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Continue reading →: Mother Naked by Glen James Brown
English Literature – Historic Fiction – Published 2025 Teesside author Glen James Brown is one of our upcoming North of England writers, inevitably compared to Benjamin Myers with this novel and its links to Durham Cathedral. Modyr Nakett (Mother Naked in old English) was recorded as being a wandering minstrel…
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Continue reading →: Through the Pyrenees and into the OccitanieThe village of Tella, high up in the Ordesa National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees (ar 1240 metres), has a number of historical sites to see, though the Bear Cave (as I found out only when I got to its locked gate) is closed in the winter. The Dolmen de…
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Continue reading →: Ordesa and Monte Perdido National ParkThe Sierra de la Demanda was largely formed in the last ice age, with broad alpine peaks, green highland pastures, and expansive valleys cut by fierce rivers, not least the Ebro, which I have been following for a few days now. Wildlife abounds. This is La Rioja province, and here,…
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Continue reading →: Los Chozos de OrbanejaOrbaneja Del Castillo is one of those attractive ancient Spanish villages that gets floods of tourists at the weekend. Buses bring crowds from the local cities of Burgos, Santander, Bilbao and Vitoria. The interest of the majority of visitors is in taking a selfie in front of the waterfall that…
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Continue reading →: Dengue Boy by Michel Neiva
translated from the Spanish (Argentina) – Published 2024 Nieva is an exciting new Argentinian writer of speculative fiction. This, his debut novel, has been described as ‘gaucho-punk’, but is so unparalleled that it requires its own genre. Some narratives defy being described in a review summary; such is this. Here’s…
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Continue reading →: TudancaI spent three days at the picturesque village of Tudanca, in the Saja-Besaya Natural Park, which gave excellent views over the Sierra de Peña Sagra, a range of sixteen kilometres in length above the Nansa valley. It is an excellent base for hiking and some really good MTB as well.…
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Continue reading →: Dog DaysRoja had that bout of gastroenteritis a couple of weeks ago. He received treatment for it in Oliveira do Hospital where he had a blood test and an ultrasound to see if there were any underlying problems, but there results were inconclusive. About two weeks ago he was itching, licking…
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Continue reading →: 13 French Street by Gil Brewer
American Pulp Fiction – Published 1951 50s noir stands apart from other periods because of the compelling plots, and those plots alone, uncomplicated by tangents, deviations and sub-plots. They are often short and direct, to be read in a couple of sittings. This is a good example. Brewer’s style in…
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Continue reading →: The International Booker Longlist..
One correct.. that’s better than usual.. (On The Calculation of Volume).. The full list is here. I’ve read three of them though, and they’re perfectly good, though I didn’t think of the standard to make the cut.. Eurotrash by Christian Kracht translated from the German (Switzerland) by Daniel Bowles. This…
To live more widely
supera superiora sequi
SafeReturnDoubtful is my alias. Rua is my fox red labrador pup, born 14 Feb 2026 and learning fast..
Where is Rua?
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 