Dotty

Picnics have been a part of my life since I can remember – from being packed off for the day as a child with a jam sandwich, a bottle of Dandelion & Burdock and a promise to be home by teatime to dining al-fresco in black tie deep in the Nambian bush beneath the twinkling skies.

Eating outdoors holds a magical allure for me – which I hope to pass onto the Wees. Picnics can be an impromptu decision to take a flask of coffee, some home-made flapjack and just sit by the river watching the ripples and eddies (and keeping an eye out for Mabel the crocodile), or it can be a planned long-anticipated afternoon of decadence with smoked salmon sandwiches, strawberries and Champagne watching an outdoor play or opera.

The joy for me is in the place and the company – and the irreverence. There are no rules (at my picnics, anyway) of the order in which food should be eaten. The Wees are free to get up, run, paddle, and return for another nibble as they wish. Picnics can be eaten anywhere: I’ve sat on a low wall in Mayfair with my aunt eating a sandwich, a city centre bench eating hot chestnuts, underneath the shade of a tree at the foot of a massive sand dune; public parks galore – but best of all are the secret places discovered by us.

Weather provides no restraint: flasks of Bovril, that long-forgotten staple of my childhood; baked beans with slices of sausage (or whole sausages wrapped in foil), chunky soup with crusty bread… a picnic in the snow can be as memorable as any balmy sunny day.

Food does not have to be prepared at home: think of blisteringly hot fish and chips on sea wall with a biting wind, or crab claws sucked clean of their sweet juicy flesh: even an emergency dash into the newsagent to buy HulaHoops, bananas and Mr Kipling’s Fancies.

I was prompted to write this post, rather than any of the others scrapping for attention in my head, by a new website www.onlyfootprints.co.uk. Take a look, and follow them on Twitter @only_footprints.

Once in a while a chance comment to a chance friend in a chance moment in time can lead to something great. Perhaps not quite as great as in as how marvellously great  Great Britain can be (when she allows herself); or even as in as mightily great as the legend of Alexander the Great: but great in that it brought people together around the world from Finland to Nebraska to share a common interest: reading.

This encounter happened when two Twitter friends (@dottymummy and @Wendymal) both reached the end of the last book on their to-read shelves at the same time. They both happened to be on-line with the next book on their minds when the same thought occurred to them both. If we would value each other’s opinion on a book recommendation, then what about the rest of the Twitterverse (as the Big Wide World of Twitter is known)? Thus was born #goodbooktuesday.

Rising so far beyond either of our expectations, the hashtag took off, soaring higher and higher on retweets and pal to pal to pal recommendations. We determinedly did not want this to be a “Look how clever I am” exercise: just a casual dropped in conversation “I finished a really good book yesterday”. This is what we got:

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Paula by Isabel Allende and Margaret Sayers Peden

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Possession by A.S.Byatt (2) Amazing book. If you never finished it, do go back to it, and if you haven’t tried, it’s well worth the effort.

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (4). Don’t be put off by the size of it. Book where you miss the characters after.

Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich. Way too funny to read in public re Jersey girl bounty hunter Stephanie Plum

Really NOT enjoying No Angel by Penny Vincenzi. Been ploughing through 700+ pages for 2 weeks. Must finish.

The Law of Attraction by Esther & Jerry Hicks

One Day by David Nicholls. I do not have the words to explain what a perfect, beautiful book this is.

The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2)

Whistle Blower by Tess Gerritsen. Not one of her best but decent enough page turner.

Anything by Saki

My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl. 20 reads later, still ludicrously funny

I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki

The Tale Of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

WW1 Trilogy by Anne Perry

Bad News Bible by Anna Blundy

The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch. A dark tale of love and obsession, perfect for cold winter evenings!

Through the Tunnel (short story) by Doris Lessing

Down Came the Rain by Brook Shields

A Town like Alice by Neville Shute

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde (2)

Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola by Kinky Friedman

Far North by Marcel Theroux. Hauntingly disturbing novel about what will happen if we ignore our planet.

Wonderful Fool by Shusaku Endo

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Can’t believe I left it this long to read Raymond Chandler

Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

Dune, or The White Plague, both by Frank Herbert

Day of the Triffids, or Trouble With Lichen, both by John Wyndham

The Other Hand by @chriscleave Unmissable, best book I’ve read in ages

Behind The Scenes At The Museum by Kate Atkinson

I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk

Precious Bane by Mary Webb

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows. (4) Simply a delight. Audio book superb. Brilliant!

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) & Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob). I recommend it to everyone I meet!

Dying to Survive by Rachel Keogh. Inspirational book re overcoming heroin addiction.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Beautifully written and moving.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. Cracking

Fingersmith & Affinity, both by Sarah Waters. Am just about to start her latest The Little Stranger

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan

White Oleander by Janet Finch

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. Based on Laura Bush

Lord of the Fading Lands by C L Wilson. First of four

Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill

Dear Fatty, Dawn French’s autobiography. A funny & touching read, written as letters to everyone from her Dad to Madonna

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2). Just read this in our book club and it has stayed with me.

The Other Hand by Chris Cleave

Gifted: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow by Marilyn Kaye fab reads!!

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Anything by Augusten Burroughs & anything by Julie Myerson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (first of the Millennium Trilogy) by Steig Larsson. A fabulous read!

An A-Z of Possible Worlds by A.C. Tillyer published by @roastbooks

Legend Of A Suicide by David Vann

Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris (2). The darker, more sinister sequel to Chocolat. Loved every page. Is *so* on my Christmas list

A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel. Best novel about French Revolution.

Precious Bane by Mary Webb

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  My fave

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

Heartburn by Nora Ephron (2)

The Other Side of You by Salley Vickers. Amazing poetic book and male character I really fell for

Turbulence by Giles Foden

Twenty Something – The Quarter Life Crisis of Jack Lancaster by Iain Hollingshead. Delivers in every way.

Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris. Very lovely.

Eat, Pray, Love. by Liz Gilbert.

Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Ninteen Minutes by @jodipicoult Is my fave.

How to Afford Time Off with Your Baby: 101 Ways to Ease the Financial Strain by Becky Goddard-Hill

The Gift by Cecelia Ahern

Every single thing ever written by @Jodipicoult this lady is amazing!!

Random Acts of Heroic Love by Daniel Scheinmann. Tender, elegant, unexpected and very very beautiful. Enriching x

Frenchmans Creek by Daphne Du Maurier. My all time most favourite book, makes me want to become a pirate at once!

The Twilight Saga – Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse & Breaking Dawn  by Stephenie Meyer. My most recent reads and just such great stories

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. This is my demographic & I will give The Powers That Be every cent if they keep this up.

The Happy Isles of Oceania by Paul Theroux

The Irregulars by Roald Dahl

The British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington by Jennet Conant. Interesting and well written.

The Writing Class by Jincy Willet. Very clever and fun twists.

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg. All time fav. I read it about once/year. Can be hard start but worth it.

The L Shaped Room – Lynne Reid Banks Amazing!

I know I can speak on behalf of @Wendymal when I say this is a pretty proud (if not Great in our little worlds) achievement.