Books - the Sixth in an Occasional Series

Over the last few weeks, I has been mostly reading Asimov (and mostly eating roast chicken and mostly wearing Prada and watching old episodes of "The Fast Show"). I has also read:

1. "Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks" by Christopher Brookmyre, in which the git has killed of Jack Parlabane. If you are a fan, and didn't know this, this was not a spoiler. It's there on the blurb. The focus of bile on this occasion is dodgy mediums (of the 'knock if there's anybody there' variety as opposed to being an example of some size-ist venom from me) and right-wing Christian fundamentalists. It's very good.

2. "The Brightonomicon" by Robert Rankin is pants. Don't bother with it. It's rubbish. Actually the first half is ok and then it's as though he got bored with it. Don't know why I finished it.

3. "A History of Modern Britain" by Andrew Marr - I needed something to read something good after Mr Rankin's printed diarrhoea. This covers the history of Britain from WW2 to the present day and marvellous it is too - apparently Peter Mandelson's grandfather was as slippery as his grandson. And Manchester was where dog racing started. And "Passport to Pimlico" and "Whisky Galore!" are based on true stories.

4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Various "Foundation" volumes by Isaac Asimov - sci-fi, future, collapse of intergalatic civillisation and attempts to create a new Empire. Marvellous. But not a robot in sight, which was disappointing.

9. Back to Robert Rankin with "The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse" because the BF said it's good. And it is. Set in Toytown with Eddie Bear PI investigating the murders of Humpty Dumpty, Mother Goose and other Pre-Adolescent Poetic Personalities. So, good in fact, that I chanced the sequel:



10. "The Toyminator" wherein various toys get bumped off. Very good... until half way through, and the jokes become very old, very repetitive and make me want to gag. I'm off Rankin for a while. He's not as clever as Douglas Adams.

Warm Hands

I also rattled these off at the weekend... but forgot to photograph them last night, and then couldn't be arsed. I've had a wodge of "Twilleys Freedom Spirit" in the stash box since last year's trip to Ally Pally. This was intended for a tank-top for me... but then I went off the idea.

So, here is a pair of wrist warmers for Liz - she's a photographer and needs something to keep her warm for her outside Winter pix, something warm that she can still wear whilst snapping away.



And a pair of gloves for Doreen.



This has used just over two balls of "TSF"... so there's a few more gifts to be gained from the tank top. A good swap, I think.

The Gift Haul

Long time, no blogging - I've had bronchitis. OK, so that wouldn't stop me typing, but I couldn't be arsed. However, I have been knitting and finished a couple of items though I still have a few things to finish off completely.

Granda's "Retropolitan 3.0" needs its button band, but I can't do that until it finishes blocking in the bathroom.



I've also been having a look at where I am up to with the rest of the Christmas knitting, so here's Lois's stash - a cardi, some socks and "Puss in Boots".



Socks for me Mam (the ones on the left) and for Peter. He's not a fan of pastels.



Here's Thomas's "Zoo Bag" with five jelly babies and a newly-finished jumper knitted in "Rowan All Seasons Cotton" (aranweight). It's yarn left over from last year's Christmas jumper for the BF, so a good little stash buster. This was a simple pattern to follow - raglan sleeved in moss stitch.

Granda - Missing in Action

Blimey - I is a little tired of this "Retropolitan" (being as this is the third time I've made on the bloody things, in a year), and after knitting a spate of baby-sized clothes, an adult-sized cardigan feels like a bit of a slog. However, I ain't complaining too much as my Granda gave me something of a shock last night.

We had just settled down to watch the "Sarah Connor Chronicles" when my mobile rang. (After 9pm, that's just really unusual, when I'm not going out). It was my brother... who never rings me (except on my birthday or to stress about what he should get for other people's birthdays. There are no birthdays approaching).

He was stressed. He was just finishing work and had spent all evening trying to get in touch with my Granda, and just kept getting an engaged tone on the phone. Where was our Mam, he asked? "London," I said - "at some posh awards do with work". "What should I do?" he asked. "Go and see if my Granda's ok", I said. "I don't have a key", he said. "Knock on the door", I said. "Oh", he said. "I can't, really, I'm home" he said.

I'm afraid this didn't create a terribly sympathetic feeling from me. The rest of my family all live around Sunderland. I live in Manchester. Absolutely, I could go and see if my Granda was ok... but it would take me over two hours to get there.

"I've got the girls", my brother said.

So, I rang my cousin. "I've had a drink," she said.

"I'll ring my Dad for a lift," she added.

Twenty minutes later, the phone rang. It was my brother: "Granda's fine - nothing to worry about". I texted my cousin to thank her for going.

She rang me ten minutes later.

My cousin had arrived in Granda's street. There was no light from the house. She feared the worst. She put her key in the door expecting to find my Granda collapsed or worse. She was praying he would be alright. She opened the door.

There was my Granda and my brother having a can of lager.



Obviously, my brother had decided he had to go to check. I hadn't realised that when he rang.

My Granda is 87 - he's going to outlive the rest of us.

Another Item Finished

I bought the yarn and pattern for this cardigan at Ally Pally a couple of weeks ago. It's part of the Christmas stash for Talia.



I love the patterning of the yarn, but as you can see, it needs some blocking. The cardigan is knitted in eight pieces. Each body part is two pieces - a yoke and a frock. Very simple and very quick.

Now, I'm on with "Retropolitan 3.0" for my Granda - could I be forgiven for being a bit sick of this one? However, it is a winner and he wants the same colours as the last one... which makes it a tremendous stash buster.

Finished!

I've finished the jumper for the BF!! I was visiting my Mam at the weekend and got the final sleeve finished and the whole lot knitted up. That's a huge weight off. (No pix - I've left it in Sunderland. The BF will be expecting a squishy parcel but as we'll be there for Christmas, he won't see one in transit and therefore won't expect one. Ha!)

The "Zoo Bag" is also finished and sewn up.



Last night I started this little "Sirdar" cardigan for Talia, while watching "Independence Day", again. It's another fast knit and each section (fronts and back) is knitted in two sections - a skirt attached to a yoke. Lovely yarn too. "Sirdar - DK- Tweed". I picked this up at Ally Pally last week as a top little bargain.

The Stash Situation

So, here is what remains from last year's trip to Ally Pally.



Below is the sock and lace collection - though there are three skeins hidden in the spare room as well.



And, this is the orphan box... there's more yarn in here than in any of the others.



This is what I bought this year - a lot less in comparison with last year...



...even with the twelve balls of "Muskat - DK - 100% Egyptian Cotton" that arrived in the post on Friday.