PAUL C IN 23 (9)

PLACES I AM READING ABOUT

Sudan and the Horn of Africa will be featured this month in my reading stock. This is a striking village (and villager) scene from Central Sudan.

The Opening Words

British Author Challenge this month is on British Queens. One of our Queens who has long fascinated so many of us is the tragic figure of Anne Boleyn. I bought Anne Boleyn : 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan yesterday and I will start it after lunch (officially April LT starts then).



"This is not a love story. I hate to be the one to break the news, but epic love stories don't end with one partner decapitating the other. The more we normalise and romanticise this notion the deeper down the great rabbit hole of self-deception we go."

Interested .....................................................?

BOOKS COMPLETED - Q1

January
1. The King's Fool by Mahi Binebine (2017) 125 pp Fiction / ANC / Morocco
2. The Golden Ass by Apuleius (c 170) 216 pp Fiction / ANC / Tunisia / 1001
3. Driftnet by Lin Anderson (2003) 262 pp Thriller / Rhona MacLeod 1
4. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (1954) 292 pp Fiction / BAC
5. Free : Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi (2021) 310 pp Non-Fiction / NF Challenge
6. The Bridges of Constantine by Ahlem Mosteghanemi (1993) 305 pp Fiction / ANC / Algeria
7. Bloodlines by Fred D'Aguiar (2000) 161 pp Poetry / BAC
8. Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan (1958) 372 pp Fiction / 1001
9. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (2008) 300 pp Fiction / AAC
10. U.A. Fanthorpe : Selected Poems by U.A. Fanthorpe (2013) 153 pp Poetry
11. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar (2006) 245 pp Fiction / ANC / Libya
12. Foundation : The History of England Volume 1 by Peter Ackroyd (2011) 462 pp Non-Fiction
13. Closed Circles by Viveca Sten (2009) 451 pp Thriller / Sandhamn 2
14. The Albemarle Book of Modern Verse edited by FES Finn (1961) 181 pp Poetry
15. Brooklyn Heights by Miral al-Tahawy (2012) 220 pp Fiction / ANC / Egypt
16. The Midnight Bell by Patrick Hamilton (1929) 221 pp Fiction
17. The Siege of Pleasure by Patrick Hamilton (1932) 118 pp Fiction
18. The Plains of Cement by Patrick Hamilton (1934) 188 pp Fiction
19. The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov by Vladimir Nabokov (1995) 663 pp Fiction / Short Stories
20. The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray (2019) 267 pp Non-Fiction
21. The Death of Murat Idrissi by Tommy Wieringa (2017) 102 pp Fiction
22. Foster by Claire Keegan (2010) 88 pp Fiction

February
23. Torch by Lin Anderson (2004) 230 pp Thriller / Rhona MacLeod 2
24. Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy (2003) 163 pp Non-Fiction
25. The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa (2004) 180 pp Fiction / ANC / Angola
26. Dearly by Margaret Atwood (2020) 122 pp Poetry
27. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante (2002) 188 pp Fiction
28. The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy (2018) 187 pp Non-Fiction
29. The Lost Art of Sinking by Naomi Booth (2015) 86 pp Fiction / BAC
30. Poetry of the Thirties edited by Robin Skelton (1964) 287 pp Poetry
31. The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indridason (2017) 338 pp Thriller / Scandi
32. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig (2006) 345 pp Fiction
33. The History of England Volume II : Tudors by Peter Ackroyd (2012) 471 pp Non-Fiction
34. Male Tears by Benjamin Myers (2021) 264 pp Fiction / Short Stories
35. Woman of the Ashes by Mia Couto (2015) 254 pp Fiction / ANC / Mozambique
36. Real Estate by Deborah Levy (2021) 297 pp Non-Fiction
37. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (1971) 569 pp Fiction / 1001 Books / Pulitzer

March
38. Deadly Code by Lin Anderson (2005) 261 pp Thriller / Rhona MacLeod 3
39. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2003) 307 pp Fiction / ANC / Nigeria
40. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (1956) 308 pp Non-Fiction / Memoirs
41. What Goes On : Selected and New Poems 1995-2009 by Stephen Dunn (2009) 195 pp Poetry / AAC
42. I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel (2022) 203 pp Fiction
43. Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey (2006) 46 pp Poetry / AAC

BOOKS COMPLETED - Q2

April
44. Anne Boleyn : 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan (2019) 282 pp Non-Fiction / BAC
45. Hotel of the Saints by Ursula Hegi (2001) 170 pp Fiction / AAC
46. Dark Flight by Lin Anderson (2007) 392 pp Thiller
47. Boulder by Eva Baltasar (2020) 105 pp Fiction / Spain
48. Moscow by Nick Carter (1970) 155 pp Thriller
49. Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun Short Stories / ANC / Sudan
50. The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot (1922) 32 pp Poetry
51. Felicity : Poems by Mary Oliver (2014) 81 pp Poetry

BOOK STATS

Starting Stats of the Year :

Present TBR : 5,679 books
Pages to Read : 1,943,264
Average Book Length : 342.18

Books Read 51 (11 April 23)
Pages : 12,289
Pages per day : 121.67
Average Book Length : 240.96 pages
Female Authors : 26
Male Authors : 23
Various : 2
Countries Read : 21 (UK, Morocco, Tunisia, Albania, Algeria, Guyana, Ireland, USA. Libya, Sweden, Egypt, Russia, Netherlands, Angola, Canada, Italy, Iceland, Mozambique, Nigeria, Spain, Sudan)
Fiction : 22
Thriller : 7
Non-Fiction : 9
Poetry : 9
Short Stories : 4

1001 Books First Edition
Read 3 (330)

Nobel Winners
Read : (75)

Booker Winners
Read : (38)

Pulitzer Fiction Prize
Read 1 : (21)

Women's Prize
Read : (7)

Books Added in 2023

120 (11 April 2023)

Books Read in 2023

51 (11 April 2023)

Change in TBR +69 (5,748)

Pages Read : 12,289
Pages Added : 35,520

Change in TBR Pages : +23,231 (1,966,495)

African Reading Challenge 2023



Plans

January - NORTH AFRICA https://www.librarything.com/topic/347131 read 5
February - LUSOPHONE LIT https://www.librarything.com/topic/348039 read 2
March - ADICHIE or EMECHETA https://www.librarything.com/topic/348955#n8081025 read 1
April - THE HORN OF AFRICA https://www.librarything.com/topic/349799 read 1
May - AFRICAN NOBEL WINNERS
June - EAST AFRICA
July - ACHEBE or Okri
August - FRANCOPHONE AFRICA
September - SOUTHERN AFRICA
October - MUKASONGA / NGUGI WA THIONG'O
November - AFRICAN THRILLERS / CRIME WRITERS
December - WEST AFRICA

Total : 9

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - Rosemary Sutcliff & Fred D'Aguiar Eagle of the Ninth by Sutcliff, Bloodlines by D'Aguiar
February - Novellas & Short Stories - The Lost Art of Sinking by Booth, Male Tears by Myers
March - Vita Sackville-West & Tariq Ali
April - British Queens - Anne Boleyn : 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan

AMERICAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - YA Books - Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
February - Richard Powers
March - Poetry - What Goes On : Selected and New Poems by Stephen Dunn
April - Ursula Hegi - Hotel of the Saints

AROUND THE WORLD IN BOOKS IN 2023

Countries : 21 (9 April 2023)


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

Welcome to my ninth thread of 2023

Happy new thread, Paul!

>11 bell7: Well done, Mary for getting here first. So pleased to see you, as always.

Happy New Thread Paul! Here’s to a happy April .

Happy new thread Paul!

Wishing you a kind April and not a cruel one!

>13 vancouverdeb: One good thing from a difficult March was your very welcome return to the group, Deb. xx

>14 quondame: I used to read The Waste Land every April but have only read it once in the last decade. May be due another re-read.
Thank you for being so constant here and for helping bring me out of myself recently, Susan. xx

A new thread to start the month sounds right. I hope it helps bring a measure of calm to your days and a fresh start with reading. I'm having a bit of a slump myself with spreading myself out on too many books so you are not alone there!

>16 RBeffa: It is such a temptation though Ron, isn't it, to dabble with too many books until the very weight of all of them combined suffocates your reading completely?

Happy new thread!

HAppy new one!

>18 amanda4242: Thank you, dear Amanda. I am hoping that April will find me extraordinarily enthused!

>19 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita xx

>17 PaulCranswick: Yes, a temptation I have fallen for in the past and never been happy about it. What I usually end up doing is taking several and re-shelving them with a bookmark.

>21 RBeffa: Hahaha Ron. Sometimes I think we could be twins!

Wordle 651 3/6

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Good start to April anyway!

Happy new thread Paul. Hope this month fairs better for you on the reading front and that is a gorgeous opener photo, the composition and vibrancy.

>24 WhiteRaven.17: Thank you, Kro. The opener caught my eye too!

Happy new thread, Paul - and a good start into April.
May the books be with you!

>26 SirThomas: Haha thank you Darth Thomas!

Congratulations on the new thread. May your reading mojo flourish in April.

>28 Kristelh: Thanks Kristel. x

Happy new thread and new month!

Happy new thread, Paul! And I also want to add my sympathy and best wishes for whatever family crisis is besetting, since I missed my opportunity on the old thread. Sending {{hugs}}.

>2 PaulCranswick: I am indeed interested! Looks like one I need to add to my TBR list.

Happy new thread, Paul!

Happy new thread, Paul!

>1 PaulCranswick: You found a striking topper, thanks for sharing.

>30 drneutron: Thanks Jim.

>31 atozgrl: Thank you, Irene.
The book is certainly not stuffily academic.

>32 ArlieS: Thank you, Arlie.

>33 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. When I worked in Egypt many many moons ago, I had a girlfriend from Somalia -studying in Alexandria - I have always been struck by the striking statuesque quality of the people from the Horn

Wordle 652 3/6

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Another passable day.

A belated Happy New Thread to you, Paul

I'm the American in the Top 40! Maybe I'll morph into Casey Kasem.

>37 ronincats: Not so belated, Roni - less than 24 hours in. Lovely to see you.

>38 richardderus: Heaven forbid, RD!! Always welcome here, dear fellow, wherever you hail from.

Checking in on the new thread before I get hopelessly behind again, Paul. I completely missed the last one, I think!

>40 alcottacre: RL provided the most understandable reason as to your absence, Stasia. xx

Pleased to see you here, as I always am.

MARCH REVIEW

World
Bank Failures, banana republics, downed drones, arrest warrants for despots x2.
Silicon Valley Bank collapses being the second largest bank failure in US history and indicates the world economy is in a poor place. US debt places a burden upon its future generations and many observers believe that the state will be bankrupt within a generation. The Chinese currency gets ever closer to supplanting the US dollar as the reserve currency of choice.
The Russians down an American drone and Biden gets praise and criticism in almost equal measure for not escalating the situation in his response (I think he got this one right).
Putin gets the award of an arrest warrant from The Hague for alleged (and pretty obvious) war crimes.
That hateful character Donald Chump gets indicted by a New York Grand Jury and much as I dislike him I must conclude that the charges are most obviously politically motivated (especially by a DA who lets violent criminals loose every day) and the targeting of political opponents puts the US in the Latin American camp of banana republics. God knows I would love to have him off the ballot but do the statute of limitations mean nothing?
At the same time the Biden family are revealed by Bank Records to have been paid US$30 million by the Chinese but of course no-one is considering the preferring of charges.
Gary Lineker previously England's star soccer player and host of the most well known sport show on the BBC stretched the Beeb's impartiality rules to lambast the government over its migrant policies. He seems to have prevailed too.


Politics
In the UK we have a new leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party another rival to PM Sunak being also of Asian descent.
In America the extremes continue to tear lumps out of each other.
In China President Xi gets a third term.

Deaths

Literary
Kenzaburo Oe
Christopher Fowler
John Jakes
Isabel Colegate
Patrick French
Dubravka Ugresic
D.M. Thomas

Others
Sport - Just Fontaine, Dick Fosbury
Entertainment - Chaim Topol, Paul O'Grady
Others - Bill Tidy

Books (Year to date figures in parentheses)

Read : 6 books (43)
Pages Read : 1,320 pages (11,003)
Average Per day : 42.58 (122.26)
Longest Book : My Family and Other Animals 308 pp (The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov 663 pp
Shortest Book : Native Guard 46 pp (46 pp)
Average Length : 220.00 (255.88)

Books by Men : 2 (21)
Books by Woman : 4 (20)
Various : 0 (2)

3 (20) : UK authors
2 (5) : USA
(0) 2 : Ireland
1 : Angola, Canada, Iceland, Italy, Mozambique, (Albania, Algeria, Egypt, Guyana, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Tunisia, Nigeria)

2 (21) : Fiction
1 (5) : Thrillers
1 (8) : Non-Fiction
2 (7) : Poetry
0 (2) : Short Stories

Published in 21st C : 5 (31)
1990s : 0 (2)
1970s : 1 (1)
1960s : 1 (2)
1950s : 1 (3)
1930s : 0 (2)
1920s : 0 (1)
2nd C : 0 (1)

Books Added in January 38 (102)
Change in TBR +32 (+59)

BOOK OF THE MONTH

I didn't much enjoy reading in March. Pushed then I will fall into What Goes On : Selected Poems by Stephen Dunn

READING PLANS FOR APRIL

In April I will do a A to Z Author Challenge. Author Surname where possible:

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N Anne Boleyn : 500 Years of Lies by Hayley NOLAN Now Reading
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

>43 PaulCranswick:. Interesting monthly challenge, Paul. I find alpha challenges so frustrating.

>44 Kristelh: Given my, erm, sizeable TBR, I do have a heck of a lot of flexibility this month, Kristel.

Happy new one, Paul! Sorry that your March reading was not enjoyable - hoping that April is much kinder to you.

>46 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie, lovely to see you as always.

Happy new thread, Paul. I hope April treats you more kindly than March. It was nice to see the pictures of you and your colleagues breaking your fast on your previous thread.

>48 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. We had another nice break fasting last night with Hani's cousin and her family coming over.

Wordle 653 4/6

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Back to regulation.

>42 PaulCranswick: The only thing I *liked* about March was getting to come home.

>51 richardderus: Not to be sneezed at, RD. Your successful start to physical rehabilitation was a rare plus point in a difficult month.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Paul!

Sorry you had a lackluster month of reading. March reading was great for me in that I read one 5-star (Broken (in the best possible way) and a bunch of comfort rereads, plus a bunch of comfort rereads in different formats so I consider them "new" reads, in addition to a number of decent reads - 17 in all. Most books in one month so far this year.

Hope April holds better reads for you!

Happy new thread!

>53 banjo123: Thank you, Rhonda.

>54 Storeetllr: I am pleased that my own travails were not contagious, Mary and more so that you managed an impressive 17 books last month.
Always a pleasure to see you here.

>55 foggidawn: Thank you dear Foggi

Thanks for letting me know that you are not a fan of I'm a Fan ! It was not on my list of Women's Prize Longlist TBR's, but good to know just the same. I night just get to your British Queen Challenge, Paul . I'm kind of interested in Queen Elizabeth the 1st, and then my sister and mom have lent me several books about Queen Elizabeth 11.

>58 vancouverdeb: The British Queen Challenge is part of the British Author Challenge which is set for April, Deb. I don't host it any longer and Amanda has done a splendid job with it since taking it over from me. It would be great to have you along.

BOOK #44



Anne Boleyn : 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan
Date of Publication : 2019
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 282 pp

This is something of a new take on history writing.

Nolan's prose is readable but often wincingly so and takes modern form to its almost annoying conclusion. I will admit to being old fashioned a little but her over-frequent juvenile asking of rhetorical questions, maddening asides for the modern ear or her constant referencing to things like #teamKatherine.

All that said I did enjoy this fresh advocacy of Anne Boleyn which concentrated on her religious convictions and the obvious duplicitous nature of the Tudor court in operation. Lastly and, I think, quite convincingly she portrays Henry as the classic sociopath.

A short, tragic but very pivotal life Anne Boleyn played in the history of my country.

Happy New Thread Paul!!

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I am sending well wishes to you and your family.
Take care. You are a bright spot in my life!!

Yes "bright spot" what a perfect description of you Paul!

>60 PaulCranswick: #teamKatherine Hahaha

This one’s definitely going on my TBR list.

Hi Paul, Happy New Thread mate, i hope that your reading for April onwards is enthused and you will have no more reading slumps. I am looking forward to the County Championship starting on Thursday and wonder how many (if any) will go down the Bazball route, it could be interesting.

My reading seems to be slowed down midweek (Wed & Thurs) due to picking up and having Elliott and later on the Wednesday, Hannah and then taking Elliott home on a Thursday, i need to increase the number of pages read on the other days.

Have a good week mate and love and hugs to the Cranswicks from both of us dear friend.

>61 hredwards: That is such a lovely thing to say. Thank you, Harold. All my friends here in the group make me welcome each new day.

>62 mdoris: I am blushing slightly, Mary. Pot. Kettle. Black. to both of you!

>63 Storeetllr: She is very passionate about her subject Mary and despite a few really cringe-worthy comments, that passion does rub off on the reader.

>64 johnsimpson: That time of year is here again, John and is seems to get earlier each year! I hate the Central Contracts preventing the best players being available for the County Championship.
All the best to you and Karen.

Wordle 654 3/6

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Another very good day

Hey Paul, not sure if you saw this. Linda just posted this article on my thread. I know they're a big source for you.

Amazon is shutting down Book Depository. Not good all around :(

https://bookriot.com/book-depository-closing/

>68 mahsdad: Amazon is a completely dreadful company. Bought up an excellent resource like Book Depo in order to shut it down. The monopolizing powers of these companies should be curtailed.

Gutted, Jeff.

>68 mahsdad:, >69 PaulCranswick:, I saw this announcement on Facebook. I am so very sad.

>70 Kristelh: It is ridiculous. I only hope that the poor chaps who will be thrown to the dogs by Bezos and his lackeys will restart again free from him. I have boycotted Amazon for a number of years.

>69 PaulCranswick: Closing Book Depository? I've gotten so many lovely UK editions from them over the years. This really makes me sad, AND mad. I stopped buying books from Amazon quite a long time ago.

>72 RBeffa: Typical big corporation move, unfortunately, Ron. I dislike Amazon immensely.

>73 PaulCranswick: Until about a decade ago Book Depository had probably 1000's of free ebooks available on old classics. It probably stopped when Amazon bought them. I use amazon once or twice a year when I need a part replaced for an appliance or car filter, something like that. They were handy for a short while when the pandemic shutdown made things very hard to find.

It’s too bad about The Book Deposit . But Blackwell’s in the UK still has free shipping to Canada, and I presume around the world ?

>74 RBeffa: I also embraced them enthusiastically when in the 90s they surfaced - for books but especially CDs but the cost of shipping was extortionate. When I realised that Book Depo would send the books to me FOC I never used Amazon again.

>75 vancouverdeb: I didn't realize that, Deb. I love Blackwell's bookshop in Oxford.

Wordle 655 3/6

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Wow that almost seemed routine!

BOOK #45



Hotel of the Saints by Ursula Hegi
Date of Publication : 2002
Origin of Author : USA
Pages : 170 pp

A mixed bag of stories from Linda's pick for AAC this month.

In some of the stories here (one set in Trieste and another about meeting a first love after many years) really rivet and work but others of the eleven feel forced and jar. I think that the title story is one of the weakest and most pointless included which is a shame.

Paul, You read such interesting books. If I added all that I am interested in, my TBR pile would grow to heights unknown.

>80 Whisper1: But they are nowhere near as aesthetically pleasing on the eye as yours, Linda! Always lovely to see you here dear lady.

>79 PaulCranswick: Collections of stories are often like that for me, Paul. Some stories are wonderful, while others are dreck. As for this one, I love the cover art!

Dropping in to say hello. I hope things are going better for you mid week.

Checking in on you, brother. I miss you and hope things are improving.

Amazon's USA Free Shipping works well for elderly, disabled, and low income people!

I was very sorry to hear the news about Book Depository. I've ordered so many books from them over the years. I know Kenny's in Ireland ships to the US. Our Irish lit professor loves Kenny's. I'll have to check out Blackwell's. It might be a good option for those UK items I want right away.

>82 Storeetllr: Me too, Mary. It is the rare collection (Nathan Englander's brilliant What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank springs to mind) in which each story hits the mark.

>83 figsfromthistle: This month has been OK so far, Anita, but it seems to be zipping through.

>84 alcottacre: I miss you too, Juana. You always pick me up and when you are busy in the group it often helps spur on my own reading somehow. xx I hope that you and Kerry are readjusting after those traumatic early months of 2023.

>85 m.belljackson: The problem is, Marianne, that the world doesn't start and end with the good ole US of A. Book Depo was free delivery worldwide, Amazon is not. They saunter into another jurisdiction lauding the benefits of globalisation, buy up companies there and proceed to throttle and then close them for the sake of whose efficiency? It isn't aimed at the benefit of the elderly, disabled and low income people - it is aimed at the bank balance of Bezos and the other hypocrites.

>86 thornton37814: Yes, Lori, I will follow suit and try to support the independents. If I have to pay postage then so be it but it won't be to Amazon. I will go and look at Kenny's.

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Regulation time again!

I’m another that is sad/angry about Amazon shutting down Book Depository. I love their free shipping and my ability to get some great UK editions. But that’s what they do, Amazon and their ilk, buy them up and shut them down.

I don’t rely on BD, though, and I’m especially sorry for those who do. It sucks.

>85 m.belljackson: Does Amazon have free shipping? I thought their "free" shipping was only with (paid) Prime membership or when you buy at least $25 worth of qualifying stuff.

>91 Copperskye: Exactly Joanne. I am not a fan over these behemoth companies as you can probably tell.
Quite interestingly I must have been over at your thread posting when you were here doing the same thing in vice versa fashion!

>93 PaulCranswick: I see that! Especially interesting since it’s not as if we post on each other’s threads every day. Great minds! :)

Sad about Book Depository, I was using them fairly often. I have used amazon.com.au as they do free shipping to NZ if you spend about $70NZD. I don't buy new books that much anymore.

Our government introduced adding GST to international shopping purchases a couple of years ago and that made many affordable items especially books unaffordable again. Amazon closed off the amazon.co.uk site for NZ shoppers at that time as they didn't want to collect the GST for our government.

>92 amanda4242: I think Amazon Singapore may ship free to Malaysia but stocks are not the same. UK/US is expensive - more than the book price.

>94 Copperskye: Indeed, Joanne. I am slowly getting back up to speed after a fairly horrible March, so I should be at your place more often. xx

>95 avatiakh: Annoying - Governments are annoying and so are those greedy companies. Books are already so expensive in your neck of the woods, Kerry!

Here in Alabama in the USA, the state did not charge sales tax (I think it is called value added taxes, elsewhere in the world) on items purchased on-line. This made for unfair competition with brick and mortar stores. The law was finally changed two years ago and now prices for items are more in-line and selling things on-line does not disadvantage those who own real retail businesses. It is bad for those who want to make purchases as cheaply as possible, but good for leveling out the playing field for both kinds of retail endeavors.

I am not a fan of Amazon either. I don't purchase from them unless I have to do so. Amazon is in lots of legal battles right now with the EU over some of the very issues that have been bandied about upthread. It is the duty of governments to be the watchdogs on this kind of predatory activity, and it seems to me that they are doing so within the limits that their constituents are allowing them. They may be a little slow for some of us, but they do seem to be trying to put the breaks on the growth of some of the on-line giants. If governments get too aggressive regarding the purchases of businesses then they risk cutting off the entrepreneurial spirit and stifling business growth. Sometimes it is a fine line and it is hard to find that line.

What I find interesting is that I hear lots of complaints about Amazon and its practices, but little about Walmart and its practices.

>98 benitastrnad: You are right, Benita, these things are delicate balances and the issues are not ever uncomplicated.
We don't have Walmart in the UK or Malaysia so I am not the one to call them out but my concerns are certainly not limited to Amazon. Microsoft and the actually very sinister Bill Gates are far worse which shouldn't get me started on the ills of Big Pharma profiteering from the sick.

To my dying day I will remain horrified at Pfizer and Moderna selling their so called vaccinations to the third world at a more expensive price than it was selling to the apparently developed nations. A scandal of epic proportions that people in Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast should pay more for the COVID jabs than did those in France or Belgium. A large swathe of those monstrous profits generated from the misery of millions should be confiscated in my opinion.

I'll be careful not to peek at your wordle ahead of time, Paul! ;-)

Paul, so very sad about Book Depository's demise. What a horrific shame about Pfizer and Moderna selling vaccinations to third world people at a much more expensive rate. Greed never seems to amaze and upset me!

>100 vancouverdeb: I hope you don't get any undue help from the pattern of green squares, Deb!

>101 Whisper1: I know what you mean, Linda. The pandemic was responsible not only for millions of dead, the fact that many lives were ruined forever by lockdowns preventing them being with their loved ones in times of crisis and despair and the economy flattened by its ridiculous globalist over-reliance on the Chinese supply chain and the stagnation of home markets and productions. It also created a new billionaire every 30 hours whilst those falling into extreme poverty increased 30 fold and the disparity in inequality reached Victorian proportions.

https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/pandemic-creates-new-billionaire-every-3...

Big Pharma has 60 new billionaires as a direct result of COVID. I would hazard that many of those should actually be in prison.

>88 PaulCranswick: Of course. The only virtue for an MBA is acquiring money - for themselves and for their shareholders. (In that order, of course.)

>92 amanda4242: That's correct - but prices being what they are, spending $25 is trivial, particularly if you refuse to order anything until there's enough in your shopping cart. (Anything I need ASAP won't be coming from Amazon.)

Also, they seem bound and determined to hand out free limited term Prime memberships; you have to cancel before it runs out, of course, or they'll start charging you. But having done this once, they are already (2 years later) offering me another such membership.

>102 PaulCranswick: Paul, that is such shocking information. (Big Pharma has 60 new billionaires as a direct result of COVID). I am reading the new Matthew Desmond book Poverty by America and things are in a very bad way, with so much suffering and neglect. And for children, what chance have the got for their future? Did you read his previous book Evicted? It remains one of the top non fiction books for me! The moral compass in our societies is gone.

The whole “profits over people” and growing wealth inequity infuriates me. As a member of the “Boomer” generation, I feel guilt over allowing it to happen, but I can’t see what I could have done differently that would have made a difference. I will have to read the books mdoris mentions in >105 mdoris:, see if that helps me understand better.

As for Amazon, I almost never used it before I moved to NY when I had no idea where to go to find things I needed, especially since Covid. Lately, I’ve been trying to find local alternatives. In fact, just yesterday I discovered an art supply store not more than 20 minutes’ drive from me. (A lot of my recent purchases have been art supplies.) (I dislike Michaels, and I won’t shop at Hobby Lobby.) As for Walmart and the like, I’m fortunate to be able to afford to go to other stores and don’t blame those who can’t afford to do so.

>92 amanda4242: >106 Storeetllr: Everything we've ordered over $25 has been free...so far.
We just wait til we have $25 worth.

^^^^^

I know what's evil about Hobby Lobby and Walmart, but haven't heard anything about Michaels - what's up there?

I use Amazon, but try not to if there's a convenient alternative, especially a local business. I won't buy physical books from them, though; only my local indies or the occasional Barnes and Noble. I do have a Kindle so I'll buy Kindle books, but usually only when they're on sale so Amazon makes less from the purchase.

The closest Walmart to me is 45 minutes away and I just heard it's shutting down, so pretty easy for me to avoid Walmart. IDK what the international press is like, but in the US, at least in my circles, Amazon and Walmart are generally talked about in similar ways in terms of how they treat employees.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/349961

>103 ArlieS: Probably one of the reasons why I never converted being well off to being seriously rich is the pricking of conscience and the desire to share what we made as a collective group....collectively. I probably went too far the other way and let principles overtake self-interest but at least my conscience is clear.

>104 ArlieS: The free introductory memberships are a scam aren't they?

>108 curioussquared: Well, that's interesting! Many years ago a co-worker of mine had a friend working at the WalMart in Myrtle Beach and he was very happy there. At that time, they apparently treated their workers well, and there was a path to advance in management. Maybe things changed in the years since Sam Walton's death.

>105 mdoris: To be fair to the UK government and the Europeans they regulated and made agreements with Astro-Zeneca that their "vaccine" would be "non-profit" driven (although the administration costs clearly did include some profit) unlike the US where Moderna and Pfizer and Johnson&Johnson helped themselves. It seems fairly clear at the remove of a few years that the Astro-Zeneca jabs were at least as safe as their American alternatives but they were smeared constantly by Pfizer and Moderna and effectively kept out of the US market. Skuldruggery!

I get thoroughly annoyed at Bill Gates and John Kerry who have the biggest carbon footprints of any individuals in the world lecturing the rest of us on climate change. Hypocrites all of them.

Gates tried to get himself a monopoly on vaccines as he almost has on operating softwares. Why on earth is he buying up 100s of 1000s of acres of American farmland and converting it from producing food? If only for his clear and obvious links to Epstein the guy should be thrown in the clink and the key buried somewhere in Montana or Wyoming.

>106 Storeetllr: Me too, Mary, as is fairly obvious from my threads. Inequality is the greatest problem facing the world whatever the right tries to obfuscate and the left confuse with their virtue signalling and wokeist distractions. Always has been.

>107 m.belljackson: Marianne, I can see te appeal for those living in rural areas but there were plenty of alternatives offering free delivery without any strings whatsoever and companies like Amazon set about locating them, taking them over and slowly throttling them. Monopoly or Anti-Trust (as you call it in the USA) Regulators have as they always do allowed this to happen at the expense of all of us.

>108 curioussquared: I much prefer to give my money to the local bookstores too, Natalie, but with my location there are simply certain books that I cannot get and I used Book Depo for that..........back to the drawing board. Still timing wise it may be less of an issue as a return to the UK will mean that I have options aplenty once again.
The closest Walmart to me is a twenty hour flight away!

>107 m.belljackson: I just don’t like it there, at least the local one. It’s not customer friendly, and they don’t carry many quality art products.

>109 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver!

>111 atozgrl: I must admit Irene that I know next to nothing about Walmart except that the Walton family got seriously rich as a family and it had nothing to do with the TV series of the same name!

>114 Storeetllr: I will have to look up Michaels, Mary. It sells art products?

>114 Storeetllr: Michaels framed a photo for us, and their suggestions for the color of the mat and frame did not work well. We really need to get it redone.

>117 atozgrl: Hahaha Irene when they are bad they are really bad!

>116 PaulCranswick: Arts, crafts, yarn. They took over Aaron Brothers, which I liked, then, like most big corporations do when they take over a smaller rival, closed it. I haven’t had them frame anything for me.

>119 Storeetllr: Sounds like they framed all of us, Mary, in truth.

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>106 Storeetllr: >112 PaulCranswick: I don't have anything against Michael's as a company, but the stores, as Mary mentioned, don't seem to stock what I'm looking for. I don't much like Joann's either because it seems to only offer 2nd and lower quality fabrics for more than I want to pay for good fabric and the selection has never been great. I'm not sure if Joann's dropped fabric selection for more other craft supplies, but that would have been decades back.

A local luxury fabric store closed during COVID. I think it was the fancy-ball costumes like for Labyrinth of Jareth that kept them open. Now it's online or downtown if I want to avoid Joann's.

>112 PaulCranswick: Bill Gates buying US farmland is quite the serious issue isn't it.
Here in NZ we have thousands of acres of farmland being bought by overseas corporates and converting it all to pine forest for carbon credits. This ruins the local communities which are small anyway, local schools shutdown as pupil numbers dwindle meaning local school children have to bus on long commutes.
Lot of the damage in the recent cyclone was from forestry slash. The environmental groups have made it impossible to dispose of slash safely on site, so there was a lot of it.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/02/calls-to-halt-pine-forestry-o...

I ditched the Catton and have picked up a couple of other reads instead. Enjoy your weekend.

Okay, fair enough on Amazon - here are the Amazon things ordered in the past few months which included Free Shipping,
after each, I have listed what it would have approximately cost in shipping from the hardware store, Michael's, or the manufacturers:

2- 5 pound bags of Hampton Hills unsalted Peanuts - $8

2 picture frames - $10

1 package Cow pots - $5

Mini Chainsaw - $20- $25

Squirrel proof Bird Feeder - $15-$20

24 cans Fancy Feast Cat Food - $10

Coffee maker - $15-$20

Although I have not been to our Michael's store since covid, before that my wife and i were reasonably happy with them. They certainly did an excellent job framing some photos and prints for me. I imagine that might vary by location.

>122 quondame: Not aware of any of those stores to be honest, Susan.

>123 avatiakh: Yes, Kerry, the thing about ecology is that it is all about the maintenance of balance not virtue signalling. Food resources are vital with an ever growing world populace and I would personally outlaw what people like Gates and other foreign conglomerates are doing. As a devotee of E.F. Schumacher, I would also be looking at how do we break up those dangerously large corporations which, though not elected by anyone, are seeking to control all our lives.

>124 m.belljackson: I'm pleased that your experience of Amazon is relatively positive, Marianne. Small traders the world over probably wouldn't concur. What is a cow pot by the way?

>125 RBeffa: You have me interested, Ron, because I have genuinely never heard of Michaels.

>127 PaulCranswick: when our kids were little Michael's was essential for craft supplies. They would be unlikely to have a book for you unless you had a crafty hobby.

>125 RBeffa: >127 PaulCranswick: Michaels in Madison, Wisconsin, did incredibly beautiful work framing a four foot in diameter crocheted masterpiece,
created for us by a friend who shared my daughter's name. Sure wish it was easy to send a photo!

A Cow pot is a new invention - a planting pot made of cow manure. Every home should have at least one.
Mine will be used for herbal plants coming soon from the local CSA.

>128 RBeffa: I will ask Kyran, if he has heard of them, Ron, as he is something of an artist - I was excused art in school by my English and form teacher and allowed to read in the school library in lieu of making a mess in the art class.

>129 m.belljackson: Fascinating, Marianne. Could we say that the inventor of this "dung good", sorry!

>129 m.belljackson: Oooh, I want one of those!

>131 Storeetllr: I am fine with them too but somebody let on they were actually shit.

I have just had my lunch break in my temple of books and, perhaps in recoil from the Book Depo closure I rather over indulged myself:

103. The Plains by Gerald Murnane
104. The Home by Penelope Mortimer
105. Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
106. Tokyo Express by Seicho Matsumoto
107. Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
108. Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan
109. Babi Yar by Anatoly Kuznetsov
110. Crash by JG Ballard
111. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
112. Ninth Building by Zou Jingzhi
113. Standing Heavy by Gauz
114. Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova
115. Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
116. Quiet : Poems by Victoria Adukwei Bulley
117. England's Green by Zaffar Kunial
118. From Pasta to Pigfoot by Frances Mensah Williams
119. Joan by Katherine J. Chen
120. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

4 more from the Women's Prize Longlist
2 more from the Booker International Longlist

>133 PaulCranswick: Crash??? Well, consider this your warning!

>133 PaulCranswick: That good, huh?!

Crash is one of my favorite books but also one I wouldn't recommend to people.

>136 ursula: Intriguing, Ursula.

>135 PaulCranswick: Crash is horrible but at least its short.

>113 PaulCranswick: A twenty hour flight for some shopping seems to be a bit excessive... ;-)

Hi Paul!

Hi Paul, and happy newest thread.

‘Way back on the thread I last posted on, you mentioned Tyler Adams. He, Aaronson, and McKennie, are all US guys, of course, and I love watching them. I always want them to win, except when they play Arsenal, of course.

From another thread:

Oooh, stats. 8, 746. Easy, peasy. 8 is 8 and stands proudly alone. (7-4)*6 = 18 = 1*8 = 8.

It’s fun to read how other folks organize their shelves.

Ah. Back to sneaking books in. Do you have an accomplice?

Belated congrats on your 27th wedding anniversary. I love that photo – thanks for sharing.

I’m sorry to hear about the crisis. Hang in there, and in the meantime – hell yes to book therapy.

>5 PaulCranswick: I don’t know how you feel about your YTD stats, but I’m suitably impressed.

>42 PaulCranswick: Excellent summary and items chosen. Ah, the Fosbury Flop.

>133 PaulCranswick: As a rule I’m not interested in Fredrik Backman after A Man Called Ove, but my RL book club read Anxious People last year and I loved it. In fact, it’s worth a re-read since I powered through it.

>138 Kristelh: "Horrible but short" - I have heard that said about myself too, Kristel!

>139 DianaNL: Indeed it would be, Diana! Lovely to see you back posting my dear lady. xx

>140 karenmarie: I am getting more brazen in my older age, Karen and I today brought in two paper carrier bags in the house as if it was the most natural thing imaginable.

27 years - I still don't know where the time went to.

I will try to read the "Bear Town" books in sequence but I have also heard great things about this one.

>110 PaulCranswick: I'm sure the goal includes having people forget to cancel before they end, so as to collect money for services they don't want.

But the first one was helpful to me acquiring a bunch of things I needed relatively promptly to help with medical treatments, and I did remember to cancel it on time.

OTOH, beware of expecting Amazon to have decent prices; everything needs to be checked. There are plenty of other sources of goods with free delivery, here in the US at least, often with better prices.

>143 ArlieS: I want to get back to the UK, and spend every weekend looking at different bookstores in some of my favourite places, Arlie.

>135 PaulCranswick: I like it, but you'll see what I mean if you open to a random page and read a bit. My review https://www.librarything.com/work/7140/reviews/179006031

>145 amanda4242: I will be reading this soon, I guess, Amanda.

>132 PaulCranswick: Like most American Republicans?

Sad to hear about Book Depository but I can attest to Blackwell's delivery service. While in Edinburgh I checked out their bookshop - how could I resist? I found a copy of Land of the Ilich: Journey's into Islay's Past only it was hardcover and fairly large. Not something I wanted to add to my luggage. I asked if they could ship it to me. They could. They could wrap it up in store and send it off but the shipping price would add a fair few £. Then I had an idea. "What if I bought it online?" I asked. The clerk looked it up and we were both surprised to find it would be the price of the book (which was pretty pricey anyway but with the way the £ was falling against the Canadian $ not exorbitantly so.) I received the book shortly after I returned home. (It came from Gloucester.)

>147 m.belljackson: I didn't say that, Marianne! I will remind that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican and that the Klu Klux Klan was formed as an offshoot of the Democratic Party. There are no Abraham Lincolns around today. I would happily say most American politicians.

>148 Familyhistorian: Blackwell's also have a very sizeable used books resource, Meg.

Happy newish thread...I have been mostly offline hanging out with my family in Pennsylvania and then digging in my garden. I did think of you as I filled two bags of books at the retirement community thrift shop: on sale for $1/bag. I'll be posting a list at my thread next. And that after vowing I was not going to buy any more books.

Wishing you well.

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>150 witchyrichy: I make similar vouches for myself several times a year on book buying but I am not great of keeping to that! Lovely to see you Karen.

>149 PaulCranswick: Wellllllllllllll...most Democrats are not racist, sexist, gun nuts who think January 6th brought back Democracy...
whereas most CURRENT Republicans definitely are.

^^^^^^^

PS. You might want to do a Fact Check Search on "Democrats" forming the KU Klux Klan.

Surviving Confederates, of no great political persuasions, hated Republicans, both for winning and for Reconstruction.

>153 m.belljackson: That simply isn't true Marianne and is a concerted effort to re-write history to change an inconvenient truth. Possibly the most racially prejudiced President in history was Woodrow Wilson and he screened the abominable Birth of a Nation movie at the White House and Wilson was a Democrat. The Southern Segregationists were largely Democrats.
You will find that Frank McCord used to have a detailed biography on wikipedia but this has been removed by history revisionists.

I'm not saying that the racists of today are found in the Democratic Party as I don't think that is the case but the attempt to re-write history is poor.

See Encylcopaedia Britannica

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Democratic-Party

The Klu Klux Klan Enforcement Act of 1871 outlawed the group and specifically empowered Republican Governors to intervene to arrest suspected Klan Members and suspend Habeas Corpus in the process to do so. It is an ironic and unfortunate fact that the party of the Confederacy was the Southern Democrat Party (far removed from the modern party of course) and that the milk-wash to now only refer to McCord and his ilk as politically neutral Confederates is absurd.

The 1924 Democratic National Convention proposed a motion to condemn the Klan by name and was defeated

This is a direct quote from The History Channel :

Founded in 1865, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) extended into almost every southern state by 1870 and became a vehicle for white southern resistance to the Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for Black Americans. Its members waged an underground campaign of intimidation and violence directed at white and Black Republican leaders. Though Congress passed legislation designed to curb Klan terrorism, the organization saw its primary goal–the reestablishment of white supremacy–fulfilled through Democratic victories in state legislatures across the South in the 1870s.

The major difference is that these historical facts should not be used to discredit modern efforts in the Democratic Party to fight racism and history is no reflection whatsoever on them. Nor does it protect present-day Republican politicians from charges of racism when their policy prescriptions prejudice a particular race.

Even USA Today states :

"Historians agree that although factions of the Democratic Party did majorly contribute to the Civil War's start and the KKK's founding, it is inaccurate to say the party is responsible for either."

A renegade offshoot of the party was my contention and USA Today also agrees with this (1 July 2020)

>153 m.belljackson: By the way who thinks that January 6th brought back democracy? Maybe a few Trumpist nut jobs but not the overwhelming majority of right minded thinkers.

>154 PaulCranswick: >155 PaulCranswick: Thank you Paul.

>156 RBeffa: I am very far from a conservative Ron but it is a matter of historical record. The purpose of history is to teach us lessons. The modern Republican Party does not resemble the party of Abraham Lincoln just as the Democratic Party is far removed from that of Jefferson Davis or George Wallace.

>157 PaulCranswick: I used to consider myself a left leaning moderate and fiscal conservative. In 2016 I was a Berniecrat. The dems have pretty thoroughly alienated me so now I am nothing.

>158 RBeffa: I can certainly empathize with that, Ron. I have started to think of myself as a Social Libertarian, nowadays which is an attempt to marry personal freedom with social conscience. I am a firm believer of the Government being there to help the poor, the weak, the infirm, the elderly and the disadvantaged. I am a firm believer in equality of opportunity and the state to look to create jobs for its populace. I don't believe in the possibility or fairness of equality of outcome as we are all simply not equal in effort, intelligence, educational attainment etc. I believe in raising up and not dumbing down. I believe in family values although the composition of that family can vary. I believe in a society where the colour of your skin, your race, your social class, your creed, your age, your sexuality or your gender should not define or compartmentalize you and nor should you be prejudiced against because of differences in any one of those things. I believe in a society which is based on tolerance and we accept and encourage rather than condemn and attack those who don't necessarily share all our views. I do not believe that the minority should dictate to the majority nor that the majority should oppress the minority. I am firmly against censorship just as I am against hate speech but I believe that the thin-skinned generation should debate and not seek to cancel.

>159 PaulCranswick: very good views Paul.

>160 RBeffa: I would have thought Ron that they were views fairly typical of those of us on the left or in the centre up until very recently when many of those universal suppositions seem to have been re-addressed as politics has polarized.

>158 RBeffa:, >159 PaulCranswick: I am finding the same in the UK - I would never vote Conservative but I am increasingly reluctant to vote Labour anymore. That's an excellent manifesto, Paul.

>162 CDVicarage: Thank you, Kerry. There is a general despondency with the state of politics and leadership isn't there. Biden is barely able to stand up and his son's links to China and Ukraine are questionable at best and treasonable at worst, Trump is obnoxious and divisive. Kamala gives us word salads and the Democrats take no responsibility for anything or blame race or gender issues for all the ills its badly run country is facing. I don't see anyone on the Democratic side coming through.
Our politicians in the UK are risible and frankly useless. Johnson urinated on our sensibilities and Starmer says one thing and does another.
Those preaching to us about climate change would ruin the economies of the West and are crippling our food security whilst having themselves the biggest individual carbon footprints and fully apprised that the US can spend $50 trillion on the Green New Deal and its affect will still be negligible if China, India, Russia and Brazil don't come to the table.

>149 PaulCranswick: Hi - this all started when you stated that the KKK "was formed as an offshoot of the Democratic Party."

Your quote from the History Channel contradicts this, No?

>163 PaulCranswick: Still looking for "anyone on the Democratic side" decent political leaders?

There's Wisconsin's newly elected Judge, Janet P.!

There's Mark Pocan (following in the La Folette tradition and - if not for health challenges - the Perfect Candidate for President)

and, mostly, the present Democratic Governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers.

>164 m.belljackson:

PBS has an article on this https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-kkk/

Paul - one more to brighten your Saturday - The Republican Party was founded here in Ripon, Wisconsin

as an Anti-Slavery party. Contrast that with the recent expulsion of Two Black Democrats by Tennessee Republicans.

>166 RBeffa: >163 PaulCranswick: If you do a Search with "Did the Democratic Party found the KKK,"

you get a pre resounding "NO!!"

>161 PaulCranswick: *sigh* I would have thought so too, but the more I read history, the less certain I am. Perhaps these views were merely what supposedly left and center leaders *said* but not what they *did*.

As an obvious example - oh so liberal, caring, peaceable Canada (where I hail from) had little or no controversy (or even awareness) of how the government mistreated native Canadians, regardless of which party was in power, until relatively recently. And the situation continues, even with modern awareness, minus a few of the worst abuses. Instead, we patted ourselves on the back about not being as bad as the United States.

>164 m.belljackson: Oh my goodness, Marianne - the facts are a matter of historical record not opinion. The southern confederacy and those founders were organizers for the southern confederacy and that was the Democratic Party in the South. It bears no resemblance to the Democratic Party of today but the facts are there even though it is inconvenient to some to state it.

>165 m.belljackson: Let's see whether those you have named come forward as national rather than local State leaders.

>166 RBeffa: Thank you, Ron. As late as 1924 the DNC refused at its convention to censure or condemn the Klan.

>167 m.belljackson: I am not a supporter of the Republican Party, although historically without them there would not be a USA, but really do you think what happened in Tennessee is a good example. Have you seen the scenes of what happened at the State Capital there - a miniature January 6 revisited which is not called out by the biased media because it doesn't fit the narrative.

What should be condemned there is not that the two congressmen were ejected but that the other lady escaped by one inexplicable vote and it was on the basis that she threw her two colleagues under the bus by asserting "I was just standing there with them."

Why is bad behaviour excused on grounds of race?

>168 m.belljackson: Yes that was my point, Marianne, a concerted effort to rewrite historical fact. As I showed you already by linking and quoting from more neutral documents, those "fact checkers" are an exercise in splitting hairs. It is on the basis that the Democratic Party of today is not the Democratic Party as it then was in the American South. It is on the basis that technically (your point) it wasn't the Democratic Party that formed it but individual Southern Democrats. Splitting hairs.

>169 ArlieS: I don't think that the two are the same thing, Arlie. The misdeeds done to native populations the world over are also a matter of record but a record that has been downplayed by those in charge. From the Roman occupiers of Britain, the Viking raiders, the population of South American under Cortes' heel, the native populations of India, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada were all, at the very least not treated as equals, at worst the subjects of abuse close to genocide.

Canada was not on the level of the US as is obvious by the Lakota nation crossing national boundaries to be safe, but it wasn't admirable either.

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I will announce the family crisis that has been impacting us since 27 February 2023 and stuffed my reading appetite completely last month.

On 27 February 2023 you may recall that it was Yasmyne's birthday. We took her to our favourite Italian restaurant including Erni and Yasmyne brought her newish boyfriend Sam. I say newish, they were at school together and we have known both him and his family since he was six years old. His mother is Malay and a good friend of Hani and his father is French and has been living and working in Cambodia during the last decade.

We had a lovely dinner but I was a little surprised that Yasmyne did not join me, as she normally does either in a glass or two of wine or post-prandial lemoncello.

When we got back home, Yasmyne announced to Hani and I, with Sam sitting at her side, that she was pregnant (13 weeks) and she/they had decided to keep the baby. The abortion laws here make the Southern States of the USA seem progressive but anyway she - much against Hani's advice - had no intention of having one. I am, as readers here will know, pro-choice, and my daughter's choice was to keep the baby.

Downsides were several, however, Sam at 25 has no job, no qualifications, has never held a job longer than a month, has no prospects and seemingly no work-ethic. He is also bi-polar and from a family that has two uncles who suffer from schizophrenia. They seemingly have no interest at this stage in marriage and in ultra-conservative Malaysia that exposes them badly to social and religious ostracism if not worse. We had a two-family conference by video-phone and it seems that we were all a bit split - Hani and Sam's dad very insistent on abortion, Sam's mother being very pro-keeping the baby and my position that whilst we can advise and give our opinions, the decision lies with Yasmyne. It didn't go well overall.

Erni found out from Kyran (who shares the same group of friends) that Yasmyne and Sam were planning to run away to Thailand where Sam spent time and has friends (most of them pot-heads). Erni got hold of Yasmyne's two passports to foil their plans for which Hani (who was entirely ignorant of it) got blamed and I had to tell Yasmyne that it was at my instigation.

I spent several sessions with her and persuaded her that if she was determined to become a mum, she would be best advised to go to the UK - we have a place (a small apartment in Sheffield) where she can stay at first, the health and welfare services - despite problems - are wonderful in comparison and free, I can ask my brother to give her a job in the meantime, I have family there capable who love her and will be there to help her and she will get no problems of judgmentalism in the UK relatively so anyway.

Upshot is that Sam and her will leave for the UK, tonight, Sunday night. And my heart is very troubled as to what the future has in store for the daughter who was always (and still is) the apple of my eye. Her life is going to be much tougher than I had hoped for but she will make it her way and we have to support as we may. I am not sure whether Sam will step up to the mark but at least he too has a better chance in the UK and he will hopefully prove my misgivings about the inconstancy of his character groundless. Hani is not in a great place at the moment and will burst into tears at even my funniest anecdotes.

Pray for my daughter on her chosen please my friends.

>174 PaulCranswick: Hugs all around, my friend.

Paul, I will indeed pray for you , Hani , Yasmyne , Sam and your entire family . This will be brief for the moment, as I am just eating dinner . My parents got married in August of 1960, and I was born in January of 1961 . It was a “ scandal “ back then , and my parents with my grandparents, crossed into the the USA to get married so that no one here would know . The story was that they got secretly married in January of 1960 , and thus they were married when my mom got pregnant . My mom turned 19 6 days before my birth . My dad was a few months older , but a high school drop out . So we lived with my grandparents for the first 3- 4 years of my life . And , in November of 1961, my sister was born . But my dad was given some money by his uncle and trained to be a private pilot . Then a bush pilot and finally a an airline pilot for Air Canada. They ended up doing very well , and had three more kids . So I’ll pray that your family has the happy end that my parents and family did . ❤️You are all in my heart .

>175 amanda4242: Thank you my friend. xx

>176 vancouverdeb: Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Deb. Heaven knows it helps with the positivity. I think that everyone here will realise that I am generally a glass-half-full kind of person and I hope with all my heart that Sam will use this as a motivation to make his life what he wants it to be. Yasmyne certainly cares about him and he her, of that at least I am sure.

You have certainly been handed an event that would throw anyone off track. My thoughts are with all of you and I am glad you have your extended family in England to help. I imagine that this will increase your desire to relocate back to England. Good luck with this my friend.

>174 PaulCranswick: Ouch! That is indeed one of those messes with no good answer, but I think you are doing the right thing in supporting your daughter, and her decision. I hope your grandchild doesn't inherit a propensity to psychological issues.

That said, these things can work out pretty well, even if the relationship that spawned the child fails. My mother had me out of wedlock; some time after that she met the man she eventually married, who became my father in all non-genetic ways. Together they produced my two younger (half) sisters. This was, of course, scandalous, so people were allowed to presume that they'd married several years earlier, and of course that I was their joint child genetically as well as legally and emotionally. I got told the deep dark secret on my eighteenth birthday.

I have been listening to an album from each year of the seventies this weekend and thoroughly enjoying it:

1979 : Regatta de Blanc - by The Police (favourite song "Message in a Bottle")
1978 : Parallel Lines - Blondie ("Picture This")
1977 : Bad Reputation - Thin Lizzy ("Dancing in the Moonlight")
1976 : Year of the Cat - Al Stewart ("Year of the Cat")
1975 : Main Course - Bee Gees ("Nights on Broadway")
1974 : The Kids and Me - Billy Preston ("Nothing from Nothing")
1973 : Spinners - The Spinners ("Ghetto Child")
1972 : Heads and Tales - Harry Chapin ("Could You Put the Light On, Please?")
1971 : Once Again - Barclay James Harvest ("Vanessa Simmons")
1970 : Moondance - Van Morrison ("Crazy Love")

This is the brilliant, Billy Preston :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrt2pxhwswQ

>178 RBeffa: Thanks Ron. If there were doubts in my mind about my future my daughter has settled them for me! I'm too young looking to be a Grandpa!!

>179 ArlieS: Again, Arlie, I am humbled that you would share that here to give me a positive example to cling to. I am a bit worried about Hani who forthrightness has alienated Sam somewhat but I guess both will come around in time.

>180 PaulCranswick: some excellent music selections. I like all of them. I glommed onto the Harry Chapin album the first time I found it. Set in San Francisco was a bonus for Taxi. The taxi single that the radio played initially before the album was a similar but different longer version with more talk. Then it disappeared, unreleased as far as i know. I started to think i had imagined it until i found the alternate original on youtube some years ago.

ETA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vor0mlXvpoc

>182 RBeffa: Most people's favourite track from that album is indeed "Taxi", Ron, but I have probably heard it too often!

Thank you Paul for sharing what has been going on in your life and with your family. I'm sure others like me have been concerned for you. Yasmyne is so fortunate to have your support and a very good place to start a new life in the U.K. Your positive nature shows in your writing and I will be praying for you and family. We have 4 daughters and the choosing of their mates was a perilous journey for us. Thank heavens for maturity as the SILs do grow in their relationships but it can be big nail biter.

>184 mdoris: Thank you, Mary. It is at difficult moments that we come to the knowledge of who really care about us.

>174 PaulCranswick: Sending good thoughts for all of you, Paul, and wish Yasmyne and Sam all the best together.

Agree with you, they are both adults, and make their own desicions. Others can only advise.
I hope Hani and Sam's dad will come around in time.

>174 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, startling news but I think you've made the best of it with sending them off to the UK. There will be a baby and it will be cherished by your family.

Hi Paul! I can imagine that it was shocking news for you at first and perhaps not the path in life you imagined for Yasmyne at this moment. I have a friend who had a child early on in life ( a year before University graduation). She ended up surrounded buy a wonderful support group ( her extended family and friends) and became and still is a wonderful happy, successful mom.

Yasmyne is lucky to have a wonderful family to stand with her which will make it a lot easier. As much as a shock it was for you, it probably was an even bigger shock for her.

May everything turn out ok and that Yasmyne and Sam settle well in England. ((hugs))

>174 PaulCranswick: While maybe not the perfect route to starting a family perhaps, with Yasmyne's mix of genes I have no doubt she will make a great mum, and whatever else she decides to do with her life she will be a success Paul. I suspect that 70+% of babies are accidents. Moving to the UK, under the cultural circumstances is sensible too. It sounds like Y will have to be the backbone of the family with Sam's possible mental health issues and inability to knuckle down to work, which is likely a side effect of those. Maybe he will make a surprisingly good house-husband. I hope his talents will lay there, so that Y can fulfil her goals in life. I suspect as her education was in the UK she has some good friends who will have her back.

Wishing you all good luck.

>186 FAMeulstee: We all had dinner today and the atmosphere was difficult at first but later ok. The two of them will be shown off to the airport in an hour or so.

>187 avatiakh: Yes, Kerry, the two mum/grandmums are both softies and will indeed cherish the baby.

>174 PaulCranswick: OMG! Our hearts go out to you and Hani, Paul. Man, it is tough being a parent and never seems to get easier. Hopes and prayers for Yasmyne. I hope it all somehow works out for her and the baby. A tough road ahead. 🙏

>188 figsfromthistle: It was not the ideal scenario were I to have planned things for my daughter, Anita, but I guess that is what life is all about. I opened up about this today because I have come to terms with things as well as I can.

>189 Caroline_McElwee: They do certainly care for each other enough, Caroline, and I hope for both their sakes that he does find his niche in life. They will be fine I'm sure as long as they face the issues together.

>191 msf59: Do you know, Mark, I see how much joy little Jackson brings you and it does warm my heart and give me something to look forward to almost as much as it gives me things to stress about!

>174 PaulCranswick: My goodness - a crisis indeed! I'll add to the well-wishing, but especially prayer (I am one of those old-fashioned types who believe in and practice it). God bless you and your family, Paul.

>194 ChrisG1: Your prayers will be most welcome, Chris. Thank you for the kind words my friend.

>192 PaulCranswick: Paul - hope you are dusting off your Passports to go welcome this new little Life!!!

Best to All (and be honest about taking any blame...) ...

and here's a book to guide you while you sort out The Fates:

PACKING MY LIBRARY =

"In June 2015, Alberto Manguel prepared to leave his home in France's Loire Valley
and re-establish himself in a one-bedroom apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Packing up his 35,000 volume personal library - choosing which books to keep,
store, or cast out - Manguel found himself in deep reverie on the relationships
between books and readers."

>196 m.belljackson: We will be, Marianne, and I have hopes of being able to relocate before I become a grandpa.

At least I have less to do that Manguel with only a third of the number of books.

Hey Paul - Light will shine. Someone near to my heart was diagnosed with ADHD early on. He was diagnosed with bipolar as a teenager. We despaired of getting him through high school and without very generous grandparents stepping in to help with tutoring, it may not have happened. He's now within months of completing his final internship for his doctorate in psychology and certainly has a heart for struggling teenagers whom he planned to make the focus of his clinical practice.

The bad part is that his wife has her dream job in Orlando, Florida. And now, with the new Florida laws he will not be able to give any sort of counseling about those struggling with non-heterosexual lifestyles. Florida laws have stepped between doctors and their patients and mental health counselors and their clients. He has not decided what to do at this crossroad in his journey, but I am so proud of him!

And I predict your grandbaby will make you proud, too!

>198 streamsong: Thanks for sharing that, Janet. Sam is a decent boy and I hope that the need to care and support a new life will be the spur he needs to find himself.

Well, congratulations on the grand baby to be! You are right, that the only thing you can really do at this point is support your daughter.

Children are a blessing, and even though this is not the start you wanted for your first grandchild, Yasmyne will no doubt be a good mom, and hopefully Sam rises to the occasion.

>174 PaulCranswick: You are now wheremy daughter was three years ago...I was 21 years ago...and my mother 23 years before that.

It will be hard and it's not what we'd choose for them, but you're exactly right when you say "it's Yasyme's body and her life and the decision is hers." Useless Sam may be, and most probably remain, but that's irrelevant now. The UK is a much better place for them than Thailand, not least because you can pull strings to aid their survival. Kiss retirement goodbye, though, and set the timeline for your return to the UK forward.

AND GET BETWEEN HANI AND YASMYNE until Hani has a chance to come to her senses!! Alienating Yasmyne when she actually *needs* her mom could make a permanent rift out of a spate of anger.

Enjoy the ride, Da! It's a lot more fun than you think it will be right now.

>200 banjo123: You are right of course, Rhonda. I am certain that my grandson/daughter will be the most important person in my life come August/September.

>201 richardderus: Thank you for the pearls of wisdom, RD. Hani was a little tearful at the airport last night but mother and daughter parted on excellent terms thank goodness.

Paul, these are difficulties that families face but I will echo those that have told you that being a grandparent is the best thing we can be and I do hope you can be back in England to enjoy that role.

>193 PaulCranswick: I am sure you will both be wonderful grandparents, Paul. I just hope you can experience the enjoyment as much as we do. ❤️

Paul -

From Migrations OPEN HEARTS OPEN BORDERS:

Where there is change
there is hope.

Where there is hope
there is life.

>203 Kristelh: That is a nice thing to look forward to, Kristel. Yasmyne and Sam will be in Qatar at the moment preparing for their onward journey to Manchester.

>204 msf59: Your thread certainly prepares me with some expectation for the joys in store, Mark. It is a place I took some comfort in I will tell you.

>205 m.belljackson: Nice sentiments, Marianne.

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Should have really got this in 3.

Just seeing this as was offline yesterday. I'm glad you've gotten encouragement here, and let me add mine - you and Hani are great parents, and that will tell. Life won't be what you may have hoped for the kids, but with your support, they'll do fine. And really, life never is what we expect. 😀

Although he or she (or they?) may not arrive when you had expected or hoped, or in ideal circumstances I'm sure your grandchild will be a joy for you both.

Yasmyne and Sam have probably recently flown over my house - we're quite close to Manchester Airport!

Prayers for you all as always Paul!

Reading your news now, Paul, and certainly thinking of your family with the big changes ahead. Yasmyne's move to the UK sounds like a wise one, and I'll be praying for you all in the coming months.

>174 PaulCranswick: Paul--I am sending my very best wishes to you and your family. I know you will continue to be encouraging and supportive -- you are an amazing dad, which you have already shown countless times. Tons and tons of big hugs.

>209 drneutron: Thanks Jim. That is so true. They have safely arrived in Sheffield and I am sure that they are both excited and scared by what lies ahead.
Spoke to my brother yesterday and his response was very heartening.
"There are worse things than a baby, our kid. When it comes we'll love it."

>210 CDVicarage: So must I then, Kerry as I have flown into Manchester Ringway numerous times as we used to call it . The baby, whether boy or girl (Hani predicts the latter) will be loved for sure.

>211 hredwards: You are a good man, Harold. Thank you.

>212 bell7: Thank you, Mary. I am a lucky man having such kind and thoughtful and supportive friends in the group.

>213 Berly: I think that at times like these when our children get themselves in situations we had not idealised we feel like parental failures, Kimmers, but the maturity of their response, eventually, will set them in good store.

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Struggled a bit today.

My goodness! I'm catching up on threads now since I wasn't able to visit them all over the weekend, and I missed the surprising news. It sounds like you've chosen the best possible path at the moment. My best wishes to all! I will also keep all of you in my prayers. {{hugs}}

>218 atozgrl: Thank you, Irene.

You may remember that I replaced my Apple laptop with a Dell less than a year ago and I have never been very satisfied with it. Over the weekend one of the hinges connecting the screen to the body ruptured and it was the last straw.

I am on an anti Chinese manufactured drive at the moment so I plumped for a cute new ACER model in boyish blue. To give Hani a little pick-up I bought her the same model but in gold.

Her comment to my gold purchase teaser was that she would prefer diamonds (humph!).

READING PLANS FOR APRIL (Update 11 April 2023)

In April I will do a A to Z Author Challenge. Author Surname where possible:

A Dark Flight by Lin ANDERSON
B Boulder by Eva BALTASAR
C Moscow by Nick CARTER
D
E The Waste Land by T.S. ELIOT
F
G
H Hotel of the Saints by Ursula HEGI
I
J
K
L
M Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania MAMOUN
N Anne Boleyn : 500 Years of Lies by Hayley NOLAN
O Felicity by Mary OLIVER
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Just reading your news, Paul. Definitely a lot to deal with! It sounds like you have taken the wisest course of action for now and I'm sending best wishes to you all!

>174 PaulCranswick: Eeek, that is complicated. I'm sure it's not what anyone wanted, but I hope all turns out positive in the end. Good luck to Yasmyne in Sheffield.

My aunt Anna claims that her mum had to write three letters to the headmistress of her daughters' school, one for each of them, saying that her daughter was pregnant and would be leaving school. My mum was 15, and didn't actually have a baby at that time (I don't know whether there was a miscarriage or a discreetly arranged abortion - my grandmother was very pro choice at a time when this wasn't legal, in the late 50s and early 60s, and may well have sought advice/help for herself/friends in earlier decades. My aunts both got married and had children - Brigid is still with her husband nearly 60 years later (oldest child's birthday is this year, not sure when wedding actually happened). Anna's baby will be 64 in June. They also managed to spend time living abroad, Anna and her family in post independence Algeria, Brigid and family in Zambia and southern Africa. The young families had more babies as well.

My mum married at 17 but I wasn't born until she was 25. She did A levels at college and had a French Jewish guy who had settled in Oxford as a refugee to tutor her - we used to go and visit Mr Treves regularly for the rest of his life - I think he lived into the 1980s - she then went to China with my dad for 2 years and then he got a job at Leeds and she got a first class degree. Her bio suggested she might have been the only professor to leave school at 15 (though I kind of think she never left some form of education).

>222 curioussquared: Thanks Natalie. They are finding their feet in Sheffield right now and it will all seem shiny and new to them at the moment.

>223 elkiedee: What an interesting and diverse family you come from, Luci! Thank you for sharing that with us. xx

>220 PaulCranswick: I mean diamonds do sparkle pretty, but surely emeralds, rubies, and sapphires have more real value. I go for opals.

>225 quondame: Hani is a traditionalist and obviously thinks that they are her best friend!

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>224 PaulCranswick: That sounds like a Good News Welcome for them -

and is Kyran back from California?

If yes, maybe he could help Sam find work aside from flipping Vegan Burgers...!

>228 m.belljackson: Hopefully they will be OK, Marianne.

I had a long talk with Kyran yesterday (he returned to Birkbeck at the beginning of January from California). He is a steak man, Marianne, and wouldn't go near a Vegan Burger!

I just read your news, Paul. It sounds like the UK will be the best place for Yasmyne and Sam and the baby. I hope your move to the UK comes soon so that you can enjoy in-person grandparenting on a regular basis. (and, really, you're not too old to be a grandparent!)

Happy New Thread, Paul. I'm glad that Sam and Yasmyne have arrived in the UK.

A diamond is girl's best friend, some say! :-)

>230 Familyhistorian: I think that they will be fine in the UK, Meg. Yasmyne is proof that I am not too old to be a Grandpa!

>231 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. Hopefully soon they will be settled in work and in their own little place. There is a nice block of new apartments near to my brother's offices which I hope they can find a place in.

Book #46



Dark Flight by Lin Anderson
Date of Publication : 2007
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 392 pp

The fourth installment of a series I am coming to really appreciate. This one finds a ritualistic murder of a mother and a grandmother with the boy missing and in obvious peril.

Nigeria meets Glasgow and we have juju and mayhem as we also broaden our knowledge of Rhona, a main protagonist and the supporting cast around her.

Recommended.

BOOK #47



Boulder by Eva Baltasar
Date of Publication : 2020
Origin of Author : Spain
Pages : 105 pp

This novella is longlisted for the Booker International Prize.

It concerns the falling in love and subsequent relationship of a lesbian couple who settle in Iceland and who are from very different backgrounds.

The main theme develops relating to the strains that develop when one of the partners wants to become a mother and the other does not but gives in.

An interesting snapshot of something I would imagine many same-sex couples have to face together.

Don't think it has much of a chance to win the prize.

BOOK #48



Moscow by Nick Carter
Date of Publication : 1970
Origin of Author : USA
Pages : 155 pp

If you have read one of these franchised titillation exercises then you won't really miss out by reading or otherwise this one.

Our intrepid horny Killmaster goes in disguise to Moscow to help Soviet ballerina and double agent defect to the West. Full of fornication, misogyny, mass slaughter this one also involves the creation of a species of clones complete with gills so that they can breathe underwater.

Carter foils the bad guys just as he never fails to bed the ladies - three of them separately in these short 155 ages.

Complete twaddle but fun in its own time-warped way.

BOOK #49



Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun
Date of Publication : 2009
Origin of Author : Sudan
Pages : 69 pp

Very slight collection of stories / vignettes set in and about Sudan and Sudanese life.

Nothing really to either complain of or to get excited over. One story about a dying son was affecting but mostly the stories will be unforgettable a few weeks and months hence.

BOOK #50



The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
Date of Publication : 1922
Origin of Author : UK (eventually)
Pages : 32 pp

From it's memorable opening lines :

April is the cruellest month,/ breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, /mixing Memory and desire, /stirring Dull roots with spring rain. /Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow,/ feeding A little life with dried tubers.

I have often re-read this classic in the very month of April. It is a long 32 pages if you want to try to understand or even take something meaningful from the poem other than the obvious poetry of the writing.

My first experience in A Level English in deep study of a work of modern poetry. This time around it is the beautifully constructed fourth section that I want to feature :

IV. Death by Water

Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead,
Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell
And the profit and loss.
A current under sea
Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell
He passed the stages of his age and youth
Entering the whirlpool.
Gentile or Jew
O you who turn the wheel and look to windward,
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you.

No point for me to grade or recommend this as it is not the first time nor will it be the last that it takes its place on my threads.

BOOK #51



Felicity by Mary Oliver
Date of Publication : 2014
Origin of Author : USA
Pages : 81 pp

As with many in the group, Mary Oliver is a favourite poet of mine.

Quiet, reflective and unerringly observant she often touches the reader to the quick by a phrase that is profound in its seeming ordinariness.

These poems are somewhat slight but are celebratory of life, of renewal and of love.

This is the short poem Moments from the collection:


There are moments that cry out to be fulfilled.
Like, telling someone you love them.
Or giving your money away, all of it.
Your heart is beating, isn’t it?
You’re not in chains, are you?
There is nothing more pathetic than caution
when headlong might save a life,
even, possibly, your own.

In my humble opinion when Mary Oliver is writing at the best, she is writing about nature and the environment around her. These poems are more personal in some ways but less closer to her self for all the nearness of her feeling. She is, though, always worth reading.

>237 PaulCranswick: Some powerful language in that bit of prose.

I remember these lines from that poem mentioned in another book which always stayed with me.

And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something he carries on his back,
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find
The Hanged Man. Fear death by water.

Reading further back >99 PaulCranswick: and >102 PaulCranswick: - completely agree with you on all levels.

I've been suffering from a long term health complaint myself in the last few years, which is extremely difficult to address, so have had to do my own research / 'experimentation' to attempt to resolve. One thing I've come to the conclusion on from a lot of my reading - and it is easy to go down the rabbit hole here - is that the human race REALLY needs to stop relying on (any) pharma to do try to deal with a lot of health issues - obviously caveats here - and try to heal ourselves from both a nutritional perspective / lifestyle changes - both physical and mental.

We give them far too much money/power/control and this is increasing by the day.

Thinking of even something as simple as headache remedies - until very recently we never had them in our evolution - yet somehow our ancestors managed to survive. Anti-biotics (within reason) are a good thing of course.

Sorry to derail your thread on a more health angle - but the points you make are very valid and yet so many people (of all ages) seem to be oblivious of what's really happening in the world in the last couple of years. I feel like the boy in the Emperors' new clothes increasingly more every day.

>239 Ignatius777: I really enjoyed your post Ignatius and it is lovely to see you here. I am very much anti-big pharma as is fairly obvious from my many posts and I can point to things like blood pressure medicine which whilst regulating bp makes its users permanently dependent. I have looked to take natural supplements to avoid this dependency and I have found garlic, dandelion, milk thistle and olive leaf extract work for me.

As to Eliot's lines from Prufrock to the Four Quartets and onto The Waste Land, I will always discover something anew there.

>174 PaulCranswick: All the best for you and your family, Paul.
You are right, she has to go her own way and you can only support her, but I am sure you are doing wonderful, my friend.

>235 PaulCranswick: intrepid horny Killmaster.
I love it!
I love reading quick little books like that once in a while!!
I consider them a sort of literary palate cleanser.

>237 PaulCranswick: How is winter both a "dead land" AND warm?

Keeping current here. : )

Hi Paul, well that was some news that you poured out mate, i would imagine that you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife after Yasmyne's announcement. Whilst it is not what you would have wanted for Yasmyne at this moment, she is a strong character and will make a great mum. As for Sam, this will be a time for him to step up to the mark and show that he can provide for his family.

Getting Yasmyne and Sam over to Sheffield was a wise move and Yasmyne has family close by, hope this is not too much of a shock to Sam and he copes well with this new environment. You and Hani will make fantastic Grandparents, i remember when Rob told us that Louise was pregnant with Hannah, i said i am too young to be a Grandad, i was 47 when Hannah was born. Now Hannah is 12 and Elliott will be 2 in 23 days time, where has the time gone.

We both send love and hugs to you all and cannot wait to see you again, Karen messaged Hani last night and we are always here for you both.

>241 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas. Yasmyne will meet up with my brother today (Thursday).

>242 hredwards: I would have thought the books would not be terribly popular in these politically correct days, Harold, but the books are good fun and a throw back to days when international geo-politics were more black and white.

>243 m.belljackson: Literalism has no place in poetry, Marianne! Way to go criticizing the metaphors of one of the greatest poets who ever drew breathe.

>244 Berly: You will always be current here, Kimmers!

>245 johnsimpson: Thank you John and much appreciated. Hani did tell me that Karen had messaged her.

>246 PaulCranswick: I know it's not popular but if I only read what was politically correct today I'd never get any reading done.

>249 hredwards: That is true nowadays, Harold and I will not be told what is appropriate or not for me to read as it is a step towards the fascism my immediate forefathers ensured we need not endure.