29 Jul 2011

THE FOUNDLING.

Before I go any further I should warn you that the below book blurb may contain spoilers and as such you may wish to skip this and go straight to my thoughts below the image of the book cover.


THE FOUNDLING by Philip Boast *.


Five-year-old Joy Briggs is as valuable a commodity as a silver salver in the child-brothels of Victorian London, and to Jack Riddles, the terrifying burglar who one winter's night breaks into her parents' opulent home, she is a haul well worth having. But in the hue and cry following the robbery Riddles abandons the young girl - deaf and so deemed stupid - in a canal tunnel. To his distress, for the child's silent knowingness has touched him, she is gone on his return. Though haunted by the girl, Riddles believes she must have drowned, and the grim-faced Scotland Yard men who attempt to placate her outraged parents are sure she is lost to the city's vice-infested underworld.


But they are wrong. For Joy has been found by a family of canal folk who bring her up as their own, giving her the kind of open-hearted  love she could never have received from her own parents. But as Joy reaches womanhood it becomes clear that her past cannot let her live in peace and that events she witnessed as a child on that bitter December night mean there are those who want her dead.
...... Inner front cover.






FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): Evening was falling, dark with rain, so that the setting sun struck across the docklands and graveyards of Paddington from beneath the clouds, and London was going home.


MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 417): Everything he had once thought to be of value, everything he had dreamed of, everything he had believed in, was worthless.


KEEP IT OR NOT: I'll be passing this one on. My mam may enjoy it.


A sort of historical crime novel, I found The Foundling at 442 pages to be over long, full of sub-plots that didn't really seem to go anywhere and peopled by characters that I found myself unable to relate to or really care about. That said the last 100 or so pages did reveal something that was totally unexpected ..... however, this, to me, was too little too late and didn't make up for the disappointment I generally felt.


Difficult to read at times due to the dialect that was occasionally  spoken by the characters, I presume this was authentic to the period and the area. If only the author had been so diligent when it came to other aspects of the story which seemed unrealistic and way too 'modern' ...... I'm pretty sure the phrase 'That's my name, don't wear it out' wasn't in common usage in the 1800's and nor was the police force at that time quite so well organised.


Not the best historical crime novel I've ever read and full of what I felt were inaccuracies and inconsistencies, I never-the-less did find certain aspects of The Foundling to be interesting ..... things such as the Contagious Diseases Act which stated that 'by law any woman, any woman at all, can be forcibly taken from the street and inspected for disease'.


* As always I tried to link to some information about the author behind the book but in this instance the author proved rather illusive.




A charity shop buy, the 58th book to be read for my 100+ Reading Challenge.








27 Jul 2011

ON THE THIRD STROKE IT WILL BE .........

I've had several family members, friends and blogger buddies all celebrating their birthdays this month BUT here's one I missed .......


That great UK institution, The Speaking Clock was 75 years old on Sunday.

Started in 1936, the Speaking Clock has been ticking away 24 hours a day, seven days a week, receiving up to approximately 70 million calls a year (according to TELEPHONES UK)though the latest figures suggest a mere 30 million, the accuracy correct to within five thousandths of a second, it is used by Big Ben to check its own accuracy.

Initially available only in the London area, it wasn't until 1942 that it went nationwide, the Speaking Clock was designed at the Post Office Engineering Research Station to assist those without watches, the announcements originally co-ordinated on the hour with the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) signals.


Not just a means to check the time though, the Speaking Clock service was also a key part in the UK's national attack warning system during the Cold War. Once the clock had been rolled out nationally, it had a secure communications loop linking major telephone exchanges. This loop was to be used as a way of spreading the attack message around the country.


Throughout this seventy-five year history there have only been four permanent 'Voices'.

Starting with today's voice of 'the clock', competition winner Sara Mendes da Costa, we will travel back to 1936 and the first voice, also a competition winner, Jane Cain.

With a total of 18,500 entrants raising more than £200,000 for charity, Sara Mendes da Costa became the 4th permanent Voice of the Speaking Clock at 8AM on the 2nd of April 2007.

Voice 3 belonged to Brian Cobby. Selected from 12 finalists in British Telecom's Golden Voice competition, Brian is the only man to voice the clock permanently. Starting at 11AM on the 2nd of April 1985, he finished at 8AM on the 2nd of April 2007.

Pat Simmons - the 2nd permanent Voice, 1963 until 1984.

Serving between the 24th of July 1936 until 1963, Jane Cain became the first permanent Voice after winning a competition to find the Right Voice. Also part of her prize, 10 guineas (approximately £10.50 in today's money.)

The only four permanent Voices but there have been several others including ........


Comedian, Lenny Henry voiced The Clock, raising approximately £200,000 for the charity Comic Relief between 9AM on the 10th of March 2003 and 12 noon on the 23rd of March 2003.

 The 13th of October 2003 saw Scottish schoolgirl Alicia Roland become the voice of the Speaking Clock for a week. The first time that a Scottish accent and a child's voice had been used, Alicia spoke those famous words "at the third stroke." 


To listen to recordings of all four permanent voices click on the Telephones Uk link. 


AND ......


Talking of time things are quite hectic here in the Petty Witter household at the moment so apologies that I may not be posting as often or visiting you as I usually would.

25 Jul 2011

FROM CARS TO BEES AND ALL THINGS IN BETWEEN.

Whoops!!!!!!!!




SUNK ALL BECAUSE OF £2In order to avoid the £2 fee at a nearby car park, a driver chose to leave his sports car on a public slipway.
But this plan badly backfired when the tide came in and started carrying his motor out to sea, as a watching policeman was powerless to help.- The Daily Mail (18/07/2011)


See, FaceBook isn't all bad .....

FACEBOOK PRANKSTER LEAVES GNOMES. Naughty gnomes in need of some manners are being mysteriously left on doorsteps in parts of Derbyshire in the hope they are given some lessons in "social etiquette".

The surprise deliveries have left people in Borrowash and Draycott baffled, with the only clue to who is behind the pranks coming in the form of another garden ornament called Freddie Fisher.
Freddie has set up a page on social networking site Facebook, leaving clues to his true identity and letting people know when he has made deliveries in the dead of night. - Derby Telegraph (18/07/2011)

Another mystery ...... Why would anyone want to steal all these door knockers? I can't help but think this may be a good plot for one of Dorte's wonderful stories. (Click HERE to follow her last one).

THIEF JAILED AFTER STEALING 100 DOOR KNOCKERS. A thief who stole more than 100 door knockers has finally been locked up.
Neville Watson was given a chance to keep his freedom earlier this year after the bizarre stealing spree.
But just hours after getting a community order he was back to his thieving ways - this time on his own street. - The Chronicle (19/07/2011)



Reminds me of my in-law's dog Ellie who also started life as a police dog but failed her training when the vet found her to be 'totally lacking any intelligence'.
VEGAS RETIRES. A police dog that is scared of children and too timid to bite has been retired from Northumbria Police's dog training section.
Northumbria Police stopped trying to train Vegas when it became clear she was too "hesitant and tentative".
Police dogs are expected to track criminals and missing people, ignore loud noise and bark or bite on command.
Vegas is frightened of noise and does not get on well with other dogs, the force said. - BBC News (20/07/2011)


Queen Elizabeth - The Doll


Queen Elizabeth - As she was aged 2.


A 1920s doll modelled on the Queen as a child, but never mass-produced, is to be so sold at a Birmingham fair. It is said the Royal family did not endorse the doll because it was "too chubby". The Telegraph (21/07/2011)

And now for the  ..........

Scary picture of the week.


LO KNGJIANG COMPETES IN BEE BEARDING CONTEST. - The Guardian (18/07/2011.)Click on article link for more photos.

PLEASE NOTE : Wherever possible I will endeavour to bring you the links to articles I have used in my Media Monday posts but this is not always possible.



24 Jul 2011

THE GRASS IS SINGING.

THE GRASS IS SINGING by DORIS LESSING.

Set in Rhodesia, the Grass is Singing tells the story of Dick Turner, a failed white farmer and his wife Mary, a town girl who hates the bush. Trapped by poverty, sapped by the heat of their tiny brick and iron house, Mary, lonely and frightened, turns to Moses, the black cook, for kindness and understanding.
..... Outer back cover.


FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): The newspaper did not say much. *


MEMORABLE MOMENT (page 12): They let him be, while keeping an eye on him, for he was a white man, though mad, and black men, even when policemen, do not lay hands on white flesh.


KEEP IT OR NOT: Keep it.

Where to begin reviewing this? 


I think its only fair to say that whilst I can't say I enjoyed this book at the same time I can't say I didn't enjoy it - I think there was just something lacking for me personally though what that something was I cannot honestly say.


Without a doubt beautifully written, the authors descriptions are simply stunning - I could feel the bleakness, the heat, the oppression of the farm Mary (for it is Mary's story that the author mainly concentrates on)found herself on - HOWEVER, to me this wasn't so much a story as a chronicle of a lonely woman who seems to have given up on life, a woman merely existing from day to day without any hope that things will get better. (Have I given too much away?)


Quite a frightening read in many ways, it is certainly difficult to believe that such things were occurring in the 1950's, that there was such separation not only between the different classes but between the sexes and, as most evidently portrayed in The Grass Is Singing, between the races, the 'natives' being thought of and treat as little more than savages.


The thing to disturb me most about this book though? The continuous use of the word nigger. Obviously in common use at the time and not thought of a racial slur so much as an accurate description I believe it was realistic and right that this was not edited out of this 2011 edition (the book was originally printed in the 50's)but I admit to feeling uneasy about its usage and have to say I cringed every time I read the word.


Ultimately I'm glad that I did read this as, if nothing else, I got a real insight into the historical oppression of any one who was not a  white, middle class male.




A ' Contemporary Collection' offer in conjunction with the Times newspaper and Waterstone's book shops, The Grass Is singing was the 57th book read for my 100+ Reading Challenge.


* Please Note: In this instance I have not used the first sentence as I believe this may spoil the story for some.



23 Jul 2011

HOW GOOD IS YOUR VOCABULARY?

Find out by clicking HERE for the Merriam-Webster Online Vocabulary Quiz.


My score .............


3280.


Not bad considering the average score for my age group is 2730 AND I'm not very quick with the old mouse AND the internet was pretty sluggish at the time - yeah, the quicker you answer the 10 questions correctly the higher your score.


So come on, how did you do?


22 Jul 2011

THREE FOR THE PRICE OF ONE.

Thanks TO ......

Joan @ JUST JOAN for this award in which I have to share seven things with you .......
Well done on your 100th post Joan.


  • I love salad cream and ready salted crisp sandwiches.
  • I once accidentally stole half a cabbage - don't ask!
  • I'd love to be able to dance.
  • I loved the Teletubbies, even if it was meant for pre-school age children, especially Laa-Laa (the yellow one)- I had the doll, the Cd, the Dvd's, the hot water bottle cover.
  • I would love to have been an archaeologist.
  • I can't say 'statistics'.
  • I'm sitting here when I have housework to do.

Dizzy C @ DIZZY C'S LITTLE BLOG BOOK for mentioning me in her Birthday Honours List which celebrated her 1st blogoversary.


And ........

Kelly at KELLY'S THOUGHTS AND RAMBLINGS for tipping me the wink about this fun book meme:

For The Love of Reading.

  • What have you just read? Being Emily by Anne Donovan though quite honestly I'd rather forget this. You'll have to wait for my review to find out why.
  • What are you reading now? The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris - a sort of sequel to Chocolat. So far I'm not impressed.
  • Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that? Probably the latest Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood novel, Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris.
  • What books did you read as a child? I loved The Folks of The Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton, and, Charlie And the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.
  • What’s one book you always recommend to just about anyone? The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom. I find both book s so inspirational.
  •  Admit it, sadly the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don’t they? Put it this way I'm on their staff Christmas party list - only joking but they do know me pretty well, partly because I belong to two library run reading groups and partly because I spend a lot of time buying ex-library stock books.
  • Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all? Well, now you mention it .... not a lot of people are, err, so enthusiastic about my enjoyment of John Barrownman's two biographies, Anything Goes, and I Am What I Am.
  •   Do you read books while you eat? Have you any either what a messy eater I am?
  • While you bathe? As we only have a shower what do you think?
  • While you watch movies or tv? Emm, yes and no. Yes, I'll read a few paragraphs when the adverts are on or when Husband dearest is watching something but I prefer to read in quiet.
  • While you listen to music? To be honest I don't listen to a lot of music so no.
  • While you’re on the computer? There is a joke amongst some of our friends that I sit with a book in one hand and the mouse in the other. Not true, battling with Pooter (my pet name for the computer) tends to take all my concentration.
  • What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down? Not because it was particularly good, I still haven't quite figured out why, but I spent until silly o'clock reading Second Hand Heart by Catherine Ryan-Hyde.
  • Have any books made you cry? Like Kelly, anything that involves animals (her other answers can be found by clicking HERE), The Velveteen Rabbit, The Five People You Meet In Heaven, The Boy In The Blue Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keys .... the list goes on.




21 Jul 2011

A 'C' TO 'I' OF EUROPEAN CRIMINAL COCK-UPS

CROATIA: 


Quick-witted shop assistants at a petrol station in Zagreb foiled a raid by an axe-wielding masked thief by defending themselves with the first things that came to hand .... They pelted him with chocolate bars from the confectionery display until he gave up and ran away.




ENGLAND: 


A man has been arrested for breaking into a police station in Manchester, England. Officers allegedly found him in the station wearing a helmet and one of their uniforms, and helping himself to coffee and a bowl of porridge he'd found in the staff kitchen.


Police received a call about a citizen's arrest. Andrew Swaine, 39, tried to flee after a fight in Bradford, but a woman dressed as a cow sat on him until police arrived.






GERMANY:


An over-confident 19-year-old bank robber in Rottingen sent emails to the police pointing out they'd got his age, height, accent and means of getaway wrong in reports of his crime they'd given to newspapers. Officers caught up with him a few hours later after tracing the emails.


A thief who tried to break open a donation box and steal the contents at St Benno's church, Munich, dislodged a life-size statue of Saint Antonius, which toppled over and fell on him. He fled empty-handed with a nasty cut on his head.


ITALY:


Drug smuggler Giancario Sabatini has been captured in Rocca Priora, near Rome, after 10 years onthe run because he couldn't resist the taste of his wife's lasagne. His daughter unwittingly led police to Sabatini when they followed her taking a plate of her mum's cooking to his hiding place.


A shop assistant in Nuoro foiled an armed raid by simply ignoring the robber who was pointing a gun at him. The man on the till was on his phone when the would-be-thief arrived, so carried on chatting until the gunmen gave up and left. The manager of the shop said the cashier had been given 'a few days off'.



20 Jul 2011

WOT ......... ANOTHER BIRTHDAY POST?



Happy Birthday Husband dearest ........

SONBROTHER


HUSBAND


NEPHEW  GRANDSON  UNCLE   SON-IN-LAW

FRIEND GODFATHER

COLLEAGUE

MENTOR TUTOR

TEAM MATE.

We all raise a glass, wishing you a


19 Jul 2011

FOOL MOON.





The 56th book read for my 100+ Reading Challenge.
Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago's first (and only) Wizard PI. Turns out the 'everyday' world is full of strange and magical things .... and most of them don't play well with humans.


That's where Harry comes in.


Business has been slow lately for Harry Dresden. Okay, business has been dead. Not undead - just dead. you would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately harry hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work - magical or mundane.


But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise. A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses. And the first two don't count.


Magic - It can get a guy killed.
...... Outer back cover.


FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): I never used to keep close track of the phases of the moon. 


MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 262): I see some things everyone else tries to pretend aren't there. This vampire craze sweeping the nation. Why the hell shouldn't there be some genuine vampires in it?


KEEP IT OR NOT?: A library book, I shall certainly be buying a copy though.


As good as STORM FRONT, the first book in the Harry Dresden series?


Noooooo ............ it's even better. OK, so the story is way more gory but it's fast paced and exciting from page one. Oh and it contains next to no swearing and only one very short love scene - only a paragraph long and not at all graphic, well done the author.


A great all rounder, with a well written plot the story really flows AND I got to learn a lot about werewolves - I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying there are werewolves in there but they are quite unlike any I have ever encountered before.


However, it is the characters (many of whom we me last time round) that really made this novel for me ..... I always think its a sign of a good author when they manage to get me feeling such compassion for the 'baddie'. A stand alone novel, the 'case' is totally different from Storm Front, I never the less think its worth reading the first instalment to get the most from the books - to see Harry grow and develop, to see his many different sides.


A truly wonderful read, this is fast becoming my favourite 'supernatural' series.






18 Jul 2011

FROM A WIZARD TO A PASTAFARIAN.

First things first ...... Today, being the 22nd birthday of Tatters (aka Niece #1) may I take the opportunity to wish her many happy returns.

AMAIZEing ........


HARRY POTTER IMAGE CUT INTO FIELD OF MAIZEFarmer Tom Pearcy has cut two portraits of Harry Potter in his crop of maize plants in York. With some subtle differences the two images create the world's largest spot the difference competition. - The Telegraph (12/12/2011)

How ironic are these next two articles?

A fire authority boss burned down his neighbour's greenhouse after leaving hot barbecue coals near a pile of leaves.
Mr Koowaree who sits on the Kent Fire And Rescue Authority said he had sprinkled cold water on the hot coals, but had not checked they were out. His neighbour, Mr Wise said "I could see the flames going 40ft up the tree and it melted my greenhouse." - The Telegraph (12/12/2011)


PEEPING TOM CAUGHT BY HIS OWN HIDDEN CAMERA.  A peeping Tom theatre worker who spied on women getting changed into their panto costumes with a hidden camera was caught after he ­accidentally filmed himself.
 Simon Carnell, 34, covered the sound-activated device with gaffer tape, but one of the dance troupe spotted it as she searched for a plug socket, a court heard. The 31-minute film showed him adjusting the camera angle for the best view of the women, all in their 20's, in 'various stages of undress' in their Aladdin outfits. - The Mirror (14/07/2011)

Now for two of my favourite animal stories of the week, one cute, 
the other, well, weird

SHOCK FOR BABY MONKEY.Picking up a piece of nettle, this inquisitive baby rhesus monkey had no idea she was about to get stung.
As she explored her enclosure, the two month old primate reached out and placed the green 'food' into her mouth at Longleat Safari Park, Wiltshire.
At first she appeared unsure about what to do with the leaf before she put it in her mouth.
But seconds later her face grimaced in shock as the nettle gave her a nasty nip before she spat it out in her hand and looked at it puzzlingly. - The Mail (12/12/2011) For more images of this cute critter click on the article link.


FOUND PINK GRASSHOPPER. Found by two children, seven-year-olds Noah Battelley and Meg Willis, Matt Shadlow of the conservation charity Buglife said the phenomenon was "part of the natural genetics of these populations but we don't know of any evolutionary advantage being pink would give a grasshopper." - The Telegraph (14/07/2011)


What a great wedding gift (thanks to Husband dearest for this article.)


ROYAL HONEYMOONERS GIVEN EROTIC GIFT. The recently married Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Wills and Kate) were presented with an unusual souvenir by the Seychelles government after their honeymoon to the country - a rare and mysterious coconut famed for its erotic shape. - Tim Ecott, BBC News (16/07/2011)

And saving the best till last, my favourite article of the week ......

'PASTAFARIAN' WINS LEGAL BATTLE. An Austrian has won the right to be photographed wearing a pasta strainer for his driving licence on grounds of religious freedom.
A self-styled 'pastafarian', Mr Alm said he belonged to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster who claim the world was created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster, but, because the monster was inebriated at the time, it was a flawed design. (click HERE for more details on the church.) - Matthew Day, The Telegraph (14/07/2011)

PLEASE NOTE : Wherever possible I will endeavour to bring you the links to articles I have used in my Media Monday posts but this is not always possible.