A Day at the Races

Beachin

Well after a hectic set of shifts it was nice to finish work on Saturday morning knowing I was heading to my girl and our caravan at the seaside.

A 45 minute bike ride in the fresh morning air (although not quite enjoyable after a 12 hour night shift) wasn’t too bad and the early morning countryside wildlife was nice, spotted plenty of rabbits, 3 pheasants and a deer on my journey to our seaside retreat.

After getting up at lunch time I was in the mood for a beer and my gorgeous lady had a few drinks in ready for my arrival. A few beers later and I was feeling like my weekend had begun. Later we drank some lovely wine, a French Muscadat and watched National Treasure (a personal favourite of mine) before going to bed after a cosy evening in front of the TV.

After getting up to a cup of tea and a fantastic Bacon sandwich courtesy of Caron, we headed to the beach for a long walk with the dogs, a very windy day but satisfying nontheless.  We walked maybe just 15 minutes up the beach before heading back, wrapped up warm against the wind, all the while Bob and Dottie scampered about our feet and played chase with each other, often with brief interruptions in play to investigate a foreign object and/or smell. I meandered along with Caron eyes firmly set on the sand with childlike excitement at the thought of finding a fossil amongst the many pebbles and rocks, sadly the only discovery was made by the dogs as they came upon the grim remains of a Seal carcass, Caron and I both feeling a pang of sadness at the poor creatures demise.

Later I cycled back home where Caron met me later for a few more drinks and another chilled night in front of tv before Caron headed home to prepare to get up for work in the morning. 

(Photo is of the same beach but taken a few weeks previous)

Book and Beer

I found the first half of this book quite hard going but later in the book it really gets going and I did look forward to reading the other two parts of the trilogy but my desire for reading fantasy has gone at the moment and I fancy a change so will read the other two books when I'm in the mood!

Characterisation is the key to good story-telling and that is where this book succeeds and keeps the reader engaged. By keeping the backdrop tightly contained the author has allowed the characters to come to the fore, and as a result they and their battles are the key drivers to the story.

The world building aspect of this book was very standard and straightforward, not particularly exciting but the real winner here is the plot. The writing style is also straightforward and accessible, an easy read!

I'd recommend this book if you like your fantasy stuff!

Great beer too! :)