Sorry, another odds and sods post, mainly because I haven’t had time to write a more fully fledged post.
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Every now and then, scanning through the various bits of information afforded me by WordPress, I have a look at the search terms that lead to my blog. Other than the odd bizarre combination of words, there really hasn’t been anything of note.
Over the last few weeks though I have noticed a particular trend, and have kept an eye on it. Fulfilling anything from 25% to 50% of the search terms leading to my blog are variants on “life full regrets”, leading to this post.
I am not sure what this says really, speculative speculation leads me to wondering if there is a pandemic of regret going on currently (one could say it is and always has been) or a paucity of blog posts on the subject (hard to believe) or it doesn’t say anything at all (probably).
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On Eyoki’s (@Eyoki) recommendation I purchased “Snow And Summers” by Solveig von Schoultz (read Eyoki’s superb review here). A little while ago I also bought “Ways of Returning” by Linda Saunders. Other than the superb poetry, both books contained unexpected treasures:
I absolutely love this sort of thing. Snow and Summer contains the scribbled notes of a previous owner’s journey to Reyjkavik, with all its attendant horrors. Ways of Returning contains a lovely letter from the author to the recipient.
As you may know I am a huge fan of the scribbled inscriptions and dedications that you often find inside the covers of books. No matter how tenuous, they give me a sense of connection and (occasionally) insight into the owners. I find these little snippets of life as rich and important as the books themselves and have occasionally purchased a book on the basis of this alone.
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Years ago, before the Bristol Bookbarn became a sad media spectacle upon its closure I came across several hardback classic science fiction and fantasy books, scattered within the disorganised and incomprehensible system that the BB used. After further investigation I found more, each with a carefully inscribed name (one I sadly cannot remember) and the date of ownership, and nothing more. And there were hundreds of them. I was left with an indescribable sense of sadness, as this was obviously the lifetime collection of someone who had recently (?) passed away, with all that love and pride and effort disposed off in one fell swoop. Had I the money I would have bought as many as I could find, in a futile and foolish attempt to preserve this collection. I wish I had done so regardless.
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Mini-recommendations:
Sainsbury’s Ethiopian Sidamo ground coffee is a current favourite; lovely, rich and not overly bitter.
demuth’s in Bath is a very nice vegetarian restaurant indeed. Great food, full of flavour and very light, using fresh local ingredients. Yummy.
Eyoki’s blog is another firm favourite. I never fail to come away have thinking about something in a different way, having learnt something new and outside of my immediate sphere of interest. Go and read.
Today I am visiting Lacock and Lacock Abbey, an architecturally fantastic place, lovely in the summer, and the ‘birth-place’ of photography, being Fox-Talbot’s residence.
