Best Laid Plans

Have you ever had the feeling that someone was trying to tell you something? After much delberation I decided that I would throw a surprise party for my husband for his 50th birthday in July. He has a penchant for curry and Karaoke so I thought that would be a good theme so I started to do some preliminary preparations - a) made sure his carbon copy and best friends would be available on the said day, all were but none seemed to share my husbands enthusiasm for karaoke and resolved that they absolutely would not sing. b) rang to book the karaoke man and was told by his wife that he wasn't doing it any more and was sticking to discos. c) rang to book village hall - it wasn't available. I then decided to apply the maxim "if at first you don't suceed....give up". So I have, I hate trying to keep secrets any way so I have owned up to my plan and we have decided to organise something else.

Yesterday wasn't all disaster. It was summer reading group day. We assembled and discussed our chosen books from the previous session. As usual there was much lively discussion and some splendidly polarised views were produced both by Ian Mcewan's "Enduring Love" and Suskind's "Perfume". I have picked up Margaret Forster's "Over" to read for next time. I must remember to take some notes next time as there was another book discussed, which I thought was called "The Last English Gentleman", the biography of J.L. Carr but I can't find it on Amazon so I will have to get hold of it next time.

The summer reading group is formed from a group of people who were originally studying literature through an outreach programme run by Birmingham University that enabled us to accumulate credits for a foundation degree. However, BU decided to change all the rules and after a couple of years of being messed about we declared UDI and our tutor has continued to expand our minds with diverse choices of literature. We do two terms (winter and spring) of formal study and then during the summer term we get together as an informal reading group, swapping books and opinions. Our formal study topic for the coming academic year is to be "The Clergy and Literature" a subject that has been on our list of topics for some time. Our reading lists is:
Alan Bennett's "Talking Heads: Bed among the Lentils".
Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral".
Gosse's "Father and Son"
Spark's "The Abbess of Crewe"
Bronte's "Agnes Grey"
Jenkins' "The Awakening of George Durroch"
Keneally's "The Office of Innocence".
Kilvert's Diary
Guareshi's "The Little World of Don Cammilo"
Wodehouse's "The Great Sermon Handicap"

as well as a selection of gothic tales and poetry. So you can see what I shall be doing over most of the summer in between doing revision for exams in September. I am collecting reference's to clergy in all the other books I read - and if anyone out there has favourite bits about clergy, characters or books written by clergy I would love to hear about them. It would be nice for once to embark upon a season of study without being completely ignorant of the subject in hand. I have already started my collection as Moby Dick has an early chapter dedicated to the description of Father Mapple.

I also spent a huge amount of time yesterday on what is usually my winter project - family history research. But owing to the use of the internet and Genes Reunited occaisionally a contact from a long lost relative appears out of the blue. And yesterday two distant relatives made contact. This resulted in much checking of facts, scanning of photographs and documents and emails back and forth. The result of which is the addition of a few more pieces of the jigsaw and getting to know some new people with common interests.

So whilst it was a frustrating start, all in all not a bad day; but it certainly didn't go to plan - the ironing mountain is still there and growing ever taller. Maybe by the end of today it will be under control? Must get back to The Law of Trepass with particular reference to the rights associated with airspace. SiaB is it any wonder that I am enjoying Moby Dick as a displacement activity?!