Book Review - The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton

In pride of place in my lounge stands a dollshouse; a beautiful 1:12 scale replica of an Art Deco house, time-frozen in 1938.
I bought this book at a discount shop, looking for some light reading and the subject matter making me believe that it would appeal to me.
My house is full of beautiful artisan-made articles, bought when money was easier, and costing many hundreds of pounds. And this book is equally full of wonderfully crafted descriptions and intrigues
I was not prepared for the sheer depth of this skillfully written story. Set in mid-17th. Century Amsterdam, at the point where the power of the Dutch East India Company was just beginning to turn, it is a story of intrigue, cruelty, and other-worldliness.
I thought it would be a book that would only appeal to like-minded people with an interest in miniatures, but I believe it will appeal to anybody who wants a good story.
It concerns a young girl from a faded genteel family, who marries a rich man who loves her, but does not want her, and his wedding present to her - a replica of their house in a cabinet, and the miniatures that she receives to furnish it,
I'm trying very hard not to give a clue as to the significense of these miniatures - to do so would be to ruin the drama, twists and turns of the story
Just go buy or borrow a copy and read it. You won't regret it

If I could give it a 6 I would, but as my top mark is 5, it must be 5/5

The end of an era...............

Well, today, with a few twinges of sadness and regret, I watched a young lady ride away on what was my Honda Hornet, Jack. I hope she treats him well
I've lived with Hornets for the last 18 years, and for me, no motorcycle has performed consistently so well. But all good things must come to an end, and so it was, I regretably decided to part with my last Hornet.
I bought my first one, the first one in the country sold to a member of the public, on my birthday in 1998 - one of a very few Hornets to be 'R' registered.

Sadly, this was written off after only 4 months, by a stupid lady in a Porsche, who was too busy talking on her mobile to notice me at a standstill in front of her.

I'd already got a great liking for this small, but brilliant bike, so it was replaced by an identical machine.

Well, it may have been identical to start with, but it evolved into the LittleInsect, one of the most well-known Hornets in the country, and elsewhere

I won't bore you with the technicalities, but suffice it to say, that it was all carbon fibre and titanium, and tuned up to the hilt, and featured many unique one-off parts that weren't available on the open market. Even the rear light was unique.................(here pictured before the rear bodywork was remodelled in carbon)

After 14 years and 169,000 miles, it was wearing out, and so I reluctantly decided to part with it. Problem was, I couldn't stand the thought of anybody else riding it, so what to do? It was de-registered and totally taken apart and destroyed. You may consider that a waste, but I don't

Of course, after all those years, it just had to be another Hornet, and so I moved onto the latest evolution of the model.

Being me, I couldn't have just any old Hornet, could I? Nope, mine was one of only 2 to be done in the paint design for the Anniversary FireBlade. Meet Jack.........

After 4 years, and many more happy Hornet miles, my circumstances changed. Now retired and living on a pension, with health problems, I need something cheaper to run, and easier on my wrists.

I've opted for a Honda CB500F - a twin, as opposed to the four (so half the servicing costs) and a remarkable 80mpg, as opposed to 50-ish

But of course, did I settle for red or black? What do you think?

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

and it is a little star! Just realised, I haven't told you about Twinkle. He's a little CB125F Honda, bought as a spare bike, to be used to run around town, shopping etc. to take the strain off my beloved Jack.
Problem is, he's such fun, I've been using him for some out of town rides too!
Anyway, Honda, in their infinite wisdom, named the paint colour Pearl Twinkle Yellow, so, Twinkle it is.
Here he is enjoying some late autumn sunshine and proclaimimg that his bright yellow body is every bit as pretty as a red tree!