I've had to talk some sense to myself to stop rushing out into the vegetable patch to see if the potatoes we planted yesterday have come up yet,
But beans... well that's another matter;
They are growing in paper tubes made from scrap paper. Every time I go past there seems to be another one just peeping through the earth.
Audio books
I have two books on the go;
The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch - fantasy adventure, a precursor of the Rivers of London series, set in New York in the time of prohibition. The action takes place, at least to begin with, in a sort of Jeeves and Wooster environment in and around the world of hazz and nightclubs. I'm not very far in, but it's good fun and I'm entitled.
Next to Nature by Ronald Blythe. This is a lovely, lovely month by month account of his life in the Essex countryside. Part nature notes, part reflection on village and church life, part natural history - it's very wide ranging and eclectic. Luminous. That's the word, and beautifully read.
I have given up on the audio book version of Less by Patrick Grant. I find his tone of voice off-putting; it feels like being on the receiving end of a long and rather dry lecture.
Books
I read Conclave by Richard Harris late into the night yesterday and I'm paying for it now; I've been getting sleeper and sleepier as the day wore on! Very enjoyable, and I'm praying that the real conclave to elect a new pope is nothing like this work of fiction!
Music
How about a bit of Fauré? A Berceuse, (not the 'Listen with Mother' one), for cello and piano. I think I like the cello version best.
I don't think Less would work as an audio book. I read I in chunks, reflecting and digesting...i can see why it would sound like a lecture. I am going to PGs lecture in Norwich in September . I'll see how that sounds in Real Life!
ReplyDeleteYes, you are right. I think he comes across better in real life.
DeleteThat book Next to Nature sounds like a book I would enjoy a lot. I tried to make those paper tubes to sow seeds but they were not study and fell apart in no time. Maybe I kept them too damp? I smiled thinking about you checking if your beans were coming up. That's exactly what I've been doing.
ReplyDelete4 of 18 peat pots are currently showing tiny blobs that by tomorrow will have straightened up💗💗💗
Isn't Spring fun?
My paper pots will be disintegrating by the time I plant them out. I have a wooden former to roll the paper round, there is a bit of a knack to it. I love growing stuff in the garden, brings out my 'inner child!'
DeleteOooh, I'm excited at the thought of beans! I need to plant mine too! I was excited by my peas when they started popping out!
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about the Rivers of London series- I wonder what I'd think of this one.
I like a bit of Faure. I like Steven Isserlis. I met him once when I worked at the Academy. He came to try out and borrow a 5-string cello and used my office to try it out (as the only place without a window!). I remember going to check on him and him laughing and saying it sounded awful! He then wrote a thank you letter to my boss and made a joke about meeting the hybrid beast and then saying, Not Kerenza but the cello! Always makes me think of that letter when I hear his name!
What a lovely story... you must have met quite a few famous musicians when you were working at the Academy.
DeleteHow wonderful to have met Steven Isserlis, I have seen him play which was splendid but to have met him well! The berceuse is lovely, my favourite recording of his is one of Haydn's Symphony no 13 for cello and string orchestra particularly the adagio cantabile, sublime. Nice to see beans emerging. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteAnother recording to track down! Thank you for the recommendation
ReplyDeleteLittle children often keep digging up bulbs and seeds to see if they're growing. So funny!
ReplyDeleteIt has been known in this garden...
DeleteI'm sure my potatoes used to come up the next day.........
ReplyDeleteThat would have been back in the good old days. Everything was (mythically speaking ) then! I don't think there were slugs and snails there either.
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