Tring Book Club - One Day and Gone for Good

I wonder why nobody had thought of the idea before. On 15th July 1988, Emma and Dexter meet on the night of their graduation from Edinburgh University. The book then describes what happens to them on the same day for the next twenty years. An extremely smart device and some great writing makes for a captivating novel. I had read "One Day" by David Nichols three months or so before the Book Club meeting, so it was interesting looking back on the story. The structure seemed very interesting, there was one year that was only about Emma, and another when it was just Dexter. And the last few years really gathers momentum as the pace builds up. Because the book is all about two characters, we really get to know them, their flaws especially. Once Emma says to Dexter "I love you so much, I probably always will. I just don't like you anymore." Everyone there on Tuesday enjoyed reading this book, a very contemporary novel.

I cannot say the same for "Gone for Good" by Harlan Coben. Apparently he is a very popular American writer of crime fiction, and his latest novel "Caught" has posters all over the place. I think it is just the majority of us don't go for this type of thriller. That is not to say it wasn't interesting to read something of this genre. For me, there were just too many twists to be convincing. And there was no way you could have worked out what was going to happen. Because the plot was far too implausible, I found it very manipulative with twists for the sake of twists. There were too many characters, and as Hilary pointed out, you could not get into or sympathise with any of them. There were some short clips in the first part of the book where an unknown woman is in trouble. This time we could work out for ourselves who she was and this was far better. Just a shame the rest was far too unpredictable.

The Cuthbertsons of Northumberland

Jane Cuthbertson, a great grandmother on my mother's side, was the wife of George Askew. She was born in Jarrow, County Durham on 30th November 1856. Since I found her birth certificate, I had always thought the Cuthbertsons were from Durham, especially when I found her father Thomas was born in Easington which is also in that county. But as my searches became deeper, especially the Census information from 1841 to 1901, I found that the family actually came from Northumberland. And from the north of the county in what is Berwickshire, halfway between Alnwick and Berwick itself.

Thomas' father was James Cuthbertson (my great great great grandfather) and he was born in Ancroft, Northumberland (closer to Berwick) in 1809. He married Isabella who was born in 1808 in Lucker, Northumberland in the Parish of Bamburgh (famous for it's castle). James was a master joiner and probably met Isabella on his travels for work. They set up home in the tiny hamlet of Easington in the parish of Belford in Northumberland. It was here that their first son Thomas was born in 1833.

However, finding work in such a rural community must have been hard, and by the time their second child (Mary) was born in 1835, James and Isabella had moved to Hartlepool in Durham. Their children Margaret, George and Ellen were born there in 1838, 1840 and 1845. At the 1841 Census the family was living at Gate Street North in Hartlepool. But after ten years or so, they moved back to Easington. They were certainly there in 1847 and 1850 when their last two children, James and Isabella were born. And the 1851, 61, 71 and 81 Census records the family living in the same tiny village.

By 1851, their eldest child Thomas (my great great grandfather) was 18 years old and an apprentice Joiner working with his father, but during the next few years he met and married Eleanor who came from Lowick, again maybe through his travels for work. However Thomas decided to move back, first to Jarrow (where Jane my great grandmother was born) and then to Hartlepool where Thomas had grown up. It was there that their children James and Charles were born.

But back to James and Isabella. By the 1871 Census, they were both 61 years old. And three of their children were still living at home. Margaret was 33, George 31 and James 24, the two men presumably both joiners. Ten years later James at 70 was still a joiner and employer, and Margaret was still living there, working as an agricultural labourer. James died sometime between 1881 and 1891, but Isabella (at 82) and daughter Margaret still lived in Easington in 1891, 45 years after they moved back there. The Census of that year records they were living on their own means, which means that James must have done pretty well at his job.

The nearest town to Easington is Belford. In 1879 it is described as both a township and union town and head of the county court district. It grew during the time the Cuthbertsons lived in the nearby village to 1,226 in 1851, although Easington maybe had half a dozen houses. Belford has the Anglican church of St Mary but also had three Presbyterian churches. West Street was founded in 1771, became a Church of Scotland in 1849 and closed in 1902. Erskine Street was founded in 1777 and continues to this day having become Erskine United Reformed Church in 1972. And St Columba which was formed in 1849 (from congregation that had left West Street when it had changed to Church of Scotland) but closed in 1893. All three Presbyterian and the one Anglican were in existence during the time James and Isabella were close by. So my next task is to determine which, if any, they may have attended. All the records are at Berwick-Upon-Tweed Record Office, so I shall be contacting them shortly.

The map above shows Ancroft in the north where James was born, Lucker in the south where Isabella was born, Easington and Belford where Thomas was born and Lowick between Belford and Ancroft where Eleanor was born.

The Year of the Flood, Nocturnes and Case Histories

It's a long time since I last read a Margaret Attwood novel. I really enjoyed "The Handmaid's Tale", "Cat's Eye", the Booker prizewinning "The Blind Assassin" and "Oryx and Crake". There are overtones of the last of these in her new novel "The Year of the Flood". Again set in the future in a post apocalyptic (the waterless flood of the title) north America, this is a story of survival. The author describes various groups who now eke out an existence from what is left, particularly "God's Gardeners" where at some time our two heroines have joined. But now they are on their own. This is a story with Attwood's normal flair for writing combined with the pace and twists of a thriller. An exceptional read.

"Nocturnes" is the first book from Kazuo Ishiguro since "Never Let Me Go" published in 2005. And this time only a very small book of five short stories. But what stories they are. Each on a theme of music and night time, they are dazzling pieces of writing. From Venice to London, to the Malvern Hills, a Hollywood hotel and an Italian piazza. The penultimate story, which is the title of the book, is just perfect.

I have started to catch up on everything written by Kate Atkinson, because all three of her novels that I have read so far are some of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. And her "Case Histories" is no exception. Her writing is always sharp, witty and vivid combined with intricate plots and flowing narrative. This book is part mystery, part family drama and part crime investigation. Jackson Brodie is the former police inspector turned private detective who is swept up by the characters whose three cases land on his plate. A moving, sad, funny and enthralling story.
P S There are seven American country/folk singers whose songs Jackson plays during the story. All female. And guess what? Yes, they are all in my collection. Allison Moorer, Trisha Yearwood, Emmy Lou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Lee Ann Womack and at the end, The Dixie Chicks. As Jackson says "why is my taste getting more and more depressive?"

Paul, The Fighter and Unknown

"Tired, lazy and trite", "dull, formulaic,disappointing" - just a few of the criticisms, not on Rotten Tomatoes, but taken from Neil Fox's review in the local paper. I guess when you are starting out as a critic, it seems cool to bash something as mainstream as the new movie from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. But "Paul" is an enjoyable and funny piece. Although, as Danny Lee (from Film 2011) suggested, there was something a little strange about our two heros combining their talents with director Greg Mottola and Seth Rogan, the voice of Paul. You just wonder how much imput these two had. It was like "Hot Fuzz" meets "Superbad", as Simon and Nick may have pandered to the American audience. But no real harm done. It was a clever device to have the alien arriving on earth many years ago and this explained how he looked, after I had originally groaned at his unoriginal appearance. There were lots of references to other sci fi movies for us followers to enjoy, some more obvious than others, particularly the ending. But why does it need the 157 visual effects artists listed on the credits? Tell me, please.

David O.Russell has done a great job directing a boxing story that could have been so mediocre. Instead, he has given his excellent cast on "The Fighter" free reign to conjure up some wonderful characters, particularly Oscar winning Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. Although their performances are occasionally a little over the top, the film would otherwise have been somewhat boring. They contrast well with dour lead Mark Whalberg and the excellent Amy Adams in her best performance to date. The writing is strong and apparently reflects the true story of boxer Micky Ward, although his Irish background is never mentioned. The ending seemed far too upbeat for such a gritty drama, and I had to remind myself that this was a true story. Otherwise it did seem far too good to be true.

"Unknown" is a vehicle for new action man Liam Neeson. After his hard man role in the violent thriller "Taken", he now takes on a seemingly more upright persona as American biochemist Dr Martin Harris. And we swop Paris for Berlin, although it has not enhanced it's reputation in my eyes as one of the cities I would like to visit. "Unknown" is a standard thriller as Neeson tries to piece together why someone has taken his identity and others are out to kill him. Obviously all becomes apparent, with a huge twist, towards the end. There are some reasonable set pieces where the tension builds, but the fights and car chases are nothing new. It was good to see January Jones at last (as Neeson's wife) after hearing about her in "Mad Men" and Diane Kruger fits the bill perfectly as his saviour. Frank Langella also adds his weight in a neat cameo performance. Direction, sound and cinematography all go to make a decent movie. It was nice to see something made on real film, the previous two having been made on digital. And it showed.

131 Songs - Numbers 85, 86, 87, and 88

Before I dive into my favourite cover versions, I wanted to list four of my favourite female singers who have been important to me over the last twenty years.

Number 85 - Late Night Grand Hotel by Nanci Griffith

Nancy used to be my number one favourite singer songwriter. I first came across her listening to Terry Wogan's early morning radio show. Her self penned albums from the 1980's are absolute classics. As is the 1991 album from which my selection is the title song. However, those albums which followed are nowhere near as good, and that is probably why I listen to them so rarely. And the early albums are now alongside similar classics from twenty plus years ago. I do not own her short debut album (not one song on there that I wanted), but the following sixteen are probably more than any other artist in my collection. Listening to excerpts from her last three albums have not been encouraging. But from 1995 to 2001, I went to see five Nanci Griffith concerts. The second of those at The Royal Albert Hall was absolutely top drawer. I think that sometimes you grow out of an artist. A few of my female country singers are now far too country for my taste. But I shall always go back to Nanci's classics, and think of my early morning drives to site
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Number 86 - This Girl Is Taking Bets by Thea Gilmore

Anyone who knows me would have always expected Thea to be on the list. And this time I have to thank Johnny Walker for playing this song on his early evening show. So eight albums later, (I passed on her debut album and her Christmas collection) her stand out track is still the same. That is not to say there is nothing else to enjoy on these recordings. In fact, some of her latest releases have garnered critical acclaim. So why no real success? I think that you have to go back to her wonderful 2003 album Avalanche for her strongest set of songs. She has always written great words, but I feel that she has yet to repeat the melodies she attached on her earlier work, and these have become a little repetitive. But the two concerts I attended at The Stables in Milton Keynes were full of energy and well received. I have just noticed she has a live album out, so this is now on order.

Number 87 - Doesn't Have To Be This Way - by Alison Krauss and Union Station

Pushing top spot in my list of favourite singers is Alison Krauss. She released her first album at the age of sixteen in 1987, already with Union Station as her backing band. She had earlier joined the band as fiddle player at the invitation of their then leader John Pennel. I don't have any of her early recordings, but there is a very good compilation of songs from 1987 to 1994 called "Now That I've Found You". It includes new material with the title track being my introduction to her music. I have all the albums she has recorded since, from "So Long So Wrong" in 1997 (which includes the fabulous "There is a Reason"), "Forget About It" and it's stand out title track in 1999, "New Favourite" in 2001 to "Lonely Runs Both Ways in 2004 from which my selection is taken. Her music just gets better and better.

Her only album since 2004 has been the collaboration with Robert Plant in 2007 on the critically acclaimed, but to me very ordinary album "Raising Sand". So it's been a long time to wait for a new solo album, (as always with Union Station) but "Paper Airplane" is due in April. And hopefully a tour. Whilst on the subject of the band, their instrumental tracks can be outstanding. There are also the occasional vocals from Dan Tyminski or Ron Block. The 2002 live album includes the brilliant "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow", Dan having sung the George Clooney part in the film "O Brother Where Art Though". Alison and Dan had contributed other songs for the soundtrack. Finally I have to mention Jerry Douglas who joined the band in 1998. The greatest Dobro player in the world. Just listen to his contribution on my chosen song, only surpassed by Alison's own haunting violin solo. The song itself is written by Robert Lee Castleman who has contributed another three for this album, together with the 2002 Grammy Award winning "The Lucky One", "Forget About It" and "Let Me Touch You For A While". All recorded by Alison Krauss and Union Station.

Number 88 - Building a Mystery by Sarah McLachlan

Sarah just creeps ahead of Alison Krauss as my favourite female singer, mainly because she writes nearly all her own material, unlike Alison. Again it was thanks to Radio 2 for playing her single "Sweet Surrender" from her classic 1997 album"Surfacing" that I first became a fan. This album (from which is taken my chosen song) and it's predecessor from 1994 "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" are the best she has made, and I never tire of playing them in their entirety. An earlier album "Solace" from 1991 also has some great tracks. I have also bought all every album from then on (except Wintersong) and whilst pretty good, have never quite reached the dizzy heights of those earlier classics.

In 2004, Sarah toured the UK, and I could not make up my mind whether to see her at The Royal Albert Hall or Cambridge Corn Exchange a week later. In the end I went to both, and I was so glad I did. They were excellent concerts. Her live album "Mirrorball" is possibly my favourite live album, but then Thea's is only on order. It was hard to choose one track. "Angel" will be the favourite of a lot of her fans, and "Sweet Surrender" is also on the album "Surfacing" from which my choice is taken. All in all, one superb recording.