MEDIEVAL WOMEN'S THINGS

I've read 10 books this month, which seems a little ridiculous...

The Shadow Puppet by Georges Simenon
Continuing my plan to read all the Maigret's in our library this year.  A Parisian based mystery, where all is not as it seems.

Stories for Lovers edited by Lucy Evans
The latest edition in the British Library Women Writers series.  These are short stories from the 1920s through to the 2000s.  I enjoyed some of the stories, mostly the earlier ones.

Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd
I've read a number of books by Jess Kidd, but this is her first crime mystery.  It's set in 1954 in a seaside town in Kent.  It wasn't a brilliant story, although by the end I'd enjoyed it.  I suspect because I'm used to reading crime novels written in the 1950s it felt a bit out of time.  A second in the series is due out later this year, so I'll probably read it at some time.

Death on the Downbeat by Sebastian Farr
A Shedunnit runner up this month, which had appealed for a while.  I liked the idea of the orchestra conductor being shot in the middle of a concert and the story being told in epistolary fashion, with lots of musical references. But I didn't enjoy it.  

The Edge of Darkness by Vaseem Khan
The next in the Persis Wadia series, I reserved a copy as soon as I knew the library were getting them.  Persis, the first female inspector in the Indian police force, has been banished to the Naga Hills.  A murder is committed and events tie in with both the current unrest (it's 1951) and previous times.  It's a locked room mystery with an interesting cast of characters and a lot of action.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Fra Angelico by Christopher Lloyd
Mainly talking about the over 50 colour plates of his paintings, while also providing details about Fra Angelico's life.  Not my preferred style of painting, but nonetheless very interesting.

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
I'd not come across Baldwin before, so it was interesting to read his very powerful essay on the plight of black people in America in the 1960s.  What's alarming is that although some things have changed, 60 years on many attitudes haven't.

The Double Turn by Carol Carnac (E C R Lorac)
The latest British Library Crime Classics book, featuring Inspector Rivers.  This one was written in 1956 and features some interesting characters and a lot of twists and turns.  It also gives an idea of London at the time.

The Saint-Fiacre Affair by Georges Simenon
This time ends up back in the small town he grew up in and where there are people he still recognises.  Very different from the one I read earlier in the month, although both date from the same time.

War with the Newts by Karel Capek
This took me a while to get into, although even at the beginning I knew I wanted to read it.  Capek, a Czech, wrote this in 1936 as an allegory on the current political situation.  Some of his observations of different national characteristics are hilarious, others terrifying.  If you're looking for something a bit different to read this year, then I'd recommend this.  A sea captain discovers a colony of newts in Sumatra who can be trained to do various things, and things take off from there.

Week 4 of the Stuff I Love: Top Ten Edition promoted by dreamersdare   This week's theme is Relationships in our media, but as it doesn't particularly appeal, I've gone for general stuff I love, again in no particular order.

Baked last Saturday, this is the final 6 of 24 left a couple of days ago.  All gone now!

The baking process can be seen here: Melting Moments

Given that we've had only a couple of days when it hasn't rained at some point, my photos this month all include grey skies:

Final part of the meme originally posted by used_songs  [TS = The Son, TD = The Daughter, MH = MiniHobbit aka Granddaughter]

For the most part, you were able to study and complete assignments without any struggle.
Me: Yes, I don't remember any major difficulties
TS/TD: As far as we could tell TS was doing okay, the school didn't tell us of any problems.  He didn't do as well at his GCSEs (age 16 exams) as he and we'd hoped, but he probably wasn't working as hard as he should and there is only so much one can do with a teenager.  After a few months he was struggling with his post-16 education, so we agreed he could leave and start work.  TD did the essential work as quickly as possible since she was keen to be out and about in the evenings - she was very involved in guiding/scouting.  She sailed through her post-16 college because she was academically more able than many of those there, but at the same time the teaching staff pushed her to achieve more than she would have done.
MH: As far as I am aware she is - she's only 9 so there's a way to go.

Test-taking came easily to you.
Me: Yes, in the majority of subjects
TS/TD: Both coped but neither is naturally academic.
MH: I don't think there's a problem

You read at grade level or above.
Me: Definitely
TS/TD: TS could read well and enjoyed reading - apart from Jane Austen at age 15 (no, teacher she is not wonderful for a teenage boy).  TD refused to read and at one point I was starting to get concerned, until she received a bank statement and discovered that she'd been taxed on her tiny bit of interest.  It turned out she could read perfectly well if she needed to.
MH: Currently about two years ahead of her actual age.

Your mathematics skills were at grade level or above.
Me: Yes.  I have a maths degree
TS/TD: Both were quite competent
MH: Yes

Adults responsible for your care supported your academic journey for the better and for the worse.
Me: Yes, I passed the 11+ (I am that old), so got to grammar school  Both my parents were pleased and supported me in all I did.
TS/TD: We did our best for TS and when he wanted to do his post-16 education at school we agreed, although it might not have been the best solution for him.  That was where his friends were and he was reluctant to go elsewhere.  Since then he's gone on to gain a lot of practical experience, including relevant qualifications.  He was far happier than if we'd pushed him to finish his post-16 education and go to university, so yes, we did support him.  We encouraged TD to go to a practical college, which was what she wanted, and then we supported her as she looked at her future career, went to university to study nursing and got her degree.  Then ten years later she changed to train as a paramedic, so had to do a second degree, which she passed with first class honours.  We cheered her on and went to her graduation.
MH: Yes.  It will be interesting to see where she ends up.

Continuing with the meme originally posted by used_songs [TS = The Son, TD = The Daughter, MH = MiniHobbit aka Granddaughter]

You typically attended school adequately clothed and fed.
Me: Yes Like many there were hand-knits and second hand items, but in those days it didn't stand out.
TS/TD: Yes. Again coats etc were sometimes second hand, especially school blazers since we couldn't afford new ones, but neither was bothered because they didn't stand out as 'new'
MH: Yes.

Adults responsible for your care were able to help you make decisions when it came time to pursue higher education.
Me: No. Neither of my parents had pursued higher education. My father left school at almost 14 in 1938, and my mother left school at 16 in 1946. They supported me in my wish to go to university, but where and to study what was left up to me.
TS/TD: Yes, although TS left school at 17 without staying on for his qualifications. We understood his reasons and supported his decision, simply saying he had to get a job if he left - which he did. We'd supported TD to take her 16-18 education at a college offering practical subjects, rather than staying on at school, and then we supported her when she chose nursing as a career and therefore had to obtain a degree. So we were able to help with decisions even if there was limited or no wish to pursue higher education.
MH: Will get support. Her mother has a degree - she's also a nurse, and TS will always support her in pursuing her goals.

If you were disabled and/or neurodivergent, you were classified by your school and received support through the education system.
Me: It wasn't considered when I was at school
TS/TD: Neither were, although TD may have neurodivergent traits.
MH: Isn't, but would receive support

You generally felt physically and emotionally safe at school.
Me: I assume so. I don't remember any major problems
TS/TD: TS was picked on when he started secondary school because at that time he was small. However, he also regularly rode a pony so he was both fit and strong, which he demonstrated and was then left alone. TD was bullied in her village primary school, so we ended up moving her to another school. She had few friends in secondary school but got on well with those she met at scouts.
MH: She does now. There was one occasion when she was bullied by a child in her class who had definite additional needs, but the school rapidly stepped in.

You were in relatively good physical and mental health.
Me: Yes
TS/TD: TS was although went through typical teenage boy angst, so producing melancholy music through the kitchen ceiling, but all part of growing up and nothing serious. TD broke her arm age 8, spent 3.5 weeks in hospital on traction and then took a while to regain her fitness. She's very much her own person, so doesn't necessarily fit in, which did cause problems, but she was find outside the basic academic setting.

used_songs posted this meme, and I thought it would be interesting to have a go.  Because I've decided to answer for myself (Me), our two adult kids (TS/TD) and my granddaughter, aka Mini Hobbit (MH), I'm splitting it into three parts over the next few days.

Adults responsible for your care actively helped facilitate your early learning. (Reading at bedtime, playing educational games, going to child-friendly museums...)
Me: Yes - I was read to, played card games etc, and was taken places although child-friendly hadn't really been invented then.  I do remember one gallery in the Science Museum in London with knobs to push and twist which was very exciting.
TS/TD: We always read to the kids, and they had educational games to play, which we played, and we went to various places, including seeing the mammoth in the National Museum Cardiff.
MH: Her parents have always read to her, played games and they go places like St Fagans National Museum of History

You had a library card.
Me: Yes.  My mother would take me to the library in the town and once they built a new branch literally down the road from us and I was a bit older I took myself.
TS/TD: Yes. We either visited the mobile library which came to the village or we drove up to the nearby branch.
MH: Yes.  TS takes her to their local library.

Adults in your life involved you in tasks that involved mathematical skills.
Me: No idea, but probably.  Both my parents were accounts clerks so were used to working with numbers.  I doubt they specifically considered that we did things involving mathematical skills, more that these things came naturally.
TS/TD: Again both husband and I worked with figures, so we tended to use them automatically rather than specifically.
MH: I don't know.  But she's doing fine with numbers at school so I presume she does.

If you started falling behind in school, you received help from a private tutor.
Me: I didn't, and if I had that wouldn't have been possible.
TS/TD: It turned out that both were better at practical skills than purely academic ones.  So we encouraged them in those areas.  Their basic skills were fine so we never felt the need to push, which since both were very determined, wouldn't have worked anyway.  When I saw a teacher to discuss TD's post-16 prospects he asked me what grades she needed to get for her GCSEs.  I told him and he said, 'and that's what she'll get'.
MH: As far as I'm aware she isn't.  The school have provided extra support for her handwriting.  (When TD had poor handwriting I resorted to bribery to get her to practise, which worked.)

You went to a well-funded school.
Me: I had standard state funded primary school, so have no idea.  I do remember they had a rebuilding project at my first infant school (in north London).  They knocked down one wall and we all had to stand on the other side of the playground - it was a while ago.  Secondary was well-funded.
TS/TD: Yes.  Their secondary school was well-funded and popular, which no doubt helped.
MH: Yes.  She's due to go to the same secondary school as TS.