Summer reading...

So I'm nearly back up to date on the book front and August was a light month on the book front, possibly due to the distraction of a new iPhone...

So just three books to get through in August.

Back on Murder by J Mark Bertrand
Another who dunnit, I think perhaps best suited for a Rankin fan like me. A grumpy US detective that goes off-piste and gets himself into trouble reminds me of Edinburgh's Rebus, they even had the young, good looking girl detective. I'm not sure if it was because I missed the Edinburgh element or the case was not as unusual as Rankin's but something about this just didn't click for me. I wanted to find out what happened but I wished I was reading it in paper so that I could flick to back and see, I'd pick up a Rebus novel rather than this if I was you...

A Mourning Wedding by Carola Dunn
A misleading title if ever there was one as there was no wedding... I think the biggest shock in this whole thing was that Daisy's best fried who should have known better invited Daisy to stay, the result two deaths and her fiancée was also nearly killed. That said it was still a good read although not one of the best in the story I worked this one out just too early.

More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea by Tom Reynolds
I love Tom Reynolds straight to the point approach, I read his first book just before I started this blog and so when I saw the second one floating around I gave it a try. It was just as good as the first and amazingly it never got boring, the number of cases an ambulance crew sees gives Tom a wealth of material, from matern-a-taxi, to colds, to A&E queue jumpers including just a few real emergencies. I guess you have to be one of those people who likes to watch Casualty for this one to hit the mark, but as I'm one of those folk that's fine and I loved it...

Catching up on the books...

So without my own laptop it is pretty hard to keep up my blog and then the Edinburgh Fringe Festival distracted me so I now have a lot of catching up to do and that means the detail is going to drop off, sorry...

June's reading list
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
I loved this book, another book I found by chance on Amazon, but so glad I did. Now I love stories about life at home during World War 2 and this one starts with the story of an old man but quickly goes back to his childhood. A beautiful story of a little Chinese boy who struggles to fit in, with Americans calling him Japanese and his own community laughing at him for going to American school. His one friend a little Japanese girl, his father forbids the friendship and when she is interred he goes to great lengths to find her. The story is fascinating but also a moving story of childhood friendship, try it yourself if you see a copy...

The Godless Boys by Naomi Wood
This one was just a bit odd, and kind of 'Lord of the Flies' but still a good read. Everyone who does not believe in God has been shipped off to an island of the coast of the UK (maybe a Shetland Island). On  the Island a group of boys are 'policing' the island and punishing those they suspect of believing. I warn you the end will make you cry...

My Dad is Ten Years Old, and it's Pure Weird by Mark O'Sullivan
This story was another tough one, the story of a man who is severely brain damaged in an accident, to the point his children can't call him dad any more in case he freaks. This story is told from the perspective of his young daughter and it is a fascinating insight into the impact of severe brain injury on a family, both the adults in the relationship, the children and the person themselves. At some points I was shouting at the characters in the book, frustrated that they couldn't see the cracks forming and widening, but at the end of the book I was satisfied.

The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain
Another book that made me cry right from the start, the book opens with a moving tale of a woman committing suicide. From there the mystery deepens as her two best friends try to work out why she did it. Then each chapter a new twist comes out and the mystery deepens, the final twist I worked out a good way before the end and was a little frustrated that the characters couldn't see it. That said if you liked 'The Memory Keeper's Daughter' you will like this so give it a shot...

Shadow of the Serpent by David Ashton
This one I remember little of, however I do remember the way that I could feel Edinburgh under my skin. Although the book was set in history the alleys of Edinburgh still feel the same. There are a number of grisly murders in this book and if you're squeamish then don't read this one.

Murder on the Mind by LL Bartlett
Another whodunnit but this one with a new angle... the central character has a brain injury and ever since he has been plagued with images of a brutal murder. But is this because he did it or does he have another sense thanks to his injury? Well I'm not about to give it away so you'll have to read it to find out...

July's reading list
Murder on the Flying Scotsman by Carola Dunn
I love the drama of these books although I'm sure I don't why anyone would invite Daisy Dalrymple to stay any more as every time she comes to stay at least one person dies. That said in the post-war period it would appear that most of the upper class families had an insufferable older member and a killer in their midst, so I'm sure Daisy was happy to marry 'down class' to an Inspector Detective of Scotland Yard. Another in the same vein as her other novels but still a puzzle I wanted to unravel.

Dead in the Water by Carola Dunn
This novel is set at the Henley regatta, once again Daisy proves to be an unlucky house guest as another man dies.

Sick Notes by Dr Tony Copperfield
As a healthcare PR practitioner, I have been known to read Pulse magazine (A GP publication) and Dr Copperfield's column on the back page was always the highlight, the one article I would definitely read from start to finish. So when his book came up on Amazon at a good price I snapped it up. It was a truly amusing read and had me gasping at the amazing inability of some people to work out whether they are really sick. It was also interesting to read a bout a GP's frustration at the inadequacies of the referral system. An amusing insight into the life of an NHS GP, anyone with a slight interest in healthcare / loved Dr in the House will love this too...

It's Your Time You're Wasting by Frank Chalk
As the child of a teacher this looked amusing and I wasn't let down. Although Mr Chalk is just a supply teacher his stories of the one school he worked at rang true. Some of them I still can't believe how children talk to their teachers these days... I would never have dared when I was at school, in fact I still wouldn't dare.

Ain't no Sunshine by Leslie Du Bois
Another moving book of childhood friendship that grows to more. It was a heart rending read, with racial segregation and domestic abuse. The final twist in the book was surprising, despite working it out a good five years before it was really revealed. I think it was a really worthwhile read and I enjoyed it and would recommend it for others.

Never a Bride by Amelia Grey
A regency novel, a fun story with the usual, girl loves man, man eventually loves girl, problem happens and it all goes wrong then....you guessed it girl gets boy. An easy read that I whipped through and there was even a little mystery running all the way through that was satisfactorily solved at the end :-)

So I'm now just a month behind and with a new laptop on order I aim to get August up soon and then maybe even get through my other books as I read them or at least every other book... I definitely shouldn't leave it this long and I apologise for the sparse nature of some of the reviews above...

Dinner

So I finally got my birthday gift, lunch at Heston Blumenthal's London restaurant Dinner. It was a different experience, starting with four doormen on the steps into the Mandarin Oriental... On entering this hotel I was surprised to find it really quite dark and a bit underwhelming. What was particularly disconcerting was the fact that there was no indication where you should go and I felt out of place until we turned to the girl at the top of the stairs for help. The staff at the welcome desk were lovely and they directed us to the bar, to keep costs down we stuck to water (cocktails started at £18). However I was feeling edgy as more than 30mins after our booking we were still in the bar with no idea whether someone would come and get us or whether we were supposed to go in...

We had a lovely table and I had a fab view of the park behind, the restaurant was lovely and light and I loved the jelly mould lights. The sommelier was friendly, but she didn't really offer us any assistance with the extensive and pricey wine list but we each had a lovely a lovely glass of white; sauvignon blanc (me) and dry reisling (P). Knowing before we arrived that I was having dessert we decided to skip starters and go straight in with the main. I had the black foot pork chop with red wine and robert sauce, I ordered a delicious mixed leaf and tomato salad on the side. The meat was served slightly pink, was incredibly tender, moist and full of flavour, the verdict delicious. P opted quite bravely for sea bass in cockle sauce with new potatoes and was unfortunately disappointed. The sauce was slimy and overly vinegary, the fish was flavourless and worst of all the potatoes were undercooked!!!

But on to dessert, we were disappointed that no one offered us a drink to accompany dessert, however the tipsy cake pre-ordered on arrival did not disappoint... Unfortunately P once again was unlucky with the Taffety Tart which was just a bit lacklustre. So back to my dessert, the pineapple cut through the sugar on the cake bit, a glazed brioche in a subtly alcoholic sauce, you have to order this if you are visiting dinner. We closed the meal with a fresh mint tea and the complementary post dessert of an overly sweet white chocolate ganache with a caraway biscuit, luckily P did like this and polished off both of them.

In summary, I'm really glad we went but I don't think we'll be going back, not unless the price drops significantly. On the other hand, his pub Hind's Head in Bray was fantastic and seemed more comfortable for the beginner Heston dinner, although you will need a designated driver to get there and home

Edinburgh Fringe 2011 summary

So I thought that while watching Three @ The Fringe on catch-up was the perfect time to post my round-up of the Fringe. As promised this is the shows I saw in the order I would recommend which should help to overcome the confusion of my previous posts where I kept forgetting what I saw...

1. Thom Tuck Goes Straight to DVD at the Pleasance Dome
2. Humphrey Ker is Dymock Watson the Nazi Smasher at Pleasance Courtyard
3. Minute after Midday at the Gilded Balloon (the only serious theatre in my top 5)
4. Rock the Ballet at the Assembly
5. Spank! at the Underbelly
6. Frisky and Mannish at the Udderbelly
7. NewsRevue at the Pleasance Courtyard
8. Fresher the Musical at the Pleasance Dome
9. Street Dreams at the Underbelly
10. The Horne Section at Assembly George Square
11. Translunar Paradise at the Pleasance Dome
12. Improverts at the Bedlam
13. David Reed Shamble House at the Pleasance Courtyard
14. Dead Cat Bounce at the Pleasance Courtyard
15. Showstopper the Musical at the Gilded Balloon
16. Pollyanna meets Piaf at the Space Surgeon's Hall
17. You Want Me to Do What? at C venue at ECA
18. Peeling PVA Happier Mache at Just the Tonic

Other must do things at the Fringe are:
Sushi at Bonsai
Sausage and Mash at Mums
Bagel at Elephants and Bagel
Drink at the Udderbelly Pasture
and of course catch-up with all my friends that are still lucky enough to live up there...

Hope you enjoy what's left of the Fringe and I'm looking forward to next year...

Oops the shows I forgot and the ones I don't really recommend...

I'm definitely starting to think that I saw too many shows as I logged on to my Edinburgh Fringe page to check out what I saw and realised I had missed half the shows... So below are a few of my higher ranking shows and then the last ones are those that I didn't get or just weren't for me.

To those I forgot, I'm so sorry you were all great!

Forgotten four star shows
Fresher the Musical at Pleasance Dome
I laughed a lot during this show as everything they said / sang reminded me of how I felt to be a fresher. I left the performance wishing I could go back to those days, perhaps more so as I was watching in my former student union. Sometimes it felt a bit American, but maybe that was the head mikes, it was strange feeling as I almost thought I knew the words and could sing along when that was very much not the case. A great mix up of all the stereotypes and Rupert's rap was genius, Basil I hope you get lucky by the end of uni :-) My one note of caution is to try and avoid sitting in the sets on stage left as the drum kit was deafening and sometimes I couldn't hear the words.

The Horne Section at Assembly George Square
This was our first evening show of 2011 and I hadn't realised it was Alex Horne until we arrived and the guys whose table we hijacked told us. On reflection it was a good thing I didn't know as I had previously seen a very early preview of Alex's stand-up show Birdwatching (about 4 years ago in the basement of Fopp, Tottenham Court Road), I didn't enjoy it... But this was a different kettle of fish altogether, the Horn band with drummer and piano added a little sparkle and the giant wheel of fortune gave it an edge. I was super excited that we got Mark Watson one of my favourite 'big comedians', it was nice to see Tim Vine though I'm not sure I could site through an hour of his one-liners and the tumble act did not float my boat. But the highlight of the evening was Alex and his band doing Morris dancing to Beyonce's Single Ladies, it has to be seen to be believed...

I didn't have a three and half stars before but feel that I need one now...
Improverts at the Bedlam Theatre
Again I always go see the Edinburgh Improverts, they remind of many a Friday evening laughing at the antics of Humphrey Ker, Thom Tuck, David Reed and many more... Somehow even though they have moved on to their solo shows (see my previous two posts) the Edinburgh Imps have kept their magic and somehow the other other Improverts companies I've seen at the Fringe before do not match up. Of course you are taking a risk on the audience attending and the night we went they let the team down but probably due to a lack of alcohol. But all my favourite games were there and I laughed the night away before heading to Underbelly for a dance.

Translunar Paradise at the Pleasance Dome
Another addition to my final quiet and downbeat day, this show raising money for cancer research was heart warming. The incredible silent story of an elderly couple and when the wife dies her husband relives their life, the highs and the lows. I loved the use of masks and again these masks seemed to have expressions I also loved the seamless transitions and the clarity of the looking back scenes. My mind did wonder at times and perhaps a funny show in between would have put me in the right frame of mind for this performance.

Three star shows that didn't make it into the last post
Dead Cat Bounce: Caged Heat at the Pleasance Courtyard
This group we picked up last year through Spank! and saw their show in the Gilded Balloon Basement. This year they have upgraded to the Pleasance theatre and feel like a real Rock Band! It was particularly good to be able to hear all the lyrics this time. However I regretfully put this as a three star show thanks to their request to allow latecomers and the way the venue handled this. The theatre was full and then at about 20minutes in around 30 latecomers were let in. The venue staff spent ages trying to find seats and squishing us all up which knocked me and my friend out of the spirit. Additionally children are allowed in and if you are uncomfortable sitting next to a nine year old with some pretty heavy double entendres then perhaps best to buy the CD and not risk it.

Three star show, but I think just the night I went...
ShowStopper! the Improvised Musical at the Gilded Balloon
Another show relying on it's audience was let down by the audience and the late running venue, meaning we once again had to leave early. That said I hadn't really bought into the Viking theme, the performance felt a bit prescriptive and the venue too large for real improvisation. I have heard great things about this group but I felt let down, although I was in real awe of the teams ability to sing on demand...

Two and a half star show
Pollyanna meets Piaf at The Space, Surgeon's Hall
What really let this show down was the promise of Piaf and there just wasn't enough for me. I liked a couple of the songs but I felt that the performance lacked a bit of oomph, particularly on the happy songs. It was a nice way to spend an hour and I didn't want my money back but I also didn't really feel like I'd gained anything.

You want me to do what? at C at ECA
Another show that just didn't deliver on the promise of the advert. The advert implied it was going to be amusing but it really wasn't. In a frustrating venue that you couldn't get into because it wasn't signed and the fire door wasn't activated from the outside. Once in the small stuffy room, I didn't feel like the show had the energy it needed to pull it through. It was a bit disjointed and for me the emotion didn't carry through to the audience as the actress told the story of her time as a leukaemia nurse. I think perhaps as a medical biologist I just wanted more reality, I'm never keen on looking back dream like shows and this was a prime example but maybe you'll love it and the Fringe is about taking a chance sometimes.

One star show
Peeling PVA's, Happier mache at Just the Tonic
This was the first time I've ever been given a comp ticket for the Fringe and I'm glad I didn't pay to see this show. The only sketch that I genuinely loved was the Duke of York sketch, incredibly clever and funny. However the rest lacked conviction, the set was too patchy and rickety and distracted from the performance. I did also enjoy the self checkout sketch but felt that it didn't follow through on the joke in the right way. The comedy was very young and perhaps with time it might improve? I think perhaps give them a miss year and take a peek next year to see what's changed...

In my last Edinburgh post I'll rank the shows in order of what to see as I seem to have got a bit mixed up in my reviews...