Book Club - My Review of Lorna Doone

Phew boy do I wish I'd selected an easier book to kick off the book club! I really couldn't get into it at first as the archaic language and the use of Dorset/Somerset dialect didn't make it the best book for a tired brain...


But I finally finished it yesterday and it was worth the effort.


I have to say that I'm glad that I was born in the 20th and not the 17th century as the women in the book do seem to have raw deal in the story. The main character John Ridd seems quite a misogynist but then that was presumably the norm at the time. This did make the book off putting as it goes against all my modern feminist views.


It does paint a fascinating picture of life as a yeoman farmer in the 1600s at a time of turmoil and social upheaval. I had heard about some of the real life characters from my history lessons but the author brings some colour to them by showing them from a "normal" person's perspective.


I guess the character closest to the way I see myself is Lizzie even though her big brother puts her down all the time. She is a bookworm who knows a lot about history but hasn't got the housewifely skills that were expected of her at the time. She definitely doesn't get good press from J. R. but that doesn't mean she was a bad girl at all.


Once I got used to it the fact that the dialogue was written in the local dialect added to the book as you could really imagine the characters saying it.


A good book but one for when you are in the right place for a serious read and not for a general relax..

Operation Downsize

As I know that at some point this year the kids and I will have to relocate from a 6 to a 2 bedroom home I have been desperately trying to downsize our belongings in preparation for the move. The estate agent that came and valued the property said there was too much stuff in it to get a sale!


There are many times when I think it's a mission impossible as our family of 7 have all got property in various rooms. Unless I have an other adult around or the children are out of the way its not even worth trying to sort stuff out! 

Once I can actually get cracking, then I have to decide what stuff to keep and what to dispose of. Some things are highly sentimental and are therefore priority to keep. Other items I know there won't be space for in our new home and I have to let them go. I have persuaded the kids that if I sell on some of their old toys then the money will be used for them to pay for treats. But as soon as I round up an item with its parts they start to play with it.... must get some of it on eBay quick...

Some items we have had plenty of use out of and aren't worth the effort of selling. I have been Freecycling things out as fast as I can. I hope not to have to throw too much stuff but can't do a car boot or garage sale without adult help.


Other things are too big for a smaller place and will need to be replaced using the proceeds from selling the old originals. Also the costs of getting rid of current property and moving to new one have to be funded from somewhere. In fact I won't know how much space I will have until I can find a new home and so will have to wait to see how much I can take. This is especially true of of outdoor stuff as I may or may not get somewhere with a garden.


Oh well it will all come out in the end and I just hope that I don't get rid of something that I later regret...

Mummy I just..

Mummy I just...


those 3 words are the ones I dread to hear from either of my children. From my big girl it means she is doing anything but what you have asked her to do. From my little boy it means he has done something which is going to take a lot of clearing up to do...

My daughter's favourite time to use this phrase is just before we leave for school in the morning. I have got everyone dressed and breakfasted. All that remains is to put on shoes & coats. With 10 minutes to go I say:

Get your shoes on E...

Mummy I just need to ...

With 5 minutes to go I say:

Get your shoes on E...

Mummy I just need to ...

It's time to go I say:

Get your shoes on E...

Mummy I just need to ...

As for my 3 year old..

I am sure one day I won't seem to spend half my day cleaning up stray pee & poo ... though in fact today he was perfect until got off the loo too soon with predictable consequences for his clothes and the floor...

Together we are stronger

The last 48 hours have shown me the strength of love & support I have from my friends and family. Other people that have been through similar situations have told me that this is the worst stage of a divorce when you are in a limbo between being married and being able to start again.


The support I am getting both off & online is helping me through the transition. Phone calls, e-mails, messages on FB & Twitter and real life hugs are all a great help. My kids give me so much love and tell me things such as:

you are the best mummy ever

they love snuggling up to me in bed or on the sofa and E is doing her best to help me as much as a 6 year old can. 

I do still have my concerns about them, E couldn't make her mind up whether she wanted to speak to her daddy on Sunday and chose eating tea over getting home in time. Then when I tried to set-up the Skype call she said rude things about her dad but was upset when she couldn't talk to him. The fact that the only way she has of direct contact with him is through Skype is very frustrating to a young child.

O has an interesting twist to much of his role play which maybe his way of dealing things. He was playing with ducks in the bath and told granny that the ducks were mummy, brother & sister. When asked were daddy duck was he said that the daddy had drowned. When he plays with his sister's dolls he insists that he is their mummy and not their daddy. At playgroup today he was creating family groups of animals - none of them had a daddy in. Even the farmer was the brother of the little boy figure and not the father.

I am hoping that the lady from the advice group can offer me constructive advice on how to get the kids through this. But until then I am going to adopt a new motto for the kids and I:

Together we are stronger

thanks to Josie at Sleep is for the Weak for this week's Writing Workshop prompt!

Is it is safe to come back on my blog yet?

All this flaming has made this an interesting if vitriolic blog! Hopefully normal service will be resumed soon if people take heed of what I put:

If people don't like my blog stay off it 

I will stick to posting banal comments about pee, poo & the joys of single motherhood and hope I can make some of you smile....