Never Stop

It was one of those days that didn't stop from the moment that the alarm went off, through one cup a coffee, a quick cold run with inadvertent ending through sprinklers at 34 degrees on to two more cups of coffee, straight through a series of meetings, standing lunch, emails, coffee, reports and then finally before you know it you're standing in Target just before closing buying dinner and a bottle of reading water.

It must be the type of day which inspired The Bad Plus.  (It is a music month, isn't it?)

Daunted and I liked It

In the event you are in the area, I wanted to introduce you to another of those bookstore gems, Daunt Books. This branch of Daunt Books in Holland Park drew me in from the street just by sheer atmosphere. I had not intended to browse books as I had just purchased a hot sandwich, but the pull was too great. Most of the books in the bookstore are categorized by country, rather than by traditional genre. I was greeted with France just inside the doorway and soon moved to Spain and Italy. I was fascinated...and completely hooked. Interspersed with each country was not only the expected travel guides and maps, but also books about art, wildlife, fiction either about the country or by one of that country’s kinsmen. As I moved into India, Central Europe and Asia, I smiled and felt as though I was travelling a greater distance than just across the long aisle.

There were a host of other books of fiction, gardening and cookery to capture one’s interest and I’ll admit that I walked away with How to feed your whole family a healthy, balanced diet with very little money...and hardly any time, even if you have a tiny kitchen, only three saucepans (one with an ill-fitting lid) and no fancy gadgets – unless you count the garlic crusher... by Gill Holcombe. It was one imaginative title and extremely hard to say with one breath. As I share the same number of pots as the author, I thought I would give it a whirl, although I do perhaps have a few more gadgets.