Category Archives: Culture

Souper Blog Hop

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souper blog hop

This Souper Blog Hop stirred all sorts of memories, some ‘souper’ delicious and some seriously sad.

‘Souper’ as in the soups of my childhood – mostly home-made vegetable, sometimes puréed with a hand-operated Moulinex – and then there are some favourites over the decades as I discovered more decadent tastes like Vichyssoise and Lobster Bisque, plus tasty treats like Butternut Squash soup. More on my favourite later in this post (although I am struggling with my health as I write this).

The sad refers to incidents in my childhood and early teens when I discovered the meaner side of human nature. When you’ve been bullied, you side with the victim and sympathize with them as characters in fiction – be that films or books. The problem of bullying is real and needs to be faced.

So, first, the book that made this possible: Pea Soup Disaster by Elaine Kaye. This children’s book is suitable for kids of all ages and adults as there is an excellent message about bullying behind an amusing and easy to follow story, illustrated by Danyelayers. It’s a quick four-star read and one I look forward to reading my great-grand-kids – and I look forward to more adventures of Gregory Green.

Pea Soup Disaster Cover

 BLURB: Gregory Green loves his mom’s pea soup, but when he eats it at school, all of his friends make fun of how it looks. He doesn’t think it looks like bugs, and it tastes good! Then at recess, his friends run from him, screaming, “He’s a monster!” Gregory doesn’t know why his friends are being mean until he sees his skin is green. The teasing gets worse until an unlikely friend comes to the rescue—his teddy bear, Sammy. Sammy usually only comes to life for Gregory and his family, but Sammy has an important lesson to teach Gregory and his classmates.

Available in Print:

AMAZON

Elaine Kaye

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Elaine Kaye got the idea for Pea Soup Disaster from her son who loved to eat her homemade pea soup. Pea Soup Disaster is the first of many fun stories featuring Gregory Green and his teddy bear, Sammy, as part of the Gregory Green Adventure series.

Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher’s assistant in elementary schools in the Sunshine State. She currently lives in Florida, but she has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home. She is a grandmother of three boys.

Find Elaine:

Website / Instagram / Litsy – @ElaineKaye

Goodreads / Amazon

 

Visit the other Souper Blog Hop participants:

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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

 


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Broccoli and Stilton Soup

And now to my all-time favourite, first-choice on the menu soup. In fact, for many years, Broccoli & Stilton Soup has headed my soupy list. I figure that might be because I enjoyed it so much in the early days of The New Covent Garden Soup Co.

Searching for that perfect recipe was a research challenge. I confess that I have never been much of a cook beyond throwing random ingredients together. Nowadays, MS and cooking don’t go together – that’s my excuse for dropping pans and messing up the kitchen floor.

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Anyway, first stop was looking for the New Covent Garden Soup recipe. But the best that I could find was a recipe for Broccoli and Blue Cheese, which is close. But I wanted Stilton, and certainly not the mature cheddar version that seems to have become the American preference.

With a nod to Elaine Kaye’s Pea Soup Disaster, here’s an interesting soup – Broccoli, Pea and Pesto.

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Undaunted, my quest continued, and I found and read various online recipes, but none quite took my fancy. Then I found a fellow traveller drawn by memories of New Covent Garden Soup Co.’s Broccoli & Stilton soup – Felicity Cloake in The Guardian.

Who? Well, Felicity Cloake is “a writer specialising in food and drink and winner of the 2011 Guild of Food Writers awards for Food Journalist of the Year and New Media of the Year. Her first recipe book, Perfect, is published by Fig Tree. She likes to think she’d try any food once – although an eyeball recently caused her to question this gung-ho gastronomic philosophy.”

Her more extensive exploration of Broccoli and Stilton soup entailed trying out various recipes, including some that I had found but not sampled. You can read her culinary journey here – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jan/04/how-make-perfect-broccoli-stilton-soup-cheese-shallots-stock-cream

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The perfect broccoli and stilton soup. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian

But for those that want the recipe now, the one that works for me – when my wife  adds her touches – here is Felicity Cloake’s recipe:

Perfect broccoli and stilton soup

(Serves 4)

2 tbsp butter
2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped
800ml chicken or vegetable stock
600ml milk
800g broccoli
200g stilton, crumbled
Nutmeg, to garnish

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat and add the shallots. Fry gently until soft and golden.

Meanwhile, cut the broccoli stalks into smallish chunks, then add to the pan with the softened shallots, fry for a minute, then pour in the stock and milk. Bring to a simmer, then cook until the stalk is beginning to soften (how long will depend on the size). Meanwhile, cut the head into small individual florets.

Once the stalk is almost tender, add the florets to the pan along with most of the Stilton, keeping a little back for garnish. Stir well, bring to a simmer, cover then cook for about 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the florets are soft.

Allow to cool slightly, then puree until smooth. Taste and season if necessary, then divide between bowls and top with the remaining cheese and a good grating of nutmeg.

Fahrenheit 451 – a review

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One of the books on my ‘To Review ‘list is one that I read many decades ago, then decided to re-read recently. Most of you may know of ‘Fahrenheit 451’ in some way, but here is the Goodreads blurb as usual.

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Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

The terrifyingly prophetic novel of a post-literate future.

Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

 

Review ****

I read this novel many decades ago during my early twenties when I devoured endless sci-fi by all the masters, including Ray Bradbury. Yes, it’s a classic novel but being honest this was never my favourite Bradbury – that would be Something Wicked This Way Comes.

I’ve recently re-read the book and re-discovered its depth and complexity. I was pleased to re-discover elements that I had forgotten, like the Mechanical Hound, probably because it scared me as it did Montag as he fled from it and his old life as a fireman burning books. However, the concept of a world where books were burnt and the media controlled people has become frighteningly true. The concept of people finding a way for books to survive resonated with me, and has drawn me to similar books since. Therefore, I had to relive the horror of a ‘bookless world’ that Ray Bradbury captured in his words. The danger is real and always there; although we have reached the point that the media is controlled as well.

The story never lets up and the writing keeps pace with the nightmare. I felt that there was no hope for the wife he leaves to her drugs, fake friends, and shrinking lives – echoed in so much all around us today. As a reader, I became Montag and desperately prayed for his escape, unable to remember the ending.

It was also good to read some of Bradbury’s background and thoughts on the book in the prefaces, written over the years. He explains how the book was created and that it was written in a very short time at the beginning of his career. So, is four stars me the jaded adult being mean? Not when I would give his later books five. Am I still doing the master a disservice?

Or perhaps I am letting another version of Fahrenheit 451 colour my vision – Francois Truffaut’s 1966 film, which focuses on elements of the book. However, I always feel that in the short time available that a filmmaker cannot capture all the complexity of a novel, so to me Truffaut did an excellent job. The film became a separate creation – a remediation.

Fahrenheit 451, the book will always be where the horror and the warning began. 4.5 stars then.

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For another excellent blog post on Fahrenheit 451, visit: http://www.lucyvhayauthor.com/book-versus-film-fahrenheit-451-5-ways-the-book-is-better/

 

 

Whale Song – a review

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Time for another review and although some might class this novel as YA, it was much more.

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Whale Song

by Cheryl Kaye Tardif 

A haunting story of love, tragedy, sacrifice and transformation that will change the way you view life…and death.

Thirteen years ago, Sarah Richardson’s life was shattered after the tragic assisted suicide of her mother. The shocking tragedy left a grief-stricken teen-aged Sarah with partial amnesia. Some things are easier to forget.

But now a familiar voice from her past sends Sarah, a talented mid-twenties ad exec, back to her past. A past that she had thought was long buried. Some things are meant to be buried.

Torn by nightmares and visions of a yellow-eyed wolf, yet aided by the creatures of the Earth and by the killer whales that call to her in the night, Sarah must face her fears and uncover the truth―even if it destroys her. Some things are meant to be remembered―at all cost.

This haunting tale of change and choice sensitively explores issues of the right to die, integrating the optimistic spiritualism of native myth and the hard realities of modern-day life.

This beautiful story, told in flashback, straddles the genres of mystery and family drama, and is set in the wilds of Canada — Vancouver Island, Victoria, Bamfield and Vancouver.

REVIEW *****

Although “Whale Song” is told in flashback, it never feels like that. Early on in my reading, I wrote that this was “a beautifully written coming-of-age novel and more”. The voice of Sarah Richardson grows with all the experiences that she faces and she reacts to events as anyone her age would, from bullying at school – a well-crafted case of reverse racism – to her first kiss, then the tragedy that rocks her life, the assisted suicide of her mother, and how that impacts on the years after her mother’s passing

Although my time spent on Vancouver Island was merely days, the author portrays a vivid picture of the place that is central to the novel. The descriptions are as evocative as her mother’s paintings, and the depiction of the Nootka indigenous people – or is that First People – was sensitive and colourful. I loved the characters of Goldie and her grandmother, as well as the role of the wolf, so integral to the plot, as integral as the captivating killer whales. The meaning of the book title makes total sense at the end.

This was a novel that I found hard to put down – but life intervenes, unfortunately. The theme of forgiveness resonates throughout the novel weaving into the different plots, from the bullying to the suicide. I might have been a victim of bullying but I empathised and understood this bully totally. Throughout the last few pages especially, I was weeping with joy and sadness. I was sad to reach the end, but I loved this so much I will read it again and recommend it totally.

The best book that I have read for ages.

Wind Catcher – a review

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I seem to be reading more YA books than normal, and enjoying them. Wind Catcher has to be one of my favourites to date, and it was the native American elements that first attracted me to these authors. Jeff Altabef was generous and offered me a free copy of the first book in the Chosen series.

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Wind Catcher (Chosen #1)

by Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef

2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Winner

Lies.
Betrayal.
Destiny.
A choice that changes everything.

My name is Juliet Wildfire Stone, and I am special. I see visions and hear voices, and I have no idea what they mean.

When someone murders medicine men in my sleepy Arizona town, I can’t help but worry my crazy grandfather is involved. He’s a medicine man and more than a just a little eccentric. He likes to tell me stories about the Great Wind Spirit and Coyote, but none of it makes any sense. I thought I knew the truth, but in order to clear his name I dive into his alien world and uncover an ancient secret society formed over two hundred years ago to keep me safe—me! And I can’t help but to start to wonder whether there’s some truth to those old stories my grandfather has been telling me.

I just want to be an average sixteen-year-old girl, but apparently I’ve never been average. Could never be average. I didn’t know it before, but I’m a Chosen, and those voices I’ve been hearing… well, they’re not just “voices.” I’ve started to develop abilities, but they might not be enough. A powerful entity called a Seeker is hunting me and he’s close—really close.

I thought I knew the answers but truth is, I don’t. Betrayed by those I love, I must choose to run or risk everything in order to fulfill my destiny. I hope I make the right choice. Don’t you?

REVIEW – ****

I follow Jeff Altabef, on various media, and he kindly sent me “Wind Catcher” for free. Having read the blurb and the first few pages, I would have willingly paid – writing costs as does any job. I am glad that I ignored those reviewers that criticised the narrator/protagonist’s “wavering” about her ‘chosen’ role and wanting to be normal. I may be retired, and a man, but I remember all the teenage anxieties I went through of wanting to be normal. Okay, I ended up rebelling but that was my ultimate response to being bullied, after constant failings to conform, so I felt for Juliet.

For me, Juliet was a well-rounded character and I had a sense early on that there was a deep respect for the weird, traditional native ways of Sicheii, her grandfather. Like so many of us, there was a point to reject those ways and gravitate to conformity. She needed, like the best protagonists, to go through several life-changing events before she was ready to face her antagonists. Clearly, Jeff’s daughter Erynn added her own experiences to ensuring this character worked. This was a coming-of-age story, although the growth was something most of us never experience.

Only when a heroine is ready can she face her antagonist. So, we get a great ending when all the pieces come together, bringing closure to the key plotlines. However, Book 2 is set-up cleverly and with the right questions left unanswered. Like, will she find romance with the right guy?

Overall, I enjoyed Wind Catcher and was unable to put it down. The Native American elements felt right to me – although I am not an expert. As a mystery writer, the tension and the intrigue kept me guessing even with the subtle hints. I can’t wait for Brink of Dawn and Scorched Souls reaching the top of my to-read pile. Recommended read.

Erratic Schedule

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This post is an apology for my failings in the weeks and months ahead.

You’ve been warned.

I’ve even got some sneaky excuses that might even be genuine.

First, I have to warn you that my posts will appear erratically. I will attempt some kind of weekly post, but no wild promises lile, “I will post something every Tuesday”. Attempt can mean that nothing will appear.

There will be a few guest posts, like this Friday’s post from Kristina Stanley, whose novel “Blaze” I reviewed recently. Her latest book, “Avalanche”, is released on Saturday.

And there will be the intermittent book reviews, like the one that I should write for my current read, the “Dying for a Living” Box set, by Kory M. Shrum. It feels like a slower read than normal as the set has three books, and I know that there are two more out there. Will I get that far?

Finally, I will try to write my monthly IWSG posts, although that may be a fail come October. That’s because of September 20th.

QM2For those that don’t know, that is the date when we embark on the QM2 and head for the USA, and the next stage in our life-adventure. Yes, we are selling our home in Harlech, North Wales, and by the end of September should be in our new home in Boise, Idaho. There we will have my wife’s family to support us. Bliss.

Although the IWSG post for October is on Wednesday 5th, our computers will still be in a container between Wales and Idaho. In fact, our possessions may not arrive until sometime in November. Okay, we have a small HP Stream notebook for travel, but I’m still adapting to it.

The HP Stream will get its second outing next week, when we head to London for my interview with US Immigration on Wednesday June 29th. Checking emails is probably the most that I will achieve, but don’t expect any comments on your blogs or here.

In fact, with all the preparations prior to the move, I’m already commenting less, visiting fewer blogs, even writing less. That is likely to become the norm as time sails on. Cruising on the QM2 will be a kind of luxury, but connecting with the cyber-world will be off the menu. Just seven days pampering ourselves perhaps. As for the dogs, they travel first class, with their own cabin/kennel, steward, bedtime biscuits, poop deck, designer jackets, and more.

queenmaryNot looking forward to the road trip though. Getting from New York to Boise will be a challenge for all of us. At least, Juanita’s son Jason will be driving across to collect us.

Anyway, by October – maybe November – there will be a large backlog to catch up. Or should that be a Backblog?

I’ve deliberately evaded any reference to aggravating health issues, but they seem to be growing. The niggling bladder, the stabbing spasms, rebellious limbs, the depression, the exhaustion, and the frustration never go away. Sometimes I can escape into another world, either one of my own creation, or a book I’m reading, or a game that takes me to a ‘a galaxy far, far away’. But never for long. Too soon I get interrupted by the MaelStrom or MonSter.

I’m praying that a change of climate, from the dampness of Wales to the dry warmth of Idaho, will be the healing touch; along with the loving support of family.

Hopefully, by December and the holiday season normal service will be resumed.

 

 

TimeStorm – a review

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Time for another review – TimeStorm by Steve Harrison, which my critique partner suggested that I read to see the way that the author handles multiple viewpoints.

From a writing perspective, the technique worked well. Each chapter has the POV character’s name as the title, and sometimes this is a one-off, other times it is a recurring character. I will return to those POVs as part of the ‘review proper’.

As I read this enjoyable novel by Steve Harrison, I could feel that he is – as the blurb says – “A great fan of the grand seafaring adventure fiction of CS Forester, Patrick O’Brien and Alexander Kent.” That atmosphere is captured in the telling, without feeling over-researched.

The book was inspired by a replica 18th century sailing ship on Sydney Harbour and a question from Steve’s brother, Tony: “What if that was a real convict ship?”

From that premise came this clever tale of the crew and ‘passengers’ from a convict ship swept by a storm from 1795 to 21st century Sydney. The ‘stranger in a strange land’ scenario is carefully played out, with all the characters reacting convincingly to their dangerous situation, whether ship’s officer, convict leader, or the ‘present day’ characters confronted with something more than unexpected.

The central character of Lieutenant Christopher ‘Kit’ Blaney, is – as the blurb says – “an old-fashioned hero, a man of honour, duty and principle”, but he has human failings that make him believable. For some of the chapters, he is the POV, with chapters carrying his name.

But there are other points of view (POV), with their own chapters, and this multi-POV approach keeps the story flowing, showing different facets – some of which would normally be missed out.

Each POV feeds into the evolving plot, which had me gripped. There are two main characters – Blaney, from the 18th century, and a 21st century journalist. But the other POVs with their stories and subplots, are integral to the unfolding plot.

From the first chapter, I was intrigued by one other character, wondering how he would fit in, but sensing he might return. Read TimeStorm to discover how, but I won’t spoil the crafty twist in the tail.

For those that logged on for my post last week – Why read? – there was a second lesson in this novel: How to bookend your novel, by linking the opening and ending. But explaining more would be a spoiler.