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Thursday 16 February 2012

A Room without Books is like a Body without a Soul *

Good Morning Dear Friends!

Welcome once again to the early yawny morning study at Myrtle House where Yours Truly sits and taps -  this being at present my only form of possible communication beyond the occasional squeak due to the unbounded kindness of Sister Cate who came to Sally-sit at the weekend and left behind sufficient air-borne molecules of My Lady Malady to strike me down with a most terrific lack of performance in the vocal chord department; however I have my revenge planned and ready to implement and I intend to re-infect her over tea and cake later this morning - they do say revenge is a sweet best eaten cold and I take it that the Coffee and Walnut cake courtesy of the delightful creatures at Costa, slips seamlessly into this category!

In the meantime I am glugging a most marvelous concoction which I am sure I must have mentioned before ... I was introduced to it by the wonderfully talented and fantastically voiced Frank Halliwell of Dennis Delight fame many years ago; although a brilliant vocalist, he was often beset by hoarseness and relied heavily on this mixture's amazing efficacy and recuperative powers to get him through a gig when the old chords were twanging less than usual and so, dear reader, I pass the secret on to you . . . it is available at most old fashioned chemists and goes by the name of Sanderson's Specific.  I warn you it tastes fairly noxious but is an amazing restorative . . . there is the usual nonsense on the label about sipping a teaspoon but, following Frank's wisdom, I simply glug it and, lo and behold, the squeak becomes a squawk almost instantly . . . try it, you'll be amazed!

Whilst I seem to be in the business of product - placement this morning, I'd like to draw to your attention the eatery (awful word!) of another chum; I refer, of course,  to The Coven Deli, which is based just around the corner from Myrtle House in Wigan's Victorian Quarter and is receiving the most amazing and richly-deserved reviews for its astounding range of specialist foods . . . if like me you are part of the Twitterverse you can follow @TheCovenWigan and keep up to date with all the events and delicious goodies available . . . yum!

Whilst glancing at the short blurb which accompanies these ravings I notice that I refer to Myrtle House as my "new home" which is something of a misnomer; it's now fast approaching a year since I moved my chattels across town to this oasis of peace amid the hustle and bustle of the hurly burly and what a strange year it has been . . . not the best in many respects but I have to say that the peace and serenity I have found here has helped immensely and given me strength to continue when it all seemed rather tiresome and pointless . . . of course,  being here would not have been even thinkable without the constant help, love and support I have received (most gratefully) from all those who shall remain nameless - you know who you are! Anyhow, come the 17th of March, which is St Patrick's Day, I shall be celebrating - albeit soberly due to my 2 year anniversary on the 28th of this month - my first full year 'neath these sequestered slates and so invite you all to say "Sláinte" on my behalf.

Concerning the environs of Myrtle House, plans are afoot - or 30.48 cm for you youngsters out there - to remove the teetering obelisk that is rumoured to be a garden shed but is fast approaching a return to its constituent gluons and leptons, and put in its place a wee little chicken house for three wee little chickens; names being bandied about for said birds include Korma, Tikka and Samber . . . which I think suggests a subtle encouragement to them to produce sufficient eggs to ensure their continued good health - what do you think? It is, of course, part of my long-held desire to be self-sufficient and live the good life . . . I wonder where I could put the goat?

The morning progresses and my tea has become a tad chillsome and, like my good self, needs hotting up somewhat! However, before I go I thought I'd mention some of the books I'm reading or have reviewed recently; last time I posted I said I was away to buy "The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey which I subsequently did and which is more than living up to its promise . . . a most marvelous story and so beautifully crafted . . . incidentally,  I also received a lovely tweet of thanks from Eowyn for mentioning her book which I thought was a really nice gesture;  I also got the chance to meet the very sweet Jane Rogers - she of Mr Wroe's Virgins fame - at Wigan Library a few days ago and got a copy of her new one "The Testament of Jessie Lamb" which I haven't begun yet but has quite an intriguing premise, I should check it out if I were you! I can't remember if I told you about "Putting Alice Back Together" by Carol Marinelli which is due to be published in around a fortnights time - it's a really good story but has the most appalling cover I've ever seen on a book! Don't let yourself be put off though, the read within is well worth it.  
All the links I've included will whizz you through the ether to the Waterstones ( no ') site but I do recommend that, if you don't mind paying a few coppers more, you visit the actual shop - the one in Wigan is staffed by the nicest bunch of folk this side of the asylum wall, though which side they should be on is debatable!  You can also follow them on Twitter by searching for @WaterstonesWN1 or simply Waterstones Wigan

Ah well, all things must come to an end and so I must show my face to the world - thus ending what had been quite a nice experience for the world until that point.  I hope your day is good and that you've enjoyed reading my scribblings; why not leave a comment, just to let me know that there is someone out there and it's not all in my imagination!

'til next time

Be Seeing You !





* by Cicero but recently brought to my attention by my mate Chris - Cheers :)

1 comment:

  1. Lovely read , nice to see you have already got names for the chickens , tut tut tut!!!! hope the Sanderson's has done the trick and you are vocal again see you soon x

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