I was looking forward very much to reading ‘A Taste For Death’ the novel which P D James herself said she liked best. It’s about number 7 in the extensive Dalgliesh series…….. ‘In the dingy vestry of St. Matthew’s Church, Paddington, two bodies have been found with their throats slashed. One is an alcoholic tramp, whereas the other is Sir Paul Berowne, a baronet and recently resigned Minister of the Crown. Commander Adam Dalgliesh investigates’. The novel has indeed received high praise from many different sources…..”Rings of authenticity … compelling……literary grace of a high order……splendidly suspenseful….etc”. I have to admit I found it none of these things. There was little plot, the pace was absolutely pedestrian. I found it unconvincing and not writtthe height of literary expertise. Of the other Dalgliesh novels I have read, one was terrific, and now two have been very disappointing. The question is shall I try any more ?
The full title of this book is ‘The Secret Barrister : Stories of the Law and How It’s 
Broken’. A little confusing, but meaning how the legal system we have is broken, not how to break the Law! It all started with a Junior Barrister’s anonymous blog where he discusses how difficult it is to do his job any more, and how much we need to do to remedy our legal system which he demonstrates time and time again is not ‘fit for purpose’. In the book he does this by examining every aspect of the Law, par as he comes across it, illustrating with often real-life cases. To keep things entertaining he sometimes resorts to fictional cases which nevertheless are utterly believable. Basically he demonstrates convincingly (backed up with wonderful research and statistics) that the continual cuts on funding for maintaining our Justice system have not only broken it but got to the stage where ‘Justice’ as we all understand it cannot be guaranteed any more. Believe me this is a frightening thesis. Any of us can come face to face with the Law through no fault of our own and, if we did, we would sure want someone like ‘the secret barrister’ on our side, working his or her guts out for less than the living wage and all because he really and truly believes in ‘Justice’. What is revealed in the book is nothing less than scandalous, and we should all be determined to do something about it.
‘A History of Sandbach and District Etc’ is one of the reprints from its digitised collection of historical books and documents. As such it is not amazing quality, but nevertheless serves a purpose. Tomlinson the author of this 1899 work was obviously a keen amateur historian and lover of Sandbach where he lived. Its slim 50 pages or so gives am impression of Sandbach 100 years before this, and a summary of the history before that of the main buildings. One of the most interesting bits of his research concerns the two Saxon crosses in the Market Square, how they were purloined by a local landowner in Georgian times (as so much was purloined from the Grand Tours….), and subsequently broken into pieces and used as foundation for a house, garden ornament and goodness knows what. It is thanks to the Victorian efforts of someone appointed by the town to research where the crosses were and to the skill of the Architect of Manchester that nearly all the pieces were recovered and reassembled. Quite amazing in many ways.
“The retreat at health-and-wellness resort Tranquillum House promises total 
transformation. Nine stressed city dwellers are keen to drop their literal and mental baggage, and absorb the meditative ambience while enjoying their hot stone massages. Miles from anywhere, without cars or phones, they have no way to reach the outside world. Just time to think about themselves, and get to know each other. Watching over them is the resort’s director, a woman on a mission. But quite a different one from any the guests might have imagined. For behind the retreat’s glamorous facade lies a dark agenda. These nine perfect strangers have no idea what’s about to hit them…” A fair summary. If you can suspend your disbelief just a little (I don’t usually, but for this I did), then this is a thriller with a twist. Characterisation – good. Setting – you could be there. Plot – exciting. The Australian author Liane Moriarty really gets under her characters skin and writes an entertaining thriller which amuses at the same time. Quite an accomplishment.
‘The Buildings of England : Cheshire’ was a book I had to have if we are to up and move to Cheshire. As I have said the new series of Pevsner guides is superior to the originals and much more up-to-date, as well as being willing to throw in the odd bit of humour and irreverence. I don’t think Pevsner for instance would have written of Thornton-Le-Moors “Seen always against the vast Stanley oil refinery, with it serried rows of tanks, silver pipework and flaming chimneys. Decibel level and stink quotient are high”! If you are at all interested in your built environment and the history of where you live, these books are absolutely indispensable.
‘Friends At Court’ was the book that inspired me to take up the Law……I never did. But the fascination remains. A judge has said ‘No-one has ever caught more precisely or wittily the atmosphere of litigation’, and this certainly comes through. Although very witty at times, at other times you feel you are in the hands of a barrister ( I nearly wrote barista) who is talking about real cases in which he is himself involved. I am sure that much is taken from real life. As this was published in 1956 you might think that it would be very old-fashioned. It isn’t. The law changes slowly. having read this I was looking forward to the other ‘Brothers In Law’ Penguin we have on our shelves, but my wife cautioned it started off well but got very silly indeed. I don’t know whether to read or not. problems, problems.Having liked the P D James Dalgleish novels that I have read I thought I would
start at the beginning and read the first couple in a long, long series. However my plans went awry when the first arrived. It was half in French and half in English. I just couldn’t read it. I therefore had to start with the second in the series ‘Cover Her Face’. I have to say that although quite well written, it was a little turgid, and I soon spotted the perpetrator of the murder which in a ‘Who Dunnit’ is not really a good sign. It reads like a second novel. having enjoyed the depth and the literary excellence of later novels it perhaps was a mistake to return to the beginning! 
I try not to buy books for the sake of it, particularly now that we are retired, but some of the Folio books on our shelves have been sitting for a long time just looking good. I am working my way through them and it is a pleasure to read such well-formed books with often top-quality illustrations. In fact I am sure Folio could do good business selling the illustrations as prints. The covers are good too….this is ‘Dracula’. Now we all think we know the story, but how many of us have truly read this novel? I steer away from anything vaguely relating to Fantasy. I personally regard it as somewhat childish. I did enjoy Fantasy at school, but surely I am past that now. Well this is the book that put paid to that argument. It is Fantasy but it is exceedingly well-written on the whole and, although long, it is gripping. I wanted to get to bed each night to read more. I have to say I really, really enjoyed it. The limited cast of characters are very well-drawn and the atmosphere unsettling. The fact that a lot of the story is told through various people’s journals also adds to the pot. If you haven’t read it now’s the time. 
Another beautiful Folio, this time ‘Brideshead Revisited’ .Now everyone must have read this or seen the film or seen it on TV but it amply pays a re-read. If you can get yourself this Folio edition it is certainly worth the investment. Background…..Charles Ryder’s cousin warned him against taking rooms on the ground floor of his Oxford college, so when the young Lord Sebastian Flyte is sick through his window, it seems he should have heeded the advice. However, no one is immune to Sebastian’s inimitable charm and soon a relationship develops that will change Charles’s life for ever. Chosen as one of Time magazine’s 100 greatest novels of all time, this is Waugh’s most popular book, combining aching sympathy for the passing of privilege with the best of his razor-sharp wit. You feel the time and place you really do………….
On our last full day we drove south to 
Hednesford as with any ex mining community has seen better days and lost its soul along with the industry. What was impressive in terms of its buildings was, of all things, the Wetherspoons which was a summer retreat for the brother of Prime Minister Peel. A fine building indeed.
We also liked the mining sculpture……
and the hundreds and hundreds of memorial bricks set around it and filling the square…
An interesting interlude which I hope will lead to further findings.
So far, the following entry in Wikipedia gives some hope…..
On the way back to our cottage we called one more time at Sandbach to have a further look around and shop at Waitrose for our evening meal (I said this town had everything!). It didn’t disappoint and we found even more lovely lovely areas….
The next day we set out reasonably early as we were undertaking the journey back to Cornwall not the way we had come by Motorway nearly all the way but on the ‘old’ route down the border country of Shropshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Gwent. It was a good decision. Marvellous weather, fantastic countryside and the bonus of stopping for lunch in Ludlow one of my favourite places…..
As it happened, the Charlton Arms Hotel had just stopped serving so we made do with a drink and a bag of crisps, but with this view who cares?
Our cottage was near 
It must have a good community spirit as you see from the herb bins..
Our prime destination today a Sunday was 
We were early, so we had chance of a bite to eat in the cafe and we walked around the gardens to visit 
Afterwards we built up our daily steps with a walk around the nearest lake. I say the nearest because there are several……
On our return to the Hall I took this pic of the front ‘veranda’ where every alcove held a glass case complete with stuffed bird, an unusual feature to say the least.
As is normal with ‘private’ houses, no photography allowed inside, so a couple of shots from on-line. The staff were very friendly which is great and as I was asking after one or two of the paintings, a kind lady member of staff lent me her guide for the duration of our visit. Terrific.
We wanted to see Northwich having visited the other two wiches, but didn’t linger very long as it is both industrial (salt and chemicals) and run down. Obviously there will be parts of interest but we didn’t want to waste any time looking for them! Instead we headed off into the countryside North and stopped at the extremely pretty 
…..and then as Great Budworth sits atop a hill you have a fine view, admittedly in the far distance, of the nearby chemical works!
To cap our day off Martin had recommended we visit 
A return visit to a pub I know well , 
The church is rather good too in 
and we loved the alert owl outside the local Primary School. As a matter of fact we saw many wooden owls during our week – must be someone who likes to carve them!
Next to 
But we ate elsewhere….seemingly dozens of choices of eating places.
Knutsford was bustling, but it is the sort of place where peace and quiet is just round the corner….
and there are some lovely buildings…
Tatton Mere stretches from the town all the way up to the eighteenth century mansion 
Apart from the traffic, which however no doubt helps all the shops, a super play to live. Probably outside our price range unfortunately.
From there via super slick 
Manchester is on the horizon.
Onwards then to 
It was brilliant to see the survival of medieval wall paintings…..
We then chanced upon the picture-perfect little village of 
Unfortunately the church was locked but it was enormous, a sight to behold in such a small place. I learned afterwards that its nave is forty feet wide, wider even than Chester Cathedral.
Wonderful
and the impressive 
and were soon enjoying unparalleled views…
I suspect this was the Deanery with its beautiful gardens. It is now desirable but expensive apartments. What I wouldn’t give to live in a place like that!
At times the walls soared on high. In this section you got a good idea of how formidable they would have been….
And sometimes just occasionally it is nice to look at the backs of houses. Have you ever see a prettier back view than this?
Everywhere we went was full of interest. Here, near Telford’s wharf is a sculpture of 
When walking West we had excellent views in the distance of The North Welsh mountains…
In comparison with even York, Exeter or Berwick these walls are momentous…
and what you see from them is soul-lifting in this day and age….
Plenty of handsome Georgian houses….
and even the Victorian terraces were special…
….as indeed most of the modern buildings we saw….
The walk passes very close to the race course…who would pay to get in with views like these?
and daffodils everywhere as at York..
Here 
and later used as the county hall and for courts, as at Lincoln….
The River Dee made its presence felt for a good part of the way….
and whilst we didn’t manage to see much of the Roman remains on this visit we did glimpse the 
It wouldn’t be possible that this was the perfect small city would it? Not when we saw two monstrous concrete car parks agreed by the Planners in, what, the Sixties or Seventies….I could see at the time what disastrous results they were inflicting on our heritage. Honestly, I would line all these so-called planners up standing on one leg in the blazing sun to gaze for ever at their works…
We finished our walk at the famous
And whilst scouting out where to eat we had a good look at the famous 
But on the whole we certainly got the feeling that Chester was bucking the trend for city centres and was prospering. Good to see.
We made our way then to 
We couldn’t resist going into the sixteenth century Swan Hotel for a quick cup of tea, splendid both inside and out.
Then into deepest Cheshire where we saw the famous two castles the medieval 
on the way back we stopped at this very picturesque village with its lovely houses and pond complete with rare black swans..
We were also held up for a long while by cows on their way to milking……but no bother!
Home at last….
Enjoying Cornwall... 