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Continue reading →: Uncle Paul by Celia Fremlin
British Literature – published 1959 First published in 1959, this is a slow-burning psychological mystery that blends relationships in the family with suspense, highlighting the complexity of human relationships. The unflappable Meg is summoned from London by telegram by her older sister, Isabel, to a typically English seaside town where…
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Continue reading →: Another Via Verde and south to the Segura valleyBeing a weekend, the town of Biar was busy, and the aire became much sought after. There are about 16 well spaced places with free electric and water, and though it was only half full when I arrived on Friday lunchtime, there were vans waiting patiently for a space on…
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Continue reading →: Petite Fleur by Iosi Havilio
translated from the Spanish (Argentina) by Lorna Scott Fox and published 2017 Havilio has a reputation in Argentina as being something of a cult author, and no doubt this splendidly strange novel, will go to confirm that. At the outset, narrator, José, cycles to work as usual at the local…
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Continue reading →: Darker Days by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Horror, translated from the Dutch by Lia Belt and published October 2025 I find it easy to write off modern American horror. I’m not the target audience; most stuff is blended with romance and fantasy and attracts readers a lot younger than me. I’m a traditional horror fan of classic…
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Continue reading →: Around ValenciaJust over a year ago, the 29 October to 16 November 2024, devastating floods hit the area around Valencia, and resulted in considerable damage in Sot de Chera, which was evacuated, in some cases in spectacular fashion, by helicopter (see the video). 237 people died in the region. The two…
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Continue reading →: The Shark-Infested Custard by Charles Willeford
American Fiction – published 1993 This a wild ride story of four Miami single twenty-somethings living in a singles apartment in the 1970s whose plans for routine fun get them into some serious trouble. Pharmaceutical detail man Hank Norton, responding to a bet that he can’t pick up a date…
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Continue reading →: Some Days in AlcañizThe small town of Bot on the Val de Zafán Via Verde, or Greenway, was an excellent venue for the weekend, even though it was cold, 8C and with a strong north wind making it feel a few degrees cooler. There were a few other cyclists around on the Saturday,…
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Continue reading →: Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
British Literature – published 1971 This is a thoroughly enjoyable book about a collection of older people who have taken residence in a hotel, thereby forestalling for as long as possible a slide into bad health whether physically or mentally, and hence having to spend their remaining days in a…
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Continue reading →: Terres de l’Ebre, CataloniaIt was a cold night at Poblet Monastery, dropping below zero. It’s at more than 600 metres above sea level so not a surprise at this time of year. What was a surprise was waking to voices close to the van at six in the morning. The place had been…
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 