Sunday Post – 25th June 2017

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.

Last Sunday was sweltering, which I loved. But even I was glad of the air-con in the car as we drove to Ringwood to see my mother and father-in-law for Father’s Day. It was lovely to see them again – and admire their marvellous display of sweet peas they’ve grown.

This was another very hectic week – Monday we had the family coming to stay, so it was a case of ensuring bedrooms were all ready to go. I was teaching at Northbrook in the evening – we had two excellent sessions this week, with a great range of thought-provoking and well written pieces of work from the students. I cannot believe this coming week sees the final session of my Creative Writing classes for the year.

On Wednesday – the hottest day of the year so far – I decided to rejoin my Pilates and Fitstep group. I am once more the newbie, as the Littlehampton class has folded due to lack of numbers and the Middleton group is far more advanced. I muddled through and just jigged around in time to the music when I got hopelessly lost, but loved taking part once again. In the afternoon, I was teaching Tim – we were tweaking and rewriting song lyrics for the film as the cast will be in the studio recording the songs in just over a fortnight’s time. In the evening, it was writing group. There were only three of us, but we were able to sit out in the garden as it steadily grew darker – bliss!

On Thursday, writing buddy Mhairi came over for the day and my sister also popped in as she was waiting for her broadband to be connected. In the evening, I attended Tim’s show with the Chichester Free School – it was an entertaining evening as the standard was impressive. Tim performed ‘You Got to Pick a Pocket or Two’ as Fagin from Oliver and ‘Evermore’ from Sleeping Beauty, which he did beautifully and had me in tears… It is so wonderful to see him up on the stage performing so confidently and with such talent and passion.

On Friday morning, Tim reflected on his very positive experience of performing in this show during his lesson. He had composed a new tune – a lovely quirky number and after he performed it for me, I asked him if he could call it ‘Sarah’ and let me have a copy of it as a birthday present… He was delighted and was only too happy to do so. He also played me the finale for the film – and once more, I found myself filling up as I listened to it – such a hauntingly beautiful piece of music. In the afternoon – I went to the hairdresser and had my hair dyed purple…

Oscar stayed over on his own on Friday night, as Frances had a sleepover with a school friend before John picked her up from Brighton and we had both grandchildren last night. Sadly, the weather has been a whole lot cooler with spells of misty rain at times and while I know the garden and landscape could do with the moisture, I would have loved to have taken Oscar for a walk along the beach if the weather had been halfway decent.

As it has once more, been such a very busy week with the family staying over and so much going on, my reading and blogging has suffered. Apologies for not responding with my usual promptness.

This week I have read:
A Peace Divided – Book 2 of the Peacekeeper series by Tanya Huff
Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr had been the very model of a Confederation Marine. No one who’d ever served with her could imagine any circumstance that would see her walking away from the Corps. But that was before Torin learned the truth about the war the Confederation was fighting…before she’d been declared dead and had spent time in a prison that shouldn’t exist…before she’d learned about the “plastic” beings who were really behind the war between the Confederation and the Others. That was when Torin left the military for good. Yet she couldn’t walk away from preserving and protecting everything the Confederation represented. Instead, ex-Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr drew together an elite corps of friends and allies–some ex-Marines, some civilians with unique skills–and together they prepared to take on covert missions that the Justice Department and the Corps could not–or would not–officially touch. But after their first major mission, it became obvious that covert operations were not going to be enough. Although the war is over, the fight goes on and the Justice Department finds its regular Wardens unable to deal with violence and the people trained to use it. Ex-Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr has a solution: Strike Teams made up of ex-military personnel, small enough to maneuver quickly, able to work together if necessary. Justice has no choice but to implement her idea and Torin puts her team of independent contractors back into uniform. It isn’t war, it is policing, but it often looks much the same.
No… that wasn’t the book – it was only the blurb, honest. I really enjoyed this thoughtful, politically aware addition to this strong, well-written military science fiction adventure.

Sherlock Mars by Jackie Kingdon
Molly Marbles runs a successful bistro on terraformed Mars. But a virtual restaurant opens near her place, offering the experience of delicacies from across the Solar System with none of the calories. What will this do to her business? Then its owner is murdered in her kitchen. Molly, an amateur detective, springs into action to help the police solve the mystery, while also planning her pop-star daughter’s wedding, keeping her kitchen staff from feuding, and protecting her cyborg friend from the humans-only mob. Meanwhile, the infamous Cereal Serial Killer has escaped prison on Pluto and has everyone worried. Things are getting hectic, but Molly is a resilient and resourceful woman. And her knack for mysteries sees her nick-named ‘Sherlock Mars’.
This science fiction cosy mystery is great fun – I’m a sucker for whodunit mysteries set in space and this is one of the cosy variety…

My posts last week:

Sunday Post – 18th June 2017

Shoot for the Moon Challenge 2017 – May Roundup

Teaser Tuesday featuring A Peace Divided – Book 2 of the Peacekeeper series by Tanya Huff

Review of Cold-Forged Flame – Book 1 of the Ree Varekai series by Marie Brennan

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of A Peace Divided – Book 2 of the Peacekeeper series by Tanya Huff

Friday Face-off – In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods… featuring Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot

Review of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

This week, I simply haven’t been spending sufficient time online to be able to compile a list of intriguing and entertaining blog posts. In the meantime, thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to visit, like and comment on my site and may you have a great week.