Gem-like

These may look tatty to you, but they are 2 of my most treasured books from childhood.  I remember my dad reading them to my brother and I when we were wee things and he used to crease up laughing whilst he read them aloud to us - he loved these Magic Roundabout books, which makes them even more special to me. 

They date back to 1971 & 1972 and cost the princely sum of 80p.

Why am I telling you all this?  Well, after Violet and I read 'My Dad's a Birdman' and loved it so much, I thought I'd dig these two out and give them a go.  I honestly cannot for the life of me think when the last time these stories saw the light of day - it could very well be over 30 years. What a pity, because they're         

 FAB-U-LOUS.

So much so that I'm going to share this little snippet with you today.

'Oh, you poor befuddled mollusc', said Dougal, 'don't you know anything?'

'Not a lot,' said Brian happily, 'but what I do know is very gem-like'.

What a great saying.  I love it.

* * * * * *

Nearly the end of the week, with the prospect of a long sunny weekend to look forward to.  Yippee!

I love children's books. Don't you?

I'm still feeling alittle ropey.  I hate having a cold - it zaps all your energy doesn't it?

Anyway, unto other things.  Remember me telling you that I was going to read 'My Dad's a Birdman' by David Almond, to Violet the other day?  Well, it was a fantastic children's story.  I can't recommend it highly enough.  It was short and funny, and the illustrations by Polly Dunbar just added to its charms.

And my fave picture in the book:

It was the sort of book your Primary School teacher would have read aloud to the entire class when you were little, and you'd have thoroughly enjoyed it and gone home smiling.

So, if you've got a young person in your family, or if you just love children's books yourself, get a copy and get reading.  I promise you'll love it.

You'll be pleased to know that I've been giving my Fairytale Swap some serious thought and think I've come up with some good ideas.  Obviously I'm not at liberty to disclose these on my blog at the moment, but I'll try and take some sneaky photos and post them on here.  See if you can guess what I'm upto.

Achooooooooo

Violet and I are both snuggled up under a duvet on the sofa today, because the dreaded cold lurgy has decided to bless us with its presence.

Because I haven't the energy to pop down to the shops to replenish vital foodstuffs, I've had to resort to baking my own bread.

It might not look fantastic, but who cares, as it tastes delicious. 

I'm now wondering why I don't make my own bread everyday. 

Right, I'm now gonna sign off and go and read this to Violet:

I picked it up for only £2. 

I love illustrated children's books, especially ones which have a Quentin Blake feel to them and also have such great titles.

Achooooooooooo

Death, Panic and the Worry Monster

Firstly, it would appear that I may have slightly killed this:

In a previous life, this was actually a Violet plant that some lovely person gave me because she thought it would be nice for Violet.  Well, it was a great thought, but because I haven't got a garden, the poor thing has just shrivelled up and passed on. 

Next, panic set in this morning as I discovered that none of the shops round abouts actually sell

Anya potatoes

English Provender Caramelised Onions

or

Taleggio cheese.

So, panic stricken, I thought anxiously about what I could substitute these ingredients with.  Thank the lord for M&S foodhall.  They do a jar of Caramelised Onion Chutney.  Phew!

I've ended up having to replace the Anya Potatoes with just New Potatoes and the Taleggio with some Goats Cheese. 

Then I get home and read a comment from a lady who'd visited my blog.  She'd left a message regarding my Vegetarian menu.  A seed of doubt has now entered my mind. This lady pointed out that the cheeses I might be using may contain animal rennet and would therefore be unsuitable for my Vegetarian guests.

I've now turned into a complete an utter Worry Monster. Sometimes entertaining can be quite stressful can't it?

--------

A couple of other things I'd like to share with you today.  Whilst Violet and I were out and about trying to locate our ingredients for tomorrow's luncheon, I thought I'd pop into one of the charity shops along the high street.  Wow, they do have a hell of alot of crap to shift don't they?  But, I did manage to find a few things. 

49p - what a bargain.  He (or she) is only about 3 inches high and is bright Yellow.  It makes me smile and I've already had to put it out of Violet's reach. She just keeps pointing at it, saying "av it, av it".

A quid.  Now nobody can complain at that price.  Can they?

And, I don't know why I was drawn to this book, but it looked intriguing.

A Fortunate Life by A B Facey.

It's the life story of a man called Albert Facey, who was born in 1894 and grew up on the Kalgoorlie Goldfields and the Wheat-belt of Western Australia.  His father died before he was 2 and he was deserted by his mother soon afterwards.  He was then looked after by his gran until he was 8 years old, when he went to work. He survived Gallipoli, the loss of his farm in the Depression, the death of his son in WWII and the loss of his wife after 60 years together. Albert had had no formal education and had taught himself how to read and write. 

Doesn't it sound like an amazing story?  It makes me feel extremely fortunate that I have the life that I do.

It's gonna be a 3 day weekend again folks - Yippee!