The Crofter & The Laird by John McPhee nonfiction 1969 print finished 1/19/17 The Crofter and The Laird has been in our library for decades. I’ve often looked at it and wondered if I’d like to read it, but I’ve never actually picked it up. It was published in 1969, 1970. The reason for the two dates is that it was published in The New Yorker magazine first, and then was ‘developed with the editorial counsel of William Shawn, Robert Bingham, andC.P. Crow.’
The author begins the book with
The Scottish clan that I belong to - or would belong to if it were now anything more than a sentimental myth - was broken a great many generations ago by a party of MacDonalds, who hunted down the last chiefof my clan, captured him, refused him mercy, saying that a man who had never shown mercy should not ask for it, tied him to a standing stone, and shot him.
That standing stone was on the Scottish island of Colonsay. McPhee brings his wife and four daughters over to live there for a time. He weaves together the past and the present, teaching us local history andshowing us what life is like. At the time of the book there were 138 people on the island, and today there are 135 people. Amazing that fifty years laterthe population is the same especially because the crofters of the late sixties feared the young would leave and never come back. Some must have stayed, and perhaps others have moved there. There are a lot ofactivities that weren’t going on in the time of the book, for example festivals, and honey production. There is still a laird, and I found an article where he helped save the only pub five years ago. There is a tremendous amount of gossip that goes on. The author is told there is no mental illness on Colonsay, probably due to the degree of gossiping.
‘There is apparently a point at which gossip can become so intensely commonplace that it is not only beyond hurting anone but is, in fact, a release.'
McPhee shares some of this gossip with the reader, using a great device whereby he notes the words of several people, listed one after another without mentioning anyone’s name. This particular topic went on for two pages. “Donald Garvard is generous man. He would lend his last hundred pounds.” “He comes in like a bit of a breeze.” “He’s a hail fellow.” “He has a strong, Highland sense of humor."
If you have an interest in Scottish island life from almost fifty years ago, this is your book. And if it isn’t a topic that you are particularly interested in, you may find yourself drawn into the book. I so enjoyed it. This is my second choice for
When we were in our twenties, Tom remarked on the fact that we now had adult memories; that we could look back and see a past. That doesn’t happen in your teens. It seems to be a perception, a knowledge that occurs when one is a twenty-something.
My favorite Pink Floyd song tells of this experience, and I happened to see that Roger Waters, who wrote the lyrics, came to the realization when he was 28 or 29.
This song is about how time can slip by, but many people do not realise it until it is too late. Roger Waters got the idea when he realised he was no longer preparing for anything in life, but was right in the middle of it.
"Time"
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say
Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
When I come home cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away, across the fields
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spell
One of my very early posts spotlighted the first Keane album. A song from it that expresses this same twenties experience is Somewhere Only We Know.
I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river, and it made me complete
Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin
I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?
Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin
And if you have a minute, why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?
Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin
And if you have a minute, why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go?
So why don't we go?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know
Somewhere only we know
Somewhere only we know?
Adele’s latest album 25 is described here and there’s that same theme.
"Million Years Ago"
I only wanted to have fun
Learning to fly learning to run
I let my heart decide the way
When I was young
Deep down I must have always known
That this would be inevitable
To earn my stripes I'd have to pay
And bare my soul
I know I'm not the only one
Who regrets the things they've done
Sometimes I just feel it's only me
Who can't stand the reflection that they see
I wish I could live a little more
Look up to the sky not just the floor
I feel like my life is flashing by
And all I can do is watch and cry
I miss the air, I miss my friends
I miss my mother, I miss it when
Life was a party to be thrown
But that was a million years ago
When I walk around all of the streets
Where I grew up and found my feet
They can't look me in the eye
It's like they're scared of me
I try to think of things to say
Like a joke or a memory
But they don't recognize me now
In the light of day
I know I'm not the only one
Who regrets the things they've done
Sometimes I just feel it's only me
Who never became who they thought they'd be
I wish I could live a little more
Look up to the sky not just the floor
I feel like my life is flashing by
And all I can do is watch and cry
I miss the air I miss my friends
I miss my mother I miss it when
Life was a party to be thrown
But that was a million years ago
A million years ago
This post was prompted by an Ed Sheeran video I watched this morning. I thought, oh my gosh, this really is a ‘thing.’ It is a life truth that when we’ve had a few years of living, we look back to see where we came from and what shaped us and how the time goes by.
"Castle on the Hill"
When I was six years old I broke my leg
I was running from my brother and his friends
And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass I rolled down
I was younger then, take me back to when I
Found my heart and broke it here
Made friends and lost them through the years
And I’ve not seen the roaring fields in so long, I know I’ve grown
But I can’t wait to go home.
I’m on my way
Driving at 90 down those country lanes
Singing to “Tiny Dancer”
And I miss the way you make me feel, and it’s real
We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill
Fifteen years old and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes
Running from the law through the back fields and getting drunk with my friends
Had my first kiss on a Friday night, I don’t reckon I did it right
But I was younger then, take me back to when
We found weekend jobs, when we got paid
We’d buy cheap spirits and drink them straight
Me and my friends have not thrown up in so long, oh how we’ve grown
But I can’t wait to go home
I’m on my way
Driving at 90 down those country lanes
Singing to “Tiny Dancer”
And I miss the way you make me feel, and it’s real
The Franchise Affair - book 3 in the Alan Grant series (though he is barely in this one)
by Josephine Tey
mystery 1948
kindle
finished 1/21/17
I have never read a book like The Franchise Affair.
Here is the plot. A young teenage girl goes to the police and tells them that she has been kidnapped and beaten by two women, a woman in her forties and her mother. She describes their house and grounds in great and perfect detail. The women deny everything. Can you imagine if someone accused you of such a thing and ‘knew’ your home inside out? What a horror. The reader doesn't know who is telling the truth and who isn’t for a while. There is a wonderful small town lawyer who has lived a placid, easy life with a doting aunt. Suddenly he is swept up in the case and off on the adventure of his life. Alan Grant, the Scotland yard sleuth in the first two books in the series makes very few appearances. I guess that’s about all I’ll say except that this is one great story, and you don’t need to read the others in the series first.
I read it for the Birth Year Reading Challenge 2017
and the Read Scotland 2017 challenge
though I was going to read it anyway because I am planning to read all the books in the Alan Grant series, and Tey's non-series books as well. She was a very good writer who died too early. Her real name was Elizabeth MacKintosh. You may read more about her hereandhere. I've just bought a recent biography of her by Jennifer Morag Henderson. My thanks go out to my blogging friend Cath for introducing the author to me.
This is a posting which references two earlier blog entries I've written. One is a a 'product placement' piece on Little Secrets candy. You may read it here.
The second entry is a chocolate chip cookie recipe from the Sugar in the Raw company. You may read it here.
A while ago I read someone's post on cookies made with M&Ms. Since then I've been thinking of making them with Little Secrets. I used the chocolate chip recipe just substituting Little Secrets for chocolate chips. I bought several varieties, and am making them once a week now.
Hazel Nina began going three mornings a week to a Montessori school in town. One of the days is a day Margaret works and we take care of her. So Pop brings her to school and when we pick her up and go to either her house or ours, we give her what we call 'Tuesday cookies' and milk. It's a fun little ritual.
This week I used the Dark Chocolate Raspberry variety. It was just the best feeling to not be using the horrible, cancer causing artificial colors that are in M&Ms.
I make a couple without candy for Lucy, and here she is waiting for her cookie.
The Library in the Garret
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Books, books, books!
I had found the secret of a garret-room
Piled high with cases in my father's name;
Piled high, packed large, - where, creeping in and out
Among the giant fossils of my past,
Like some small nimble mouse between the ribs
Of a mastodon, I nibbled here and there
At this or that box, pulling through the gap,
In heats of terror, haste, victorious joy,
The first book first. And how I felt it beat
Under my pillow, in the morning's dark,
An hour before the sun would let me read!
My books! ...
The poem was in the introduction to this book, which I borrowed from my daughter.
There is a book for each of the 365 days. I think I'm going to really enjoy this. I've already peeked ahead and seen many books I've never read.
The year began with Zadie Smith's White Teeth.
From the introduction: Think of this as a tasting menu. It is my dearest hope that each taste will send you scurrying to your bookseller or library so you can read (or reread) that book, cover to cover.
on my shelves, and some of them have been there for a long time. Year after year goes by, and I don't read them. So I thought I'd sign up for Peggy Ann's Read Scotland 2017 Challenge.
All the books are set on the Hebrides, and all but the Ann Cleeves are nonfiction. I own one other book set in Scotland, written by the late Iain Banks,
and I just may read this one as well, even though I've read it twice already. I wrote a little bit about it in a book journal before I had a blog.
The book is subtitled In Search Of The Perfect Dram.This book will appeal to - the whisky fan, the fan of author Banks' fiction work, and then me, who is neither one. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was like sitting in the living room (or at a bar!) with him. The writing is rambling, his thoughts seem to be written as he thinks them. What I like especially is his passion- for life, for Scotland, for whisky, for cars, for music, for fun.
It is time I read these books, and this is the perfect way to get myself to do so. I am reading at the 1-5 level called Totie Wee. You may join here at her blog, or on her Goodreads page here.
If you love Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis, or Endeavour, then I want to direct you to a blog that is all about them. You may find it here. Christopher Sullivan does an amazing job of sharing all one could ever hope to know about these television shows, from reviews of individual episodes including artistic, literary, and musical references, to up to the minute articles about, or communications from, the actors. He also has a youtube channel which you may find here.
Tomorrow night on ITV the fourth series of Endeavour begins. I'll be watching via TunnelBear. It will eventually be on PBS in the US, but I've recently learned from Christopher's blog that we lose about ten minutes of the show over here. After I've seen the shows, I buy the DVDs from PBS, but they say "Full UK-Length Edition."
So that's it for the first Sally of the new year. I wanted to spotlight this one site in case fans of the shows don't know about it. For those on Facebook, he has a page there, too.
Last year I joined a little challenge offered by my PEI friend here. I read not one book. It was a great idea, but ... . I've looked at a few of the challenges offered this year, but steeled myself to be realistic and not sign up. But this one, offered by another blogging friend seems like something I might be able to participate in, and have some success with. Plus it sounds like great fun. You may read more about it here, and perhaps some of you will sign up.
I had read two books in the Alan Grant series by Josephine Tey last year. The next one in line was published in my birth year, so that will go on the list. Also, there are a few Agatha Christie books I haven't yet read, and one of them was also published then. And a year ago I bought Uncle Dynamite by PG Wodehouse, and discovered to my delight that it too is a birth year publication. So, right off the bat, there are three books for me.
The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie Uncle Dynamite by PG Wodehouse
Oh, and if you're wondering what year - it is 1948. Yup, next year is my big 7-0! How did that happen?
Anyhow, I am looking forward to this challenge, and I thank JG for offering it.
December - 6 5 mysteries 1 fiction 5 kindle 1 pring 3 by men 3 by women 1 - 1900-1910 2 - 1930s 1 - 1950s 2 - 2011-2019 November - 4 2 mysteries 1 fiction 1 short stories 2 kindle 1 print 4 by men 2 - 1930s 1 - 2000-2010 1 - 2011-2019 October - 4 3 mysteries 1 fiction 3 kindle 1 print 2 by men 2 by women 2 - 1930s 1 - 1950s 1 - 1970s September - 4 3 mysteries 1 nonfiction 2 kindle 2 print 2 by men 2 by women 1 - 1950s 3 - 2011-2019 August - 4
3 mysteries 1 nonfiction 3 kindle 1 print 2 by men 2 by women 1 - 1960s 1 - 2000-2010 2 - 2011-2019 July - 4 3 mysteries 1 fiction 4 kindle 2 by men 2 by women 1 - 1940s 3 - 2011-2019 June - 6 5 mysteries 1 nonfiction 5 kindle 1 print 1 by men 5 by women 1 - 1950s 2 - 1990s 3 - 2011-2019 May - 5 5 mysteries 5 kindle 5 by men One 2011-2019 Four 1990s April - 6 1 fiction 5 mysteries 5 kindle 1 print 4 by men 2 by women 3 - 2000-2010 3 - 2011-2019 March - 3 books 3 mysteries 2 kindle 1 print 1 by men 2 by women 1 - 2000-2010 2 - 2011-2019 February - 3 books 3 mysteries 3 kindle 3 by men 1 - 1920s 1 - 1930s 1 - 1990s
January - 6 books 4 mysteries 2 nonfiction 4 kindle 2 print 4 by men 2 by women 2 - 1940s 1 - 1960s 2 - 1990s 1 - 2011-2019
4 in all. October - 1 4. Limitless (also known as The Dark Fields) by Alan Glynn fiction 2001 print finished 10/10/17 September - 1
3. The Man Who Created the Middle East: A Story of Empire, Conflict and the Sykes-Picot Agreement
by Christopher Simon Sykes
nonfiction 2016
print
finished 9/3/17
April - 2
1. Hero of the Empire
by Candice Millard
nonfiction 2016
print
finished 4/1/17
2. Presumption of Guilt - book 27 in the Joe Gunther series
by Archer Mayor
mystery 2016
print
finished 4/21/17
December - 6 55. Brooklyn Secrets - book 3 in the Erica Donato series by Triss Stein mystery 2015 kindle finished 12/31/17 54. Brooklyn Graves - book 2 in the Erica Donato series by Triss Stein mystery 2014 kindle finished 12/28/17
53. Anne of Green Gables - book 1 in the Anne Shirley series by Lucy Maud Montgomery fiction 1908 kindle reread finished 12/21/17 52. A Maigret Christmas and Other Stories by Georges Simenon; translated by David Coward 2017 mystery 1951 print finished 12/15/17 51. The Case of Naomi Clynes aka Inspector Richardson CID - book 3 in the Inspector Richardson series by Basil Thomson mystery 1934 kindle finished 12/11/17 50. Richardson Scores Again aka Richardson's Second Case - book 2 in the Inspector Richardson series by Basil Thomson mystery 1934 kindle finished 12/5/17 November - 4 49. Richardson's First Case - book 1 in the Inspector Richardson Mystery series by Basil Thomson mystery 1933 kindle finished 11/25/17 48. A Rumpole Christmas by John Mortimer short stories 2009 print reread finished 11/20/17 47. The House of Unexpected Sisters - book 18 in the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith fiction 2018 kindle finished 11/17/17 46. Dictator's Way aka Death of a Tyrant - book 10 in the Bobby Owen series by E.R. Punshon mystery 1938 kindle finished 11/9/17 October - 4 45. The Dusky Hour aka Death in the Chalkpits - book 9 in the Bobby Owen series by E.R. Punshon mystery 1937 kindle finished 10/30/17 44. Mystery of Mr. Jessop - book 8 in the Bobby Owen series by E.R. Punshon mystery 1937 kindle finished 10/16/17 43. Battles at Thrush Green - book 4 in the Thrush Green series by Miss Read fiction 1975 print reread finished 10/14/17 42. The Daughter of Time - book 5 in the Alan Grant series by Josephine Tey mystery 1951 kindle finished 10/2/17 September - 4 41. How Many Camels Are There in Holland? Dementia, ma and me by Phyllida Law nonfiction 2013 print finished 9/29/17 40. To Love and Be Wise - book 4 in the Alan Grant series by Josephine Tey mystery 1950 kindle finished 9/27/17 39. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz mystery 2016 print finished 9/20/17 38. Storm Cell - book 10 in the Lewis Cole series by Brendan DuBois mystery 2016 kindle finished 9/3/17 August - 4 37. The Perfect Summer England 1911, Just Before the Storm by Juliet Nicolson nonfiction 2006 print finished 8/31/17 36. Blood Foam - book 9 in the Lewis Cole series by Brendan DuBois mystery 2015 kindle finished 8/26/17 35. Brooklyn Bones - book 1 in the Erica Donato series by Triss Stein mystery 2013 kindle finished 8/20/17 34. Miss Seeton Draws the Line - book 2 in the Miss Seeton series by Heron Carvic mystery 1969 kindle finished 8/13/17 July - 4 33. A Distant View of Everything - book 11 in the Isabel Dalhousie series by Alexander McCall Smith fiction 2017 kindle finished 7/30/17 32. Once Upon a Grind - book 14 in the Coffeehouse series by Cleo Coyle mystery 2014 kindle finished 7/23/17 31. Billionaire Blend - book 13 in the Coffeehouse series by Cleo Coyle mystery 2013 kindle finished 7/14/17 30. Close Quarters - book 1 in the Inspector Hazlerigg series by Michael Gilbert mystery 1947 kindle finished 7/4/17 Wrote about first six months here. June - 6 29. Blood and Judgement - book 1 in the Patrick Petrella series by Michael Gilbert mystery 1959 kindle finished 6/24/17 28. Missing, Presumed - book 1 in the DS Manon series by Susie Steiner mystery 2016 kindle finished 6/18/17 27. A Brew to a Kill - book 11 in the Coffeehouse series by Cleo Coyle mystery 2012 kindle finished 6/14/17 26. Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor nonfiction 2015 print finished 6/9/17 25. No Place for Memories - book 6 (and last) in the Fred Vickery series by Sherry Lewis mystery 1999 kindle finished 6/7/17 24. No Place for Sin - book 5 in the Fred Vickery series by Sherry Lewis mystery 1997 kindle finished 6/4/17 May - 5 23. No Place for Tears - book 4 in the Fred Vickery series by Sherry Lewis mystery 1997 kindle finished 5/30/17 22. No Place for Death - book 3 in the Fred Vickery series by Sherry Lewis mystery 1996 kindle finished 5/24/17 21. No Place Like Home - book 2 in the Fred Vickery series by Sherry Lewis mystery 1996 kindle finished 5/17/17 20. No Place for Secrets - book 1 in the Fred Vickery series by Sherry Lewis mystery 1995 kindle finished 5/12/17 19. Fatal Harbor - book 8 in the Lewis Cole series by Brendan DuBois mystery 2014 kindle finished 5/2/17 April - 6 18. The Song of Hartgrove Hall - published in Great Britain as The Song Collector by Natasha Solomons fiction 2015 print finished 4/27/17 17. Deadly Cove - book 7 in the Lewis Cole series by Brendan DuBois mystery 2011 kindle finished 4/25/17 16. Primary Storm - book 6 in the Lewis Cole series by Brendan DuBois mystery 2006 kindle finished 4/22/17 15. Killer Jam - book 1 in the Dewberry Farm series by Karen MacInerney mystery 2015 kindle finished 4/16/17 14. Buried Dreams - book 5 in the Lewis Cole series by Brendan DuBois mystery 2004 kindle finished 4/12/17 13. Killer Waves - book 4 in the Lewis Cole series by Brendan DuBois mystery 2002 kindle finished 4/4/17 March - 3 12. In This Grave Hour - book 13 in the Maisie Hobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear mystery 2017 kindle finished 3/23/17 11. The Blackhouse - book 1 in the Lewis Trilogy by Peter May mystery 2009 print finished 3/16/17 10. Death of a Chimney Sweep - book 26 in the Hamish Macbeth series by MC Beaton mystery 2011 kindle finished 3/5/17 February - 3 9. Mystery in the Channel - book 7 in the Inspector French series by Freeman Wills Crofts mystery 1931 kindle finished 2/28/17 8. The Starvel Hollow Tragedy - book 3 in the Inspector French series by Freeman Wills Crofts mystery 1927 kindle finished 2/14/17 7. Shattered Shell - book 3 in the Lewis Cole series by Brendan DuBois mystery 1999 kindle finished 2/5/17 January- 6 6. The Little Book of Hygge Danish Secrets To Happy Living by Meik Wiking nonfiction 2016 print finished 1/27/17 5. The Franchise Affair - book 3 in the Alan Grant (though he is barely in this one) by Josephine Tey mystery 1948 kindle finished 1/21/17
4. The Crofter & The Laird by John McPhee nonfiction 1969 print finished 1/19/17 3. Taken at the Flood- book 27 in the Hercule Poirot series by Agatha Christie mystery 1948 kindle finished 1/16/17
2. Black Tide - book 2 in the Lewis Cole series by Brendan DuBois mystery 1995 kindle finished 1/11/17
1. Dead Sand - book 1 in the Lewis Cole series by Brendan DuBois mystery 1994 kindle finished 1/3/17
