I have chosen the poem for today because the weather people keep threatening us with snow. I have also chosen it because as you have probably noticed by now I am a huge Thomas Hardy fan.
Light Snow-Fall After Frost
On the flat road a man at last appears: How much his whitening hairs Owe to the settling snow's mute anchorage, And how much to a life's rough pilgrimage, One cannot certify.
The frost is on the wane, And cobwebs hanging close outside the pane Pose as festoons of thick white worsted there, Of their pale presence no eye being aware Till the rime made them plain.
A second man comes by; His ruddy beard brings fire to the pallid scene: His coat is faded green; Hence seems it that his mien Wears something of the dye Of the berried holm-trees that he passes nigh.
The snow-feathers so gently swoop that though But half an hour ago The road was brown, and now is starkly white, A watcher would have failed defining quite When it transformed it so.
Another year on the Diddly Squat Farm and Jeremy is still knee-deep in mud and endless challenges.
Welcome back to Clarkson’s Farm. Since taking the wheel three years ago Jeremy’s had his work cut out. And it’s now clear from hard-won experience that, when it comes to farming, there’s only one golden rule:
Whatever you hope will happen, won’t.
Enthusiastic schemes to diversify have met with stubborn opposition from the red trouser brigade, defeat at the hands of Council Planning department, and predictable derision from Kaleb – although, to be fair, even Lisa had doubts about Jeremy’s brilliant plan to build a business empire founded on rewilding and nettle soup. And only Cheerful Charlie is still smiling about the stifling amount of red tape that’s incoming . . . But he charges by the hour.
Then there are the animals: the sheep are gone; the cows have been joined by a rented bull called Break-Heart Maestro;. the pigs are making piglets; and the goats have turned out to be psychopaths.
But despite the naysayers and (sometimes self-inflicted) setbacks, Jeremy remains irrepressibly optimistic about life at Diddly Squat. Because It’s hard not to be when you get to harvest blackberries with a vacuum cleaner.
And, after all, it shouldn’t just be Break-heart Maestro who gets to enjoy a happy ending . . .
Review
I have loved all the Diddly Squat books so far so when I saw this one was out I put it on my wish list and my lovely husband bought it for me for Christmas. I read it almost immediately and basically read it in one sitting.
Again, this book has the same beautiful illustrations separating the chapters as the previous books and the book is in the same format as the previous books.
As much as I loved this book I did miss Lisa, Kaleb and Charlie. In ‘Diddly Squat: ’Til the Cows Come Home’ Lisa, Kaleb and Charlie featured a lot more which I really enjoyed so I missed them this time. Although the story of Lisa with the pigs was hilarious.
I liked this book because it is year three of Clarkson as a farmer and you can see he is getting into the swing of things. He is also still trying his hardest to highlight the plight of the poor farmers and what they have to go through to try and make a living.
There were some deeply poignant moments in this book which really showed a different side to Clarkson and a side we don’t often see on TV. I loved his story about Pooh Sticks and what that story means to him and what Winnie-the-Pooh means to him.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book but it was too short! When I reached the end I found myself wanting more so I hope the next one might be longer but I know it all depends on his newspaper column. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born April 11, 1960) is an English broadcaster and writer who specialises in motoring.
He writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun, but is better known for his role on the BBC television programme Top Gear.
From a career as a local journalist in the north of England, he rose to public prominence as a presenter of the original format of Top Gear in 1988. Since the mid-1990s Clarkson has become a recognised public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows and appearing as a guest on other shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson has produced programmes and books on subjects such as history and engineering. From 1998 to 2000 he also hosted his own chat show, Clarkson.
I hope everyone has had a nice day today. I didn’t have school today so I spent a lovely morning reading and then went for a long walk. I had teaching in the evening and an Etsy order to do but at least I got some reading done.
My chosen quote today is by the English author, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian C. S. Lewis (1898-1963).
“Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.”
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. As predicted my reading has plummeted since been back at work but I’m hoping that I will manage to at least read one book per week.
Here are my planned reads for January.
I actually started The Other Queen in December 2023 but I only read about a quarter of it before work and Christmas prep got in the way, I was really enjoying it so I hope to finish it this month. I really hope I read some of these books but as you have all worked out by now I’m not great with TBR plans as it all depends on what mood I am in.
I hope everyone has some exciting reads planned for January.
I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I am back at work tomorrow so sadly my reading time will go down but I’m hoping I can still get some done.
I’m still reading this and really enjoying it. I’m also finding it quite sad as so much history was lost in Egypt because of grave robbers calling themselves archaeologists.
I decided 2024 was the year I read through some of the books that I own and that have sat on my TBR pile for way too long. So with this in mind I have selected 24 books off this TBR pile and have decided to try and read them all in 2024. I have popped a few rereads on to this list as well because I really wanted to read them again this year.
I hope everyone has had a good week and is ready for the weekend. I am back at work on Sunday so today I have been catching up with admin and prep for Sunday and next week but I have managed some reading.
My chosen poem this week is by the post-war poet Geoffrey Hill (1932-2016).
Epiphany at Saint Mary and All Saints
The wise men, vulnerable in ageing plaster, are borne as gifts to be set down among the treasures in their familial strangeness, mystery's toys.
Below the church the Stour slovens through its narrow cut. On service roads the lights cast amber salt slatted with a thin rain doubling as snow.
Showings are not unknown: a six-winged seraph somewhere impends-it is the geste of invention, not the creative but the creator spirit. The night air sings a colder spell to come.
I thought it was time to share the results of my 2023 challenge of attempting to read my height in books.
I read several books on Kindle in 2023 so I got the dimensions of each book off Amazon and worked out that together they added approximately 5.8 inches. I then went hunting around the house to find something that would represent that on the pile of books. My husband found a notebook which when stood up was the correct height, hence the book stood up on the top of the pile of books.
So here is the final picture!
I did it! The stack of books measures 67.5 inches and I am 67 inches. I’m so pleased because I was rather worried I hadn’t made it again but finally I have managed to complete the challenge. The stack is made up of the 72 books that I read in 2023.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
My first week in 2024 has been wonderful for reading. I am thoroughly enjoying my free time and rather dreading going back to work next week because I know I won’t be able to read so much.
What I am Currently Reading
I actually read two and a bit chapters of The Shadow Rising today so I am already ahead with my challenge of reading one chapter a day. I had forgotten just how good this book is but I did read it in 2014 for I have forgotten quite a bit. The Earl and the Pharaoh is a fascinating read and a real eye opener about how the super rich lived in the 1890’s.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I crammed quite a few books in the last week of 2023 and here is three of them. I have the full set of the Penguin Classics little black books but have only read a few so it was good to tick a few more off the list.
What I Think I will Read Next
This year is all about reading the books I own and these are currently sat in a big pile waiting to be read.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Lady Book Dragon 