Exeat: Day 133/84: Carlos Ruiz Zafón plays a special role ....

Carlos Ruiz Zafón's La Sombra del Viento/ The Shadow of the Wind … all 500+ pages have kept me absorbed since I went to 3 Shires two weeks ago for my HipOp. He's an author with whom my first acquaintance was through the Obituary columns of the Daily Telegraph just a month ago. It's getting to be a habit with me almost. In late Spring 2018 I read the Obituary in the same newspaper of Peter Temple [left below], recognised as one of Australia's greatest crime fiction writers, Melbourne based although born in South Africa. The Shadow of the Wind is set in Spain during its Civil War and aftermath tracing the fateful life of an unrecognised author of whom the sole remaining copy of each of his works is to be found in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. It is told through the eyes of his loves and a 10 year old boy who on a visit to that Cemetery in 1945 picks up the sole copy of The Shadow …. and becomes totally obsessed with unravelling its author's life story. There are three more titles from the Cemetery yet to find …. which together have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide. Peter Temple has sold just as well with his Jack Irish series and more; he was five times winner of the Ned Kelly Crime Literature Award and took the international Golden Dagger Award, a first for an Australian, in 2007.

Dolphinstouns flew in PM from Tenerife! … They're back happy but chastened by their 14 days quarantine. Avril's been i/c Mr Barnie Gato and Ms Travis Gata whilst Mr Toby Perio has been in Buckingham. That's meant twice daily foods where the etiquette appears to be that Barnie eats all he wishes and Travis what remains …. that's c/p with working class family share out at dinner each night after Father gets home from his day's labour! Talking of food, Day 131/84's Avocado Day sequel this morning at breakfast was 'Avo on Pannini' … needed spicing up for me Mexican style not simple pepper/ salt. My rehab continues with the prescribed exercises and walking and putting the swollen leg higher than my heart on the sofa. The ambition is seemingly to straighten me up after a couple of years or more of rightwards inclination on the walking stick.
Next steps on battlefields [3]. The next steps in Prestonpans were cameo re-enactments. We started simply renting some redcoat uniforms from Northampton Repertory Supplies. We found that history and local folklore had a series of small tales to tell e.g. Colonel Gardiner's fatal wounding under the thorntree and his transit to Tranent Manse on a cart [shown below 2008] - our local Minister role played the Colonel; The Prince meeting the previous night at Duddingston for a Council of War and giving gifts to two young ladies - who later turned out to be daughters of a visiting Minister at Tranent Manse; the Proclamation at the Mercat Cross on the Royal Mile …. such small moments can be relatively easily presented and can be educed from most battle stories. At this stage we were fortunate in turning to experienced Jacobite re-enactors from Derby and it will be appropriate for emergent groups to achieve the same through the good offices of the Scottish Battlefields Trust.


Sunday lunch today alfresco …. It's gonna be roast beef with our own black bag potatoes and courgettes with thyme herb for the gluten free Yorkshire pudding/ bun … and perhaps some Chianti Classico - that's another sequel on yesterday's annual county celebrations there. And last night Edmonton called with provocative news they ate British Fish & Chips again on Friday [we've taken a rest from fish pies and ate ham, eggs and beans! Edmonton is baking in a 33 degrees heatwave at present. Talking of which, the reports from Tenerife suggest it's been a great week with consistent 26/ 27 degrees and a breeze.