Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell
The Tudors are in fashion at the moment, and there are several popular books around about them. Wolf Hall actually won last year´s Booker prize.

It´s about a key actor in the time of Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell. I´ve put in a painting of him because I like it very much; Hans Holbein is a minor character in this book and he´s one of my favourite painters.
Anyway, Cromwell rose from unknown humble beginnings in Putney to the highest non-royal position in the land, finally to be executed (that´s not in this book-she´s on the sequel now)
I enjoyed the book, especially the household scenes of Cromwell´s extended family, and his relationships with Wolsey and later King Henry.

Tomatoes again!

I can buy tomatoes all year round. But only in the summer is it possible to find tomatoes like the ones I bought yesterday; big, fat, irregular-shaped and delicious. They are sweet and juicy and there's nothing else like them. At the same time I bought the first Moscatel grapes, which are really the best there are.

Home!

By Saturday many of the students had gone home, and our office was mostly cleared into boxes. The remaining student groups had gone on a day trip to Oxford. So I was free. I got a ticket to Portsmouth, and spent a nice peaceful day walking around shops. There's a complex down by the old shipyard called Gunwharf Keys, which is a retail outlet and there are lots of restaurants too. When I was hungry I sat on a terrace in the sun in a place (chain) called The Slug and Lettuce. The above is what I ate. I don't know what it was; I was expecting a bit of bread with goat's cheese and peppers. Very nice!
Really, it was good just to mooch about in Portsmouth.
Well, on Sunday I made the long journey home; Bognor to London on the train, nearly two hours, Victoria Coach Station to Stansted, 70 minutes; I like that journey, then the fuss of baggage handover, check-in is done online now. Being first August the airport was really crowded. Waiting, boarding, flying and home!