Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I put this off for ages, as I have a lowbrow antipathy to Booker winners. I tried to read an earlier Booker winner - The Finkler Question - as it was supposed to be funny, and I was delighted that even the Booker judges recognised that comedy can be serious. Sadly, I did not find it funny, just dull. I read another Booker winner - The Sense of an Ending and didn’t know what the fuss was about. I’m a cultural low life – no doubt about it.
What I am listening to –
Paul Simon’s Graceland, over and over in the car, especially the Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes track. I laugh out loud when those big fat drums come in after the quiet start.
What I am writing –
plans for future work. You’ll be hearing more after Easter. I know that’s on the way because I shared a hot cross bun on Monday with Gil my younger grandson.
What I am playing –
Scrabble with Dave, and Words with Friends with the Aging Hippie. But I have gone off WWF in a big way. I hate the fact that it’s based on a US dictionary (e.g. it won’t admit that vire is a word!) and I’ve realised that two thirds of the fun of Scrabble is the chat and the socialising. The other third is the delight in the words. So playing WWF doesn’t fit the bill. I need a real time game, preferably with both parties in the same room as each other and an up-to-date English dictionary.
What I am practising on my sax –
Here comes the Sun, after seeing that joyous flashmob perform it in the Madrid Unemployment Office. Every time I watch it, it makes me smile.
What I am making –
the patchwork quilt I started last year (not the one below). I’ve finished the Fair Isle hoodie which I designed myself. I had to have two attempts at the hood, but if unpicking things and redoing them was a problem I’d never have completed a novel.
Here is a bit of knitting geek info – did you know that traditional Fair Isle only has two colours on any one row? Mine is traditional in that sense, but the heart pattern is one I made up.
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