What's on my Kindle

Survival in the Killing Fields by Haing Ngor

I have just finished reading this one and it truly stuck with me. Haing starred in the 1980’s film The Killing Fields, and he actually lived through the Khmer Rouge’s communist takeover of Cambodia in the 1970’s. This is his story. It was heartbreaking and I cannot put into words how shocking it was (particularly as it was so recent), but it is a book everyone should read.

The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Summer Queen is sitting on my Kindle in a long line of books waiting to be read, but I’m super excited about it! Elizabeth Chadwick is another historical fiction queen, and this is her latest book (part of a planned trilogy) on Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor was the wife of both the Kings of England and France in her time, and has gone down as one of the most formidable women in history.

Elizabeth’s Bedfellows: An intimate history of the Queen’s court by Anna Whitelock

I’ve often thought that the ladies in waiting of history have not really been explored, but this book will hopefully change that! Unlike what the title suggests, the book is actually about all the people who were intimately connected to Elizabeth I through being one of her favoured female servants and companions. I really hope this book will encourage more writing on the subject.

A Pocket full of shells by Jean Reinhardt

Another one that is yet to be read, a Pocket full of shells is a historical fiction book, focussed on the Irish famine of the 1840’s. It follows one family as they have a second child and choose to remain in Ireland as their friends and family are leaving. It’s a rare find on this subject, so I have high hopes!

Sarum by Edward Rutherford

This book has been recommended to me countless times, and so I am determined to read it. Sarum sounds like the perfect book for any Pillars of the Earth fans (I am definitely one!) as it focuses on the city of Salisbury through the centuries and traces the journey of five families. Apparently there is a Cathedral in there somewhere too? Now it’s really sounding familiar…

What are your favourite books at the moment?

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Wimbledon 2014

I like to pretend that I know what I’m doing when it comes to sports, so Wimbledon is the perfect place to realise you not only know absolutely nothing, but you also have no sporting talent in comparison to the players.

Nonetheless, we took a trip there the other day, and I loved every minute of it! (I sadly left my big chunky camera at home, so these photos are a little fuzzy, sorry)

Wimbledon is one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, as it began in 1877. It is also one of the only tournaments to be played on grass (apparently the Australian Open used to be?!). I can tell you that strawberries and cream are still very much on the agenda there, and this year there was even strawberries and cream flavoured popcorn!

My mum has been a member of the club for a few years, and so some of us were lucky enough to go along with her to watch some matches on Centre Court. Needless to say I took the opportunity to dress up and wore my lovely new clip from Bruges, shaped like biscuits:

First we took the obligatory tour round the gift shop. I’m sad to say that it wasn’t exactly cheap (did you say £24 for a t-shirt?!) but it was fun to see what was on offer.

I took a shine to these links pieces, adorned with little rackets. Although it’s safe to say I won’t be buying one any time soon on my salary!

We had a spot of lunch before the game:

And of course, what would a game be without a Pimms!?

Next was the match. It was Nadal vs. Martin Kilzan. I had my camera poised to take a photo of this Adonis, and he didn’t disappoint:

His serves hit an average of 110mph, and we assumed it would be a quick, easy match for him. However, ‘Martin’ as everyone was cheering (because we couldn’t pronounce his surname!) put up one hell of a fight, and even won a set quite easily at the beginning.

In the end, Nadal won, but it was a much longer match than we all expected; nearly five hours in total! After all the tennis, he rewarded the spectators with this:

Before leaving we headed back to the restaurant to get have some legendary afternoon tea:

Royal Box Watch:

We managed to spot:

Hugh Jackman (with a shaved head and moustache for his current role in Black Beard)

Vernon Kay

Tess Daly

Bruce Forsyth and his wife

Alistar McGowan

Not bad for day two of Wimbledon!

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Bruges #3: Culture

Did you know? In the Middle Ages, Bruges was renowned for its diamonds and luxury goods industry. As a result, the diamond Museum is one of the many Museums on offer!

This post is on the culture in the city of Bruges. My boyfriend and I were here for only three days, but we were totally swept up in it all.

I’ve already spoken about the Beer, but we stumbled across a lovely ‘beer house’, which was like a giant pub spread across four floors, and down a little alley way:

Although on the way out it was obvious some couldn’t handle it:

Here’s a sneaky picture of the oldest pub in Bruges too (13^th Century):

Speaking of Beer, we had one of the best brewery tours I’ve ever been on during our stay here. The brewery was brand new and brews one of the most popular beers in Belgium, Bruges Zot.

The tour guide proceeded to tell us how asking for a non-alcoholic beer was one of the rudest things you can do to a Belgian, how anything under 4% “we give to children” and that workers used to get paid 7 pints of beer alongside their salary, leading to drunk Friday nights – “never make a baby on a Friday, it’s not good quality!”. I swear I spent most of my time laughing rather than focussing on the beer, she was hilarious!

Afterwards, we got a free beer. The brewery advertises itself a bit like a Museum, but it was certainly worth a tour. You also get a lovely rooftop view at one point!

Another Museum we visited was the ‘Choco-story’ of Bruges, tracing the story of chocolate from the Mayans all the way to today.

Amazingly, the cocoa bean was actually used as currency back in Mexico! At the end (past a mouthwatering giant chocolate egg), we watched a praline demonstration:

Elsewhere, we found an example of the non-chocolate artisans on offer in Bruges; namely Cuckoo clocks!

In this little Christmas themed shop there were also mini windmill ornaments (not sure if that’s the correct way to describe them) that were Christmas related. It certainly felt weird in July!

Candles are placed underneath, and then the heat from them turns the fan on the top. So sweet!

We were lucky enough to catch a candy demonstration too. As it’s not really what Bruges is known for it wasn’t a common feature, but the process was amazing nonetheless:

You start with melted sugar...

Add colouring...

Spread it...

Work with it once its cooled...

Then stretch it!

It keeps getting stretched and stretched until it becomes rock. We wanted to stay, but we had to be off to our next stop.

Bruges also has an array of fantastic churches, most of which are Catholic. The most famous is the Church of our Lady Bruges, as it holds a statue done by Michelangelo of the Madonna and Child. For those of you who have seen the film Monuments Men, this is the statue that was guarded by Hugh Bonneville against the Nazis!

The rest of the church wasn’t too bad either, despite the current conservation work:

We also found a two-story medieval church in one of the squares; a common feature of churches at the time. When we went in they were ‘venerating’ one of the relics, which is supposedly a piece of a saint or of Jesus himself. Sadly we didn’t get to see it up close, but the ceremony carried on while we explored the church:

Overall, Bruges is so worth a visit and I enjoyed every single second of it! The charm of the city is unique and it’s only a short ferry ride or plane journey away.

Until next time Bruges!