Rendezvous with Muse News - My Blog

1st September 2019

My Reading

I have finished reading a few books since my last posting back in April of this year one of which was entitled “Chewing Gum and Holy Water by Cheryl Hardachre and Mario Valentini.

The story reads like an anthology of biographical short-stories, concerning Mario Valentini’s childhood in the Abruzzo Mountains; east of Rome. Mario is the young nephew of a respected priest and though he is expected to join the priesthood, has other ambitions.

Curious, very naughty, and eager to impress his friends at any cost, Mario’s antics are never boring - sometimes bordering on the sacrilegious and immoral side, other times very dangerous. Despite it all, he comes across as a sensitive, intelligent boy that struggles to cope with his nasty Aunt and Nonna (grandmother), and constantly misunderstands the world around him.

There is a map of the mountains on the inside of the front cover and a Glossary of Italian to English translations toward the back that you may find helpful, or at least interesting. My favourite chapter is the one entitled – La Moneta/The coin.

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Another was Mr Peacock’s Possessions by Lydia Syson; a fictional account of a New Zealand family (the Peacocks) that end up moving to a deserted Island called Monday Island (similar to that of Sunday Island) in 1879. They quickly learn that their dream of living on an Island paradise is not what they hoped it to be.

A ship happens by and the captain, though sympathetic to their plight and willing to help them out with provisions is unable to rescue them back to civilisation. He promises to send word of their predicament. They struggle on another year or so then are relieved to be visited by a group of Island Missionaries that again give provisions and extend the hard working aide of a small number of hard working Islanders to help out with crops etc.

Shortly after the Missionary ship’s departure, Mr Peacock’s eldest and long suffering son disappears and is unable to be located anywhere on the Island. Together the Peacocks and the Islanders search for the boy and slowly suspicion, scorn, revelation and denial threaten to tear their co-existence asunder.

Told by the duel view-points of Lizzie (Mr Peacock’s most devoted and favoured daughter) and Kalala, the youngest of the Islanders assigned to assist the Peacock’s in their struggles to survive on Monday Island Mr Peacock’s Possessions is a fascinating tale of survival at all costs.

News

Not much has been happening of late, just the same old stuff: going to work, coming back home and writing, writing and more writing. I might have more to say in a month’s time, as I am planning to go over to Australia.

I 1st September 2019

-My Reading-

I have finished reading a few books since my last posting back in April of this year one of which was entitled “Chewing Gum and Holy Water by Cheryl Hardachre and Mario Valentini.

The story reads like an anthology of biographical short-stories, concerning Mario Valentini’s childhood in the Abruzzo Mountains; east of Rome. Mario is the young nephew of a respected priest and though he is expected to join the priesthood, has other ambitions.

Curious, very naughty, and eager to impress his friends at any cost, Mario’s antics are never boring - sometimes bordering on the sacrilegious and immoral side, other times very dangerous. Despite it all, he comes across as a sensitive, intelligent boy that struggles to cope with his nasty Aunt and Nonna (grandmother), and constantly misunderstands the world around him.

There is a map of the mountains on the inside of the front cover and a Glossary of Italian to English translations toward the back that you may find helpful, or at least interesting. My favourite chapter is the one entitled – La Moneta/The coin.


Another was Mr Peacock’s Possessions by Lydia Syson; a fictional account of a New Zealand family (the Peacocks) that end up moving to a deserted Island called Monday Island (similar to that of Sunday Island) in 1879. They quickly learn that their dream of living on an Island paradise is not what they hoped it to be.

A ship happens by and the captain, though sympathetic to their plight and willing to help them out with provisions is unable to rescue them back to civilisation. He promises to send word of their predicament. They struggle on another year or so then are relieved to be visited by a group of Island Missionaries that again give provisions and extend the hard working aide of a small number of hard working Islanders to help out with crops etc.

Shortly after the Missionary ship’s departure, Mr Peacock’s eldest and long suffering son disappears and is unable to be located anywhere on the Island. Together the Peacocks and the Islanders search for the boy and slowly suspicion, scorn, revelation and denial threaten to tear their co-existence asunder.

Told by the duel view-points of Lizzie (Mr Peacock’s most devoted and favoured daughter) and Kalala, the youngest of the Islanders assigned to assist the Peacock’s in their struggles to survive on Monday Island Mr Peacock’s Possessions is a fascinating tale of survival at all costs.

News;

Not much has been happening of late, just the same old stuff: going to work, coming back home and writing, writing and more writing. I might have more to say in a month’s time, as I am planning to go over to Australia.

I have cleaned up my portfolio on this site a bit, got rid of some of the posts that I was not happy with to make way for more junk.


Writing Snippet


Something about Imagination

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Where Tooth Ferries Wash their Teeth   (E) Where reality meets imagination. #2193659 by lezismore-moreislez