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Continue reading →: God’s Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell
Most of Caldwell’s writing depicts the harsh realities of life in the American South in the Depression. This is one of his early novels, following the brilliant Tobacco Road. Both novels have sold more than ten million copies, though both were banned from public libraries and places of education in…
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Continue reading →: Serra da MalcataI’ve had two superb days on the banks of the River Côa in the Reserva Natural da Serra da Malcata, up at 800 metres above sea level and in excellent weather. Yesterday was warmer, up at around 16C, but with some cloud, and today the cloud has cleared, but a…
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Continue reading →: Into PortugalI took the autoroutes through France until Magescq, an hour south of Bordeaux which came in at just over 50 euros, and then decided to go more slowly through the Basque Pyrenees. Along the coast, Bayonne to San Sebastián, is where they are expensive, with frequent péages. My decision was…
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Continue reading →: The Villain’s Dance by Fiston Mwanza Mujila
translated from the French (D R Congo) by Roland Glasser Set in the 1990s in Mujila’s native Democratic Republic of Congo, this takes the form of the stories of three characters, and three storylines that alternate and come together in the last part of the book. It all takes place…
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Continue reading →: Roja’s On The Road Again..After just ten weeks in Cumbria I’m on the road again, heading south to the coastal Estrela mountains of central Portugal initially, then returning indirectly back north, through Galicia and Leon, on a different route to that of two years ago, then east across the Cantabrians and back to the…
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Continue reading →: Best of 2024
Books, TV and Film It’s been a year when I’ve read more books than ever. Life in the van has resulted in less mindless TV, and usually two reading sessions a day, first thing in the morning and late afternoon. Regarding film and books, my interests are wide, but continuing…
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Continue reading →: Tidal Waters by Velia Vidal
translated from the Spanish (Colombia) by Annie McDermott Rarely have I read a book that has a such a strong sense of place. It doesn’t take much to inspire me towards more travel, I have spent much of my life on the road, but now there’s another place on that…
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Continue reading →: The Tyranny of Flies by Elaine Vilar Madruga
translated from the Spanish (Cuba) by Kevin Gerry Dunn – Published 2024 This was my first novel from a Cuban author and a bold, speculative, allegorical piece on communism in the country.Most of all though, it’s a humorous take on life, with a lot of the jocularity being of a…
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Continue reading →: Handling The Undead
Van International Film Festival 2024 – Norway Your potential movie-watcher is likely to arrive at this expecting something different than it is; billed as a ‘zombie horror’ and written by John Ajvide Lindquist (it was his follow up novel to Let The Right One In). This is something quite different…
To live more widely
supera superiora sequi
SafeReturnDoubtful is my alias.
Where is Andy?
I was so much older then…
Quote of the Week
Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, ‘What road do I take?’ The cat asked, ‘Where do you want to go?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it really doesn’t matter, does it?’
Lewis Carroll
Safe Return Doubtful 