Sacred Sierra by Jason Webster

On 16/11/201514/11/2015 By TontowilliamsIn Book Review, books

I’ve just finished reading “Sacred Sierra: A Year on a Spanish Mountain” by Jason Webster. It’s a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and here are my thoughts.

Sacred Sierra: A Year on a Spanish Mountain by Jason Webster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is Jason Webster’s story of his first year in the mountainside “mas” which he and his wife Salud move to, and begin to renovate both the cottage and the land.

As he works with the elements he narrates a wonderful story of the characters he meets and the friendships made, as well as his expansion of almond, olive and truffle farming.

Each chapter, told in monthly parts, is started with a traditional folk tale from the area, which adds something extra to what is already a great and well written story.

This book was one that was recommended to me by Amazon on the basis of previous purchases and for once was spot on as something I really enjoyed and was sorry to finish. I’ll be checking out his other books, as he is also a crime fiction writer, although I’d certainly read more tales from his mountainside too, where he ever to write more.

There’s also a video on YouTube, where the author explains a little more about the book.

Thoughts On Summers Past

On 22/06/2015 By TontowilliamsIn books, Dog, Dogs, Kindle, redundancy

In just under four weeks, I’ll have had my last day in my current job, two weeks after that is my last contractual day. I’ve obviously been thinking a lot about what happens next. My plan (barring a job offer) is to take a few weeks off, while starting job hunting.

In some ways this reminds me of summers of my childhood, with 6 week holiday breaks. I have memories of spending time on boating lakes, at the beach, in the woods; in the garden. Playing by myself, with friends and with the dog(s). When I was older I would head off for long morning walks with the dog, trying to get out and back before it got too hot and the insects started biting. I remember one summer, I would have been 9 or 10, when each morning before I got up, I would read a chapter of “The Hobbitt”.

These are good memories, although I suspect a little enhanced by the passage of time. I don’t expect this summer will be much in comparison. There will undoubtedly be dog walks and books to read, but an element of my focus needs to be on finding my next job. I appreciate that the job market is quieter over the summer, but I’ll still be looking. Maybe I’ll find something different or something the same to what I do now, really now my options are open.

Bank Holiday

On 03/05/201503/05/2015 By TontowilliamsIn books, Dog, Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Simple Things, Wildlife/Nature2 Comments

Until about the middle of last week, I’d forgotten this weekend was a three day Bank Holiday. I treasure my time away from work (remind me I said that after the end of July, when I’m redundant and job hunting!).

As the weekend drew closer, a little reading matter arrived on Thursday, with David Hewson’s latest novel, “The Wrong Girl”, and my reading was settled. I’d been looking forward to this book particularly as it is the second in a new series.

Allotment Saturday

As is my usual habit on Saturday I headed off to the allotment. I took the lawn mower along to cut the grass, however the machine refused to start, so I settled for some weeding, watering and general tidying. The gooseberry bushes have set fruit, so I put up the framework of canes that will become the fruit cage once the remaining Loganberries have flowered and the bees have done their thing to set their fruit.
I saw my first Swallows on Saturday morning. A bit late compared to some, but I’ve been looking and hoping to spot my first local birds for a few weeks, so I’m pleased to have seen my first “Sky Jewels” of the summer.

I was also visited by another feathered friend while working. As I weeded a robin came and worked alongside me, as I cleared the weeds, he fed on the insects I disturbed. I suspect he has a nest and young nearby, as he was flying away and coming back empty beaked for more.

I harvested the first radishes, the last purple sprouting broccoli and some rhubarb. Other crops are coming along nicely. There’s a video to follow, once it’s edited and uploaded.

Dog Walking Sunday

The rains came late on Saturday and stayed through the night and until mid-morning on Sunday. In the afternoon we left for the woods to walk the dogs. The bluebells are in bloom and it was nice to spend time and look at the glories of spring. I need time in the woods occasionally to bring a little peace and balance to my brain.

The Best Bit of a Bank Holiday Weekend

Still to come, Bank Holiday Monday.

Catch Up

On 26/04/2015 By TontowilliamsIn books, Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Wildlife/Nature, writing

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve managed to post here and there are a few things to catch up with.

Allotment

It’s been a busy couple of weeks on the plot, with lots of the seeds I’ve sown germinating and coming along well. The potatoes have shot ahead, and are now earthed up in their final ridges. I’ve got my fingers crossed that we won’t have any hard frosts because they are a little exposed. I’m sowing and planting most weeks now, and by the end of May most things should be in, and then succession sowing can begin. It’s also been a great couple of weeks for seeing birds on the plot. Buzzards, heron and kestrel have been some of the highlights.

I’ve also written and submitted my first blog for Regatta. I won a competition to write for them, in return for the exposure and free kit. Writing for them stopped me from writing here last week as I was up against a deadline, but hopefully normal service can resume. I’ll post a link to that post when it’s live.

The last few weeks have also been pretty dry, with little rain, so it’s meant hand watering the plot. As most of the seedlings are under cover this takes a bit of time, as they have to be uncovered first. Yesterday we had a lot of rain though, which has even things out a bit. Not sure what the long range forecast predicts for the next few months but hopefully it won’t be too hot and dry, and although it’s an old wives tale the Oak was out before the Ash this year.

Work

Probably most significantly in the last two weeks is that I’ve found out I’m going to be made redundant at the end of July. This is partly voluntary, so I have at least been able to make some short term plans, but it means I’m going to be job hunting soon, which I’m not particularly looking forward too, having pretty much been continuously employed for the last twenty years!

Reading

Has been a pretty mixed bag. I finished reading “The Peregrine: The Hill of Summer and Diaries. The Complete Works of J. A. Baker” which was a fantastic read. It was an Easter present, and a book (The Peregrine) that I’ve been meaning to read for some time. I have another copy of the single book, but have never gotten around to reading it until now. I’d recommend if you like nature books.

2014 Review and a Look Ahead

On 27/12/201429/11/2018 By TontowilliamsIn Annual Review, books, Film, Life

I don’t tend to do review of the year posts each year, sometimes I’ll take a theme and just cover that, other times I won’t bother at all. The latter is more often the norm. 2014 however has been a “bit of a year” for me. So I thought I’d just write out a few highlights and one or two low bits too for good measure.

Work

I’d say that the year as a whole has been backdropped by work-life balance, with the balance being unevenly tilted towards work. I’ve had to reapply for my job as part of a restructure, and it’s been pretty full on. I’ve been offered voluntary redundancy twice (and we’re just going for a third round now), I’ve not applied on both occasions, but am giving the third time some serious consideration.

Life

On the life side of the scale it’s been a tiring year. I’ve done far less, due to pressures of work than I would like. I’ve noticed that I’ve been far less present on social media platforms, as well as reading less books and generally having less time for relaxation.

We lost Sparky our elder dog back in March, and then got Ruby at the end of June. I still miss Sparky every day, and things still feel very empty without him around. Wilson has taken well to being the older dog, and I’m really pleased and impressed with the way he’s turned out into such a well rounded dog.

Allotment

The allotment has been going along quite happily, it’s not been the best of years, but it’s been far from the worst, and I’m setting a good basis for next year. I’ve managed a few video posts, and have a year ending one to go up, as soon as it’s posted to YouTube.

Books

As I mentioned I’ve read far less than I have done in previous years, mainly due to having less free time. I would however single out a few books I’ve read (I read these in 2014, but they may not have been published this year) to mention here:

The House of Dolls by David Hewson – There’s no such thing as a bad book by David Hewson, and this new series set in Amsterdam has all the hallmarks of being fantastic. This first in the series is excellent and I look forward to reading the next one, hopefully in 2015.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – This took me back to my childhood and the computer games that I used to play.

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly – The latest Harry Bosch, and a great addition to the canon, and likely to be a milestone step in the series. I’m not sure where Michael Connelly is going next here, but there are a number of options, and again I look forward to the next in the series. (I also loved the Amazon pilot of Bosch, and can’t wait for the full series).

Films

Again, a few to single out (and again I watched them in 2014, but they may have been released before that year):

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Only recently watched this, but I loved the direction that the movie went in following on from the previous one, and abandoning the Charlton Heston era movies (and the awful Mark Wahlberg remake).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier – I love the Marvel movies (and the comic books too), and I’ve seen a few others this year as well; Thor: The Dark World and The Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s a close choice between Capt. and Guardians, but again, I think the way that the story and characters have been bought on since the first Captain America movie, plus Avengers: Assemble give this one the edge.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Loved this. Wasn’t sure that it would ever work as trilogy of films, but it does. Looking forward to the final film too, although that will be a 2015 watch for me.

Godzilla – A remake that remain truer to the original and a great film.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – I’ve never read the books, but love the films, again looking forward to the final two parts of this series too.

And Looking Ahead to 2015?

I’m not sure what 2015 holds. More upheaval at work I expect, and I need to make a decision about voluntary redundancy again. There will also be more books to read and more films to watch. I don’t really do resolutions, but I’ve got a few aims for 2015.

Be more balanced of temper. I think in part 2014 has been characterised by me having a shorter fuse than usual. I’m not happy about this, so want it to change. More counting to ten I suspect in 2015.
Better work – life balance than above.
Read more, although be realistic about what’s achievable. I also want to get through the “To Be Read” backlog mountain. Although I’m not setting any firm systems in place to do this as I have in the past.
Have a good year on the allotment, and try to keep a better photo and video record of what’s going on there.
Write more. Both blog posts, but also get back into writing properly.

There are lots of other things in my head (you could always add; lose weight, be fitter etc) but the above are the main aims.

Twenty Four And Counting

On 21/11/201421/11/2014 By TontowilliamsIn books, Kindle

Screenshot 2014-11-21 22.10.15 This is my fourth year of undertaking GoodReads Reading Challenge. Each year I’ve set out to read a certain number of books in the year. Each year I’ve read less than the previous year. This year my target is at an all time low of 30 books, and apparently I’m about two books behind. I hope to catch up, for although this is a somewhat artificial challenge (I can revise my target up or down if I choose), I do get a bit of a kick out of see the little badges on my page with the “completed” sash across them.
However this isn’t getting those books read is it!

My Twenty Minute Rule & My Fifty Page Rule

On 21/11/2014 By TontowilliamsIn books, Film, Kindle

2011-05-20_1305913306 How often do you start reading a book or watching a movie and you just can’t get into the story / plot. This has happened to me more times than I can remember, and over the years I’ve developed a couple of simple guides to give myself an out if I need one.

Simply if I’m not getting into a book within the first 50 pages or the first 20 minutes of a film, I’ll give it a miss. It’s not hard and fast, sometimes I’ll read a few more pages or watch a few more minutes, but I find I don’t often spend my time reading / watching something that I’m not enjoying.

As my time seems in short supply just recently with pressures of the day job, it also helps me keep focused when I am reading or watching.

Book Review – The House of Dolls by David Hewson

On 20/04/201420/04/2014 By TontowilliamsIn Book Review, books

It’s not often t 2014-04-10 16.02.28 hat I can stay up late reading a book, my body / mind can’t cope and I fall asleep, however over the last week I’ve been staying up, turning the pages of David Hewson‘s new book. The House of Dolls is set in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, where it’s main character Pieter Vos lives on a houseboat. Vos is a former police detective, who left the job following the kidnapping of his daughter Anneliese. He’s dragged back to his former life by another kidnapping that has similarities to the kidnapping of his daughter.

Why has this book kept me away from slumber? Well the simple answer is that I had to know what was going to happen next. The book is one of short chapters, and this keeps the story moving between characters and actions at a tireless pace, breaking the story up just enough to keep the suspense tight and the reader wanting to know what’s happening.

The characters are varied, many with their own flaws and weaknesses, but some you will like and others come to detest. There’s “old-school” gangsters mixed with new generation cops, politicians and journalists in the mould of the ladder-climbing kind and backgrounds of tourists and café owners.

The story is very believable, it sits in the present and although as far as I could tell doesn’t actually draw on a current or recent situation, it could quite easily. You could imagine that any of the crimes or motivations of the characters are being drawn from real-life and that marks the success of this author. His characters, locations and situations are all true to life. They could easily be where, when and how; today, this week or next, and you’d not be able to tell fact from fiction.

If you’ve read any of David’s books before, particularly if you’re familiar with his Nic Costa series, then you’re really going to enjoy The House of Dolls.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars – I Loved It.

Out today… The House of Dolls

On 10/04/201410/04/2014 By TontowilliamsIn books, Kindle, Uncategorized

I’m really looking forward to reading David’s latest book.

Amsterdam = a city that I know relatively well, but am expecting to discover in a whole new set of ways.
Pieter Vos = a new series character. I love a series read, and Nic Costa was one of the best, so am expecting more of the same, plus there is already a second in the pipeline.

Come on UPS, hurry up and deliver already!

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David Hewson

Today I start a new phase in this long career with the launch of the first new series since the Costa books began with A Season for the Dead more than a decade ago.

The House of Dolls is the debut book for Pieter Vos, an Amsterdammer living in a houseboat on the Prinsengracht canal. It’s out now from Pan Macmillan and will be published in Dutch by Boekerij in June. I’m delighted to say it’s also being bought for European TV by one of the largest media companies in Europe… of which more later.

Next year’s instalment in the series is now being edited. More Pieter Vos and co…

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