Thursday, 6th November

Carol if you are reading this, Happy Birthday!
As usual I've left it too late to send a card (no excuse since I have a box full of them upstairs) so hope I'll be forgiven for sending an e-card. Not really meaning to be cheapskate.....

Nothing exciting to tell other than I had a boy come for a trial lesson on Saturday who has decided to join and also another brother and sister will join in January. Neither have been for a trial lesson - one of my student's grandmothers introduced them and the mother decided that they would join after coming to the classroom and staying for only 5 minutes - I hadn't even started the lesson so how she knows that it'll be okay is anyone's guess. Hopefully it will work out. I usually prefer the kids to come for a trial lesson so that I can see them and get a feel for what kind of kid they are before agreeing to it (although I've only ever turned 2 away due to a 'hunch').

I finished 'The Tenderness of Wolves' and enjoyed it although as I already said, I found it a bit hard going at the beginning. Last night I started on 'Spilling the Beans', written by Clarissa Dickson Wright (of Two Fat Ladies fame) Amazon's synopsis reads

Clarissa was born into wealth and privilege, as a child, shooting and hunting were the norm and pigeons were flown in from Cairo for supper. Her mother was an Australian heiress, her father was a brilliant surgeon to the Royal family. But he was also a tyrannical and violent drunk who used to beat her and force her to eat carrots with slugs still clinging to them. Clarissa was determined and clever, though, and her ambition led her to a career in the law. At the age of 21, she was the youngest ever woman to be called to the Bar. Then disaster struck when her adored mother died suddenly. It was to lead to a mind-numbing decade of wild over-indulgence. Rich from her inheritance, in the end Clarissa had partied away her entire fortune. It was a long, hard road to recovery along which Clarissa finally faced her demons and turned to the one thing that had always brought her joy - cooking. Now at last she has found success, sobriety - and peace. With the stark honesty and the brilliant wit we love her for, Clarissa recounts the tale of a life lived to extremes. A vivid and funny story, it is as moving as it is a cracking good read


I do agree that it's interesting and witty but was a bit disappointed as I got to the end because of her pro-hunting views. If you aren't likewise minded, it gets a bit annoying and boring after a while which was a shame because I'd enjoyed the rest of the book.