Monday, 30 September 2013

David Peace, Red or Dead


A fictionalised account of the life of Bill Shankly. Took a while to get into the repetitive rhythm used to convey shankly's single-minded obsessions. Sometimes descended into lists of fixtures and scorers and there's a danger of being taken in by the emperor's new clothes, but I loved it and it kept me gripped, even more so than The Damned United. Given that Peace's football novels are meant to be his weak link, his other work must be pretty special. It's on the wish list. . .
Libby's had chicken pox recently and got used to me sleeping on the floor in her room to comfort her, which is now standard procedure! If I try and move she shouts 'Daddy Sawyer! Daddy Sawyer!' until I'm back in my place. She won't let me call her anything other than Libby or Elizabeth at the moment. A few days ago I called her 'Boo', and she indignantly declared. 'No! not boo! Libbymarysawyer!'
Fred has competed in his first running race too, he did a 1K at Alice Holt as I was there for a 10K. He seemed to really enjoy it, and I want to encourage it without pushing. I'm so proud of him for how he manages to cycle back through a busy town every day with only the occasional wobble. He's getting fast though - and tall. He really does look like an amalgam of Gareth, me, Steve and Kev. I still get confused and call Kev 'Fred' whenever the two of them are in the same area.

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