What is the “Essence of the North?” That is what is being asked by The Northerner Blog in the Guardian today. They are asking for contributors to post an image that captures the essence of the North. Whose North? There is always the chocolate box image of Dales and Moors, unbroken wilderness, apart from James …
The Last Children of Tokyo
The Last Children of Tokyo another book that I saw on the trolley as I was shelving and was instantly fascinated by the cover. It also fits in with my goal of reading more books which weren’t originally written in English. Looking at a world in the near future, set in the Tokyo of this …
Darlington ‘Walkdown’ #01
We’ve been doing variants of this walk for a couple of years before last March but not really doing the full walk. We decided to explore it a bit more during lockdown to see where it all went (there are other bits to add but I’ll add these to other maps since they go off …
Never Let Me Go
Melancholic. This is about the only word that can be used to describe Never Let Me Go, it is there from the start to the end. Always on the verge of crying. This is such a well-crafted elegy to the dead or those about to die. Nothing is clear and the characters see their lives …
Wild Garlic Risotto
Yesterday’s evening meal took inspiration from a walk down to the River Tees (and what we had left in the fridge). I needed a non-computer day and a bit of a change of scenery and this is one of my favourite walks in Darlington. When I got there and was hit by the beautiful smell …
The Ice Sea Pirates
Frida Nilsson. Gecko Press. (368p) ISBN 9781776572007 The Ice Sea Pirates is set in a frozen North, not unlike the North of our world, in Siri’s North though there are Pirates, Mermaids and more. Frida Nilsson’s book follows Siri in her quest to rescue her little sister, Miki, who has been abducted by the notorious …