10 October 2026

A Good Read

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
is a poignant, charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.
Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can't fix up their own marriage. There's a wealthy banker who has been too busy making money to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can't seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment's only bathroom, and you've got the worst group of hostages in the world.
Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them - the bank robber included - desperately crave some sort of rescue.
As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

It's a cleverly  constructed story full of humour, compassion, forgiveness, and hope. I enjoyed it.

∼ Happy Reading∼ 

Polly x

4 October 2026

Scarecrows

A scarecrow is a human shaped figure, usually made of straw and dressed in old clothes and placed in a field to frighten birds away from growing crops. The first part of the word 'scare' is self-explanatory, the second part 'crow' is so called because the Crow has an insatiable appetite for seeds in growing crops.
Scarecrows are used around the world by farmers and are a notable symbol of farms and the countryside. The English word dates back to the 1550s. Before people made straw-stuffed figures, an actual person would run through the fields and shout at birds. What an arduous job!

We had a Scarecrow Trail around the village this weekend with lots of participants.


These two look a bit scary. The face of the one on the left reminds me a bit of Beetlejuice. They can't be too scary though with this cute puppy in the pocket! 


The Primary School


Homage to Team GB Equestrian Olympic achievements
brilliant use of lots of materials

This is just too cute to be scary


Very scary


Gingerbread Man


Harry Potter


Brownies


Fred - A - Straw & Ginger - Rumbas
Made by a lady who runs a dance group
Very clever


Gone Fishing


Another one with brilliant use of lots of materials


"I'm not sure I should be up this ladder!"


Love the ball and chain!


David Attenborough


This won the Funniest Scarecrow
The Greatest Shoo Man
a great play on words
and 
Where's that pesky crow - on top of his hat!

I don't know if there were other winners in other categories.

Lots of people had lots of fun making their scarecrows,
and I think most of the village turned out to view them.

∼ Be safe and well∼ 
Polly x 

28 September 2026

A Good Read

The 6.20 Man by David Baldacci

Every day without fail, Travis Devine puts on a cheap suit, grabs his faux-leather briefcase, and boards the 6:20 commuter train to Manhattan, where he works as an entry-level analyst at the city’s most prestigious investment firm. His journey takes him past the lavish homes of the uberwealthy, and as he gazes out of the train window he dreams about joining their ranks. In the evenings, he listens to the fiscal news on his phone, already preparing for the next grueling day in the cutthroat realm of finance.
Then one morning Devine’s tedious routine is shattered by an anonymous email: "She is dead".
Sara Ewes, Devine’s coworker and former girlfriend, has been found hanging in a storage room of his office building - presumably a suicide, prompting the NYPD to come calling. If that wasn’t enough, Devine receives another ominous visit, a confrontation that threatens to dredge up grim secrets from his past in the Army unless he participates in a clandestine investigation into his firm.
This treacherous role will take Travis from the impossibly glittering lives he once saw only through a train window, to the darkest corners of the country’s economic halls of power where something rotten lurks. And apart from this high-stakes conspiracy, there’s a killer out there with their own agenda.
It's a good plot, I enjoyed it.

∼ Happy Reading∼ 

Polly x

21 September 2026

Pride & Prejudice



Some friends and I went to see Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) on Saturday. 


It was a triumph in the West End where it won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy and the Evening Standard Award. It's a unique and very funny retelling of  Jane Austen’s most iconic love story. Men, money and microphones are fought over in this irreverent but affectionate adaptation where the stakes couldn’t be higher when it comes to romance. It's not billed as a musical but it does include a few pop classics including 'Young Hearts Run Free', 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow' and the unforgettable classic by Carly Simon 'You’re So Vain'.


It’s the 1800s
It's party time
Let the ruthless matchmaking begin!

It was brilliant

∼ Be safe and well∼ 
Polly x 

20 September 2026

A Good Read

I Remember Paris by Lucy Diamond


Jess Bright, single mum and journalist, feels her life has stalled, so when she is offered a writing job in Paris for the summer, she leaps at the chance to go. She always felt that she left a piece of her heart in the city years before.
Her subject is the iconic artist Adelaide Fox, whose personal life has been steeped in scandal and intrigue. Now approaching eighty, Adelaide is ready to tell her side of the story - and serve up some scalding-hot revenge in the process. Amidst a stormy working relationship, Jess and Adelaide must face up to their pasts. As passionate affairs, terrible betrayals and life-changing secrets surface, there may be more surprises in store than either of them dared imagine.


I thought this would be yet another twee romance but I was wrong. I enjoyed it, reading about Adelaide’s life, and about how Jess turns her life around.
    
∼ Happy Reading∼ 

Polly x

13 September 2026

Bonjour Mes Amis



On Friday we held a French themed evening in the village church. 


Myself and lovely friends planned it, set it up, dressed tables, served food and entertained our guests who entered into the spirit of the theme and dressed in all things French, including a Marcel Marceau.


The Brownies made the pretty table decorations. 

Platters of assorted meats, accompaniments and French bread were served, red and white wine were on each table and a bar was available for other drinks


including a delicious mocktail

There were quizzes including French picture bingo, oui or non, téte or derrière, we had singing and roll a euro towards a bottle of brandy, the closest won the brandy. That was very popular.


The evening ended with the raffle.
I was hoping to win the meal for two at our village pub.
Everyone had a great time.

The proceeds will be donated between the village Pre-School and the Brownies.

🇫🇷 Be safe and well ðŸ‡«ðŸ‡· 
Polly x 

9 September 2026

A Good Read

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig


When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.
The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live her life as it would have been had she done things differently, and to undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out the perfect life.
But life isn't always what she imagined it to be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?

I enjoyed this. How many of us have wondered "What if ..... how would life have turned out"? Nora had the chance to experience that.

∼ Happy Reading∼ 

Polly x

6 September 2026

Weekend

My weekend has been very quiet but productive. I did a bit of tidying in the garden yesterday morning, then, after a sit down I planned to mow the lawn, however as I approached the back door this is what I saw  



two wood pigeons


preening, resting and gleaning

I took the photos from indoors because they would have flown away if I had opened the door. I didn't have the heart to disturb them, they looked so content! so I decided to put lawn mowing on hold and start some quilting. I haven't done any for ages and really enjoyed it.

   
They were there for over an hour then eventually they wandered off but by that time I was well into the quilting and didn't want to stop. I mowed the lawn this morning.


That gnome is my favourite, it's a man and his dog,
my daughter bought it for me.


This afternoon was the last of the summer cream teas on the church lawn, and once again it was well attended and the cakes were delicious. 

   
I had the toffee fudge on the left, it was scrumptious. The lady that baked it makes excellent cakes. I was late taking photos, too busy talking and eating cake!! 

Lovely countryside from a recent walk


I hope you've had a good weekend dear reader

∼ Be safe and well∼ 
Polly x 

31 August 2026

An OK Read

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover


Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town where she grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. When she meets Ryle Kincaid, a gorgeous neurosurgeon she feels a spark, she can’t get him out of her head. Everything in Lily’s life seems too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector, and when Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

It was ok, I didn't like the first half but then it improved. I wouldn't say go out and buy it though.

∼ Happy Reading∼ 

Polly x