Postcard from World Book Day

It is a truth universally acknowledged that sitting in the sun with a cup of tea, a biscuit and a good book is hard to beat. Which is why I'm sharing this picture of my Kindle (which allows me to pretend I was reading Jane Austen when I was actually reading something else, as well as having a screen you can read in the glare of the sun) and book seat (allows me to have tea in one hand and biscuit in the other while still reading).

If you don't have a book seat, you really should. The Kindle doesn't test the seat's full capabilities. It comes into its own when asked to hold a real book - you know, those ones with thick spines and small print which can feel like a feat of physical endurance to read - while you sit back and relax. Don't panic - they do come in colours other than pink.

Happy World Book Day. Hope you manage a reading break too. Biscuits are optional, but you'd be a fool not to.

Postcard from Croome

Splat marks on a frozen lake can only mean some poor duck chose not to believe its eyes and tried to land anyway. I can only imagine what a nasty surprise that must have been. The snow may have been melting but there was a chill emanating from the ice.

I'm not surprised the ducks were tempted though. The lake is a 'Capability' Brown construction - designed for admiration and to entice. Which Croome does, even in such cold conditions. The 1940s tea room is slightly alarming though. It's housed in the sick quarters of the former RAF base on the site. I was just glad they hadn't decided to extend the wartime theme to ration the butter and sugar in the recipes.

Postcard from the treetops

One advantage of living on a hillside is the view of the sky. The only time I like cold weather is when it's sunny as well; and when planes leave interesting vapour trails perfectly framed in my roof light then winter doesn't seem so bad.

The temperature is in deep freeze at the moment. The forecast is for a warmer tomorrow, but that means clouds and rain as well. Boo. I wonder where the plane which veered to the right was going? It's heading south, so the destination may have been warmer than Birmingham...

Christmas Card 2011

In previous years I've posted an outdoors Christmas picture. This year I'll share the minimum effort decorations going on in my hallway. Today there has been ice, sleet and hail outside. Do you blame me for staying indoors?

I did venture into Birmingham earlier in the week to find that this year the visiting German market has got bigger but is selling fewer things, that I've already missed the best bargains in the supposedly post-Christmas sales and that the bull is ticking off several trends at once (onesies and knitwear that could be either festive or channelling The Killing) in his new outfit.

Have a lovely Christmas.

K x

Postcard from underwater III

For someone who isn't keen on fish, I seem to spend a lot of time at aquariums. It always strikes me as weird that somewhere as far from the coast as Birmingham has such a large Sea Life Centre and even weirder that when I have visitors they want to go there.

It has improved since my last visit a couple of years ago. There are now otters (aaahhh!) and a 4-D cinema. In which the fourth dimension is...guess what...water!

The otters were cute but moved too fast for my camera. I had to stand still for a long time to get a shot in which it appeared the fish were kissing. Now I know how the paparazzi feel.

Postcard from the pond

Autumn's colours are already fading. A walk through Highbury Park this afternoon proved that the leaves are falling, not just turning. A mob of ducks gathered at the other end of the pond where a toddler had food for them and I was left with this reflection. Bonfires were smoking in back gardens and squirrels were dashing up trees and dislodging more leaf litter. Somehow it's less antisocial when nature behaves in a loutish manner.

Postcard from the library

Well, not so much the library as the building site of what will be Birmingham's central library. It's not quite ready for the books yet. Given the issues with funding for libraries elsewhere in the country, it's great to see Brum investing in the concept with a whizzy new building. Also good to see is that it won't be another concrete hulk and will instead be a little bit bling. Nice.

I know I'm not the only Birmingham writer to use the central library resources for research as well as sometimes working at a desk there. So I'm hoping facilities at the new building will be everything we need. That's not much: desk, light, chair. The fancy exterior and cutting edge technological fit out is all very nice; but my biggest wish for the new building is that the escalators don't squeak. The noise from the current ones is ear bleedingly distracting.

I was lucky enough to be visiting the new building on a tour which included a chance to see some of the treasures which will move into the building once it's complete. Among the inspirational items for a writer included a First Folio of Shakespeare's plays and Caxton's first printed book. One item which will remind me of the old library though was a German speaking picture book. You can see an example demonstrated here then imagine those sounds on a constant loop coming from the escalator. Now do you understand why I can't wait for the new building to be ready?