Weekend Cooking: The Golden Spurtle

 

When we visited Scotland a couple of years ago, we visited the border town of Jedburgh on our way to Hadrian's Wall. We wandered through the town and made our way to visit Mary Queen of Scots House which was very interesting. Of course, whenever you visit tourist attractions you have to exit via the gift shop and while we were there we bought a spurtle. The woman in the shop insisted that our porridge will taste even better than it normally does. To be honest, we have had many bowls of porridge since then but I don't think we have ever used the spurtle. What is a spurtle? Apart from being a fun word to say, it is a wooden implement that is used to stir porridge. I was intrigued when I saw that there was a movie coming out called The Golden Spurtle and so I dragged my husband to see it with me. He only came under sufferance but we both enjoyed it!

When you travel, you often come across small towns that are making big claims like home of raspberry jam, or best tomatoes in the world. Back in the 1990s the small town of Carrbridge in the Scottish Highlands was looking for something to differentiate itself. They wanted something very Scottish and so the World Porridge Championships were born.

Sometimes people get obsessed with something unusual and this movie is testament to this. I would never have expected people to get obsessed with porridge. Now when I think of porridge, I think of winter mornings, creamy oats, made with milk and topped with little blobs of butter and sugar. But for the people who take porridge very seriously, they would probably be horrified at that description. For the purists, porridge consists of just three ingredients - oats, salt and water.  

This documentary focusses equally on both the organisers of the competition but also the competitors. Among the competitors we meet an Australian chef, Toby Wilson. We follow him from Sydney as he practices his technique through to the community hall in picturesque Carrbridge where the competition is held. We also meet returning champions, the ultra competitive health food shop owner, other international competitors and the man who is returning to the competition after a 15 year break. We hear about their dedication to finding the perfect oats to cook, and the techniques they practice at length to get the texture and taste just right. There are rivalries and friendships, secrets, obsessions, controversies and ceremonies. 

As interesting as the competitors and the competition are, if you had to pick just one of the stories, it is probably that of the chieftain Charlie Miller. He has been leading the organisation of the event for 30 years but this is his last time as he is retiring due to ill-health. He is ably backed by the rest of the organising committee who grapple with the logistics of an event that seems to have almost outgrown the venue. Other members of the committee include the woman who is charged with washing all the pots (not my favourite thing to do after cooking porridge) to the person organising all the flags of the competitor's nations, sound and video links, dealing with the Scottish weather and so much more. 

It's probably a bit of cliché, but the word charming absolutely applies. This documentary is funny, heart warming and offbeat, and definitely worth checking out. Just finishing this post makes me wish I could watch the movie again! It comes to streaming here next week so maybe I could make that happen!

Oh, and our spurtle is only made of wood, not gold! What I did learn from this movie is that we need to make sure that we stir our porridge in the right direction. Apparently, if you stir in an anti-clockwise direction. you let the devil in!

Here's the trailer

Weekly meals

Saturday - Roast pork, crispy potato galette, cauliflower cheese
Sunday -  Honey Chicken and Rice
Monday -  Beef and Broccoli Noodles
Tuesday - Thai Chicken Meatballs with rice (new)
Wednesday - Japanese Pork Curry
Thursday - Takeaway
Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Weekend Cooking: The Whisky Widow by Karen Brooks

 

When Greer MacAlister learns her estranged husband has died during the course of his work, she travels to Montrose in Scotland with her young daughter Fen (who is deaf) to claim the widow's payment that is rightfully hers. Her husband was an excise man, and Greer plans to make a new start for Fen and herself using his final pay. However, it turns out that her husband was less than honest, leaving Greer not only penniless with nowhere to go, but suddenly at the mercy of the loc als who immediately turn against her.

Needing a place to go quickly, she attaches herself to a man named Tam Gordon who offers her a job as his housekeeper in the tiny Highland village of Glasglen. Here, the locals, including Tam's eldest daughter, are very distrustful of Greer for many reasons, not least of which is that they believe that the previous housekeeper betrayed them to the excise. It certainly doesn't help that Greer is originally English, that she doesn't speak Gaelic and that she communicates with her daughter using finger talking, a form of early sign language. 

Like so many villages in the Highlands, Glasglen is a town clinging to survival in any way that it can. One of the way that they make ends meet is through the production of whisky and then illegally smuggling it, all the while trying to evade the dreaded excise men and soldiers.

With Tam often out smuggling, Greer is left to hold the fort, and very gradually begins to earn the trust of a few of the locals. Soon, she is learning all about the art of making whisky and, in turn, she and Fen are teaching the locals finger talking, which comes in very handy for hidden communications. She also gets caught up in the lives of the locals, including a mystery of a missing woman.

For all that Tam leads the smuggling operations, at heart he is an honourable man who recognises that Greer is a woman who has faced adversity but still keeps her head high, who is resourceful and who he feels will be an asset to his household and the village.

This book is set in the 1680's which is a time where the whole of Scotland was occupied by the English, and so many people were leaving behind their homes to start again in countries like America because it was no longer possible to survive. The English were tightening the screws on whisky making, so that even the production of whisky for personal use become dangerous and illegal.

Reading this book gave us a fascinating insight into the role of women in whisky making through the ages, which is a subject that the author is clearly passionate about, and is a fairly hidden aspect of history as so much women's history is.

Last year I was in Scotland and this book took me back there to the Highlands, and made me wish we could go back. We didn't actually visit a distillery when we were there, although we did buy this very cool little globe shaped bottle of whisky. 

Karen Brooks is an Australian author I have known about for a while now, and I do own a couple of her other books. Having finally tried one of her books I can't help but wonder why haven't I read any of them previously. Given that this was such an outstanding read which I was fully engrossed in, I plan to read more of her books sooner rather than later.

The Whisky Widow has a gorgeous cover and inside is fascinating history and an absorbing story. Highly recommend!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, with Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story and with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host. 

Rating 5/5

Weekly meals

Saturday - Out for dinner
Sunday - Nothing
Monday - Baked Prawn Nasi Goreng
Tuesday - Chicken Stir Fry
Wednesday - Egg Curry (new)
Thursday - Away
Friday - Away

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Blog Tour: The Woman Who Got Her Spark Back by Fiona Gibson

 

It's fair to say Celia Bloom lives a very beige life. She and her husband Geoff watch every penny, she dresses very sensibly, she has a job she doesn't really mind, she hasn't had her hair properly styled in forever and her main social life is with her neighbour Terri.  The only things that bring her any kind of joy are her son and the plant hospital that she runs out of her house. Even that has to be contained to just one room otherwise Geoff gets upset. 

When she gets invited to her best friend from school's glamourous wedding she is quite surprised. She has barely spoken to Amanda for years. Geoff won't come with her to the wedding, so she feels quite out of place.

Fast forward a few months and Celia is having a particularly bad day, as you do when you have recently caught your husband in bed with someone else in the mouldy caravan that he has inherited from his parents. When French school teacher Enzo comes knocking at her door with a particularly sick looking cactus named Spike, she turns him away, but also feels bad about that almost immediately. When she runs into Enzo again, she agrees to see if she can work out what is wrong. This is a huge relief to Enzo who can't face telling his young daughter, Matilde, that he has killed the cactus. Enzo and his ex-wife are navigating co-parenting very well, but he is struggling to get back into the dating scene.

The last thing Celia needs is Amanda inviting herself to stay for an indefinite period, without even having the energy to wonder why she would turn up out of the blue like that! For all that Amanda looks like she has everything together, she really doesn't. She has just been told that her TV job is coming to an end as they need someone younger, her toyboy husband is driving her crazy and she just needs to get away. 

Amanda decides that she is going to help Celia. After all she does have experience doing makeovers on TV. With Amanda taking charge, Celia begins to live a little more taking small steps like trying a new haircut, a new fragrance, getting some new clothes and more. Soon it is more than just a cosmetic makeover, it's a life makeover.

It's funny. When the book began I saw Celia as being my own age or a bit older (which is mid to late 50s) so when it began to look as though there might be a spark of interest there it puzzled me for a moment. However when I did the maths, Enzo and Celia were much closer in age that I had remembered. I guess that is the whole point of the story. Celia was almost invisible until something happened to give her the opportunity to take a chance on a new life. 

Plants are a bit part of Celia's story. It's her special gift. It's fair to say that I don't have that same gift.  A while ago we had the idea to put up a vertical garden on a fence that we can see from our living room. It was going to be nice to see cascading greenery whenever we looked out. Now, we see a wall of black plastic pots and some of those got eaten when we had my stepdaughter's dog staying with us. That probably sounds dreadful but we do have a nice patch of grass that my husband takes great pride in, especially now that dog is gone and so there are no new holes being dug. 

It's funny though. The next book I picked up to read was all about gardens too. Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something!

I hadn't read Fiona Gibson before, and I have to say I enjoyed this book a lot. The good news is that there are lots of other books on her backlist, and quite a few of them have fun titles like this one.

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. 

Rating 4/5

About the Book

The Woman Who Got Her Spark Back

Is it ever too late to bloom?

Meet Celia. Life hasn’t worked out quite how she’d planned.

Since her son left for university, Celia has felt stuck at home – battling with her husband Geoff over control of the thermostat, and without the merest glint of a social life. Her only joy comes from the plants she nurtures in her makeshift plant hospital in their Glasgow flat.

Then three unexpected things happen:

• She catches Geoff in bed with a secretary from his sausage factory (no pun intended).
• Her high-flying best friend Amanda arrives on her doorstep without warning (but with a very large suitcase).
• A tall handsome French teacher asks her to tend his daughter’s cactus back to health.

Suddenly, Celia finds her life in freefall, but she makes a decision: she won’t let this be the end of her. She’ll bring herself back to life, just like the plants she works her magic on. But just how do you change the habits of a lifetime?

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/GotHerSparkBack

About the Author –

Fiona Gibson writes bestselling and brilliantly funny novels about the craziness and messiness of family life.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: @fionagibsonauthor

Twitter: @FionaGibson

Instagram: @fiona_gib

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/FionaGibsonNews

Bookbub profile: @FionaGib

Blog Tour: Over the Sea to Skye by Sue Moorcroft (includes UK giveaway)

 

Over the Sea to Skye is the third book in the Skye Sisters trilogy by Sue Moorcroft. This time, the focus is on Valentina, who has been a bit in the background in the previous books mainly because, unlike her sisters Ezzie and Thea, Valentina lives in Inverness rather than on the Isle of Skye. 

However, Valentina has now bought and renovated a cottage right on the shore and she is bringing her young son Barnaby with her to spend the summer. This has come at a good time for her given that her life is in turmoil. Her marriage has broken down and she has been made redundant so spending time on the island with the people she loves will help heal her hurts.

On the train, she meets an American tourist named Xander Courage and his nephew who are Britsburghers which mean that they're descended from British people but live in Pittsburgh. Xander is heading to the island for a few weeks to explore his Scottish history and he has bought Macdonald with him to get him away from some trouble at home. Even though there is a 10 year age gap between Macdonald and Barnaby they bond over games. 

Valentina has a lot going on in her world. She is navigating her separation from her husband Gary following his affair. She also has to deal with Barnaby's feelings as he misses his dad. She is also attracted to Xander. And then there is the random email she has just received from someone saying he is her brother. All three girls were adopted by loving parents, and in each of their books we got to meet their birth families, and this time it is Valentina's turn. 

There is a British show called Lost Families which I often watch when I am home alone so no one can see my cry in just about every episode. It features families who have been separated and then reunited. Whilst I love the ones where relationships are repaired and loving bonds formed, it doesn't always work out that well, and I was interested to see which way this would go in Valentina's story.

I really enjoyed Xander as a character. He has come to find his family history, and take a break from his stressful job, but I think he probably didn't really know what he was taking on when he suggested bringing Macdonald with him. There isn't a lot for a lonely, hurt teenager to do on the island so it wasn't a surprise when there was a bit of  trouble. Xander felt like a fundamentally decent guy trying to do the right thing by everyone, even when it backfired on him. He was able to support Valentina admirably when she had to deal with yet another crisis and her ex's family (ugh!). 

Oh, and a special shout out to the VW camper van named Miley! Such a fun inclusion

Once again the Isle of Skye stars as the location for this book. As I mentioned in my review for the last book, we spent a couple of hours on Skye when we were in Scotland last year. It was nowhere near enough and the author makes me want to drop anything and go back now to spend more time exploring the island!

It's always a bit bittersweet when you come to the end of a trilogy that you have enjoyed. You know how the story is playing out for all the characters but you aren't quite ready to let them go just yet. It was lovely to see how Ezzie and Thea's lives now.

Here are my review for the first two books in the trilogy

Under a Summer Skye

A Skye Full of Stars

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. Also, if you are in the UK, check out the giveaway at the bottom of this post

Rating 4/5

About the book:

Over the Sea to Skye

One summer on a beautiful island could change everything…

Valentina Taylor's life has been upended. With her marriage over, and unsure of what her future holds, she heads to the Isle of Skye for the summer with her young son, Barnaby.

But the journey there sets her on a new path, when she meets Xander Courage on the train – a charming American, running from problems of his own. After sparks fly, they go their separate ways. But on this small island, they’re never far from one another…

Skye offers Valentina the refuge she needs as she whiles away the long summer days at her beachside cottage, enjoying visits from her sisters, Thea and Ezzie. But when bad news from home throws her Scottish idyll into turmoil, Valentina finds herself pulled away from the place – and people – that she loves.

Valentina knows she must confront her heart’s desires – but can she let go of the past and embrace the future she deserves?

Lose yourself in a heartfelt story of second chances, love, and self-discovery, set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Isle of Skye. Perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan and Karen Swan.

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Over-Sea-Skye-million-copy-bestseller-ebook/dp/B0DLRBCYXY/

https://www.amazon.com/Over-Sea-Skye-million-copy-bestseller-ebook/dp/B0DLRBCYXY/

https://books.apple.com/gb/book/over-the-sea-to-skye/id6737715920

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/over-the-sea-to-skye-the-skye-sisters-trilogy-book-3-3

https://www.waterstones.com/book/over-the-sea-to-skye/sue-moorcroft/9780008740559

https://www.whsmith.co.uk/Product/Sue-Moorcroft/Over-the-Sea-to-Skye/15469811

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/over-the-sea-to-skye-sue-moorcroft/7722336

About the Author:

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her novels have been #1 on Kindle UK and Top 100 on Kindle US, Canada, Germany and Italy. She’s won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Novel of the Year, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award, two HOLT Medallions and the Katie Fforde Bursary. She’s the president of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Her novels, short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.

Social Media Links –

Amazon page: Sue Moorcroft

Audible page: Sue Moorcroft

Website: www.suemoorcroft.com

Facebook author page SueMoorcroftAuthor

Twitter: @SueMoorcroft

Instagram: @SueMoorcroftAuthor

Linked in: Sue Moorcroft

Link Tree: linktr.ee/SueMoorcroft

Bookbub: SueMoorcroft1

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of Over The Sea to Skye, bookmark and pen (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley

 

I will start this post with a disclosure which should give you an idea of what direction this review is going in. I am genetically disposed to love Susanna Kearsley's books! And, yes, I loved this one too!

For the most part, the inhabitants of St Bartholomews which is just outside of London get along. There is Phoebe Westaway, her father Laurence who is a scribe and her aunt. Across the road is where handsome Valentine Fox lives, the man who Phoebe wants to marry and as such she tends to see through rose coloured glasses. The only person in the community that Phoebe doesn't really get along with is Andrew Logan who lives with his mother and sisters. He and Phoebe bicker whenever they are together, and he frustrates her intensely as he always needs to have the last word in any disagreement. 

Logan is employed at court as a King's Messenger. The king in question here is King James I, a man who is mourning the recent loss of his eldest son and heir, Prince Henry. Now, there are rumours that it might have been as  a result of misfortune and steps need to be taken to find out the truth. 

King's (or Queen's) Messenger is a real role that still exists today. Their role is usually to hand deliver diplomatic messages and packages across the world and is a historical role supposedly going back more than 800 years. In this case, Andrew Logan is tasked with retrieving a package in the shape of Sir David Moray and return him to London. Sir David was Prince Henry's best friend and confidante. Now that Prince Henry is dead, the King and Queen need someone to blame, and so he is focussing on the man who was closest to the young Prince. 

However, Logan does not travel alone. His retinue includes Phoebe's father Laurence whose job is to write down everything that is said and done during the journey back to London. This could form the basis of the evidence should it be required for a trial.  However, Laurence has been very unwell, and so Phoebe also is travelling with the group to assist him.

Logan has to walk a fine line. The King has given him a directive, but the Queen is also wanting answers and she is,in effect, asking different questions. Sir David gives every indication that he is an honourable, and more importantly, innocent man, but that is not up to Logan to determine even though it appears that Moray may be being framed. He has been given a task and he must follow through with it. Sir David also has powerful relatives who aren't pleased that he has been arrested and will try to rescue him which puts Logan and his group in danger. 

There are usually a couple of hallmarks that you can expect in this author's books. One is a dual timeline and the other is some kind of supernatural or spiritual connection. Whilst one was present in this book, the other was not. I guess I should also add some kind of Jacobite connection in there as well. There is no dual timeline, and this story is pre-Jacobite. 

The touch of otherworldly in this book comes in the form of the Second Sight that Andrew has. He can look at someone and know if they are likely to die soon, and he gets occasional glimpses of things that will happen. It is something of a burden to him most of the time, as he watches those around him and sees the events he has seen come to fruition. It has, however, also helped him as he knows when to be watchful and when to avoid certain situations.

The name Moray is one that is familiar to Kearsley's readers, and once again we meet a man of honour, a quiet and steadfast man, the man that the young prince trusted above all others. It was a delight to have him spend time on the page. Andrew Logan is also a man of great integrity, honour and action. Whilst it took Phoebe a while to understand who he really is, I was team Logan from the outset! I did enjoy the banter between Phoebe and Andrew as they were forced to spend time together in trying circumstances. 

Another lovely addition to the cast of characters in this book. A young boy named Hector joins the entourage along the way back from Scotland. He hero worships Logan and along the ways grows into himself to become a useful member of the group. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw young Hector in a future Kearsley book.

I should have added another hallmark of a Kearsley book. You know when you pick up a Kearsley book you are going to get an exceedingly well written, well researched book and this book absolutely lived up to that! And now, the long wait begins for the next book! I did recently re-read The Winter Sea for the fourth time and loved it all over again. Maybe I will re-read some of her others. Maybe even this one!

Just call me a Susanna Kearsley fan girl!

I am sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading challenge which I host here.

Rating 4.5/5

Vintage: The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

Recently I saw that Susanna Kearsley, one of my all time favourite authors, was doing a webinar about her latest book The King's Messenger. I have this book, but I haven't read it yet. As she was talking I looked at my bookshelves to see which of her books I had to hand, and there was The Winter Sea! This was the first book I ever read by Kearsley and it made me an instant fan. I thought I would just read a couple of chapters, but you know how that goes. I ended up rereading it again. Given that I don't often reread, and this is the fourth time I have read this book, I guess you would have to call it a favourite book too. 

I wanted to make sure that I counted this as a contribution towards the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, so I thought I would post my original review of this book from 2009

Interestingly, if I was to write a new review today, it would be pretty much the same. I still got sucked in within a couple of pages, I still love the history and the characters and it is still a 5/5 read for me. Since reading this the first time I have bought it, and I have also listened to it on audio. Oh, and I have read and loved a lot more of her books!

Now I need to find some time to read her latest book, The King's Messenger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Every now and again you are lucky enough to pick up a book that fits your reading tastes perfectly. For me, this was one of those times. Within the first two pages I knew that I was going to love this book. The big question was could the enjoyment be maintained all the way to the end, and the answer was a resounding yes.

Carrie McLelland is a best selling historical fiction author. When the story opens she has been living in France trying to research a little known character in history (to most of us anyway) who was involved in some of the early Jacobite attempts to restore the Stuarts to the Scottish throne. She is however struggling a little. On her way to visit her agent in Scotland she finds herself drawn to an old castle ruin called Slains.

As a result of the visit, Carrie decides to make two significant changes. The first is to add a fictional female character to her book to give her a different perspective through which to view the events as they unfolded. She decides to name this character after one of her own family members that lived around the same time.

The second is to relocate to the small town near the castle, and to live in a rustic cottage there whilst she writes. This is not really unusual for Carrie as she lives a some what nomadic life style, moving from place to place in order to enable her to research the stories she is writing.

As soon as she is there, the story really picks up momentum. At first Carrie thinks that she is only dreaming her story, but as more and more things happen, and she is able to discover that her ancestor really was there, she realises that it is more than a dream, more like having shared memories. As she learns more about the events that happened during the events of 1708, the present begins to eerily echo the past.

In the past, Sophia is a young orphan who has been sent to stay with distant relatives at Slains after the death of her guardian. Little does she know when she arrives there that her influential family members are Jacobite sympathisers who are playing a direct role in a plan to bring King James to Scotland to try to reclaim his throne, and to stop the Union between England and Scotland. Among those who visit her new home are two men - one a captain in the navy and the other an outlaw sent to Scotland to drum up support for the cause.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this novel was the fact that it was set in the earlier events of the Jacobite uprisings. Through my reading of other books and more famous incidents in history, I was relatively aware of the events that led up to the carnage at Culloden, and I vaguely knew that that wasn't the first attempt to bring the Stuarts back to the throne, but I really didn't know much more than that.

In her own life, Carrie soon feels comfortable in the town with the assistance of her landlord and his two sons who have very different temperaments. If I had to choose which of the romantic story lines I enjoyed more, I would say it was Carrie's story but I am not going to say not much more than that so that if you do choose to read this book you will discover it for yourself.

Normally if I am reading a book which has these two different time frames it will be the historical setting that I am most anxious to revisit, but with this book I was as engrossed in both settings. When I was with Sophia in 1708 I found myself wondering about Carrie, and when I was with Carrie I was wondering what Sophia was getting up to!

The ending is possibly a little too convenient, but not enough to impact my enjoyment. It isn't often that I do this, but I am seriously considering buying this book. Normally if I read a library book I don't go out and buy it, but I suspect that this is going to be a book that I might want to immerse myself in more than once.

I hope that I have been able to convey just how much I loved this book. I had not previously read any Susanna Kearsley, but you can be guaranteed that I will be reading more, and I will be making every attempt to read everything on her back list and looking out for anything coming out in the future as well.

Please note that in some places this book is published under the title Sophia's Secret. This book was also nominated for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year 2009 which was eventually won by East of the Sun by Julia Gregson which I really enjoyed as well.

It is not very often that I give a book full marks, but I have no hesitation in rating this book as a 5/5 read. Loved it, loved it, loved it!

Blog Tour: The Silver Haired Sisterhood by Judy Leigh

 

Tess is stuck in a rut. It seems that most of her friends are off living their lives. Rose is in Paris, Jan is off on a cruise and Pam is off to Greece. The only person still at home is Della. Tess decides that it is time for an adventure so she books a holiday for herself to the Isle of Skye, with the hope that she might get to see the Northern Lights.

When circumstances change for Della, it seems like a good idea for her to join Tess and so off they go. Online, the hotel that they have book looks gorgeous, but the reality is very different when they arrive. The host doesn't appear to know that they are coming, the hotel is dark, there is no food, but it is late so he agrees to let them stay the night, but they are going to have to find somewhere else to stay.

Before they know Tess and Della have been roped into helping Roddy, the hotel's owner, get the place back up and running again. Roddy's wife, Isla has run off, and now wants him to sell the place as soon as possible so she can get her half. Never mind that the hotel has been in Roddy's family for generations.

Soon, there is a veritable cast of characters staying at the hotel, each with their own story of how they came to be there. And each of them is keen to play their part in the resurrection of the hotel in time for Christmas, but there are going to be challenges, not least from the malicious Isla.

Slowly, each of Tess's friends find themselves staying at the hotel, bringing the silver haired sisterhood back together. The big question is what happens next, both for the friends and for the hotel.

Really, this book is about second chances, or maybe I should say for second, third or fourth chances. Many of the characters are either widowed or divorced, and for some of them there is a chance to find new love and companionship. For others, there is a chance to sort out some of their major life choices, but for all of them there is joy, friendship and hard work bringing them all together at Christmas, and that age does not have to be a limiting factor.

The phrase "women of a certain age" is getting a bit of a workout in the media at the moment, but I do think that applies here, although to be fair I think that phrase potentially gets applied to a number of different age groups, including my own. Judy Leigh writes older characters who have the benefit of the experience of life, but who have not forgotten what it means to enjoy themselves. In this case, most of the silver haired sisterhood are in their 70's, and they are not just sitting at home watching TV, but they are out and about having adventures, making friends, having romances and generally enjoying life. It is not all plain sailing, as there are limitations such as health conditions and more, but you have to at least try, right?

I have read a number of Judy Leigh books before and I enjoy them a lot, and this was no exception.I somehow missed that this was a sequel to an earlier novel, Five French Hens, which I haven't yet read. I really don't like reading out of order, but even though I did become aware of it, so it was in the back of my mind while I was reading, in the end I don't think it affected my enjoyment of the book. I do, however, want to go back and read the earlier book now.

I recently reviewed another book set on Skye and I mentioned then that it seems that the Isle of Skye is having a bit of a moment when it comes to being used as locations for books. Or perhaps this has always been the case and I am only just noticing it. Whatever the case, I enjoyed the way that the island was showcased in this book. And it has reinforced the fact that I would really like to go back and visit again, and spend more than just a couple of hours in a small town. And if I could happen to see the Northern Lights too, well, that would be amazing.

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher,Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. This also counts for the 12 Books of Christmas Challenge.

About the Book

The Silver-Haired Sisterhood

‘We’re celebrating life,’ Rose said. ‘Life, every single minute of it. Tell me, girls - is there ever anything better to celebrate than that?’

Five years after seventy-something Tess jetted off to Paris with her best friends, Jen, Rose, Della and Pam - the Five French Hens - for Jen’s hen do, a lot has changed. Prospective groom Eddie has been given the heave-ho, Tess’s husband has been sent packing and the Hens are making the most of their golden years.

But Tess is stuck in a rut. Rather than embrace her independence, she watches on as Rose wows Paris, Jen explores Iceland and Pam heads to Greece. But when tragedy strikes Della, Tess is shaken into action. They both need a change of scenery and longing to see the Northern Lights, they head to the Highlands of Scotland and the magical Isle of Skye.

There Tess and Della get more than they bargained for. Along with stunning scenery and breathtaking history, they find new friends, grand adventures and even romance. And when they’re joined by the other Hens, together they start plotting a fabulous new future for them all.

Travel with Judy Leigh to the magical Highlands in this uplifting, joyous and funny tale of friendships and new beginnings. This is the perfect feel-good story for all fans of Maddie Please, Dawn French and Caroline James.

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/SilverHairedSisterhood

About the Author 

Judy Leigh has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset. After teaching theatre, writing lyrics for a punk band and setting up Shakespeare Festivals, she completed an MA in Professional Writing.

All her novels celebrate the ups and downs of life, relationships, the power of laughter and the belief that everyone has a second chance at happiness, whatever their age.



Social Media Links –

Facebook: @judyleighuk

Twitter: @JudyLeighWriter

Instagram: @judyrleigh

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/JudyLeighNews

Blog Tour: A Skye Full of Stars by Sue Moorcroft (including UK giveaway)

 

It's been a tumultuous time for Ezzie and her sister Thea, but things are settling down now. Thea is all loved up, and Ezzie has been promoted to manager of Rothach Hall, situated on the Isle of Skye. She loves working at the hall, and on the Isle of Skye.

Normally, the Swedish family that owns the hall only visit during the summer, but this year they have decided that they are going to have a Scottish Christmas, which means only one thing - more work for Ezzie. She is already working on ways to make the Hall a winter tourist destination, and now she needs to ensure that the family areas are decorated, be available whenever required, she's short staffed and more.

Things don't get off to a great start when Ezzie clashes with the (handsome) over-bearing son Mats. He is spending time with his adorable kids on the island while their mother cruises around the Meditteranean on a super yacht with her new partner.

With Mats bumbling around issues that are none of his business and causing chaos, Ezz doesn't need any more stress, so when some unexpected visitors turn up, her whole life feels like it has been turned upside down. So why is it Mats that she turns to when she needs support? 

In some ways Ezzie appears to be very in control, but that has come with a lot of work and a lot of strategic coping mechanisms. But with the Larson's in town, soon those somewhat fragile mechanisms are picked apart one by one. What will happen if she loses her job that she invests so much of herself in, and have to start all over again?

The Larsons, including Mats, have issues of their own. There is clearly something going on with his parents, and Mats' ex-wife Inger is being a pain as well, leaving him to deal with their children. What he is realising is that he needs to make some changes in his own life so that he can prioritise them.

When we visited Scotland, I was very excited that we were going to be visiting the Isle of Skye. The reality was though that we were on the island for all of about 2 hours, we visited one small town right near the bridge to the mainland and then crossed back on our merry way and that was that, so it's fair to say we didn't see much of Skye. Reading this book definitely makes me want to go back. The Isle of Skye does also seem to be having something of a moment right now, with numerous books being released recently which take place on the island. 

I really loved the mixing of Christmas traditions present in this book. The Larson's are Swedish and so there are loads of mentions throughout the book of Swedish Christmas food and traditions but they are also determined that there will be Scottish elements to their Christmas as well. It was a delightful mix.

Sue Moorcroft has once again delivered a great read, with interesting characters and a great setting. I will definitely be keen to read then next book in this trilogy, which will feature the oldest of the Winter sisters, Valentina. Given some of the things that happened in this book with Valentina, I will be looking forward to seeing how things unfold for her in her own book

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and with British Isles Friday hosted at Joy's Book Blog.  Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley  and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.

You can read my review of the first book in the trilogy, Under a Summer Skye, here.

This post is part of the blog tour for the release of A Skye Full of Stars. It is, however, also part of a bigger blog tour which is celebrating the fact that this is Sue Moorcroft's 25th book. I will be back later in the extended tour with my post. The details of the extended tour are at the bottom of this post.

Rating 4/5

About the book

A Skye Full of Stars

Under the winter stars, anything is possible…

Ezzie Wynter can’t wait for Christmas on the beautiful Isle of Skye. Her island home sparkles at this time of year thanks to the snow-capped mountains and frosty winter walks, topped off with family gatherings with those she loves the most.

But her peaceful Christmas idyll is upended when she hears that the Larson family – the owners of Rothach Hall – are flying in from Sweden for the festivities. As Manager of their grand Scottish manor house, Ezzie suddenly has decorations to hang, food to source and itineraries to organise.

Life only becomes more difficult when Mats Larson turns up. The owners’ handsome, self-assured son is used to doing things his own way – and he is only another headache to add to her overflowing list.

Yet when unexpected visitors arrive looking for Ezzie, nothing else matters as she is left questioning everything she ever knew about herself. But amidst the Christmas chaos, she might also discover that, when all is lost, it’s sometimes those we least expect who come to our aid…

A beautiful, escapist festive tale to curl up with by the fire this Christmas. Perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan and Karen Swan.

Purchase Links

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skye-Full-Stars-beautiful-million-copy-ebook/dp/B0D13K69K8/

US: https://www.amazon.com/Skye-Full-Stars-beautiful-million-copy-ebook/dp/B0D13JJF2C/

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Skye-Full-Stars-million-copy-bestseller/dp/0008708924/

About the Author 

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her novels have been #1 on Kindle UK and Top 100 on Kindle US, Canada and Italy. She writes two books a year for publishing giant HarperCollins and has won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Novel of the Year, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award, two HOLT Medallions and the Katie Fforde Bursary. She’s the president of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Her novels, short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.



Social Media Links –

Amazon page: Sue Moorcroft

Audible page: Sue Moorcroft

Website: www.suemoorcroft.com

Facebook author page SueMoorcroftAuthor

Twitter: @SueMoorcroft

Instagram: @SueMoorcroftAuthor

Linked in: Sue Moorcroft

Link Tree: linktr.ee/SueMoorcroft

Bookbub: SueMoorcroft1

Giveaway

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of A Skye Full of Stars, bookmark and pen (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Weekend Cooking: Afternoon Tea Diaries - Mackintosh at The Willow

Welcome to the next instalment of Afternoon Tea Diaries. This time I will be sharing about the afternoon tea that we did in Glasgow. This was actually a last minute decision. We had a full day in Glasgow and we weren't 100% sure of what to do, so I booked in for an afternoon tea.

We started our day in Glasgow by catching a bus to Kelvingrove Museum, including catching a bus with a a very grumpy bus driver.  One of the exhibits was all about the distinctive style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the famous tea rooms. Coincidentally, our afternoon tea was in one of those very tea rooms, which has been faithfully renovated in the Mackintosh style. The Willow Tea Rooms were originally opened in 1903.

Given that this was our final full day in the UK, we decided to add a glass of sparkling wine to our experience as well as our choice of tea, of which there were many, many options. The nice thing was that you could drink as much tea as you liked, and you could try as many different types of tea as you liked as well. I chose a Russian Caravan tea just because the name of it was intriguing. All the tea china was in classic blue and white, including the stand and tea pots.

I have just been looking at the website and have noticed that the menu has changed, and so it is very seasonal, but this was our menu when we visited.

And this was the stand when it arrived. As an aside I really need to remember to think about the angles so that you can seethe stand without my husband in the background! lol

And closer photos of the scones and sweet treats

As you would expect everything was delicious, but if I absolutely had to pick a favourite it would be the Peach Melba Entremet which is at the bottom of the picture. It actually sent me off on a bit of a peach obsession which resulted in my eating peach ice cream and drinking iced peach tea when we were on the next leg of our trip in Hong Kong.

Now I am thinking if there is anything peachy in the house!

Weekly meals

Saturday - Out for dinner (High Tea for dinner)
Sunday -  Zucchini, tomato and parmesan risotto
Monday - Sausage and pasta - New
Tuesday -
Wednesday - Murg Makhani (Butter Chicken) New
Thursday - Chicken Fricasee
Friday - Out for dinner

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Weekend Cooking: What We Ate on Holiday - Scotland/Hong Kong

Normally, this would be the day that we talked about What I Baked in my Kitchen but we've been away for a month so not a lot of baking going on. We have bought some kitchen related items on our travels but I will share those next month.

Mostly this post is going to be about Hong Kong, but we did have one last day in Glasgow. We decided to spend our day visiting a couple of museums. First we went to the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery. It's an amazing building which is filled with all kinds of things, and you never really know what you are going to see around the next corner. For example, in one of the main halls there is a Spitfire plane hanging directly above an elephants. We were lucky enough to be visiting there was a pipe organ recital happening, which was a lovely accompaniment to wander around the buildings to.

We were also fortunate that this day was one of the few sunny days that Glasgow has had this summer, and so we were able to sit outside in the nearby gardens. We had an Empire Biscuit which is two shortbread biscuits, sandwiched together with jam and then covered in icing! It's a pretty typical Scottish bakery treat and it was delicious.

From there we headed to the River Museum where we had a very short time to wander around. If we had of known what it was like we would have spent more time as it was great. It is basically a transport museum, but the way it is set out is fabulous!

While we were at Kelvingrove we saw some information about famous designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and our next stop was for afternoon tea at Mackintosh at The Willow Tea Rooms. This tea room, located at the site of an original tea rooms in the city, has been renovated using Mackintosh designs. We had afternoon tea here, which I will talk more about at another time, but the treats looked amazing..

The next day we had to be at the airport so we had a leisurely morning, tried burned cream at the airport, which is basically a British version of creme brulee and then made our way to Hong Kong.

The first thing that hit us as soon as we left the airport in Hong Kong was the heat and humidity. We love visiting new places like Hong Kong and Singapore before it, but we are not built for such humid conditions. However, while we might complain about it, we still get out and see and do what we can. Our first stop after checking into the hotel was to go down to the harbor. We were originally planning to just watch the Symphony of Lights, which is the daily light show featuring all the buildings on both sides of the harbour. 

The next day we went took the Green and White Ferry across from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island and then up to Victoria Peak via the Peak tram (amazing), walked through Hong Kong Park, went and saw the worlds longest travelator (my husband was underwhelmed by this part of the day) and otherwise generally wandered around Hong Kong Island. 

After a swim at the hotel, we headed out to the Temple Street markets where we ate at one of the restaurants. 

This was the night that we discovered the Japanese bakery in the shopping centre across the road. We may have visited this place a couple of times. This cake was a Peach cake and it was oh so good. I did find myself having quite a few peach treats while we were in HK. 

One of the things that we knew we wanted to do was to do a day trip to Macau, so we took the bus from Hong Kong and then hired a driver to take us to the main sites. The original plan was to do the hop on hop off bus, but I am glad that we didn't. He took us to places we didn't even know about. Apparently, very few Western tourists make the trip to Macau these days.

Macau has a lot of Portuguese history and so looks and feels quite different to Honk Kong, despite the fact that they are quite close to each other. There are parts of the old town where the buildings are very colourful. We visited Senado Square, the ruins of St Paul and the nearby fortress which houses the Macao Museum and a great view from the top. Fortunately there are escalators all the way to the top. We also visited the A-Ma Temple.

We finished the day in Cotai, home of many amazing casinos. We are not gamblers, so that didn't interest us but the buildings did. We visited The Venetian and The Parisian casinos, and the insides of the buildings were amazing! We also did not miss the chance to try some Portuguese tarts. We then caught the jet boat back to Hong Kong.

On our final day we knew we had to be at the airport by about 5pm, so we had planned some activities that would have meant that we would have had a full day, but it was then announced that there was a Typhoon warning at level 3, so I was quite cautious as I didn't really want to get stuck out in a typhoon. We therefore had a bit of a sleep in, a late breakfast and then wandered across to the shopping centre across the road for a wander around.

We couldn't not take the opportunity to share some dumplings. We have a favourite restaurant here, where they do amazing Xiao Long Bao dumplings. These dumplings have a pork based filling but they are also filled with soup, so you when you take a bit you get both the soup and meat in one go. These were plain pork and soup and they were good. I also had a pineapple and mango juice which was so good. 

After one last visit to the Japanese bakery for cream puffs filled with cream and custard, it was off to the airport. We got there pretty early as I didn't want too risk getting caught out in any weather, so we had time to go and get a foot reflexology treatment which I thought might help with my feet swelling on the flight.  I am still deciding if it was good or not. I mean, I think my feet swelled up less than normal, but oh my goodness that treatment was painful. We also had time for one last holiday drink at the amazing Sky Bar at the airport, which I needed after that treatment.

While we were at the airport, they changed the typhoon warning level to an 8 but luckily, we took off before the worst of it hit so we weren't impacted too badly.

So, that's our big holiday for this year done. We covered a lot of ground, ate a lot of great food and have some great memories to look back on.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page