Watching Neighbours Twice a Day

Comedian and co-host of Adam Hills: The Last Leg, Josh Widdicombe, has written this book about his experiences of watching television during his younger years. The full title of the book is Watching Neighbours Twice a Day ... How '90s TV (Almost) Prepared Me for Life. 

Josh Widdicombe lived in the small village of Haytor Vale in Devon and attended a very small primary school in another village three miles away in Ilsington. Not overly keen on participating in sport, Josh spent much of his early life watching televison. In this book he describes some of the television programs that were watched in his formative years when a limited number of televison stations existed. 

The period covered is primarily from 1990 to 2000. One of his favourite programs in his younger days was the Australian show, Neighbours, which was screened twice a day. By the end of the 1990s Josh had completed secondary school, where he worked hard at being unnoticed, before studying at Manchester University. 

The book looks at a range of television programs popular at the time and the effect television had on a young boy living in a village with his hippie parents. The book also looks at the early development and acceptance of other technology including computer games and the internet. Josh also provides a picture of what it was like growing up in a small English village in the 1990s. An interesting piece of humourous nostalgia.

Cutters End

Margaret Hickey's first novel, Cutters End, is another addition to the ever-growing genre of crime novels set in Australia, often referred to an Aussie Noir. The story is set in outback South Australia with the landscape and the large distances between settlements being a feature of the book.

Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti is on long service leave when he is offered a temporary promotion to investigate a death that occurred 32 years earlier and had originally been classed as an accident. He leaves his home in Adelaide to travel north along the Stuart Highway eventually arriving at a roadhouse stop not far from where the body was discovered and 300 km south of the small town of Cutters End.

When interviewing the people originally associated with the case Mark meets again two people from his schooldays, Ingrid and Joanne, and he suspects that there is information that they are not disclosing. 

While working with Senior Constable Jagdeep Kaup at Cutters End it is soon clear that this is not the only mystery case in the area over the years. A number of young women had disappeared from the area and a discovery at the sight of the presumed accident, unrelated to the original case, confirmed that this was not the only case requiring investigation.

As well providing a well written crime novel encapsulating life in small outback communities the author examines past attitudes and cover-ups relating to family violence and assault as well as the possible dangers of hitch hiking in the outback. I look forward to reading the next book by this author.

Vaxxers

'The inside story of the Oxford AstraZenica vaccine and the race against the virus' is the sub-title of the book, The Vaxxers, by Professor Sarah Gilbert and Dr Catherine Green. The book looks at how and why the vaccine was developed in such a short time during 2020. The laboratory at Oxford University had experience working on other coronavirus vaccines so, once the structure of the new virus was established, it was a matter of working out how the research already undertaken could possibly be successfully adapted for tackling COVID-19.

Creating a workable vaccine is only one part of the task when making a vaccine to defeat a pandemic that is killing millions of people throughout the world. Acquiring sufficient funding to develop a vaccine and then finding a pharmaceutical company able to make and distribute large quanties of the vaccine is only one part of the equation. 

The vaccine has to go through many testing procedures that take months before final approval is granted by a variety of medical boards throughout the world. Then there was the media wanting a story. One piece of bad press could destroy public support for a project as well as provide fuel for conspiracy theories circulating about vaccines throughout the world. Derogatory comments from polititians, including those from other countries, also provided issues when trying to establish public confidence in a new vaccine.

The two authors write different chapters in this reader friendly description of working on the project which took over their lives in 2020.  The chapters also often include accounts of how working on the project affected their family lives. An original premise for writing a book about the vaccine for the general public was, by explaining how the vaccine was developed, to tackle concerns of anti-vaxxers.

But the chief emphasis is on the need to defeat a pandemic. At the beginning of each chapter there is a summary of the growing number of cases and deaths up to a point in time which emphasises how rapidly the vaccine was spreading.  The authors also emphasise that the work is far from over. The vaccine is mutating and alterations to the vaccine may be needed in the future to counter variants. There is also an awareness that another disease could be around the corner and preparations need to be made to tackle the next health challenge.

This is a book that everyone should read, those of us who have been vaccinated against the virus as well as those who are hesitating.

Meet me in Bendigo

When Annalisa Capelli inherits the family hardware store in Wongilly she also inherits many generations of family history. However the pandemic has affected the viability of the business and her problems are further compounded by the establishment of a Carpenter's Warehouse twenty minutes down the road.

Meet me in Bendigo is a romantic comedy written by Eva Scott. While Annalisa struggles to save her store she joins an online community group as GoldFieldsGirl to test the waters for public opinion abot the new Carpenter's store. While online GoldFieldsGirl meets GardenerGuy94 and they strike up an online friendship. 

Meanwhile Ed Carpenter arrives in Wongilly to make the owners of the hardware store an offer of money to close the store down. The first person he sees is Annalisa who he immediately recognises as GoldFieldsGirl although he does not, at this point, realise that she is the owner of the store that his family company wants to close.

Eventually Annalisa and Ed meet at the store and although there is a definite attraction between the two of them, Ed knows that the next few weeks or even months are not going to be easy. As in all good romantic comedies all is resolved satisfactorally, but there are many twists and turns before this can happen.

Annalisa not only has to sort out her feelings for Ed but has also to decide how she really wants to live her life. Ed also has decisions to make as he plans to leave his family's business and start a new career for himself.

Lucky's

In 2002 Emily Main arrived in Sydney from London to cover a story for the New Yorker about a chain of Greek Australian restaurants that had operated successfully for many years but now were no more. On her seventh birthday Emily had been given a painting of a Lucky's restaurant and she wanted to know if there had been a connection between the owners of the restaurant chain and her father. She also wanted to investigate why a young man murdered staff and customers in the one remaining Lucky's restaurant in 1994.

The story is told using multiply stories and time frames which can be confusing but eventually began to make sense about half way through the novel. This style allows the reader to understand some of the background of the characters' lives that lead to revealing why events may have occurred and why people reacted the way that they did. 

It is a story about migrants to Australia from Greece but also an American who returned to Australia after World War II. It is the story about generations of families, their relationships and about love. It is also Emily's story as she tries to discover more about her father as well as more about herself and how she wants to really live her life. But mainly it is the story of Vasilis Mallios, known as Lucky, and how he created and lost a chain of restaurants but always had hope that he might find success once more.

The Song of Lewis Carmichael

Matthew, an only child, was a lonely boy who had difficulty making friends at school. He was lacking in confidence and felt that he did not live up to his parents' expections. However he did have one passion, the Arctic. Matthew read everything that he could about the Arctic, the North Pole, the animals who lived in the region and the men and women who had explored the Arctic.

One day Matthew was at the park reading a book about the Arctic when a crow (raven) approached him. Matthew shared a muffin with the hungry bird before returning home. Later that night the bird tapped on Matthew's window and introduced himself as Lewis Carmichael. Lewis suggested that he and Matthew should go and explore the Arctic in a hot air balloon that was parked on the roof of Matthew's house.

So began a great adventure including observing polar bears, Arctic woolves, Arctic owls, snow geese and walruses. But also during the adventure Matthew learned new life skills in order to survive and his self confidence increased as he tackled tasks and had to make decisions. It was a different Matthew who returned home after his great adventure.

The story by Sofie Laguna is illustrated by Marc McBride. The text and the detailed illustrations are all in blue and complement each other well. My nine year old grandson enjoyed examining the illustrations as we read The Song of Lewis Carmichael together. He also looked aout for lines of the 'song' throughout the text. A most enjoyable book.

Take Me Home

Take Me Home by Karly Lane is definitely a feel-good novel, an ideal book to read during Lockdown in Melbourne (or any other time).

Elle has always had a close relationship with her grandmother and after her grandmother's death she recognised the need to fulfill her Gran's wishes to return her ashes to her former home in Scotland. Elle's parents are horified when they hear of her plan. Her mother is convinced that Elle is wasting her life when, unlike her sister and brothers, she did not finish her university course and had moved home to Jessup's Creek where she worked in the local supermarket. However, Elle decides that the trip to Scotland might help her to decide how she she really wants to live her life.

Elle and Gran had talked about exploring Scotland together but the plan did not eventuate. However a bucket list of places to visit had been prepared. The trip also provided the opportunity to meet family who still lived in Scotland. There was also a mystery to solve - Why did Gran and her father relocate to Australia? Elle hoped that a two week visit to Scotland would not only provide the time to explore the country that Gran had talked about but also provide the break for Elle to think more clearly about what she wanted to do. She loved to draw but had only done a short art course at a community centre. Anyway art would probably not be a reliable way to make a living, not in her mother's eyes anyway.

Once in Scotland Elle feels at home in the country and enjoys exploring, especially with her cousins. Gran had wanted her ashes scattered neat the ruins of an old castle that had featured in family stories. It is when looking for the location that meant so much to Gran that events occur that change Elle's life.

Having spent two weeks in Scotland in 2014 I can understand how Elle immediately felt that she belonged, especially having family connections with the country and having visited some of the locations mentioned in the book. 

Elle's aunt and cousins lived at Portsoy and a few days before I started reading the book, the mystery puzzle on Jigsaw Explorer featured a view of Portsoy harbour. I was obviously meant to read this book at this time.

The Man Who Died Twice

Last year Richard Osman introduced us to a group of residents of Coopers Chase Retirement Village in Kent who belonged to the Thursday Murder Club. Ron, a former trade unionist, Ibrahim, a former psychiarist, Joyce, a former nurse, and Elizabeth, who once worked for the secret service, spend their spare time solving crimes, initially cold cases but lately crimes closer to home.

When Elizabeth receives a letter realating to a former case she has to investigate, especially as the sender of the letter died many years previously. The letter leads her to a former colleague who needs her help as a gangster is looking for him and a bag of diamonds that he may have stolen. The members of the Thursday Murder Club insist on becoming involved in the case.The Secret Service is also interested.

Meanwhile Donna and Chris from the local police are trying to build a case against Connie the local drug dealer and when one member of the Thursday Murday Club is mugged the other members plan their revenge.

Amongst the murders and hunt for diamonds there is plenty of humour as the members of the Thursday Murder Club investigate and Joyce reflects upon the proceedings in her regular journal entries. The books in the Thursday Murder Club series are fun to read.Relax and enjoy the ride.

The Nargun and the Stars

When Simon Brent moved from the city to Wongadilla, a New South Wales property owned by Charlie and Edie, he certainly did not expect the adventures that he was about to encounter. It was at Wongadilla that Simon encountered the Nargun, the Turongs, the Nyols and the Potkoorok - spirits and protectors of the swamp, the mountains and the surrounding bush. It was when land adjoining the property was being cleared that the spirits from Aboriginal legends that inhabited the area sought to protect their environment.

But the Pot Koorok, the Turongs and the Nyols were not only concerned about the grader and bulldozer encroaching on their space and destroying the trees - they were also concerned about the arrival of the Nargun, an ancient spirit rock that had arrived in their terrain after travelling 800 miles from Victoria. Simon, Charlie and Edie, with the help of the Potkoorok had to devise a plan to encourage the Nargun to move from their area.

The Nargun and the Stars won the Children's Book of the Year Award in 1974. A five part mini series based on the book was screened on the ABC in 1981. The Nargun and the Stars was also performed as a play in 2009.

A special edition of The Nargun and the Stars, illustrated with atmospheric drawings by Robert Ingpen, was published in 1988 after Patricia Wrightson the Hans Christian Andersen Medal award for writing and Robert Ingpen won the Hans Christian Andersen Medal illustration award in 1986.

The Canterbury Tales

It is a long time since I read / studied part of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales in 1965. After recently reading The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks, loosely based on Chaucer's Wife of Bath in The Canterbury Tales, I decided to have another look at the work.

Geoffrey Chaucer (1342-1400) worked in a number of roles relating to the English Court and for many years enjoyed the patronage of John of Gaunt, son of Edward III. On his travels overseas he discovered the popularity of French poetry and started writing English poems. Chaucer never completed his best known work, The Canterbury Tales. This was before the invention of the printing press and hand written sections of the work were circulated amongst those wanting to read it. The order in which Chaucer planned for the parts of the book to finally appear is not known. 

The style of  English in which Chaucer wrote is very different from today. In 1951 Nevill Coghill translated Chaucer's work into modern English which is what people normally read today. The edition I looked at was in the Penguin Classics series. For those wanting to read a version of the original text, it is available on Project Gutenberg.  

In The Canterbury Tales a large group of men and women are making a pilgrimage to Canterbury. To while away the time during the journey each member of the group is provided with the opportunity to tell two stories. Interaction between the group members is often revealed in the general prologue or in the prologue (when provided) before a tale. The tension between some group members - the miller, the reeve and the cook for example -is shown by the tales they choose to tell.

The prologue of The Wife of Bath's Tale was the starting point for Karen Brook's novel. Before telling her story the wife provides information about herself including the fact that she has been married five times, on three occasions to men many years older than her. The prologue and the tale itself deal with attitudes at the time towards women and their place in a society run by men.

This entertaining work has come to be accepted as a commentary on life in fourteenth century England.