Just don't know what to read next? Here's an idea!!

Just got to pass this one on!
 Look here 
Such a good idea if you spend hours shilly shallying round the books shelves trying to decide what to read next!

Away - Amy Bloom

      Lillian Leyb is the  young Jewish mother of Sophie, presumed dead.  Lillian lost her entire family when, in one of those awful times when a population takes against Jews,  her husband, mother, father, and possibly her daughter were hacked to death by neighbours in their village for being Jewish.  She is hit over the head, but feigns death, and her four year old daughter Sophie who was missed by the attackers, is dropped out of the window by Lillian and told to run.  With nothing left to live for, Lillian sets out for the land of America - there is nothing left of "home", and she decides she had just as well move on.

She spends her first few months in New York working for a Jewish theatre impresario, sewing costumes for his productions, and becoming his mistress whilst being a cover for his son, handsome, gay and obviously not "out" in the 1920s.  Kindness is offered, emotions are buried, life is becoming settled, until a distant family member arrives with news that Sophie may not be dead.  Time to get back home and search for Sophie.

Poverty, and all that goes with it are described in detail, as are the trappings of wealth for those who have it.  To get to Siberia, where she is certain her daughter now is, Lillian must leave her comfortable flat, her lover, his friend who has taught her to speak "American", and any home comforts she has found in Manhatten.  She must travel across country to Seattle by train, hidden in the cleaning cupboards of two trains, and then make her own way up through Canada to Alaska. Other characters in this book speak far more than Lillian, and yet she has plenty to tell the reader.  Those she meets along the way are described so well you can see them, smell them.  She is party to a murder (accidental), she has stolen money (from the dead person), she must go on with her journey - for emotion must be repressed and Sophie must be found.

Books about making your way in America are not scarce, but I must say this is up there with the best of them. I loved Colm Toibin's Brooklyn, and I loved this book, too.   Descrptions of different ways of life are eye openers.  Research is spot on, and if you just find out one little thing from every book you read, well, isn't that something?  I had no idea about the linemen in the Yukon - single men who passed on the telegraph messages "down the line" and lived solitary life in little cabins out there in the wilderness.  There is also a particular style within the book of describing what has happened to each major character once Lillian has moved out of their lives.  I liked that. 

I have included below the American cover for this paperback.  The one at the top is the UK paperback edition, although I have no idea why such a drab cover was chosen.  On the other hand, what a glorious bowl of fruit has to do with the story I have no idea.  Just saying!

A newer kind of book critic

http://www.blogger.com/profile/16028210146616905856

John is an artist.  Every so often he posts a new book critique on his blog.... but there is a difference!  He "draws" his opinions - and they are a joy to read.  Go have a look! 

Light, Coming Back - Ann Wadsworth

The first thing I want to say about this book is that as soon as I finished it I looked for other books by Ann Wadsworth.  None. And this one published in 2001.  I would read others by her if she published as she has a wonderful style, easy, flowing, descriptive.

Mercedes Medina is 59, married to a terminally ill classical cellist 25 years her senior.  He found her, hooked her and married her, and her entire life since has really been about Patrick - is he alright?  is he comfortable? is Bessie (the cello) on the plane? was the last rehearsal OK? would Patrick like anything other than eggs for breakfast?  Patrick is the kind of man I would have walked out on years before, but love is a funny creature, and there is no doubt that she feels that being part Patrick's life is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to her.  So why do we start the book with Mercedes in a mental health facility?

We find out, quickly, that the request to be there came from her:  "I'd rather like someone to cook for me for a while" was what she told her doctor, when she experienced a breakdown.  The book, in three parts, starts then with her feelings some months after the death of Patrick.  She misses him dreadfully, but more than that, she misses Lennie, with whom she fell haltingly but totally in love whilst Patrick was still alive.  It's the darkness of no Patrick and no Lennie (who disappeared just prior to Patrick's death) that haunts Mrs Medina.

The middle section, and by far the largest part of the book, describes her life in the Boston, Mass. apartment she shares with Patrick.  Their life together described in the smallest detail, her feelings about him, the knowledge that he will die very soon. Meanwhile, Patrick is a perky, sarcastic, clever and (for me) thoroughly unlikeable man.  But you know, she loves him.  And then, one day in the local flower shop she meets Lennie.  There's something about Lennie, and Mrs Medina feels she must go back again and again.  They have a few coffees, and she knows what she feels but cannot explain it..... for Lennie is a 30 year old woman.

The front cover of this book has a quote from the Lambda Book Report "Arguably the finest piece of lesbian fiction ever written".  If you want lesbian fiction, I can't say that the quote is true, as I haven't read much of it!  But if you just want a damn good book to read I can recommend this one to any reader who likes a well written story that's a bit different.

Thank you for viewing! Here's a new picture to look at....

Well, someone must be reading me regularly, because my figures are up, up, up.  Thank you!!  I seem to be popular in Russia and America as well as the UK, and there are people dropping in from all over, which is exciting, even though I cannot see you.  Hi e-friends!  OK, no more dribble.....

Thought you all might like to see the house in which the blog is written so I have put it up as my header picture.  It was taken 3 years ago, but at exactly the same time of year.... there are just more tulips right now!

For those who don't know.... it's known as a 2 up 2 down, although in fact it's three of both, as there is also a kitchen and bathroom.  The window to the left of the open door as you look at the picture is where I do my blogging.

Painter of Silence - Georgina Harding

What a different kind of read this one was. A book where one of the two main characters cannot hear, cannot speak, and cannot read sign language of any kind;  he can only process what he sees.  And what he sees, from childhood, is his mother cooking for the family in the big house, the horses in the stables, the trees in the woods, and his friend Safta, daughter of the big house.   He is Augustin, and his life is odd but sheltered and mostly good.  There are exceptions to this of course, when Safta's mother, for example decides that he can be educated with her children up at the house.  He doesn't take to the German tutor, who dislikes this silent child intensely.  But he continues to do what he has always done - he draws what he sees - and these drawings are his history.

The story is told in reverse for a chunk of the book, with Augustin turning up on the steps of a hospital in Iasi, Romania in the early 1950s.  We don't know it yet, but he is Augustin, and he has come to the city searching for Safta.  

As readers of my blog may know, I do like truth woven with fiction.  From this book I found out how difficult life was for the peoples of eastern bloc countries to exist after WW2 with Stalin's communism reaching out and destroying all that had gone before. Georgina Harding writes beautifully.  This is especially difficult when one of the main characters will never say a word.    But she has got into his head, and we know who he is and what his thoughts are.

               

My Policeman by Bethan Roberts

I read this tremendous and heartbreaking novel in two days, reading great chunks at a time.  It wasn't hard to read, but it was hard to bear.  Marion meets Tom, the love of her life when she is in her teens.  He's the brother of her best friend.  They meet when Marion goes to tea, or sometimes in the street, but he has no idea of her intense feelings for him.  They grow up, Marion trains and becomes a teacher; and Tom, after National Service (at that time in Britain you were compelled to serve in the armed forces for a period of two years - a practice that ceased in 1960) joins the police force.  He's back in town and Marion cannot see what the reader can - that he likes her, but has another kind of furrow to plough.  She is desparately in love with him, and there just is no-one else.  They swim, they have a few meals, they go to the cinema; and whilst this is just a platonic relationship on Tom's part, Marion reads so much more into every word, every movement, every touch.  And suddenly, her wish is granted - he suggests they marry.  Tom's best man is Patrick, a museum  curator, smartly dressed, a little older, knowledgeable;  and who is also desparately in love with Tom......

 

 It is hard to understand the way homosexuals were treated just a short while ago. Homosexuality was against the law, even between consenting adults, and it was not the sort of thing that any policeman would have been able to declare.  In fact, it would be very difficult for anyone who was gay at that time, full stop.  My own memories of that time about gay men are different to many people.  We had a neighbour who's son became a steward on a liner.  His sister came to see my Mum in a panic to tell her that she'd opened her brother's case on his last visit home so that she could unpack for him and found bottles of colognes and other unctions (at a time when working class men - his own background - smelt either of Wright's Coal Tar soap, Carbolic soap or sweat).  My mother's view about people either gay or straight, black or white  was that some are different to others but that didn't make them bad people. A few years later a family who rented the house next door consisted of a weekend drag queen, who was married to a deaf lady and who fathered two lovely children.  These people were just in my life.  So whilst I was reading this moving story, those memories came back, and I thought again how hard it must have been for any gay person to stay "under the radar", hold down a job, keep from being beaten up  in the street, and all those other things that their sexuality would make troublesome for them.

I cannot say enough about this well written book and its subject.  It deserves a wide, wide readership, if for nothing else, so that people find out how hard it once was to just be who you are.  Recommended.

Jonathan Winters - a big, ugly American is dead

I missed a word out there - A big, ugly, funny American is dead.  I remember hearing this sketch probably 30 years ago on the radio.  Searched for it today and it still made me smile.  It's called
"The Shy Guy Returns the Toaster".  Enjoy and smile.

tp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOl908O7ebQ

Baby Pea Soup

I had some friends for lunch yesterday, and decided on baby pea soup.  I got clean dishes, and smiles, so I think this was a hit, and so easy to do.  This is one of those recipes that you might call "store cupboard food", as most of the ingredients I always have around the house.

This will make 4 good servings depending on the consistency you choose (I got 5 out of mine!)

I x largish leek. Don't use the green end (You can save that and make leek and potato soup another day!!)
I x  medium sized potato peeled
Butter/olive oil
1 x 545 g packet (or similar size) of frozen petite pois peas
1 x vegetable stock cube 
I pint water
Good pinch of rock salt 

 
Chop the leek finely and rinse.  Place in stockpot or large lidded pan, grate the raw potato and add, together with a knob of butter and a good splash of olive oil.  Sweat over a low heat with lid on, Stir from time to time taking care not to brown the leeks, for about 5 minutes, and then add all the peas, the crumbled stock cube and the water.
Bring to boil, then take heat right down and simmer for around 30 minutes to ensure the potato is cooked.  Remove from heat and using a hand held blender (or if you have a separate blender) whizz it smooth and check that it is the consistancy you want.  I added a little more water and stirred again.  Now taste!  if you like it, off you go.  This is the point I add the salt as baby peas are a bit sweet for me.  Return to heat and bring up to simmer again, after which - Serve.

A Place of One's Own - Osbert Sitwell

There's no picture to offer you for this one - published in 1941 and what's left of the dust cover certainly shows the austerity things during WW2.  But the content has nothing to do with that at all.  This is a short (70 pages) and imaginative ghost story.  Mr and Mrs Smedhurst, retiring from "trade" in Leeds, have purchased a large house in a seaside town called Newborough ("and such a bargain") and are settling in happily to retirement, lunch instead of dinner, making new friends and generally enjoying a quiet life.  And then, some odd things begin to happen.......

 The writing style shows its age but there's nothing wrong with that - after all, so does Dickens, Thackeray, Elliott etc!  What is wonderful though is the punctuation.  For those like me who hate bad punctuation unless it is intentional; this is a fine example of perfect grammar at that time.. 

Osbert Sitwell was a Baronet;  the middle sibling of Edith his sister who became Dame Edith Sitwell, and Sacheverell Sitwell, his younger brother. Served in WW1, supported Edward VI after he'd met Mrs Simpson and lost a lot of friends..... fascinating - and there's quite a lot on Wikipedia if you want to know more.

A Life Like Other People's - Alan Bennett

This shorter version of Alan Bennett's biographical memoir "Untold Stories" is the story of his own family - and the tales that every family has.  How people met, married, who died and when; how people conducted themselves.  For example, his Mam and Dad got married at 8.00 in the morning, so

 

that there wouldn't be any fuss, or splother as his father put it.  Two rather shy people who had two sons, Alan and his brother, and who cared deeply for each other are described;  together with sisters, mothers, and Alan Bennett's feelings about all of it, including the long and interminable wait for death his Mam had, suffering for 15 years  from dementia.  He is not kind-hearted, our Mr Bennett, but he is oh, so truthful.  Tell me you do not see yourself acting in the same way under the same circumstances. He's a great wordsmith and you can hear his soft, Yorkshire tones behind every word.  How did he do it?  My guess is that he is and has always been a diary man.  Life's little gems recorded for "later", and as he admits himself, often turning up in his plays. 

Moloka'i - Alan Brennert

This was a book I came across, rather than a book I put myself out to find..... But it was a good "find" indeed.  To find out something you didn't know about the world is always worth it, but this was a something which came as a shock to me, as I had no idea about the existence of a leper colony on the Hawaii'n island of Moloka'i.  The story takes you from 1890 when a small child in Honolulu is diagnosed with leprosy to 1970 when ...... well, read it and see!

Rachel is the small child.  Her mother and father are distraught when that first little mark appears, and they try desperately to cover it up until in a fit of peak, one of her siblings lets the truth out - and within days, Rachel has been taken to Moloka'i and away from her family for the rest of her life.  This is her story - but woven into it are real people, some re-named, some recognisable.  This is not the first fiction about Moloka'i, just the first I have come across, and there are many accounts of visitors' thoughts available, lots of which are listed at the end of the book (which by the way, I urge you to read, but not until you have finished reading the story itself), including Jack London and Robert Louis Stevenson.  

This is not a "pretty" book, despite the rather attractive cover.  Descriptions of the disease are not shied away from; and the heartbreak suffered by some of the staff (many of the carers are catholic nuns) over the life and death of their charges is tangible.  And the heartbreak too, of those lepers who loose friends and partners can only be imagined.  Like any town, the colony on Moloka'i rub along together in all their various forms.  There is sex, violence; family love, true love, first love; jealousy, anger, humour and, in this cross section of life, there are some larger than life characters, some you will love, some you will love to hate.  Rachel herself dominates the book, taking her life in both hands and doing the best she can to live it.  

Storage in a very small area!

You will have seen this kind of storage box, I am sure.

Fabulous, because you can move the divisions around!

So, this is how you can store a lot of them in that tiny corner your thought you couldn't use because there is something behind it, or by the side of it, that you need access to and attempting to pull out box after box after box to get at it is just not a runner.

Cut a peice of pine (or any heavy duty scrap wood that you have disgarded ) about 1 inch bigger all round than the storage boxes that you want to store.  Add a small strip of wood about 1/2 an inch wide to one of the shorter sides of your wood.  Screw or glue or both.  Up to you.  Then turn over and screw on 4 castors.

Next, don't do what we did!!!  We added half a broom handle on a small hinge, so that it would be easy to pull out of it's storage space, and would fold back in and stay there.   Hahaha!

Here's the finished article and you can see the little ledge which stops the boxes slipping off on the left, and the hinged handle on the right.  The castors are there but invisible in this pic.  D'you know why I laughed when I told you about the broom handle?  Didn't work!  Removed that, drilled 2 holes and threaded a peice of rope through, knotting both ends underneath.  so now you can still pull it out of your storage area, but the broom handle doesn't sock you one when it falls outwards everytime you approach the storage area.

 

You could try the same thing with smaller toy boxes, or shoe boxes, or whatever, but just remember that if you get "stacking" boxes, they will be more stable.  Anyway, lots of stuff all in a stack and easy to get at.

Downstairs toilet - change of mind, change of colour, change of decor.........

When we first moved to this house, we had a small kitchen extended by 6 ft, and  then we stole half of that for this 3 ft wide downstairs toilet (and cloakroom, but more of that in another post!).  Original colour was a buttery yellow, with tiny green tiles, and the day after it was finished - 10 years ago - I took a dislike to it and have felt the same ever since.

 The little sink was hard to find at that time, and of course there is a great selection of tiny sinks around now, but this fits the space just right, so it's staying put.  You can see the mark where the green tiles were (and the same tiles sat on the windowsill).

 The same space, but a step or two back, which looks empty but gives you the idea of the cloakroom space here (small!)

And here's the window in the original colour with a lovely mark on the ceiling from a leak at sometime from the bathroom which we just lived with for some years.  Doesn't everyone do something like this - admit it!  Anyway, under the window you can see two little dark marks, where a little shelf sat above the cystern. 

Here we are with the paintwork done, and the new tiles on, waiting for redecoration!  Tiles behind the sink are narrower than those on the windowsill, but the same colour, sort of English Mustard (B&Q)

Just a little whim made me have them standing up, as they are really those long tiles fashionable at the moment for kitchens - and I think most people lay then in a brick pattern.    



And then the chance to have the "best dressed" toilet in town!

The colour is true on the wall above, behind the poppy seedheads, and it looks blue (wrong!) when there is lots of light from outside in this shot of the windowsill.  Whatever colour it looks, I love it!



Finally, a few pictures of things that are permanently living in here, including the mirror, which we bought over 20 years ago and is one of the things that we wouldn't part with.  He smiles at you, and so you smile everytime you check your hair, or make sure you are looking good!

A house with no hall or foyer...... where to hang your coats?

I promised to show you our little cloakroom when we revamped our downstairs toilet and you have to go through the one to get to the other.  Here we are at last, and first, in the corner of the dining room, you might spot this interesting little door next to the bookcase.....

 and if you open it - Hey Presto!  here's where we hang our coats, on a custom made coat rack made by dear OH.












....... The next picture shows the same tiny space from the downstairs toilet which you can see right here

and the door to the toilet is here.  Stop!  What's that little basket doing?  That holds hats, gloves and scarves.  Don't know where I got it, had it about 20 years - I think it's make from woven raffia, so it's soft and malable, and holds loads.  Special offer from a magazine perhaps?  Anyone else recognise it and remember?  See below for a closeup!

So - there we are, a place for the coats!  and just in case you missed it, the shelf about holds spare small towels, and my flower vases.  And for the architectural students out there.... the coat hooks?  Beginning of 20th century, around 1911, from a house on Hampstead Garden Suburb, London.

B & B first guest loved my breakfasts!

Well, that's it!  have had my first B & B guest who was as quiet as a mouse, was out walking all day, and told me that my breakfasts were amazing! As she was staying for 3 nights, I decided that 3 different breakfasts were in order, and that I was not going to offer
"full English" at all, but was going to do something that was not hard
work, and not like everyone else's.  So. The three breakfasts were as follows:

1.  Eggs Benedict
two halves of an muffin, buttered, topped with Parma Ham
and poached eggs served with Hollandaise Sauce.  Toast and
home made preserves.

2.  Sausage Breakfast
Four large pork chipolatas from local farm shop, four hash
browns, and two tomatoes halved and lightly fried, served with
tomato sauce.  Toast and home made preserves.

3.  Bacon Sandwich
Natural yogurt with fresh stewed rhubarb.  Bacon sandwich made
with malted brown bread, no crusts, sliced thin and gently toasted;
four rashers of local, unsmoked back bacon.  Served with tomato
sauce and a side of fresh mushrooms.

I have looked after many friends in my time, and regularly have my sister to stay for a week.  It was therefore interesting, but not hard work to have a stranger in the house.  The only thing I have never done before was do tea and coffee making facilities ..... got a big old tray, decorated it and varnished it, and on it went:

Kettle
Bottle of filtered water (from our tap, not from shop) - also drinking glass
Container with tea bags, coffee sachets, fruit and earl grey teabags, hot chocolate, sugar.
Mugs, small dish with spoon (handy to put used teabags in)
Small plate in case they bring in food (likely)
Container of milk
Serviette
Daily small treat (in this case, day one packet of chocolate eggs, day two,  two banana flavoured biscuits, day three, packet of dried fruit and nuts).

Finally, little laminated welcome note telling guests how to switch on TV, what books they can take away if they like, what to do with their towels etc, and to ask if they need anything.  Also, in the bathroom, a little tray with spare toothpaste, spare soap, spare shampoo just in case.

Love, Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli

If you loved the original Stargirl, I'm thinking that you will feel just the same about this one.  Stargirl (and her parents, have moved away from Leo's town - a long way).  She's now back to homeschooling and is missing Leo badly.  So badly that this book told by her, not about her, is just one long letter to Leo.  She's not actually in touch with him, but she's informed by other people what he's doing and where he is.  But although she loves him dearly, she has to get on with life - and in this new life it means making friends whilst still being true to herself.  The first friend she makes is Dootsie - and she's just five years old.  Then there's the lady who runs the doughnut shop, and Alvina, younger than her and angry with everyone, balanced as she is on the edge of puberty. There are more, too, you'll get to meet them - and then there's Perry, who steals things, just small things, like a lemon from the greengrocer, and who has a group of girls who all adore him.  Stargirl is invited to join the group.....
Again, I found my self transported back to the age that she is, experiencing the feelings she has, and that's a skill for a male author writing a young adult book.  She's a little older now, and beginning to understand life too.  There are people out there who perhaps need a little help, an arm to lean on,and she finds she's not alone in her oddness at all. A real charmer of a book, and I recommend that you read Stargirl first and then this one, Love Stargirl, if you have not yet done so.  But I do recommend that you do read them!!

Bowel Cancer Charity drive - with birds!

My friend Su has a wonderful sense of fun, even when she is serious.  if you click on the link you will find a selection of goods to buy at very little cost, proceeds of which will go to her chosen bowel cancer research/awareness charity. 

I love the birdy badges - a wonderful school or brownie project perhaps? If you want to know more, use the etsy site and contact her through there. She has other, non-charity items too, which are wonderful and magical!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TangleCrafts?section_id=13364158

I got a Sunshine Award - and now I'm dishing 'em out!

 I Got a lovely award!  My booky friend Jane at  http://booketta.blogspot.co.uk
gave me the Sunshine Award!  Thank you for that Jane.  Now I have to find some other lovely bloggers to give some sunshine to.

To tell you a bit about this award:    The Sunshine Award is an award given by bloggers to other bloggers.  The recipients are "bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere".

The way the award works is this: on your blog, thank the person who gave you the award, and link back to them.  Then, if you want to, answer 10 questions about yourself (see below). 

Finally, select up to 10 of your favourite bloggers, link their blogs to your post, and let them know they have been awarded the Sunshine Award. 

I'd better tell you that I have changed some of the questions a little, as I want to send my sunshine out to some non-book bloggers as well as those who blog about books, and who make my day a bit sunnier whenever I read their blog.  And remember, my Sunshine Award winners.... no need to reply to those questions unless you really want to!!  Wishing you sunny days.

10 Questions:

1.  What inspired you to start blogging?

2.  How did you come up with the name of your blog?

3.  What is your favourite blog that you like to read?

4.  What would be your dream job?

5.  If you could spend a day with eight authors  or other well known people as a group, who would you invite (past or present)?

6.  What is your favourite place to travel?

7.  What is your favourite book out of all the books you have read?

8.  What was your favourite book as a child and how did it influence your choice in books today?

9.  How much time do you spend blogging?

10.What would you say to your favourite person listed in question 5 if you got the chance?

1.  I'd done a few reviews of books for ReadItSwapIt, and thought I might find a wider readership out there in the blogosphere, also I found I wanted people to read me!

2.  I'm Mrs Mac, and I have adventures..... and I read books too.

3.  There are several that I read regularly but always return to those who are getting the award here! 

4.  I think, the next time round, I'd like to be a private detective (no murders though, please!)

5.  Oh dear,  this is hard. Not eight, but a few fascinating (to me) people.  My Dad; Frank Lloyd Wright; Antonio Gaudi; Mozart; Garrison Kieller.  No authors at all then?  And my Dad?  yes, because he's long gone, but would have been fascinated by it all!

6.  Loved New York, always enjoy Spain and France.... but there's always somewhere else isn't there?

7.  I loved Winters Tale, Mark Helprin when I read it in the 1980s,  but my taste changes all the time and this year it's definitely The Dog Stars, Peter Heller.

8. Little White Horse, Elizabeth Goudge, which I still love.  I don't know that it had any influence on today's choices.  It was just so wonderful the first time I read it.

9.  Maybe 30 minutes to an hour a day reading other people's.  And an hour every few days to write mine.

10.  Mozart?  Thank you for the music.

So some sunshine now coming the way of: 

Southern Hospitality - http://southernhospitalityblog.com
Sunil's Garden - http://www.sunilpatel.co.uk/ 
The Amazing American Adventures of Hazel and Bobby - http://www.hazelkeating.blogspot.co.uk/
Letters from a Hill Farm http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Comic Crits - http://comiccrits.blogspot.co.uk/    

    

B&B excitement! - experimenting with breakfasts (part 1)

  

This year's project (one of them actually, there are several more!)  Is to host some B&B guests.  I joined AirB&B because it's the kind of thing I would do myself - travel and stay in someone's home I mean - and I am not in this to make money, just to have fun.  I have had several enquiries but for various reasons not suitable - until now!

First guest arrives Friday for 3 nights - so the room is clean, the bed is ready, instructions to find us issued, and this morning I tried out the first of several breakfasts I have up my sleeve, which was Eggs Benedict.  Looked professional, tasted fine, but was a bit boring........  Now why was that?  Hahaha!  I had left out the bacon/parma ham.  What kind of a host am I going to be?  Thank goodness I tried it out on Mr Mac first!  The pic is what Delia Smith's version looks like.....scrummy!