Sunday musings

I'll try and post more often again, now that I am back in the swing of things.

My week of ballet was fabulous, I learned a lot and made some progress. Every day, we focused on a different aspect, for example posture or arms. We also worked on a short dance from Don Quixote, which was so much fun. It was a very joyful energetic dance. On Friday, after the final class, we went to our local cafe, together with our teacher and pianist to celebrate a successful and fun week of dancing. It was nice to go to bed with a pleasantly tired body. 

I also wanted to provide an update on my stick-on gel nail polish. Skip this section if you are not interested in manicures! I use the brand Glaize but there are other companies, too. My first set lasted for a week. The gels started to lift at the tips, which annoyed me (although easy to smooth down). I had found trimming the excess length difficult and for my next set, I replaced my blunt nail clippers with a new one, which made trimming easier. I got bored with them after a six days but by then I already had to push the tips down. Removal is so easy! My third set was the worst yet. Although I followed the instructions carefully, the gel wraps didn't last more than three days. This set slipped forward, making it necessary to trim the excess. A bit like a glacier moves over the landscape! I emailed the company with photographs and hope to get a response, maybe a refund. Still I love the ease of stick-ons and they look beautiful for a couple of days but they don't last the 2 weeks promised, that's for sure. So maybe a good solution for the days I want to have nicely manicured hands without the damage that a salon gel manicure does. 

I was glad to read in your comments that I was not the only one that found Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver tedious and definitely too long. She is a much celebrated author and I feel a bit bad for being the one bringing the five star rating down. I just don't feel engaged by her storytelling. I felt more engaged with a book by Caro Ramsay, an author I love very much. She has previously written the police procedural series featuring DI Anderson and DS Costello. I loved that series, it is set in Glasgow, in my neck of the woods. I also had the pleasure to study for a Diploma in Forensic Medical Sciences in the same class as Caro Ramsay. That was a long time ago, in a previous life. Anyway, her new series featuring DCI Christine Caplan is also very good. That said, I was so used to the first series being read by a distinctly Scottish voice that I felt cheated by the narrator of the new series narrating in a plain old English accent, only using a Scottish accent for conversations. Narrators make or break a story, for sure. I do sometimes choose books by narrator, not author. 

I started listening to Women's Hour on BBC Radio Four again. I go out of the habit of listening when the presenter Jane Garvey left for Times Radio and was replaced by Emma Barnett, who is too aggressive in her interview techniques for my liking, more suitable for other types of radio programmes. She often seemed keen to "catch people out" and had a habit of interrupting. I feel more in tune with the current presenters, Anita Rani and Nuala McGovern and have added Women's Hour back to my playlist. Do you have favourite radio programmes and presenters? I now listen to Jane Garvey and Fi Clover's Off Air podcast on Times Radio. They used to run the podcast Fortunately on the BBC but left the corporation a few years ago. I really like their conversations but I often skip the interviews section, which essentially is part of the publishing marketing circus for well-known authors, celebrities with new biographies and podcasters. I am also conflicted about listening because The Times is part of the Rupert Murdoch empire and has a centre right political stance. That man is just loathsome. It is difficult to live up to my own principles! 

I haven't read any blogs in two weeks. I feel like I am neglecting old friends. I'll try and catch-up. In the meantime, thank you for staying around even if the conversation is one-sided. I love to hear from you 😊