Tuesday 9th January

 Bits and pieces ...

One of the interesting things about buying second-hand books is pondering how they landed up in my hands. One book was stamped as discontinued from a library somewhere in the USA...

This one hasn't travelled so far;

I looked up where the Scoil Cholacrair Muire and the Convent N. S. Carrigtwohill might be; a tiny place bear Cork, right close to the South Coast of Ireland. Presumably a Gaellic speaking area.

These 'What to look for in ... ' Ladybird books are collected, but this was cheap, because of the library sticker on the cover, a '4' written neatly on a large red sticker on the cover, and a pocket for the school library card on the best page as well as the school stamps on page 1 and page 17.

Why have I never read these books before? This is the winter one, and I have ordered a fairly cheap Autumn, secondhand.  I suspect Spring and Summer might be harder to find, or more expensive.

This Winter copy was published in 1959, and might be describing almost the same scenes as Laura in Lark Rise to Candleford. The descriptive writing us just beautiful. 

But nobody goes heading in the fields still, surely. It's decades since I saw a Rick in a farmyard. Later on, the writer comments that the farm workers are wearing 'windcheaters' against the cold weather, and I had to look up the heating of 'haulm'.

I suspect those bare trees beside the farmhouse might be elms rather than oaks... all our elms round here are long since gone, and the ash trees may well have to follow.

I was far more attracted to the brighter coloured ladybird books. 'The Party' was a real favourite. 

Also in my secondhand book deliver was a copy of John Bigwood's How to Draw People for the Artistically Anxious' How could I resist! On the RH page is a coloured shape, and on the left some suggestions of how to complete it.

I wonder if you can guess what they will become?

Now for unpopular opinion no 1 (actually I only have 1 unpopular opinion today)

I've have been wearing masks in public spaces since covid became a thing, especially as any kind of chest infection would seriously impact my lungs, and probably permanently. I do understand how restrictive and uncomfortable they are; I literally struggle to breathe in them, but I persist. 

But if even the Daily Mail is now encouraging it after all these years, perhaps it is time to give it some consideration. Here's the link to the article - please read it.