January with Music and the Written Word

January is here again, the time when I start thinking about going through all my cupboards, shelves, wardrobes, drawers and anywhere else that I could possibly
de-clutter. My computer needs de-cluttering too. Also the time when I make my first efforts at spring cleaning. Where do I start I ask myself.

I have decided to make a start by cataloguing and sorting all our videos and DVDs. We also plan to transfer the videos that I want to keep on to DVD discs,(sometime?).

I have archives of videos (bought and/or copied from TV) of the Royal Family as I am an ardent Royalist it would take up a lot less room if I did this.

Also apart from the many DVDs I have bought or had for gifts we have dozens and dozens (no, the number is in the hundreds) of free ones given as supplements in our weekend newspaper. At the rate that I sit and watch these they could, and probably will, last me for many years.

I do enjoy my travel sets(Michael Palin particularly) and wildlife (Richard Attenborough) and the numerous costume dramas and Classics. I may at the end of the task confess to how many I find - we'll see!

C.D.'s. Tapes and books need to be gone through too.

Before I begin this afternoon (hopefully) I'll just show you my latest acquisitions in this department.

I love these 2 new C.D.'s. The Priests I bought for myself and Katherine Jenkins was part of my Christmas present from Alan. 'The Priests' - 3 Irish Priests who recorded an album of sacred music and suddenly found themselves famous. I watched a TV programme of their rise to fame and they came over as 3 very intelligent and charismatic priests who were very caring and compassionate towards those in their care. They turned down a tour of the States because of their priestly commitments and were donating any profits to charity. All this apart I think they make a lovely sound.

Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh Mezzo Soprano and sings popular Sacred Arias on this C.D.




This book, Tales from Walnut Tree Farm,I bought for myself with a token I received from the makers of my favourite cereal when I made a complaint, because I found an inch long piece of sharp wood in my cereal.

Roger Deakin, the author kept notebooks of his daily thoughts, feelings, impressions and observations. Discursive, personal and often impassioned, they reveal the way he saw the world. He had an extraordinary and restless curiosity about both the natural and human worlds. This coupled with his love of literature and music and his sense of humour make it interesting reading.

Then we come to Michael Palin's latest. We are watching his latest travel series on TV so Alan bought me the book. He is revisiting some of the places and people that made a lasting impression on him during his 'Around the World in 80 Days' travels 20 years ago.

These 4 novels were bought for me by my daughter Jane. Susan Sallis and Anita Shreve are two of my favourite contemporary authors.

Lastly, this particular set of 10 books, which I also put in Jane's Christmas stocking, I bought for myself. They do stand on their own but together they make for a long saga. They are about a village in England set in the 1990's. They are not 'idealistic' like the Miss Read books on village life earlier in the last century, but every aspect of modern contemporary life takes place in this village. I picked the first one up over Christmas and thinking I would maybe just occasionally read one in between my other reading, I find it hard to put them down. In one sense they are very easy reading but also the tension is quite consuming. I am about to start on the 4th one, as is Jane.

OK there is still an hour before dinner preparation to begin my new task!