Rosemary Tonks, The Bloater, Travis Elborough, Atlas of Improbable Places: A Journey to the World's most Unusual Corners

 'I only read 'The Bloater' as it was recommended by Stewart Lee, who wrote the introduction. It completely passed me by, didn't get the humour or care about the characters. The Atlas of Improbable Places was a good idea lazily executed - it could have been cribbed from websites about these undeniably interesting places, but no personal touch, no insights. My current crotchety demeanour may owe something to all the noise around at the moment. The neighbours at the back have had the chainsaws out chopping up trees and  the neighbours to the right at the Shaw Centre are in the middle of rebuilding and drilling through concrete. All this has set off the dog in the house to the left. . .  

Bob Mortimer, And Away: The Autobiography

 That was lovely. Not as laugh out loud funny as I thought it would be, perhaps because I've heard all the stories before and also because Bob Mortimer is a much better performer than writer. What was really great about the book though was his honesty about depression, chronic shyness and feelings of inadequacy. Confessionals are very common, but this was the story of a really nice, considerate guy who despite being immensely successful and talented in his field still feels like he is a sidekick at best.  It's made me want to revisit Catterick, one of the few things he's done that I haven't loved, and that he considers his best work. School holidays have started, and we are on countdown to holiday in Pembrokeshire in less than 3 weeks, hurrah

John Steinbeck. The Pastures of Heaven

 An early collection of short stories, but the roots of later writing are there - the location in the Salinas Valley, the struggle of individuals with their own nature and with nature itself, the thwarted ambitions and plans, and the ironic, wry narration. I'm turning into a bit of a Steinbeck completist. Today is Libby's last day of primary school. I'm hoping to finish early and go and join them all at a party on St John's Lye. It's been very emotional for Libby as some of her closest friends are going to other schools, and it's the end of an era. I don't know if it has fully hit her yet, although she is definitely excited about Secondary School. She's not quite as tall as Helen yet, but will be there very soon

Oliver Eagleton, The Starmer Project: A Journey to the Right

 A depressing read which didn't tell me anything I didn't know already about Starmer and the takeover of the Labour Party by an economically liberal, socially conservative pro-establishment clique that see the biggest threat to the UK coming from the left rather than the right. It's so demoralising that these ghouls with no motivation to change society for the better are in chare of the workers' party with no way to dislodge them. There is no chance of anyone even vaguely left wing getting on the leadership ballot paper soon or the NEC returning to the left with the current rules. Every day I wonder why I continue to give my membership fees to a party that are just scamming workers. if the sum total of their offer is 'we are Tories, but more competent', then ugh. 

Hilary Mantel, Beyond Black

 A re-read of a book I remember being very dark and scary. It still is, but on a very dull note the thing I found most interesting was that in my mind the house where the protagonists lived was on the east side of Knaphill when I read it the first time, somewhere around Strathcona Gardens near our Kev, but on the 2nd read they were nearer to Sainsbury's, Percheron Drive. I had to Google map those names. We are in the middle of a heatwave at the moment, and are expecting record breaking temperatures in the UK of 40 later. it's 10 in the morning and 31 already here, and the heat in the house is unbearable. Downstairs is a lot better, but i can't be bothered to move all my stuff down there to work. I'm sleeping downstairs and it is quite pleasant at night, but there was a fire in Woking last night so everything now smells of smoke.

Miles Russell & Stuart Laycock, UnRoman Britain: Exposing the Great Myth of Britannia

 Took a while as I was away camping with the cubs this weekend. I took the book with me, but I was never going to get a chance to read any of it. It was crazy hot, 30 degrees plus, but the cubs slept well and had a great time. We were at Walton Firs again, we'll have to find somewhere different for next year. I've picked up a bit of a cold from one of them so am coughing away and can feel it in my lungs, but have tested negative for COVID-19. Today is our 20th Wedding Anniversary, but Helen is back working in town now and doesn't get back until very late, so we can't really do anything. Hopefully we can celebrate soon

Max Porter, Grief is the thing with feathers

 That hit hard. A very short book about a father of two young sons whose wife has passed away suddenly and left him bereft, numb and unable to cope. A giant crow shows up to help him and the boys through those first stages. I'm not doing it justice, but it was a beautiful study of grief and dealing with loss and I'm rather morbidly putting it to one side in case I ever face a similar situation (God willing that doesn't happen).

Michael Crick, Militant

 A bit of a journalistic hatchet job, and some strange juxtapositions - on one hand Militant is portrayed as an ultra-disciplined, well-resourced dedicated revolutionary cadre, on the other hand the entire regional headquarters for some areas is one bloke and a rented room above a pub with some books. I'm not a revolutionary, but I'm comfortable sharing the broad church labour party with people to the left, unlike many, and I still believe Kinnock (and now Starmer) are wrong to punch left. The logic is that it makes them seem responsible, aligned to the establishment and more like a government in waiting, but at what cost? Surely the enemy are to the right of us? And if you believe the real enemy is to the left, should you be in a Labour Party?  Having said that, I do believe in democracy, and would rather live in a democracy than an undemocratic socialist state. But the answer to that isn't for the right of the Labour party to fix elections, impose candidates and expel people, it's to introduce more democracy - open selections of MPS, open primaries. If you want to reduce the risk of anti-democratic elements taking over a local party, then expand the franchise, don't restrict it.

John Fowles, The Collector

 Seemed very modern, and similar to the many gory misogynistic police procedurals where a disturbed quiet man kidnaps and tortures a pretty young woman, Much more than that though, and presumably quite original when John Fowles wrote it, even if the themes are sadly perennial