections -

Yo La Tengo -Nothing But You And Me

The Peddlers - Anybody's Fool

I found this slab of vinyl for fifty pence!

Mezzoforte - Surprise / Garden Party

Another piece of vinyl found for fifty pence!

Rickie Lee Jones - Easy Money

Another slab of the black stuff found for a quid.



Enjoy.

Book 42 - Margaret Atwood "The Blind Assasin"

Margaret Atwood "The Blind Assasin" (Virago)



Finally,after some false starts,i have reached the end of this 637 page major work by one of Canada's premier literary novelists.

Atwood starts the book with this line: “Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge.” She just dives right in. The book is divided into alternating parts. One set of sections is narrated by Iris Chase Griffen at the age of 83. Her writings are a journal that she is writing for her estranged grand-daughter, basically the story of her life. The other set of parts starts with newspaper articles that tell more of Iris’ story and alternates with a novel attributed to Iris’ sister Laura, and published posthumously by Iris. Laura’s novel is also called The Blind Assassin.

Iris begins her story with Laura’s death and then begins to describe their childhood as daughters of a successful industrialist. As the girls grow up they lose both of their parents and Iris is married to one of her father’s competitors. As a result Iris and Laura end up in Toronto living with Iris’ husband, Richard. Iris’ marriage is not a happy one and Laura does not get along with her brother in law at all. As the novel goes on, we realize that there is a very good reason for Laura’s hatred of Richard, which Iris is unaware of.

Meanwhile, the reader is treated to Laura’s entire novel. It’s a story about an unhappy married socialite carrying on an affair with a communist agitator in hiding. There are no names or details in Laura’s novel but as the story continues, you realize that the story is autobiographical and that Laura is not the author. The details of the affair are never described, but he tells her a story in instalments. It is in this story that we meet the blind assassin.

What I love about this novel is the way Atwood tells the story. The reader starts out with many questions. As the story goes on, all of those questions are slowly answered. I just love the way Atwood gradually reveals more details as the novel unfolds. I also love the way she tells a story within a story within a story. (I read one website that described compared them to Russian nesting dolls.) You’d think is might be complicated and confusing but Atwood does such a good job timing and relating the different parts of the story that it’s easy to follow.

The novel isn’t a happy novel with a happy ending, but I do think it’s very well written and very poetic. This is the kind of writing that is truly amazing. I can see why it won the Booker.

Writer's Block

Good Night