Remembering Simona on her 100th birthday
Had she lived a few years longer, Simona would have been celebrating her 100th birthday today. I thought it an opportune time, therefore, to look at her life in a little more detail.
Read MoreIn the Absence of the Emperor: the absence of enjoyment
I really struggled with this book. I had little interest in the subject matter and my lack of interest, combined with my lack of knowledge of this period of history gave me little motivation to continue.
Read MoreA Dieppoise Easter, 1930/31
The second part of Pigtails and Pernod covers Simona's Easter holidays during her fifteenth year, and continues very much in the same vein as we have come to expect - eccentric characters, Johnny causing chaos, the women of the family very much in charge.
Read MorePigtails and Pernod
Pigtails and Pernod is an engaging, warm and funny read, outlining Simona's maturing from excitable pre-teen to a young woman on the verge of adulthood. At the same time it chronicles the changing political and social landscape both among the English ex-pat community in Dieppe and at home, and the burgeoning menace of Naziism and rise of Hitler.
Read MoreMoving on to book two
So I've finished Simona's book about Vaughan Williams and his music. I enjoyed reading it and discovered aspects of my grandmother that weren't apparent during her later years, as well as a lot about the music of Vaughan Williams. I will enjoy my continued musical education and will return to the book and Simona's subsequent friendship with Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams later in the year. But for now I'm moving on to Pigtails and Pernod, the account of Simona's teenage school holidays in Dieppe.
Read MoreSymphony no.4 in F minor: the piece that started the obsession
I've finally listened to the piece that started Simona's obsession with Vaughan Williams's music: the Symphony no.4 in F minor. And discovered Simona danced!
Read MoreA tale of two Grandmas
My two grandmothers were poles apart. My Mum's mother was a true grandma - grey hair in a bun, an ample bosom, fierce love and harsh criticism in equal measure. She served custard from a bowl and sliced parchment-thin bread and butter (tip: butter the loaf before cutting the slice). We spent half our school summer holidays at New Milton Grandma's, where we had beaches and the New Forest for our entertainment.
My Dad's mother, in contrast, was not a grandma. Despite the best efforts of my sister and me, she remained resolutely Simona;
Read More