Oh my goodness - I can't believe it, we've been married for 6 years! Where has the time gone? We didn't do much, just exchanged cards, doesn't really need anything else does it. Well Mike did get me some flowers, but that's like taking coals to Newcastle (ha ha). No the flowers are lovely and I will be doing some bit and pieces with them over the next day or so, if I'm not flowered out by the time I get home from college.
It was an incredibly lazy day today. I finally finished 'The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman' which I have tried at least 3 times to read, but now it's finished I really enjoyed it a lot and the review is below.
Mike and I headed out this evening to The Rose of India, which is in the less than salubrious surroundings of Duncombe Street in Bletchley BUT and it is a big BUT, The Rose of India is a superb little Indian restaurant and for a simple but delicious Indian meal it is a safe bet. We hadn't been there for some time and so decided to try it again and were not at all disappointed. The service is excellent, attentive, but not in your face and the food is good - everything we wanted from an Indian meal.
We started with the usual poppadoms and the bits, their mango chutney is utterly lovely. I had onion bhaji (when do I have anything else) for my starter and Mike had a kebab with an omelette on top, both were really tasty and lovely and hot. For mains we shared chicken dopiaza, chicken tikka masala, mateer paneer (?), mushroom rice and naan bread - all lovely. The rice and the tikka masala were really good, our hot plate looked like traffic lights, with the green of the dopiaza, amber of the mateer and red of the masala, very colourful and very very tasty. Mike had ice-cream but I stuck to a coffee, but very enjoyable. And nice to go out just the two of us on a rare occasion. A very pleasant evening indeed.
Book Review
Bruce Robinson - The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman'
** Beware Spoilers**
I have to confess that I have a bit of a thing for Bruce Robinson, his performance in Still Crazy for me is one of my favourite bits in one of my favourite films. His talent as a Director I really admire and his writing I admire above all of those. When I read 'Smoking in Bed', it had me howling out loud with laughter, so I was really looking forward to reading this book too. It has taken me a while to finish it after at least 3 starts and struggling to get beyond page 50. I am now so glad that I have, as this book is a wonderful read.
It tells the story of Thomas Penman at a crucial and critical time in his life, his parents marriage is breaking down, his grandfather is dying and Thomas is experiencing his first real love. It is a complex book, doesn't have a plot as such but has wonderful characters, and an interesting series of episodes in which the characters stories slowly develop. Thomas has several unusual habits and a deep love of Charles Dickens (the latter reflecting Robinson's own passion for Dickens) and is at the start of his own search for who he is, beginning to see how his parents and grandparents are affecting him.
The book, most of all is beautifully written, perhaps not surprising, when the author penned the script for The Killing Fields, it is both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and laugh out loud funny in places. So much so that when I was reading it waiting for Jamie in his Drama class I had to put my hand over my mouth to stop myself laughing - there are not many books who can make me do that!
I do hope that Bruce writes more, both books and scripts and I am very much looking forward to The Rum Diary, his latest film which is currently in production and due for release in 2010.
Ciao
Sue
XX
Reading challenge 9/16 - currently reading Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins
Jamie's Reading challenge 10/12 - currently reading Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by James Luceno
SLYMI - 1/52
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