Try a William Boyd novel. They hook you from the start, have interesting and original plots and are not overly long. What's more there are lots of them, and relatively easy to find in second-hand bookshops. Perfect for a holiday read, if you are stuck on a difficult novel or just want something a bit different. His books sometimes feel like he has written them with the aid of a special book-kaleidoscope: twist it again, 10 bizarre plot-lines fall out and Boyd glues them together in 300 pages. Try one!
It is still very early days for our orchard - this year our harvest will consist of 3 pears and a handful of hazelnuts. But the hazelnuts are good ones - cobs and filberts, from a Webb's Prize Cob and a White Filbert respectively. And, what's more, we have beaten the squirrels to them. The squirrels seem to have concentrated on the plum tree (original, not in our new orchard) and many of the surrounding sycamores have bits of plum sitting on their more horizontal branches. Of course, as John Seymour memorably wrote, it is OK to lose crops to marauders such as squirrels and pheasants . . . as long as you eat them . The freezer now has a fair bit of (plum-fattened) squirrel-meat in it.
Just back from an ice-climbing trip to La Grave (Les Ecrins in the French Alps). Good conditions for the first few days (early morning temperatures of about -10C), and some good ice. Probably our best climbing day was Goulotte de Muretouse (II/3+, 200m ***); this involved an approach up a narrowing gully that had seen a spectacular avalanche. The climb itself gave two good pitches. We saw no-one all day, and were home in time for tea and cake! No Ellson epics! But, by the end of the week, the temperatures had rsien (-2C in the morning), and the icefalls were dripping. This gave adrenaline-fuelled climbing but for the wrong reasons. All in all, a good (if not great) trip - no tears, no dropped screws (£50 a pop), lots of cake and baths, some frogs legs and even a little tripe.
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