27 July 2009

It’s been a full on couple of weeks. To take you back – we last spoke after a rather nice Friday night at Sadler’s that The Mother and I enjoyed…

The next two days were a whirl of chores. A full on Spring Clean from top to bottom. There was laundry, bed linen changing, ironing, bathroom and kitchen scrubbing. Oh what joy!

My dear friend Nat sadly lost her dad after a long illness, so Friday afternoon I joined her at the wake. She was obviously devastated, but stayed strong for the rest of her family, and managed to look stunningly beautiful as well.

Friday night I joined my friend Lorrie and her fiancĂ© to celebrate his 40th birthday….

Saturday we held a family picnic at the local park – I spent the morning baking a wealth of savoury and sweet lovelies, and even managed to cut up a fruit salad!

Sunday My Husband and I took The Niece off to Legoland for the day. Exhausting but fun, although without the 2 for 1 Adult ticket it would have been a shockingly expensive day….

Monday I received the painful news that my ex-boyfriend of some 15 years had passed away. We hadn’t spoken for nearly two years, and hadn’t been a part of one another’s lives for a long long time, but none the less the news knocked the stuffing out of me. I went to the church service on Friday morning, and am still reeling to be honest. It was heartbreaking, and whilst our relationship ended very badly, I will miss the memory of him dearly.

Friday evening, The Mother and I took ourselves off to the Coliseum to see the long awaiting Carlos Acosta & Guest Artists. I had been looking forward to seeing him, and his show for about 18 months – but wasn’t really in the right place to enjoy it. Carlos was breathtaking, but certainly not the highlight of the show for me.

Saturday saw us at Asda, and then home again for some chores and an afternoon nap. We watched The Secret Life of Bees and curled up on the sofa…

Then yesterday we went for a 20 mile bike ride, I had another nap on the sofa in the afternoon – and here we are, Monday morning again…

13 July 2009


Friday night The Mother and I took ourselves off to Sadler’s for a touch of Dorian Gray. Cripes, what a feast for the eyes and the loins. Sexy, scary, exquisite. Matthew Bourne and his New Adventures Company sure do know how to put on a show, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.

Continuing in the thriller mode, I finished Still Life over the weekend – a new book from New Work coming in paperback later on this year. Not quite as scary and horrific as The Crucifix Killer, but equally as tense and gripping - it tells the tale of beautiful, successful and happily married Casey who is the victim of a hit and run accident which breaks nearly every bone in her body and plunges her deep into a coma. She is left unable to speak or move, but hears perfectly well…and learns that the accident may not be as it first appears…cracking and well worth a read.

3 July 2009

So, 40 years ago we managed to get some American dudes to walk on the moon (allegedly). We can split atoms into tiny bits of fluff. We can expand technological wizardry to the extent that even my Mum now knows how to text. And yet... bus drivers apparently need a fucking electrician to turn off the fucking heating on the fucking buses when its 32 degrees outside and about 132 degrees inside, cause they haven’t been on a 12 weeks course to learn how to master the fucking OFF button yet. And... Even when we finally get air conditioning on the tube in 2010 the trains are too big and the tunnels to narrow and too deep on the Central line that it will still be like a fucking sauna down there… and I will still want to cry and cry and cry cause the journey is so fucking unbearable.

We can get microchips tiny enough to fit in pen nibs to take photos. We can get microchips tiny enough to store millions of megapixies of information on something the size of a postage stamp. But we can't work out how to put a fucking fan on the fucking ceiling of a fucking train – or, shock horror, have fucking windows that open!

I literally want to stab someone in the eye with a plastic fork. Anyone. I know! I’ll start with Bob Fucking Crow. Why? Cause he’s a cunt.

2 July 2009

If I used all my various digits and appendages, I could probably name all the books I’ve ever read (as an adult) that were outside of my chosen genre…and perhaps still have enough fingers to lick some raw chocolate cookie mixture off… (I digress).

I’ve dabbled in a bit of crime, a bit of award winning contemporary fiction… I’ve even (heaven help me) tried a touch of SciFi and Fantasy. But, if I was EVER to swap allegiance from all things pink and sparkly, it would be to the disturbing and troubling world of the Thriller.

This morning, on my extended journey to work (does anyone know what the fuck was going on with the Uxbridge Road today?) I finished one of New Works new books The Crucifix Killer - a thriller if ever I’ve seen one.

The book I finished on Sunday night before I started on Crucifix was the last one from Matt Dunn Ex-Girlfriends United which was fine. Fine and dandy. Fun, fine and dandy. Not spectacular, not ground breaking – but a good laugh, and a great Summer Read.

So Crucifix has been a right old shock to the system. Gruesome. Chilling. Tense. Tightly packed. Gripping. ..a Thriller in every sense.


If you wanted to get your hands on my proof copy, drop me a random comment below.

26 June 2009

Pie Part II

You will be delighted to learn no doubt, that to avoid temptation I actually went to a different tube station entirely this morning, caught a completely different tube line (the Piccalilli instead of the Central Line of Doom)and therefore was not to be found shovelling hot buttery pastry pie's down my throat...

I am currently plowing my way through a punnett of rather sharp little green grapes instead.

Really really not the same let me tell you.

Ooooh, they are sharp.

25 June 2009

Pie



Every morning this week, as I’ve skipped down the stairs at the station to the platform I’ve been overwhelmed by the need for a pie.

Those troublesome monkeys from The Crusty Cornwall Big Fat Meat Pie Company (or something like that) have started to switch on their ovens early, and as such, the whiff of slowly cooking cow, pea and potatoe at 7am is almost too much to bear.

(As an aside, I don’t actually really like savoury pie. I will, of course, make the best of a bad dinner job, and have been known to chow down on a chicken and mushroom after a night on the piss. I’ve even, heaven help me, had a mince and onion (or so they say) when the pennies where tight and they were on special at Iceland for tuppance. But as a rule, I’m more of a sweet pie person…apple, apple and blackberry, apple and raisin with a hint of spice, apple and apple…)

But the intoxicating aroma of those crusty south coast delights has had me in a spin for four mornings on a trot now.

So, ladies and gentlemen. The question of the day is – will I give in come tomorrow morning. Will temptation get the better of me, and will I find myself at 7.05am tomorrow shovelling pastry and chunks of indistinguishable meat down my throat with a glazed, almost simpleton looked on my face and a stream of gravy down my chin….???

Only time will tell people. Only time will tell....

19 June 2009

In My 40th Year

So. I've had a birthday. Which now makes me 39. Nearly 40. A hop, skip and a jump away from elasticated waists, Tena Lady pads, tutting at kids who don't queue for buses.... same old, same old really...

The Girls did me proud with a suprise garden party. There was booze, there were cakes, there were platters of gorgeous little nibbles from the deli...oooh it was fab.




My Husband and I had a long old bike ride. I fell, well actually rode, into a fence/hedge thing. I snapped a something on the bike. We nearly had a falling out... things were a bit tense.

The Boss took me for lunch. The Team took me for lunch. And I'm out with The Family for lunch tomorrow.

The Diet starts on Monday.

Again.

12 June 2009

FREE BAG!!


Mills & Boon has launched a promotion with W H Smith whereby customers who buy four of its romance titles will receive a free canvas bag.

The limited edition, pink-handled bag with the slogan "Romance is Everything" is only available at WHS stores with the purchase of Mills & Boon books.

Mills & Boon sales and marketing director, Clare Somerville, said: "Mills & Boon has a history of strong iconic design and our artwork has always had huge appeal to women. Producing these bags is a fantastic way to reward our readers for their loyalty, and offer an environmentally sustainable alternative to plastic shopping bags."

A book to add to the pile me thinks....

Farahad Zama has been announced as the first man to win the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy romance—beating the five female authors on this year's shortlist, which included Kate Harrison and Jane Costello.

Zama picked up the £5,000 prize for his The Marriage Bureau for Rich People (Abacus) last night in a ceremony at the CafĂ© de Paris in London. He said: "I am absolutely delighted at winning the Melissa Nathan award. When I started writing, it was as a diversion from a stressful job and getting awards was the last thing on my mind, especially from a jury of such well-known authors, comedians and literary figures."

This year's judging panel comprised comediennes Jo Brand and Morwenna Banks, Joanna Trollope, Sophie Kinsella, Tesco’s head book buyer Gaynor Allen, and presenter Liza Tarbuck.

The Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance is the UK’s only literary award dedicated to comedy romance writing. The inaugural winner, in 2007 was Marian Keyes, with Lisa Jewell winning last year.

The other shortlisted novels were: The Secret Shopper’s Revenge by Kate Harrison (Orion); Bridesmaids by Jane Costello (Pocket Books); Recipe For Disaster by Miriam Morrison (Arrow); A Winter’s Tale by Trisha Ashley (Avon); The Importance of Being Emma by Juliet Archer (ChocLit).

9 June 2009

I’ve said it before and I’m quite sure that after the next 48 hours I’ll say it again, but for the Love of God, who the hell is Bob Crow – and why on earth hasn’t someone in power managed to get rid of him before now?!

My astonishment at this latest strike action is two fold.

Firstly, how on earth can a body of people expect guaranteed 5% salary increases AND a guarantee that an employer will not have to make any compulsory redundancies in today’s fiscally turbulent times, when the world economy is on it’s knees and a recession deeper than that which followed the Second World War is taking place, is completely beyond me; especially given that the rest of us that are lucky enough to still have jobs, jump for joy every Friday afternoon that we’ve managed to last another week of getting paid at all …

I mean really, you really think that’s acceptable? Or fair? Or right? Or just? Like really?

And then the complete kick in the teeth to all those hundreds of thousands of people who have been made redundant over the past say 12 months who would literally lick the feet of The Man that could give them a job which gave them a salary of around £30k, free travel on the Tube, 35-40 days holiday a year, a uniform….it must make them sick to their stomach…

So, from 7pm tonight till 7pm on Thursday, London will yet again be a place of chaos, confusion, frustration, exhaustion and anger. Journey’s to and from work will be hideous, and everyone will have a tale to tell about this, the latest in a ridiculously long line of Tube Strikes….

Thankfully Boris is right on top of his game by laying on an extra 100 buses to cope with the 3.4 million people who should be using the tube. You go Boris, you genius you!

5 June 2009

If you go down to the beach today...

BREAKING NEWS FROM THEBOOKSELLER.COM

Penguin's beach ball for Jane Green
05.06.09

A city beach in London's Westfield shopping centre is just one of the summer reading initiatives dreamed up by Penguin for Jane Green's latest paperback The Beach House.

A city beach with branded deckchairs and parasols will be created in the north atrium at Westfield (12th–14th June) to tempt female shoppers. Cocktails, cakes, manicures and book samplers will be available, together with a chance to enter a competition to win a holiday to Antigua.

Commercial marketing manager Ruth Spencer said: "We are constantly thinking of how we can engage more with consumers rather than push messages at them. The beach provides the perfect opportunity to invite people to spend time with the Jane Green brand."

I'm always tempted by a cocktail, a cake and a book. It's like all my favourite things rolled into one.

3 June 2009

Let the Reading Begin

With the arrival, finally, of some sun (cross fingers, don’t speak too soon...) my Summer Reading campaign has got underway…

First up are two books from New Work, Diva’s which is coming in August and perfect for everyone off on their Jollydays this Summer and Between The Sheets which came out last month, and is set to be an all year round favourite for me…

Diva’s is a back-to-basics bonk-buster, with hot hot men, hot hot sex, scandal, shopping, stripping, money… oh, all the good stuff! Lola and Evie are connected in a way they never imagined – It-Girl Lola is the daughter of an indulgent multi-millionaire who has been pampered her all her life and Ex-Pole Dancer, never-had-it-easy Evie is the mistress, holed up in a penthouse flat with her $100,000 diamond stripper pasties.

But then, shock horror, Old Man Fitzsimmons is placed in a diabetic coma and evil stepmother bitch Carin takes control of both their lives with dramatic and scandalous results….

This is a fantastic roller coaster of a read, takes absolutely no brain power at all to get through and the final chapter had me roaring with laughter….

I have two sneaky copies available for the first two eager beavers to leave a comment...

Between the Sheets is an altogether different book. Not chicklit. Not a bonkbuster. Nothing like a lot of the old claptrap that is out there right now. It’s much more women’s fiction – classy, grown up, dealing with real issues and the twist and turns of real lives.

Romantic novelist Dana De Lacey hides some tragic and devastating secrets and when the lid is lifted on them by her gorgeous architect husband Gus, her life gets turned upside down. Unable to finish her current book, and without Gus at her side, she finds relief in the bottom of a wine glass and is forced to face up to her past in a way she never thought possible…

I’m sure I must have read some of the authors previous work – and she has been compared by many to Marian Keyes so you would have thought I would remember at least one of her other books, but I don’t remember any of them… the up-side of this, is that I’ve now managed to add another five guaranteed excellent books onto my must-read-now pile.

Again, two copies are sat beside me right now, and can wing there way to you if you leave me a suitable comment...

27 May 2009

It's not all been vows and veils I'll have you know. There has been a touch of reading as well over the past few weeks.

A Spring Affair by Milly Johnson was a gorgeous bedtime treat and was published by New Work a month or so ago. It's great fun, and a scrummy feel good story, by the author of The Yorkshire Pudding Club. We've gone for a brand new look for this one, but the familiar themes of love and laughter you will expect from Milly ripple throughout this tale of Lou Casserly who starts to declutter her draws and ends up decluttering her whole life, with exciting and unexpected results.

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner, another new title from New Work continues the story of Cannie Shapiro, who we first met 8 years ago in Good in Bed. Cannie is now married to Peter and living an anonymous life writing scifi under a pseudonym. Her daughter Joy is struggling with barmitzvah pressure and hearing aids, and the brand new knowledge that her mums bestselling fiction book might actually be the real story of her own life...

I enjoyed Certain Girls so much more than I expected to. Good in Bed I remember as being great fun, but Certain Girls has definately grown up, and whilst there is some fun and laughter, this is not your typical chicklit tale of shoes and happily ever after with some cocktails and sex thrown in for good measure. It hits home hard on some very sensitive and emotional issues, and the ending is a real punch to the stomach. I loved it, and look forward to reading the rest of the impressive backlist from Jennifer soon.

Later on this year, maybe early next year New Work will be publishing The Christmas Cookie Club and I read a draft copy a while ago. Focusing on the lives of a group of middle aged ladies who get together just before Christmas every year to swap stories and cookies, it has a familiar and comforting feel, and whilst I only read a rough draft it's shaping up to be a lovely book. It feels much more like a book my Mum would buy, than one I would be normally drawn to - but it's good to read something a bit different every now and again...

21 May 2009

What a ToDo

So yes, as you may have noticed, I was officially pronounced Mrs Boo on 3rd May as arranged. Everything went according to the Master Plan, with the added bonus of me blubbing like a baby throughout the official bits.


Nothing has changed since. And yet, everything has changed. Those of you who have equally strolled down an aisle will know what I mean. We had a brilliant time, everyone else - all 7 of them - have reported back that they did too.

We then jumped on a plane and 2 hours later, give or take, were sipping champagne on the balcony of Room 309 at the Hotel Milano in Maderno, Lake Garda - admiring this amazing view...


Seven days and seven nights of honeymooning bliss.

So now we are back to reality,back to a huge pile of laundry and back to Work....

28 April 2009

So, no pressure then. A cold sore is brewing. I have the slitty red devil eye of doom in both eyes. It’s going to piss down according to the weather reports….and I still haven’t started the frigging diet. And yet according to everything I keep being told, I am getting married on Sunday. This Sunday coming. In 5 days. And people keep jumping up and down in front of me, grinning, gurning, yelling… “Oh my God, you must be sooooooo excited?” and I feel like a failure and a freak when I say “Erm, not yet, but I’m sure I will be...”

Ex-Le Grande Fromage has been interviewed (again) and you can find it here. Read it. He’s lovely.

I finished the new one coming in July from New Work’s very own Paige Toon this morning. The first third wasn’t my cup of tea at all. The middle third got me going. By the last third I was blubbing with tingles down my spine….

I am in love with Diversity . I remember being in love with George Sampson, Scala, Flava and Signature in previous years. I love Britain’s Got Talent. It’s my favourite.

That’s all for now folks.