Good evening, fellow Bookworms!
Isn’t that sand sculpture amazing? It was created on the beach in Normandy, France, especially for Thursday’s 80th anniversary of the D Day landings.
So, we’re now in June and I’m back with another blog and some updates on the book front, as I have already got three books read and have made some progress with some of the Ongoing Concerns!
You will no doubt remember that, right at the end of last month, my 6th finish for May was Roundabouts of Great Britain, by Kevin Beresford. Well, my first finish for June was Parking Mad by the same guy, in which he goes from JohnO’Groats to Land’s End reviewing various car parks in mainland Britain!
One of the particular highlights was his visit to Waterloo Street Car Park, a multi-storey in Glasgow, the manager of which, Steven Nichol, informs Mr Beresford that this rather splendid car park was originally a “dark, dingy, delapidated, dank, desperate dump” which has got to be one of the best examples of alliteration that I have ever had the pleasure of reading!
You may well remember this book, With You Every Step, by Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield, which I gave to my friend Sarah for Christmas – that was the copy I gave her.
Rob sadly lost his battle against Motor Neurone Disease last Sunday, 2nd June, at the age of just 41. I got myself a copy of this book along with a few other items of reading material on Tuesday at the Trafford Centre and so With You Every Step became my second read of the month.
Tributes were paid to Rob yesterday before the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley, in which Wigan Warriors beat Warrington Wolves 18-8. Sarah will be chuffed as she’s a Wigan fan.
Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves… more alliteration!
Before I move on from the rugby, I will just mention the autobiographies of the two guys in case you wish to read them. Too Many Reasons to Live is by the late Rob Burrow, and Kevin Sinfield’s autobiography is The Extra Mile.
Alan Hansen on Match of the Day, back in 1995, when United had started the 1995-96 season by losing away to Aston Villa. The former Liverpool and Scotland defender famously remarked that we would need to buy some players because “you can’t win anything with kids.”
United would go on to win the Premier League title and FA Cup Double that season with the “kids” that Alan said we would win nowt with, lol, so there was a lot of mirth at his expense. To be fair, though, he has always taken it in good heart.
Therefore, it was very sad to learn earlier this afternoon that Mr Hansen, now 68, is seriously ill and is in hospital. We wish him all the best for a speedy recovery!
Before we get on to my third finish and the Ongoing Concerns, this is my next journal all set up and ready to go for the second half of this year. These are pages from the front and the back. I have also done my first monthly setup in the new journal, and if I don’t show you in this blog, I will show you in the next one. This is my new combined journal instead of having separate reading and general ones.
Also letting you know that I am off to Stationery Fest on 29th June! Yay! This is at Manchester Central in town, better known as the G Mex. I didn’t get to go last year as it was on the same day as the Monton Village Festival and I was singing with my choir. However, there are no clashes this year, so I have got myself a ticket.
Back to the books now, though, as there’s still one more finished book to mention, and that is T.V. by Peter Kay! Really good and very funny! Not just his history of all the telly he watched as a kid, but also behind the scenes stuff about his own shows on the box, including Phoenix Nights and Car Share. I go to see him in September, so it’s not that far off now!
As you no doubt remember, I added Norway to the list of countries visited following our short break in Bergen last month. Outside of the UK, I have been to 37 other countries. You’re probably wondering if there is a “to do” or “bucket” list, and there is! Mum and I came up with The List quite a long time ago and it includes various kinds of holidays, including sun holidays and short city breaks.
When we found The List, it looks like it had last been updated in 2019 after we came home from Mauritius as that was ticked off, but Madeira was unticked, as were Gran Canaria and Tenerife, so I was able to tick all those off and also add Bergen to the city breaks. The Fjords were on the list but under river cruises, Bergen had not been listed, but it is now.
Perhaps we should also do one for parts of the UK? This thought came to me the other day as there was an advert for The Cotswold Company on the radio and it made me think “not been there” – which is unusual as we have been around the UK a fair bit, especially when we were kids and Ellie was doing trampolining. Her competitions took us around the country!
The Cotswolds do sound like a nice part of the country, I get the impression they’re picturesque. They’re a range of hills in south-western and west-central England. Might be nice for a short break. We often go up to the Lake District, however. That’s not too far away from us. Not sure how far away the Cotswolds are, but might be a bit longer journey in the other direction.
My choir journal setup for June. The song is “This is the Moment” and it’s from a musical version of Jekyll & Hyde.
Right, time I went through the Ongoing Concerns… Dark, Salt, Clear, by Lamorna Ash, is now 35% read and is one of my priority books for getting finished as it has been an OC since early in the year, as has The Lost Rainforests of Britain, by Guy Shrubsole. That one is now 26% read as I made some progress with it this afternoon, as well as getting started on Concretopia, by John Grindrod, which is 13% read.
A Poem for Every Summer Day, edited by Allie Esiri, was started on 1st June, and will become 10% read and an Ongoing Concern this coming Tuesday, 11th June. As you can probably imagine, that will be an ongoing book from now until the end of August. Tales From the Cafe, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, is still 10% read for now.
With finishing the Peter Kay book and also still having space on the OC list, I plan to start at least one new book in the coming week, possibly an autobiography. I have a fair few to choose from.
I think that is probably about all for now, though, as you have had all my news and book updates! I will be back soon enough with more waffle, but until then, take care and Happy Reading!
Joanne x x x
Books mentioned in this blog entry…
- Roundabouts of Great Britain – Kevin Beresford
- Parking Mad – Kevin Beresford
- With You Every Step – Rob Burrow & Kevin Sinfield
- Too Many Reasons to Live – Rob Burrow
- The Extra Mile – Kevin Sinfield
- T.V. – Peter Kay
- Dark, Salt, Clear – Lamorna Ash
- The Lost Rainforests of Britain – Guy Shrubsole
- Concretopia – John Grindrod
- A Poem for Every Summer Day – Allie Esiri (Ed.)
- Tales From the Cafe – Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Joanne's Bookshelf 