march round up
March, what to say about March? Chickenpox and operations? Er rain and some great work projects? None of this sounds interesting… Books? Oh yes, some great books!
What I Read
Conversations on Love by Natasha Lynn
Bigger Than Us by Fearne Cotton
The Dog of The North by Elizabeth McKenzie
A Fortunate Woman by Polly Morland
I grabbed the long list of the Women’s Prize for Fiction this month and started making my way through it but then I passed Waterstone’s and they had this non fiction by Polly Morland in the window display alongside quotes singing it’s praises and I thought it sounded so different and original that I couldn’t resist. Also it was Mother’s Day so a new book felt like a great act of kindness to myself. It depicts a sleepy rural town, where the doctor works to her best ability for the community around her. She knows her patients, generations of them, their history and their stories. It’s a lovely read and also powerful and reminds us that some places don’t change too much with the march of time passing us.
MONTHLY FAVOURITES
Watched… Daisy Jones & The Six, the wonderful Taylor Jenkins Reid novel came out as a series and I was absolutely ready for it. Set in the 60’s depicting a band very influenced by Fleetwood Mac, it stars Riley Keough who I loved in American Honey. She is Elvis’s Grand Daughter and when she grins you can absolutely see it. Her brother committed suicide in 2020, she had a baby last year, then her Mother died in January and now her Grand Mother Prescilla Presley is suing her over her Mother’s estate, yes I went deep in the research. This has been a bonkers few years for her. She is bloody fantastic as Daisy.
Listened to… Dream Fuel with Arlo Parks is a programme on Six Music where she delves into her innner world, her music and musings on creativity, comfort and inspiration. She has Joe Talbot, my favourite, on this episode. He talks about dreams, long walks (12 mile walks in Wales during lockdown) and processing his anger.
Turned up for… Nick Mulvey at Chalk was a very special evening. He has good things to say, important spiritual ideas. But mainly I just love those songs, they make me think of camping the last few summers and happy days outside. The crowd sang along to every word and it was magical.*
*Not written with the help of Chat GPT although I am having a lot of fun with it!
