CRIMSON ROOMS AND GOLD PARTIES

I've just finished The Crimson Rooms by Katharine McMahon.  I loved reading it: another good recommendation by my Mother in Law's reading group.  I was trying to work out exactly what I liked about it and I think it was a combination of three things:

1.  the First World War interest, including the post-war 'reality' and what felt like a real understanding of how things might have been, emotionally, post-war: I remember reading Testament of Youth and that what struck me was the emotional disjoint between those who were in some way involved in the war (especially if they were at or near the front line) and those who were unaffected;

2.  the struggle of a female lawyer against 'the establishment/tradition'.  Unfortunately whilst huge strides have been made I feel there is still a certain amount of demeaning of female professionals nowadays: I have always felt that in surveying, at least (an Old Boy's Network in many areas if ever there was one - and even young male surveyors have expressed that view);

3.  the characters.  Evelyn's relationships with other people are interesting, and the way her feelings are revealed and likewise her interpretation of those she relates to, I found not only intriguing but also understandable and credible.

So, a book I would definitely recommend: particularly perhaps to female professionals.

The colour theme continues in that I had my 'gold' party (i.e. my 50th birthday party) last weekend: and I apologise here and now to all who weren't invited.  Unfortunately due to financial restraints the original guestlist of 200+ - which, even so, was probably going to be too many for the Dacre Hall at Lanercost - had to shrink to 30+ for our own house.  Many people who would normally get invited to our parties, weren't, because we invited people from further afield: on the other hand I was really pleased that people made the effort to travel hundreds of miles to get to my rather low-key but very enjoyable birthday party.  I am now officially 50.

My Mum bought me a gold top but sadly I haven't yet seen a photo of myself in it that I like; I rather think my Mummy Tummy is still quite apparent - but on the other hand, I've had three children and three caesareans and, you know what (in case it's not already obvious)?  I'm quite proud of myself.  I still need to lose some weight but I fitted into a pair of black work trousers which I can't have worn for 18 months or more, so at least I don't need to rush out and buy new work trousers.

I also got some more fab presents.  Jane sent the flowers above as she couldn't, sadly, make the party in the end: she was moving her teenage daughter into accommodation in London as she's just started University, which is very exciting and far more important anyway, but it was a pity not to see her.  I got some more Ren (http://www.renskincare.com)/smellies in the post yesterday from my Sister in Law as well.  A quick advertisement for Ren: they are British; they are natural; they are extremely good value for money; and they smell great.  One of their eyecreams is one of the few that works on the dry skin around David's eyes, especially in the winter when he's been running (i.e. combination of sweat and cold air). 

Mandy brought a small box of Green & Black's small bars of chocolates (bliss: http://www.greenandblacks.com/: she had already given me a rose bush); Caroline some fab treble clef earrings and some Clarins Eau Dynamisante (one of the few perfumes I actually like and wear); Alison a gold necklace which I shall make an effort to wear, though I rarely wear necklaces, as again I really like it; my sister various things including a bottle of one of my favourite 'treat' wines, which you can now only buy in France, Muscat de Rivesaltes; Gavin Greig a Waterstones voucher which was great as I have finally been able to buy myself a music dictionary; and Kath and Eddie an M&S voucher which was also extremely well-timed as I had got hair dye on a white crewneck cotton top so I've now been able to buy another.  All in all it was an extremely enjoyable party and I hope my guests, who had made so much effort to come along, enjoyed it as much as I did.

My parents, having talked about buying a car, gave me a cheque.  I had a list of things to spend it on but in fact got a bit distracted and amongst other items bought some things for the garden.  This means I have now been able to give the transplanted rhododedron bushes some compost, which I hope will help them settle into their new home: I have also bought a couple of boxes of chicken manure (two for the price of one) which I hope will help fertilise the soil a bit.  At the moment they're making the utility room smell but the scented stick things my sister bought me are also temporarily in there to try to offset the chicken poo smell.  I must feed the roses, which have been looking particularly unhappy this year: leaves with black spots on, very few flowers, and not much growth.  Unlike the weeds, as I know I have lamented many times in this blog.  Here is a photo of the rhododedrons and I hope to be able to update it later with a photo of them looking bigger and more flowery:

Otherwise the garden is pretty full of weeds, though I now have a plan to dig up a load of stuff under the apple tree and extend the lawn: it might possibly get rid of the nettles, at least for a while.  I bought a whole load of topsoil as I'm hoping it will fill in the holes where the rhododedrons were and also provide a bit of a boost to tired soil: if not, it's chicken manure all round until my compost heap has composted enough to use (a friend has also promised me some horse manure but apparently you have to let it compost down before you can use it).  I was also tempted by some spring bulbs and some cyclamen: last year's cyclamen have not reappeared, which is sad.

It could however all be completely unnecessary as David had the idea yesterday that perhaps we should move to Canada, at least for a couple of years.  Personally I think if we moved abroad we'd probably never come back: I'm certainly willing to give it a go if we can get jobs.  I get no points in terms of getting a visa for being 50, however: at least David at 37 will get a few more.  Apparently Canada has a healthy demand for professionals, though I'm not totally sure what general practice surveyors are called over there: and the skiing would be fab (so long as we lived near the skiing areas).  We shall see.  Will the blog be changing from Unemployed in Cumbria to An Emigre in Canada?....