Tales of a Tiller Girl by Irene Holland. Book review

Hello, Here is a blast from the past, does anyone remember The Tiller Girls? I remember them from Sunday Night at the London Palladium, mum would let us watch it, then it was straight off to bed afterwards, school in the morning.



I thought they were marvelous, and would often copy them doing the high kicks, I could never keep up though without losing my balance. I could see myself on the stage, but the nearest I ever got to a dancing career was three months with Mavis and the Silver Stars, but had to give up because mum couldn't afford the lessons, the shoes, and costumes.

I digress. I've just finished reading a smashing book written by Irene Holland, who started life as Irene Bott, but she was asked to change it when she became a Tiller Girl. She chose to dance under the name of Irene Starr. Her book, Tales of a Tiller Girl, is an amazing account of her early life in London, through to the the present day. She was born in 1930 near Wandsworth Commomn, but sadly her father died when she was two years old, so she grew up with her brother and mother. Dancing was always her passion from an early age, and her mother who was a musician went off touring with a band just so she could afford to send Irene to Italia Conti stage school. In three years she was trained in all types of dancing and singing.

Things didn't always go smoothly though, her height she wasn't tall enough for the Blueball Girls, she sustained back injuries, and the war got in the way, but at the age of eighteen she was accepted into the world famous high kick dancing troupe, the Tiller Girls.

Irene has so many incredible stories to tell, from the stars she performed with at the Palladium, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, and Danny Kaye, to entertaining the soldiers and becoming their pin up. The book is also an interesting insight into war torn Britain, and how it affected ordinary working people.

Irene is now 84 and lives in Devon. I've found this short biography about her, if you are going to read the book you might not want to read this, as it gives away the ending of her story. I must say, from a tough start in war torn London, her story has a wonderful heartwarming ending.

I have found this ITV news report from July 2014, about her returning to The London Palladium. There is a short video to click on. All that dancing must have been good for her, she certainly doesn't look 84.

Give this book a try if you like autobiographies, it's an easy read, and entertaining.

Welcome to the new readers, I hope you enjoy your visits. We've had snow here, and I hear there's going to be more, so I won't be going far. Keep snug, wrap up, and watch tele.
Toodle pip

Read More »

Sort of a book review, and other stuff

Hello. I didn't get much sewing done at the craft club this morning, spent the first hour nattering. I took the Hudl with me, to show the ladies who didn't come to the Christmas Fair, the pics from Saturday. But I clumsily swiped the screen and lost the blog page. I couldn't pull it out of the history list either because I wasn't online. I noticed that a lot of my older photo's have ended up on the Hudl, a bit annoying because I have no need for them to be there. As I flicked through them, like looking through an old photograph album, I forgot I was supposed to be sewing. I picked a few out to show the ladies, hey look at this one. It was a laugh. 

Right, what's on the agenda tonight. I was going to do a post about a book I am reading by Barbel Mohr, called The 21 Golden Rules for Cosmic Ordering, but I got waylaid on the internet doing some research on the author. A lot of what I found is in German, there are videos of her on yoootooob, but I can't find a button to translate. 

Ok I'll write a bit about the book now, but my brain is not fresh at this time of night, so it may be a bit garbled. Does anyone know anything about Cosmic Ordering? I know Noel Edmonds was talking about it a few years back, he said it worked for him. In the introduction it says it's asking the whole of creation for help when you have a problem you can't solve yourself. 

It goes on to say that the more you are thankful for and value life, the happier and more childishly unself-conscious you are, and the easier it is for you to automatically allow life to direct and lead you. Anyone who incorporates singing, dancing, and childish play in their life is being led by the cosmos and can hear the answers it provides. This person probably does not need to read this book, as they will already communicate with the cosmos. 

Well that's flippin amazing. I sing all the time around the house, I dance in the kitchen, and I like acting like a big kid. It's nice to know there is nothing wrong in being childish. Then it goes on to say the more we lose our joy in existing in the present moment, or the stiffer, more blunted and joyless we have already become in our daily lives, the more practice we will need to find our way back to our true natures.

I've picked out a couple of quotes which I find interesting. 'Being thankful and making the most of each moment is like turning your inner navigation system to the autopilot for happiness setting'. 'If all you do is whinge about the way your life is at present, you are criticizing the godliness within you'. 

The first rule in the book says, 'The world around you reflects the world inside you.' Hmmm, this needs further investigation. There are some very interesting messages coming through. Sadly Barbel Mohr passed away in 2010, but her husband Manfred is carrying on with her work. The English version of her web site is here. 

On a completely different note, I'm getting to the end of this bottle of moisturizer. It must be about four years old, don't splash it on willy nilly, I use all my lotions and potions sparingly. The bottle stands upside down so the contents run to the top. I've been scooping it out with a tooth pick, but now I need to do something else to use the last drop. The top doesn't screw off....

so the only thing to do is to cut around it with a stanley knife. There is another months worth of face cream here.

The label on this baby lotion has faded, it's been in the bathroom window sill. It must be old because they changed the labeling a couple of years ago. I still have half the bottle left. You can tell I don't go overboard spending on toiletries, ha ha.

It was very cold this afternoon, but nevertheless I still went for a walk in the park. Here are a few pics. Thorns sticking out of a tree trunk so I stuck three leaves on them. Tree art. 

Reflections in a pond.

Teeny weeny mushrooms on a tree stump.

Yes Rocky came, didn't bother taking a pic of him, you're not that interested are you  ;o))
Wind down time. Toodle pip

Read More »

Katie Piper, Things Get Better. Book review

Hello, I haven't had much time for reading but I like to have a book or two close at hand so I can sit in a comfy chair and wander through someone else's life. Autobiographies are my thing. I picked up Katie Pipers book, Things Get Better, at the library van last week. Most of you will have heard of her, in 2008 she survived a rape and an acid attack that left her face and body severely disfigured. Her moving story was shown in a Channel 4 documentary, Katie, My Beautiful Face. 

She went on to make other documentaries, one of which was about the pioneering stem cell treatment which restored her sight. Katie is now a TV presenter, public speaker, and campaigner. She started the Katie Piper Foundation to give support to other people living with burns and scars.  

I was looking forward to reading this book, thinking that there might be more to her life story than what we have seen on the television. It is hard to imagine what it must be like to go through such a life changing brutal attack. Katie had everything going for her, at 24 she was working as a model and TV presenter, she was beautiful and ambitious. In an instant that was taken away from her. Her ex boyfriend, and the man he paid  to throw acid over her, are now serving prison sentences. 

The book. I was hoping that it might have been about her life before the attack, and how she has managed to rebuild it, but it turns out that it is more of a self help book for people who find themselves going through a difficult time in their life. She talks with oodles of compassion. The biographical side of it is only a small part of the book, it tells of  how she dealt with what happened. The larger part is the self help part, and outlines lots of case studies of people who are going through difficult times. 

I have to admit I didn't read every word, (a) because my life is fine, and (b) because at times I thought I was reading a manual written by a Counselor/Psychologist. I can't deny that Katie is an amazing inspirational woman, to have gone through so much and come out the other end is unbelievable. The good advice administered in the book, in my opinion, is spot on. 

Here is the link to the Katie Piper Foundation.

And here is a video of Katie as she was going through her treatment. The pictures are quite upsetting. 

Thanks for visiting. I have a busy day tomorrow, Toodle pip.

Read More »

Lost and Found. Book review

Another book finished, this one definitely has the aaaahhh factor. I was a bit apprehensive about taking it out. I don't want to read about animal cruelty, I have a pretty good idea what goes on. It would upset me to read all the details, but thankfully this book has none of that. If it had gone into the background of how the animals came to be in the care of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, I would not have been able to read it. Thankfully though, it is stories about the people who were looking to adopt a dog or a cat, how they found the perfect pet for them, and in the end how they all lived happily ever after.  

There are twelve chapters on twelve successful rehomings. Some of the stories are quite amazing, and all are very heartwarming. Bryn the collie went on to become a search and rescue dog with his new owner. Johnie Reggae was a little terrier of seventeen years old, no one wanted to take on an old dog, then Stephanie came along and fell in love with him. Ice, an English bull terrier was adopted by Ulla who took him home to Denmark for his new life. Wriggler was one of eight tiny kittens who were dumped at Battersea at only one day old. They were hand reared by staff members, sadly the girls didn't make it but Wriggler was adopted by his foster mum.

Each chapter is a separate story, so it's easy to spend a spare half hour reading one story, and not have to pick up where you left off when you next pick the book up. Definitely a book to give you a warm fuzzy feeling, with happy endings. If you are an animal lover you will love this book.  

Read More »

Jeremy Kyle, I'm only being honest. Book review.

Hiya, yes I do find time to read occasionally, not very often though. I've never been what you might call an avid reader, I can take them or leave them. As  a child I read The Famous Five, and The Secret Seven, after that I moved onto magazines. Jackie was my favourite. I remember a relative buying me Nicholas Nickleby, for Christmas once, I never did read it. 

Today I own hardly any books, I have given them all away. Except a few travel books, and I think I might have a cookbook somewhere. I think it's really strange that some people have hundreds of books all neatly lined up on bookshelves. I wonder if they ever read them more than once. These days the library is where I keep my books. If I want to keep them for longer than the allotted time I just renew them. 

My choice of reading is autobiographies, and non fiction.  I can't get into fiction, I can't bring myself to read stories that are made up. Strange really when I prefer modern and contemporary art, which is mostly the figment of someone's imagination. The mobile library has a very small non fiction section, so sometimes I am struggling to find something to read. I often take the same book out several times if it is a particularly interesting book. 

The Jeremy Kyle show on the tele may not be everyone's cup of tea, it definitely isn't mine. I have caught bits of  it on occasions, usually when I have been at someone's house and they have had it on. The whole thing makes me cringe. I probably think the same as everyone else, how can people go on there and tell the whole wide world what is wrong with their dysfunctional family. Shouting and swearing are the norm, as is throwing the odd punch now and then, though this behaviour is quickly defused. Fancy having big and burly security guards on duty in case it gets out of hand. Shocking really. 

Anyway, curiosity got the better of me when I spotted this book, I wondered whether it would give an insight as to what goes on behind the scenes. It does, Jeremy Kyle writes exactly how he speaks, direct and to the point. He has a bit of a colourful past himself, and draws on his own experiences to dish out advice. He is an agony uncle with balls, and tells it like it is. No pussyfooting around, he gives it to his guests straight and shoots from the hip. This style may not be to everyone's liking, but for me, I like a bit of common sense, and he has got plenty. 

He had a happy upbringing in a loving supportive family, and admits to being a recovering gambling addict. His daily struggles with OCD still affect him, and he has been twice married, he has four children.

In this book he takes a hard look at the social problems blighting modern Britain, and looks for solutions to repair what is damaged. He maps out an agenda for change, insisting that personal responsibility and a strong government is the key to the way forward.

His show is on the tv every weekday morning, and contrary to popular belief people are not cajoled into appearing on it, they are queuing to get in. Everyone appearing who wants to sort their lives out are offered support through relationship counselling, addiction counselling and detox. Sometimes the investment of months of work follow an appearance on the show for some of the guests.

Jeremy Kyle, although he has a direct and confrontational approach towards his guests, comes across as someone who genuinely cares in this book. Yes, he is a showman, but he has some good old fashioned down to earth common sense solutions to today's problems. I would suggest that some of the out of touch politicians who live in their ivory towers should read it. Jeremy Kyle for President I say. I enjoyed the book.
Toodle pip.

Read More »

Growing Old Outrageously. Book review.

I have just finished this delightful book. Hilary Linstead and Elisabeth Davies are two old school friends who unexpectedly met up again 35 years later to find that they both love travelling, and the more exotic and far flung places the better. They went on a trial holiday to Morocco to see whether they would get along together. They did, which was surprising because they are as different as chalk and cheese. Never the less that was the start of a series of wonderfully unusual holidays, and Hil and Liz have been travelling around the globe ever since. 

Among many other destinations, they have taken in Marrakech, Fez and the Atlas Mountains, Patagonia, and Istanbul. They've been on Safari in Namibia, Botswana, and the Serengeti. Been to Naples and Prague, Mull and Iona.

I really enjoyed reading about the adventures of these two crazy ladies. Miriam Margolynes says it all on the back cover, 'You'll never be the same after reading this.....It's completely original - insightful, moving and very funny, a glorious experience proving for always, that if you seize the day and have the courage, you need never grow old.' I can echo that.

I was disappointed to read quite a lot of negative reviews on a couple of web sites. Maybe I'm easily pleased, but I liked the quirkiness of it, and didn't take it too seriously. I don't think it was meant to be a serious travel book, it was about two women of a certain age having fun, which I found very entertaining.
Toodle pip.

Read More »

Strong Woman, by Karren Brady. Book review

I've been reading this book bit by bit for the last two weeks, usually last thing at night before I put my head on the pillow and drift off to somewhere else. When picking a book up again, I always have to re read the last couple of paragraphs to refresh my memory, as inevitably my eyes start closing while I am still reading. This is not a reflection of the content of the book, I just can't stay awake.

I think most people have heard of Karren Brady, at 23 she was the youngest Managing Director of a PLC, she turned Birmingham City Football Club around from being on the verge of bankruptcy, to selling the company for �82 million.  

Karren was born ambitious, driven, and determined. The desire for independence is her driving force, she wanted to live her life where no one could ever tell her what to do. From a young age she was always opinionated about everything, and never afraid of saying out loud exactly what she was thinking. At the age of 13 she was sent to boarding school, which she didn't particularly enjoy unless she was throwing herself into a project, but she does say it gave her the capacity to make the best of a difficult situation.

The book charts her working life, and her family life, and how the two fit together. She faced a life or death choice when it was discovered that she had a brain aneurysm. In 2010 she was appointed Vice Chairman of West Ham United FC. She writes newspaper columns, sits on the board of directors of several companies, was voted Business Woman of the Year, and is currently appearing on The Apprentice as Lord Sugar's right hand woman.  

The last chapter of the book is taken up with her ten rules for success. Briefly these are...

1.  Work hard.

2.  Have confidence.

3.  Embrace ambition.

4.  Have the courage to take a risk.

5.  Take a reality check.

6.  Learn to juggle.

7.  Plan to win.

8.  Know how to negotiate.

9.  Grasp the bottom line.

10. Communicate. 

Karren wrote the book about her own experiences to inspire other women to think about developing their own paths to success. Going through the rules above, some of them did apply to my own career path. I did work hard. I did have confidence, eventually. I did embrace ambition. I did have the courage to take a risk, though I could have taken more. I did plan to win, and I did to a certain extent. The reality check came at the end when I wasn't enjoying it any more, so I called it a day.

Anyone just starting out in their working life would do well to read this book, and anyone else who wants to get down to the nitty gritty of working in a business environment would find it interesting.

I'll be back later with the winner of the bag. Two hours to go to the 6pm deadline.

Toodle pip. 

Read More »

Sentimental softie

Amongst the pile of books I rescued from a house clearance the other day, was a very old copy of Mrs Beeton's Family Cookery, with nearly 3000 practical recipes. It also has sections on how a housewife should look after her home either by herself or with the help of servants. Apparently Mrs Beeton's is the only cookery book to have survived two world wars, and generations of successful housewives have found this an invaluable source of information.

There isn't a date on the cover, or the inside of this book, but I guess it is pretty old. It's a small book which is 2.5 inches thick and has 896 pages. The advertisers in the back include Lea and Perrins Sauce, Foster Clark's Custard, Chivers Jellies, and Quaker Macaroni, most of them boasting over 100 years in business.

I've had a look through some of the first pages which deal with mainly how a house should be run, and some of it made me smile. Things have changed a lot since this was written. Let me quote a few lines. "Much is demanded of the housewife, in that she should be able to keep good-tempered, patient, and calm amid all the cares and worries of domestic life. In this way she will ensure a happy and contented home, and create a feeling of security and stability long remembered and appreciated by her children". I think a lot of these values went out the window a long time ago.

Under the heading of Daily Duties, it states, "Before breakfast - daily clean the dining room, lay the breakfast, and prepare the food for cooking. Wake the children and give them as much attention as their age requires. Cook and serve the breakfast, by which time all the members of the household should be down and ready. When the family is large, breakfast is apt to become a somewhat irregular meal, owing to various train times and engagements. However, the housewife who is wise will do everything in her power to encourage punctuality and simultaneous appearance".  Ha ha, a quick yell up the stairs, get out of your pit now, I think is what happens now.

On flicking through the recipes, I don't do recipes as you know, my food is made up as I go along, I came across this rather gruesome description on how you should prepare a calf's head for eating, accompanied by a picture of a head on a platter.

I will share the recipe with you, should you decide you want to have a go. So, first the INGREDIENTS.

A calf's head. 1lb of lean uncooked ham. 2 hard boiled eggs. 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley. Ground mace. Nutmeg. Salt and pepper. For the stock 1 or 2 onions. 1 carrot. Half a turnip. 1 strip of celery. A bouquet garni. 12 peppercorns.  

METHOD. Cut the head in half, take out the brains, dress and serve them with the tongue as a separate dish. Wash the head in several waters, and afterwards let it soak for 12 hours in salted water, which should be changed several times. Put into a saucepan with a handful of salt, cover with cold water and bring to the boil, then drain and wash well in cold water. Return to the pan, cover with cold water, boil, skim well, then add the prepared vegetables, bouquet garni, peppercorns, salt to taste, and cook gently for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the bones can be easily removed. When the head is boned, spread it out on the table, season well, and distribute narrow strips of ham and slices of boiled egg evenly over the surface. Add more flavouring and roll up tightly and wrap and tie securely in a pudding cloth. Have the stock boiling in the saucepan, put in the head, and cook gently for about 2 hours. This is sufficient for 10 or more persons.

Well if I hadn't already been put off eating meat for life, I certainly would be after reading that. It sounds utterly revolting. I think these days a lot of meat eaters would rather get their flesh in neatly wrapped polystyrene packages from the supermarket. What you take home in your shopping bears little resemblance of the animal it came from. I think it should be compulsory for meat eaters to go and see for themselves how an animal is killed and butchered. What I can't understand is when the spring comes and the fluffy little lambs appear in the fields, everyone goes, aaahhhh, aren't they sweet, then stick a lambs leg in the oven and eat it. There are still a lot of carnivors about though, who will happily chop up every bit of an animal and serve it up. There is no room for sentiment if you eat meat. 

I am a sentimental softie, and proud of it. My lunch today was mushrooms in a garlic sauce, with spinach added to the pan, served on a bed of spinach, and a tomato. It was bloomin lovely.  

Have a nice weekend, it's raining here, filling up my water receptacles nicely. Hope it's better where you are. Toodle pip

Read More »

A different Kind of Courage by Claudia Strachan. Book review

It was only recently when I wrote a post urging people to talk to their mother before it was too late. To ask her about her life, what she did, where she came from, and how she lived. I knew very little about my mother when she was a young girl, she told me stories but I have forgotten them, or I wasn't listening properly. My mum was born in 1918 in Hamburg, she was a young woman who lived through the war, in terrible conditions, she saw some terrible things. All I remember is that she lost her house in the bombings, she wandered the streets with her small son in a pram when Hamburg was flattened.

It was by chance that I saw this book in the library. The blurb on the back said it is the spellbinding account of the life of a young woman in Hamburg during the second world war. I had to read it.   

Gretel Wachtel was born in 1915 and was 24 years old when war broke out, so she was three years older than my mum. The book is written by a close friend of hers, Claudia Strachan, who was also born in Germany, but moved to England in 1993. She spent the next nine years researching the historical background to Gretel's story.  

Gretel was a free spirited young woman living in a world where few dared to speak up. She was forced to work in an ammunition factory but she didn't lose the desire to fight the Nazi party. Gretel allied herself with the resistance, passing on secrets learned from her work, sending and receiving messages via the Enigma encryption machine. She was finally arrested by the Gestapo in 1945 and taken to an internment camp. She was liberated as the British Army advanced towards Hamburg. After the war she fell in love with a British officer and moved to England.

While I was reading this book I could picture my mother living in similar conditions. The graphic descriptions of  the bodies lying in the street after the bombings. Walking through the rubble. The struggle that she must have had to find food for herself and her son. Gretel had a thriving black market business where she bartered all kinds of things, and sent food parcels to the church for the Jews which were hiding there.

My mum came to live in England. After meeting my dad, a British soldier, she thought England would be a better place to live, better than Hamburg. There wasn't much left of it. 

This book has painted a vivid picture for me, of the times and places where my mother grew up. It has sort of filled a few gaps. I was hooked to the end, and it's very easy to read.

Gretel died at the age of 91 after a long marriage to Patrick, she lived in the south east of England. I am so pleased that she shared her story.

This is a review I have copied from the Amazon site. It's from her son, Patrick.

This review is from: A Different Kind of Courage: Gretel's Story (Paperback)

I am biased, it is about my mother but the stories told to me as a child are all the more remarkable when written in this way by Claudi. A moving story, one I am personally proud of and grateful to the Author for her efforts in making it public. Read it, it's good!

My review, it's a fascinating insight into the life and suffering of the German people during the war. Her courageous acts of defiance and bravery as she went about her everyday life, were amazing. I found her story inspiring.  

Read More »

The 10 Secrets of 100% Healthy People by Patrick Holford. Book review.

We've had a lovely warm day up here in the sticks of North Lincolnshire. A good opportunity to tidy the garden, trim the hedges and mow the lawn. With a bit of luck that will be the last grass cutting I will have to do this year. I've been getting on with the patchwork again while watching catchup tv, I'm determined it's not going to take me forever to finish it. I did think about going to Tesco, I've got a �4 off voucher on a �30 spend, spose I could stock up on store cupboard essentials, seems daft to throw away �4. In the end I didn't go, the shop is too busy on a Saturday. Last chance tomorrow, I might go.

I haven't done a book review for ages, because I haven't been doing much reading. I still get books out of the library though, they lie around the house and I pick them up at random and read bits as and when I feel like it. Need to keep using the mobile library in case the council get the idea that we don't need it any more. We definitely do need it.

Anyway, I have read Patrick Holford before, he is a leading spokesman on nutrition and mental health issues, with a string of letters after his name. A lot of the book is about diet, it talks about a health road map, it explains what effects certain foods have on the body, and what happens if we get it wrong.

According to a survey of 55,000 people, only 6% were in the optimum health category, whereas 50% were in the moderate category, and 44% were in the poor or very poor category. He does offer a free health check on his web site, but due to site renovations it is temporarily not available. Patrick looked at the healthiest people in optimum health, and compared them with the unhealthiest people to see if there were any significant differences in their dietary habits.

He came up with these recommendations for achieving optimum health. Reduce wheat consumption to one serving a day. Stop eating sugar based snacks. Don't add salt to food, avoid salted snacks. Reduce intake of dairy to one serving a day. Reduce refined foods. Eat more fruit and veg, eight to ten servings a day. Limit tea and coffee to occasional use. Reduce red meat to two servings a week. Eat more oily fish. Eat more seeds and nuts. Drink eight glasses of water a day.

I think we have all heard about some or all of these recommendations, and I think we all probably fail to stick rigidly to it. But it's good to keep this guide in our minds.

Part three of the book is all about setting your health goals and targets. Refining your diet and taking control of your health. There is a lot in the book about supplements. I don't take any at all, so I am in two minds about that. The book advertises his web site, and of course he sells all the supplements he talks about.     

There are chapters about fitness and exercise, emotional health, and meditation. It deals with the mind as well as the body.

 

Overall a very informative book, useful to keep dipping into when you let your diet slip a bit and eat crap. I certainly need a reminder now and again. �12.99 to buy from a shop, free from the library.  

Read More »