If you say "pack a bag, we have a long drive ahead of us", out of the blue, understandably, I'm going to be...
A. very confused.
B. Curious about where we are going.
C. Anxious because I have no idea what's going on or how to pack.
Don't get me wrong, I love spontaneous road trips as much as the next person does, but anyone who has studied/has an interest in history or politics knows that spontaneous things lead to questionable things 8/10. Not to mention that I absolutely suck at packing at the best of times (I make a list and still manage to forget basics, like socks, but somehow always remember to bring at least 3 books), I especially suck when I don't actually know where we are going. Heck, you would be too! Wouldn't want to pack denim skirts for a mountain hike or trousers and leggings for Mimosa.
Speaking of Mimosa, I went to PGL there once as part of a water-sports residential (the full story we can save for another time) I didn't have the time to pack for this particular adventure as I had been staying at my relatives and was literally only coming home for an evening before leaving for part 1. Ardeche. I made a major mistake in trusting my parents to pack: they didn't check the weather or properly understand the kit list, so they packed long sleeve t-shirts, trousers, leggings and jumpers for what would turn out to be THE HOTTEST WEEK OF THE ENTIRE YEAR. I had no opportunity to buy shorts in Ardeche, so I had to wait until part 2. Mimosa and ended up paying an exorbitant amount for the ugliest shorts on the planet.
Moving on...I somehow managed to pack an overnight bag for most eventualities.
My top tips:
1. Pack T-shirts. Long sleeve tops absolutely suck in hot weather, pack short sleeve tops so that if you get cold, you can easily put a jumper/cardigan over the top
2. Shorts and leggings are an amazing combination. Keeps your leggles warm and if you get too hot, you can just wear shorts. Either that or pack a pair of trousers and a pair of shorts.
3. Always pack a pair of shoes you don't care about
4. Spare socks are a must!
I only had about half an hour to grab everything and then we were off. I think I love long drives because I don't get travel sick thus I can read lots, watch "Gravity falls" and "Brooklyn 99", listen to music and get a ton of sleep. Basically I zone out.
About 3 hours later, we arrive at Premier Inn in a place called Solihull and guess what? I still don't have a clue what we are doing or where we are going. Getting up at 6am will forever be unreasonable, 7am is the earliest I will wake up without turning into Oscar the grouch...
(that being said, before C-19 I was doing 5am starts every weekday. The only cure was Greggs breakfast or caffeine).
Much to the dismay of stepdad, we ended up driving to Pendle. Another thing to mention: I am not exactly great at geography, which meant that I was shocked to learn that Pendle isn't a village, it's an area in the North. Pendle actually has places inside of it and the place we arrived in was called Barley. After a lunch stop at the most useless tourist information I have ever been to, we set off on our expedition: The "walking with witches" trail I managed to find on the interwebs. Thank you Google. I wanted to do the short walk but mother insisted that us non-walkers take on the long walk. It was only supposed to take us 2 hours yet it ended up taking us 3 and a half hours.
Hill walking decidedly isn't my thing. I'll admit, the first hill wasn't too bad, although I was suitably annoyed to find that the ground was boggier than it looked and therefore ended up doing the vast majority of the walk in muddy shoes and wet feet. When we got to the top, we had some trouble with figuring out where we were and which direction to go in, Shackleton would be ashamed, luckily we saw some witch signs and headed on our way...only to find a goddamn cow field!
I hate cows. They are terrifying and they will charge at you as well as try to steal your food, as I found out during my Bronze DOFE practise walk, I honestly think they want revenge on us carnivores. Suffice to say I was really freaked out and decided to shimmy up a stone wall in an attempt to avoid the devils. Annoyingly, there was no escape. At some point I had to re-climb the wall and jump down into Cowmageddon without breaking my ankle. I was successful in that I didn't break any bones, however when I landed I found a black and white freak lying down on the ground across from me, staring into my soul as if to enchant it. In this scenario, I did what any rational person would do. I legged it.
Eventually we reached the halfway point- Newchurch. This was the best part of the trip! I bought a mystery poster from a shop called "Witches Galore", found Alice Nutter's grave at St Mary's church and saw the most beautiful valley views.
Shortly after travelling down a flat gravel road, we came across another hill. I'm pretty sure Chanctonbury Hill is a challenge for most experienced walkers. Somehow this particular hill was steeper than Chanc. I didn't think that was even possible, apparently it is. It was also covered in sheep. Having checked for horned sheeps, we decided that it was safe to climb and spent what felt like an eturnity edging upwards, downing strawberry water and taking stops to catch our breath. I think I actually wanted to cry when I saw that going downhill was equally as challenging as going uphill.
When we arrived back where we started (the joys of a circuit walk), we re-entered the car and drove up the road to stop for a picture with Alice Nutter's statue. I was in full zombie-mode by this point, I was beyond tired and wanted to sleep. Yet I couldn't because humans need to eat and it's easier and nicer to get food in the area than it is to get food at a service station on the road. We,unintentionally, ended up eating at the oldest pub in the area :The Anchor Inn. To be honest, I'm surprised we were able to eat at all considering how much of a nightmare the digital ordering system was. The beef pie and mash was heaven and the hot chocolate was just right.
Then we drove 5 hours with a single stop at Starbucks.
Needless to say, the trip was awesome if a bit hectic and muddy. It really made the witch craze- which, major surprise, I am decidedly not interested in- come to life. I will forever recommend road trips, they are the best!
In response to both this post and Twitter, I have decided to take on the challenge so without further ado here's my mid year book tag...
Note: some of these have multiple answers because I change my opinions about books too regularly for me to write a single answer, so these answers are as-of-this-day/week. Ask me in a weeks time and it is very highly likely/almost certain that my opinions will have changed dramatically.
I would also like to point out that I rate books (on goodreads and in general) using a 5 star system.
1. Quality of language, 2. Character development, 3. Plot-line intrigue and continuity, 4. Overall impact, 5. Emotional connection
1. Best book you've read so far this year
Q by Christina Dalcher or An Absolutely Remarkable thing by Hank Green (AART)
Let's talk Q first. It is harrowing as heck but it is crazy vital that you go and give it a read. I had no idea that disgusting thing that is the Eugenics movement even existed before reading about it. Not to mention that the book focuses on a society which is centred around IQ. As I was reading this book I began to think "this is terrifying and could absolutely happen in our current society/ in the future- especially considering the way in which British education is handled", which is what makes this book so genius! The characters felt real and Dalcher did what she does best, only better this time- making morally ambiguous characters. To be honest, I think this book should be a compulsory read for teachers and politicians.
I've been a member of the Nerdfighteria for a fair few years now. I follow vlogbrothers religiously and Crash Course got me through some exams. I am also a John Green fangirl so I was curious to see what his brother (notorious science wizard) had to offer to the world of adult speculative fiction. Safe to say that I jumped ship very quickly and became more of a Hank fan. Don't get me wrong, if John decides to write any more books I will be more than happy to get stuck into reading them, however if Hank decides to write more than AART and ABFE I will absolutely devour them in the space of an afternoon.
I am not even kidding, AART is the first book I have ever had serious fan theories about. I'm not talking english-class-geek level theories, more hardcore-existential crisis level theories. Did I spend over 4 hours looking at Discord fandom chats to uncover the current theories? YES. Did I then proceed to spend the rest of the morning making mind-maps about the theories? DEFINITELY. Did I then create an A4 sheet about predictions for ABFE? ABSOLUTELY. This book was my first experience reading speculative fiction and I was hooked (if you couldn't tell already). So yes, go and read it. Though be warned, the sequel (ABFE) is good but isn't as tremendous as AART.
2. Best sequel you've read so far this year
The Testaments- Margaret Atwood
I know what some of you may be thinking- Margaret Atwood, really? I'm fully aware that I have previously argued that Dalcher is a better writer (and still maintain that view), but it is indisputable that The Testaments isn't a sight to behold because it bloody well is. I don't read series books anywhere near as much as I read stand-alone's, so it really does say a lot when I say that this is perfectly crafted. The knot is tied flawlessly between this book and The Handmaid's Tale, both of which are deeply haunting, morally questionable and (lets face it) tremendously fucked up. But there's the brilliance. They linger in the mind, they really make you question your own ideals/morals and challenge you to see if you say them or actually put them into practise. Needless to say, this book aligns with my 5 star criteria.
Reminder to anyone who chooses to give Atwood's books a go: Read the Historical Notes, it will change your perspective entirely. I didn't think to read them and learned the consequences when I attended a lecture about the book and sequentially discovered that I either needed to re-read the entire book again (not a hardship) or read the notes and Youtube a book summary and analysis.
3. New release you haven't read yet. but want to
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Matt Haig is in my list of heck-knows-how-many top writers. This book honestly looks soo appealing and I intend to grab a copy once I have finished the 3 stacks of books which reside on my bedside table. The cover is beautiful and the synopsis is really interesting- girl makes a mistake and wants to find out how she could do things differently as well as the consequences. Sign me up! Maybe my interest comes from my love of anything Life Is Strange related. Who cares? I want to read this book so badly.
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
Earthlings by Sakaya Murata (translated by Ginney Tapley Takemori)
I have to admit, the picture of the sad cuddly toy hedgehog was the thing that caught my eye when I went browsing through the Waterstones website for up and coming releases. I usually need to read the blurb and the first page before I can even entertain the idea of reading a book, but I think this time I know that I will love this book. Is it aliens? Probably (I have a minor fascination with space). Synopsis: Girls has to reunite with cousin who was taken by aliens. I don't even care that it's translated (I tend to overlook those books because heck knows they aren't advertised enough), I want in on that alien action! Conclusion. I will own a copy the moment it is released (1/10/2020)
5. Biggest disappointment
Alice by heart- by Steven Sater
I'm deeply sorry but WHAT THE FUCK?! I have been listening to the musical, which came before the book, solidly for over a year. The soundtrack was breath taking. The musical synopsis I read (thanks to being unable to see it because it only played a limited run in America) was more sinister than anticipated, yet it worked. The trailer felt like a perfect combination of beautiful and what-the-hell-am-I-watching.
I recently found out that Lewis Carroll was on magic mushrooms when he wrote the original (which honestly explains a lot), I am going to presume Sater was clean, in that case how on earth did he write such a disgrace to the book world? It reads as if it has been written by a four year old. It is as if he handed in a half-arsed first draft! I was furious with how poorly written this book is, especially considering how high my expectations were! My thoughts: Generally, what works on the stage or in a script doesn't work in a book. It needs to be carefully crafted and altered in places. Look, if you want to find an example of a great book that makes the transition from stage to page, go and read the book versions of Dear Evan Hansen or Be more chill.
Overall do I recommend the book? No, I wouldn't even touch it with a barge pole. Literally the only reason I still own my copy is because the cover is a majestic thing. Do I recommend the show/soundtrack? Hell yeah. Give it a listen, it will blow your mind.
6. Biggest surprise
This is going to hurt: secret diaries of a junior doctor by Adam Kay.
I remember when this book dominated various Waterstones displays. More recently it has come to dominate many charity shops, which is great because it meant I was able to pick up a copy with limited funds (thanks to the 3 large stacks that have taken up residence on my bedside table). I will admit, I was sceptical. I'm generally not a non-fiction reader and I tend to be incredibly picky when it comes to books- let me put it this way, I'm very decisive and impulsive when it comes to things like theatre shows and drinks but I could easily spend an entire afternoon in a bookshop picking out a single book.
OMG this was an incredible surprise. It balanced the kind of medical humour you only pick up when you've had contact with St John's Ambulance Cadets or literally anything medical related, with sensitivity regarding patients and utterly tragic situations. Casual writing that felt ultimately very human and led to many a conversation with strangers who also happen to have read the book. 20/10 would recommend. I also recommend You-tubing some of the interviews Kay has done with various people, he is a very captivating speaker.
7. Favourite new author (debut or new to you)
Jaye Robin Brown, author of The Meaning Of Birds- Paperback released 2nd June 2020
I decided to order in some new books to celebrate Pride because it couldn't be celebrated in the usual way (thanks to a certain killer virus). It was honestly refreshing to read about a healthy lesbian relationship and gain knowledge about how some people deal with grief. I felt really impressed by Brown, her ability to carry out a double narrative story is something that we should take note of and aspire to. Her story didn't feel forced either, it felt like she really got inside her character's heads and fully understood everything about them. The story ended in exactly the right place and I really look forward to hopefully reading more from this upcoming star.
8. Newest fictional crush
Atticus Finch (To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee).
Sorry Nick Carraway, you've been pushed to the wayside, there's a new dude in town who is actually honest and has an admirable amount of modesty as well as strong morals. For starters, he isn't racist. He says one of the most memorable lines in literature: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." He also cares about his children more than you might initially think- just look at the last chapter and you will understand what I mean. He's just a good, kind and empathetic person, that's what the world needs to be filled with- kind, empathetic people who can make excellent conversation.
Verity Wolf (Poemsia by Lang Leav) .
She's a poet who learns a harsh lesson about the industry and her personal relationships. The way she speaks is flawless and her poetry is enchanting. She is a siren of the poem-book crossover world. She is...a breath of fresh air. Crushing on this one hard. No more said.
In case you were wondering why I haven't mentioned the appearance of either character, I honesty don't care about appearance. Outward beauty within living beings is fleeting (as Dorian Grey will eventually find out) and I generally find the essence of a person more attractive. #theperksofbeingpansexual
9. Newest favourite character
Hatcher- Alice (The chronicles of Alice) by Christina Henry or Dorian Grey- The picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
Both of these characters are undoubtedly the most morally questionable in this list (I mention morals a lot because they are absolutely vital to me). They are both incredibly impulsive and dangerous and I love the thrill. However the main difference is this: Hatcher will defend and protect you to the ends of the earth if you get on his good side, Dorian will use you and ultimately get jealous of your good side. Ultimately Hatcher is more likeable but Dorian has better conversational skills.
10. Book that made you cry
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
I wanted to hug Charlie so much throughout the entirety of this book. His journey is important as it pits empathy/people skills and intellect against each-other. Charlie's deterioration was difficult to read, especially when he found out what happens to regular lab mice and consequentially what will happen to him. The part that had me sobbing my eyes out was the ending. The last page. It is so gorgeous and tragic- heck I'm even crying as I'm writing and thinking about this moment. This moment being when in his final letter, he asks his ex-lover to put flowers on Algernon's grave. He not only chooses to bury the mouse of whom he has an immesurable with, but of all of the things he could have asked for in his last moment before going off to the school/farm/placey thing, he actually asks for flowers to be put on Algernon's grave and I think he does this as a way of showing Algernon that he won't be forgotten, that their connection is undeniable and transcendent of all human relationships. It reminds me of the song "I remember you" from Adventure time. It is linked below, give it a listen (read the last page of the book whilst you do if possible) and you will understand exactly what I mean.
11. Book that made you happy
The Gentleman's guide to vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Historical LGBT fiction with a reckless protagonist and strong female characters. Heck yeah. This book made me laugh, smile, cry, all of it. Reading that book felt like recieving the longest, warmest, best hug ever. Absolutely would read again! Can't wait to read The Lady's guide to Petticoats and Piracy and The Gentleman's guide to getting lucky. Before you ask, yes, it is saucy at times but that's the point of a great romance. Unless it is about the actual trying to find a date in the first place, a great romance should be hot and steamy in place, though IT MUST AVOID ENTERING FIFTY SHADES OF GREY TERRITORY AT ALL COSTS!
12. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or recieved)
1933 edition of Alice in Wonderland and Through the looking glass.
It was a gift from my mother, who has a friend, who has a father who was a rare book collector. Her friend happens not to be a book enthusiast let alone rare books collector, so when he received an impressive collection of rare books he was perfectly happy to let my mum borrow the book. At some point we intend to make an offer on this book- fingers crossed that this book can transition from loan to own.
13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
So many- ideally I need to reach my goal of 100. I also need to read books that my teachers have advised me to read (2 books on literature theory, an e-copy of The Sea and Sardinia and a book about Othello) and the 3 miniature towers that I mentioned earlier, as well as work through all of the unread books littered about my 4 ceiling-high bookshelves. Long story short- I have a heck ton to read. Knowing me, I will probably be still working through the list well into next year because I have a habit (albeit an annoying one at times) of buying books wherever I am able to get hold of them i.e. charity shops, car-boot sales, Waterstones and Amazon.
There are only 13 questions but I can't stand odd numbers so I'm going to add in a 14th one
14. Best Graphic novel
Hyperbole and a half: Unfortunate situations, flawed coping mechanisms, mayhem and other things that happened by Allie Brosh
This book was a gold find at the local charity shop. Utterly hilarious with some of the best artwork I have seen (no. it's not a Picasso masterpiece, but it doesn't need to be. A chalk drawing on a page works just as well if not better). Reading this book resulted in me spending 2 weeks reading every single post on her blog, discovering that she's become somewhat of a recluse and highly anticipating her announced second book.
All in all, so far this has been an amazing year for books and I can't wait to read whatever I fancy next.
Book challenge update: I'm still in the midst of my book challenge, although I suspect I might actually beat it this year, as of 16/8/20 I have read a total of 81 books so far!
I think the sound of music is an okay film with very catchy songs. Let's face it, most of us have heard do re me or the hills are ALIVEEEEEE with the sound of children running to safety. When I was told we were going to Salzburg my first thought was "damn I haven't seen that film in ages, I'll have to watch it before we end up on a bus full of people who have", my second thought was pretzels....because pretzels, ya know?
7th of August, one hell of a drive led us from Ersperding (I will be very impressed if anyone knows that this place exists) to Salzburg. Around 9-10 ish in the morning we parked in a car park near the centre, opposite a plaque talking about Einsten. *This and the fact that I was the only one out of the 3 of us that can speak German will be important later so keep it in mind
There was a sign on the far corner of said car park, my mother expressed her stress over the fact that she thought that this car park was not a safe haven to house literally everything we brought with us but my step father insisted that it would be fine. I offered to translate the sign and he still insisted that it would be hunky dory. So that was that. We entered a cafe and did the healthy thing of eating cake for breakfast and balancing it out by drinking mango juice, as well as coffee. Then we skipped along our merry way, wandering doe-eyed through mirabel gardens and Salzburg in general.
Top tips:
1. Don't wear a traditional Dirndle or for that matter ANY dirndle on one of the hottest days of the trip. Yes, it looks thin but it. Has. So. Many. Layers
2. If you don't have time to look at literally anything to do with Mozart's home town, eat a Mozart Pretzel. It's the Pretzel version of Terry's chocolate orange
3. Be prepared! We stumbled across a music festival and spent a fair amount of the day listening to various buskers, my favourite being the guy who made music out of glass cups
4. SLEEP!!! I cannot stress this one enough. I was really looking forward to The Sound Of Music tour and I was completely fine the first half, belting out kareoke with a group of strangers on a long bus with the worst air con ever invented. Heck, I even got to take a selfie with the lonely goat. But I fell asleep on the bus and woke up just as we reached the wandery bit where you can leave the bus for half an hour and stretch and eat ice cream in the pouring rain whilst riding on a mini train.
My last tip is this: ALWAYS READ CAR PARK SIGNS. Salzburg was the monopoly Go square on the start of our mini food and drink tour around Europe. On the 8th we woke up very early, ready for a day stopping off at various places, such as Hofbrau Kalt Haus, on our way to Abtenau. Between us we lugged 2 suitcases and 3 duffle bag thingymagigs from our hotel in the centreish to the outskirts, where our car was supposed to be to find a market. A MARKET. Let me re-iterate, there was no cars in the car park, just a hoard of stalls selling who-knows-what.
Naturally we were a bit freaked out. Step dad O mine decided to head to the car park's "office" (I still have no idea what you call the places in the car parks with the help desk and the person who looks bored with everything) and inquire about where the hell our car was. As it turns out, both me and my mother were right. If we had translated the sign, like I suggested, we would have known that any cars left in the carpark at 4am on Thursday morning get towed to make way for the weekly market.
The guy at the help desk must have thought we were idiots or that we were very gullible tourists because he proceeded to say something along the lines of "Don't worry, your car is about a 5 to 10 minute walk from here." Naturally we took his word and decided to walk. 5 minuites became 10, became 15, became half an hour. By the time we reached the car we were all tired, sweaty messes and, added bonus, incredibly pissed off. To top it all off, we had to fork out €100, possibly more simply because it got towed in the first place.
Moral of the story, be careful where you park.
Side note: Watch National Theatre's Amadeus if you can. It's incredible even if you hate opera.
How would you like to spend 2 weeks in a car, with enough space to fill half a lift and 2 parents "having fun" navigating crazy European roads? Yeah that's what happened a fair few Augusts pre-2020. I also have some really random stories from the time when I wasn't scared of the giant metal death trap that goes from Heathrow.
Every holiday, my mother, step dad and I like to make jokes about what will go wrong with the car whilst expecting nothing to actually happen and being crazy surprised when it does.
The first time this happened was back in Australia. My mother has relatives out there so we actually have a legit excuse to go yet we've only been there twice, the first time I was too young to remember, but the second time was about 7ish years ago.
After spending some time in Sidney, we decided to rent a car and go travelling in what I think is referred to as "the outback". Me being still a relatively small child was happy chilling out in the back of the car watching The princess and the frog for probably about the 5th time on the trip so far.
In case you were wondering, on every single holiday we go on I have a single bag full of films and a mini dvd player.
Back to the mini story. We stopped off at a service station to pick up sustinence because humans, much like plants, need food and water. It just so happens that I decided to get BANANA MILK. Most of you can probably see where this is going to go.
On the way to our farm stay we smelled something...sour/weird in the car, so we opened the windows. The smell refused to leave. Next we tried air con. It absolutely sucked. We then pulled over the car and started searching and searching until we found the culprit. The lid of my banana milkshake hadn't been screwed on properly and milk was soaking into the seats.
We really tried to clean out the smell but the damage was done. The smell lingered like month-old unwashed laundry for the entire time that we used the car. Made worse by the furnace that was Australian weather.
At the end of our trip, we dropped off the car...and left step dad to tell the dealer about the smell. Was it a stupid decision? Probably. Do I still like banana milkshake? 100%.
SIDE STORY!
Our tyre went flat in Italy....that's literally all I remember about it :)
![Amazon.com : [By Adam Kay ] This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries ...](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51TQxw7txML._AC_.jpg)
