April started with a couple of nights away in sunny Surrey. As avid parkrunners husband and I have long wanted to return to the source of this weekly phenomenon and run at Bushy in west London. This is where the first 5k weekly time trial that evolved into parkrun was held and where events continue to be put on each week a couple of decades later.
We stayed just over the county border, at the Oatlands Park Hotel near Weybridge. As well as posting my hotel review I wrote about our short break through the lens of my teddy bear: Edward Explores Two Royal Parks.
This month I posted two parkrun reports: Bushy Park; and the 500th event put on at Chippenham.
I also finished my short series of running shoe reviews, giving my opinions on ASICS MetaSpeed Sky and Brooks Ghost 14. I now need more new trainers if I am to continue with this endeavour…
The month ended with a local 10k race that I will write about shortly. It has been lovely that Elder Son and Daughter have taken to joining us at parkruns and races.
As well as running, husband continues to repaint bedrooms. Although it has taken many months – he is very thorough – three have now been completed. The finishing of the third led to a flurry of activity on my part as I was able to move furniture from our landing and other rooms where it had been stored to intended positions. Younger Son now has a spacious study as well as his redecorated small bedroom – he opted to keep his bed in the smaller room as he only sleeps there. Daughter’s old bedroom is still where she sleeps when she stays over but I have the wardrobes for storage and much prefer the new, brighter decor than that which dated from her goth years.
I now await delivery of a new sofa as Younger Son has been given the old one we had in our kitchen, which has many holes in cover and cushions. A quilt I had never used hides these in its new location and provides him with a comfy space aside from his desk and electric keyboard.
I took the opportunity of furniture moving to give the house a ‘proper clean’ – a most unusual activity for me to undertake. It’s lovely to have the house feeling fresh but whether this is enough to inspire me to keep it this way remains to be seen. Domestic Goddess I am not.
I posted reviews for 5 books in April, all of them new publications and, most unusually, only the children’s story being fiction originally written in English. I wonder if this reflects the difficulty I have had in recent months selecting titles that fully resonate.
To read my thoughts on each book you may click the title below.
Translated Fiction
The Harmattan Winds by Sylvain Trudel (translated by Donald Winkler), published by Archipelago Books
Cautery by Lucia Lijtmaer (translated by Maureen Shaughnessy), published by Charco Press
Children’s Fiction
My Dog Max by Alan Dapré (illustrated by Alex Ayliffe), published by Little Door Books
Non Fiction
D.H. Lawrence by David Ellis, published by Reaktion Books
No More Normal: Mental Health in an Age of Over-Diagnosis by Dr Alastair Santhouse, published by Granta
Sourcing the books
I received just a couple of books in the post so actually managed to read more than were added to my TBR mountain.
As ever I wish to thank all who send me their books to review – the arrival of book post remains a cheering event in my day.
My thanks also to those who share my words across their social media platforms – whichever ones you are now using – your support is always appreciated. I am no longer on Twitter but you may find me on Instagram and Threads.
And to everyone reading this, I wish you and yours good health and fine days. May the coming month be kind to you, and may you find many good books to read.
