Take a look at yesterday’s video on youtube, if you haven’t already – it’s a couple of sonnets and a weird cup of tea. I am feeling about 100% better since then, thanks to Mark sending off the partnership tax return and the council agreeing to postpone next month’s council tax. That in itself was a great relief; then the cheque I had ordered came this morning – 3 days earlier (sorry, 3 ‘working’ days – god, how I hate that phrase!) plus! Windows 8 which Mark had ordered. I don’t care too much about Windows 8, but with it came a little piece of card. ‘Oh, wine voucher,’ said Mark disdainfully. ‘What?’ I cried, leaping into action. It was a wine voucher for Naked Wines to the tune of £60.
I love that tune!
So – there will be wine for Xmas. Oh yea.
So for once the post brought good news.
I have finished the Kathy Reichs book. I liked it – it was a real page-turner and pretty much went down without touching the sides; but still, enjoyable. The style managed to be slick without being smartass,* which is always good. I have moved onto the Andy MacNab. With a gun-toting soldier on the front, I fully expected to dislike this one, but was pleasantly surprised. Co-written with a woman whose name I shall look up in a sec, it’s about the effects of war on soldiers and their families: MacNab has very wisely co-opted a woman (Kym Jordan) to write about the families’ side of the story, and it’s not a pretty one. He avoids all ‘James Bond-style’ loving descriptions of the boys and their toys, and instead concentrates on the individual soldiers, how it feels to be facing the Taliban (they’re in Helmand) and how hard it is to adjust to coming home. I imagine, though I don’t know, that what he writes is pretty much spot-on. He writes dispassionately but compassionately – if that makes sense – and it’s something you can get on board with, no matter what your attitude to warfare.
Good stuff. Here’s the book:
http://www.andymcnab.co.uk/books/info/?e=9780593065273&t=Battlelines
So that’s all good. Off to the bank now to pay in the cheque. Then Mark and I will be going to see ‘Cloud Atlas’, which has just come out:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371111/
Kirk out
* though I remain committed to the British spelling of ‘arse’ I can’t help thinking that ‘smartarse’ just looks wrong…
Sarada Gray 