Play with those toys!

I love toyshops. Walk in, sigh, feel right at home. And the best ones have all sorts of strange, odd, funny-looking things you can't figure out. My daughter and I say, "Look at this", "Try this" and we press buttons and play with things. I know it may irritate some store owners, but the most successful stores have their employees playing with the demonstration model of the toy - for very good reason! In any toystore, at any time of day, you will see parents and grandparents staring blankly at the box of an airplane, helicopter, robot, transformer etc and they look up, catch your eye and say "I don't know what this is. How does it work?" We chat about the toy and if they are brave enough, they collar a member of staff who also usually looks at the toy and turns the box over to find the brief English description among all the other languages on the back.

My sister and I walked through all the floors of Hamleys in London, watching all the toy testers playing with toys, enticing Christmas shoppers. Who doesn't revert to childhood in a toystore? Was it you pressing the buttons on the dinosaurs as you walked past? Then hearing the roars? Woah, cool! Now about the helicopter-speedboat-transformer - what does it really do? Can we find a 10-year old and ask?

Alice in Wonder-why-land?

The Mad Hatter asks the riddle "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" But in regard to the latest film version of "Alice in Wonderland" starring Johnny Depp, one might just as easily ask "Why turn a funny children's classic into a dark, coming-of-age drama?" It is a pity when film-makers continue to re-work old classics, perhaps hoping to draw on the established fan base rather than creating a unique work.

In the process, this version of "Alice" turns into more of a computer game than a story and the eccentric humour of both Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass is totally lost. The plot becomes boringly predictable and the glorious costuming, make-up and set design are purposeless without the twists and turns of the original writing.

If nothing else, this film proves that a seemingly limitless budget covering special effects and creative departments cannot buy the original impact of the story and a child's imagination.

Unfortunately this raven is not like a writing desk - but more like a lead balloon.

The Great Goons

Our great joy this school holiday has been to listen to the Goon Show in the evenings, with dogs snoring at our feet, playing Mancala. My daughter has become so good at this game that she now beats me every time, and I feel like whining - rather like Bluebottle - "I'm not playing with you."

The Goon appeal lasts over generations. I found them hilarious and my daughter squeals with merriment at the sound effects. And with show titles like: "The Macreekie Rising of '74", "The Histories of Pliny the Elder" and "The Chinese Legs" you can imagine the impossible stories. As Miss Snut (?) says in "1985", "I have loved you from afar" and Neddy replies, "My favourite distance!"

For anyone new to the Goons, imagine Peter Sellers of The Pink Panther fame x3. My daughter wanted to find out more and so we rented the Pink Panther movies. I found them so funny as a child, was pleased to find my daughter also enjoyed them very much.

Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and "Neddy"/Harry Secombe. Brilliant!

If moms ruled the world

At the store this morning, the shelf packer was whistling Andrea Boccelli's "Time to say Goodbye" in perfect pitch. I thought of all those who have opportunities and make no use of them, and all those who never had any.

The cashier was asking about my daughter: is she ready to go back to school after the holidays (is anyone, ever?) did she wish she had a sister or brother (every day) and why was it that children never have enough pencils? (the eternal enigma)

If moms ruled the world, wouldn't it be a more compassionate place?

A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman


The cover review on this novel by Margaret Foster says "I read it at a gallop desperate to discover what had happened" and this is inevitable when you pick up this novel focusing on relationships between women set in Sri Lanka.

Although the main focus is on an employer and her employee, the parallel narrative of a mother and her children compels the reader forward. As this family travels by train, the reader chugs, speeds and grinds along with them, feeling every step of their precarious journey.

It is also interesting that while the novel may be interpreted as a critique of the relationship that exists between mistress and servant, it is also a commentary on so many different levels of relationships between women - including friends, mothers and daughters, wives and mistresses, caregivers and those within their care.

And it is a heartbreaking reminder of how very important such little things can be to those who have absolutely nothing; a stick of chewing gum, an offered seat, a kind smile, a pair of sandals. What kind of a difference people are making in each others' lives every day - contributing tragedy or salvation.

This is a wonderfully thought-provoking read.

Pearl of China

The novel, "Pearl of China" by Anchee Min is one of the most moving stories I have ever read. After laughing at descriptions of Papa, the Popcorn Man or Bumpkin Emperor, I cried over accounts of the "cultural revolution" in China and the persecution of so many men, women and children from all walks of life. This is a story of friendship, loyalty and love that is heartrending in its simplicity. As a teenager living in China, Anchee Min was taught to denounce Nobel Prize winner, Pearl S. Buck as an American cultural imperialist. But after reading Pearl's book, "The Good Earth", decided to write this novel. You will read the book in one sitting - as it is impossible to put down until you know the fate of such wonderfully appealing characters. They linger in the mind as you think, I know this person. I recognize that person. It is my mother, my sister, my friend.

What Gear?

I don't usually watch Top Gear on the BBC, but it happened to be on the channel when the three blokes were testing clapped out cars in a variety of weird ways. They had to park on a steep incline in neutral, without using brakes, and get out. Jeremy Clarkson's car was invisible in clouds of smoke. Then they had to drive over a cobbled road with a colander of eggs slowly breaking over their heads. Lastly, they donned wetsuits and snorkels while their cars were filled with water and had to drive as far as they could until the water level dropped below the steering wheel. I was laughing so loudly my daughter came to see what was going on and joined in the hilarity. I thought, this is so familiar, but why? A tall man, curly hair, big feet, smoking car? Oh, yes! The circus. Those clowns with bits falling off their cars are a hard act to follow.

The Bold and the Hairless

Sometimes I wondered if my daughter was listening when we read Bible stories at night. Then I read:
"...all were amazed at the boldness of the apostles..."
And she said, "So they had no hair?"
And thus followed explanation of the difference between "bold" and "bald".
English is a crazy language.

Queen of the Night

Okay, so you think opera is not for children. But Mozart's "The Magic Flute" is a good place to start.

Let them listen to the aria sung by the Queen of the Night. I admit that I am not an opera expert and struggle to remember names of pieces of music that I really enjoy. But when you listen to this and pieces like "Suo Gan" sung by the Ambrosian Boys Choir, you realize "what a piece of work is man" - what spiritual heights human beings can reach!

Thank God for libraries

I love books. But at bookshops, I am like a child looking into a candystore, nose pressed against the glass, reading jackets and returning books to their glossy places on display.

I am not blaspheming when I say, "Thank God for libraries". My daughter and I spend countless hours in our local library and even if the library itself cannot afford all the latest titles, there are still always the classics that comfort us with their endurance.

When I visited my sister in the UK, all I saw were books, everywhere, and like one of those sad Eastern European refugees, was collared at the airport for over-heavy luggage.

"I know what it's like," the airport check-in girl twittered merrily, "you go shopping and before you know it you're over the limit." She was visualizing shoes and handbags, I was handing my sister my books.

Well. Thank God for libraries

Ruby Employers

Proverbs 31 verse 10 says how hard it is to find a "capable wife" who is "worth far more than jewels" and goes on to explain the skill of effective housekeeping.

But there should be an award - the Ruby Award - for the rare excellence of the "capable" employer who is not merely able to hire and pay staff, but is also a person worthy of respect in their eyes. This rare person would be someone who honoured his staff, not for high sales totals, but for being honest and having integrity. This employer would inspire people to want to work for them.

Are there such Ruby Employers out there? Men or women who know the true value within the hearts of their employees - to the extent that they see these people not as numbers or salary figures or labourers - but as colleagues?

This person would truly teach staff, not how to dodge work, call in sick or hide in their cubicles, but how to emerge and show their true colours. To inspire and motivate and know that each person can fulfill their potential. This person would accomplish that most elusive goal - of seeing each employee go home happy and further - return happy - to continue working the next day.

Mantis, crane, tiger

The beautiful perfection of dance in the form of the mantis, crane, snake, dragon or tiger.

Jackie Chan makes an unlikely dance artist. Modern films have depicted him as the action hero, defeating city gangsters. But one of his older films, showing village characters and his great sense of humour, has one of the best examples of choreograhpy - whether for dance or martial arts.

Mikhail Barishnikov paid tribute to Gene Kelly's contribution to the world of dance. And in an interview, Jackie Chan described how Buster Keaton and Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire would have to get the routine perfectly mastered. No blue screens or technology.

That is the beauty of this film of Jackie Chan's - and I can't even remember the name of it! My daughter watched it at least four times. This is the real test. Whether a film or book is old or new, if it is great, we will want it again and again.

Larkrise to Candleford

This is a particularly beautiful series, of the kind that is only done with such sensitivity and detail by the BBC. Characterising village life in England, it is a joy to watch, not only the story that unfolds, but also the attention paid to costume and set. The embroidery, tea cups or workmen's tools. Well done indeed.

I was reading, "Chewing the Cud" by Dick King-Smith, the unlikely author of "Babe the Gallant Pig" or the story of the pig that wanted to be a sheepdog. It is a wonderfully encouraging autobiography written by a man whose own life would make a wonderful series or film, it is so varied and amusing.

Like James Herriot and Gerald Durrell, these men have a way of making the ordinary extra-wonderful!

In Durrell's "Menagerie Manor" he comments that animals only really need decent food and clean living conditions to have a fair chance at survival. I wondered why we can't even do this for humans, especially human children these days?

Liberating technology

Just as the invention of the printing press freed so many minds from the tyranny of the few, so the internet, blog sites and self-publishing have enabled so many people to express their thoughts. And these give glimpses into humanity that have been shut down by more formal processes.

Because it seems that as soon as there is a way to say something, people start attaching lengthy conditions, and limiting imagination to circumscribed areas.

Thank goodness for the imagination of a child, that sees no limits.

Modern Delights

Book review

by Ingela Richardson

What delights you? The word is very well chosen. Not what you love or like, but what gives you delight? This book is a selection of short pieces to describe what delights a variety of human beings - from actors and entertainers to writers, presenters and "national treasures" from the UK.

It is a delight to read because it celebrates everything from the simplest of pleasures to the most awe-inspiring that bring delight to people. You can dip into the book here and there - like choosing your favourite chocolates from an assortment - or devour it whole. And it will leave you feeling a wonderful sense of upliftment and recognition that being human does not only mean the drudgery of work and routine but is full of delightful moments.

One of my favourite pieces is titled, "Children dancing" by Roy Hudd. He begins: "I love to see little children dance. I don't mean the strait-jacketed, polite routines they learn at dancing school, but the strange steps they do when they're alone. When they think no one is watching. They will suddenly, for no reason at all, throw an arm into the air, try to look at their heels over their shoulders, and best of all, kick a leg out: backwards, forwards, sideways, upwards or downwards. They display steps no dance director could ever invent".

This is so true and so wonderfully delightful to see. That lack of inhibition fades all too quickly from childhood.

But there are so many delights described, including: "The perfect vodka tonic," "Ducklings", "My grandson", "When anything goes right", "Cycling downhill", "Beer at midday" and who would deny delighting in "The last roast potato"?

This little book is great fun. Published by Waterstones, all proceeds from sales go to Dyslexia Action and the London Library. It will leaving you thinking about all the things you delight in, but too seldom acknowledge. Lots of warm, fuzzy feelings, lots of laughs, lots of "Mmm, I'd forgotten that!"

Blackberry Wine and Seventh Heaven

Book reviews by Ingela Richardson

Enjoying a glass of blackberry wine with Joanne Harris or entering Seventh Heaven with Alice Hoffman is experiencing a little practical magic. Everyday things become special and magical in the hands of these writers. But sometimes this kind of approach or style of writing seems to go horribly wrong.

I just re-read "Five quarters of the orange" by Joanne Harris and for the first time read "Diamond Star Halo" by Tiffany Murray. They are both narrated by women remembering girlhood days and raw emotional havoc all around them. But where Harris creates something that is tragic and believable, Murray's world is tragic and unbelievable. Possibly the latter is more factual then, as they always say fact is stranger than fiction? But some books have the bare appearance of reality when others seem to be the writer's over-indulgence, veering into the worlds of cartoon or caricature.

Perhaps sometimes authors are too much in their own created worlds? I find it very frustrating when some writers persist in creating their flawed heroes in their own images. In this way, the little nerdy guy with glasses who was always bullied at school gets to defeat all his tormentors with a terrible vengeance in the pages of his own book, but it is predictable and just not imaginative.

I don't like the world of rock 'n roll, and possibly this is why I didn't like "Diamond Star Halo" at all, feeling the shallowness of eating all icing and no cake.

By complete contrast, "Thirty-Three Teeth" by Colin Cotterill is brilliant. It is the deceptively simple, gripping tale of coroner Dr Siri Paiboun set in Laos.

Perhaps the appeal also lies in the author's own sense of humour. The more subtle, the better. Not Peter Pan's crowing, "Oh the cleverness of me!"

Hot chocolate cake

There is nothing quite like the smell of cake baking in the kitchen. Add cocoa to that and it is pretty close to heaven. I would like to rain blessings down on those who first discovered the magic of the cocoa bean - was it the Aztecs? My daughter says cake is supposed to cool off, just as pudding is supposed to be hot. Does anyone know why? Cake, warm from the oven, topped with a glace icing tastes so great - even better with ice-cream. The contrast in taste, texture and temperature!

Okay, the reason for extolling the virtues of the kitchen, is a rainy day, when dogs are literally chasing each other's tails and chewing up anything that doesn't move, a child on holiday and a rented DVD that didn't want to work. We have been going through a Bruce-Lee/Jackie Chan marathon. The young man at the video shop said, "For a boy, well..." and proceeded with suggestions while I just thought, "Hmmm, he doesn't know some girls..." I mean, what girl can resist Bruce-Lee flying through the air and laying waste to tables, chairs and assorted villains?

Now the dogs have fallen asleep, I can hear raindrops on the roof and a stew is bubbling slowly on the stove. Peace! Until the next, "Mom!"

Save the whales

It is amazing that this should still be an issue. In this area folk are privileged to be able to watch whales as these gentle giants shelter in our waters. But the International Whaling Commission, meeting in Agadir, Morrocco, is voting on a proposal to legalize commercial whale hunting for the first time in a generation.

In the 1980s, protests led to the commercial whaling ban. It is hoped that when the International Whaling Commission votes in Morocco, the world will still say a big "NO!" to whaling.

After the global ban was first implemented on commercial whaling, the number of whales killed each year fell from 38 000 per year to just a couple of thousand. Hopefully humans will join together again to protect these gentle giants.

I remember when Kitty cat had her kittens the day before Christmas. She lay next to me on my bed and just started pushing at me with her paws. She didn't even make a sound. I woke up my daughter (at 6:30am) so she could see the babies being born and she was fine with it - very non-squeamish. As soon as all six were out, we relocated kitty to her baby-bath bed with all her new babies.

We called them the Stripey Family as they were dark-grey striped and pale grey.

They were very popular with my daughter and a visiting friend who kept popping in every few minutes to check on kittens' progress. But there was a sign on the bedroom door - "no dogs allowed" - since bouncy puppy was an irritation to kitty and got his nose swiped for his impertinence at peeping in at her.

Max - the Jack Russell-cross-Maltese puppy - is also known as Mad Max, Max-Attacks, Maximillian Mouse or the Marshmallow (when he is asleep). He was very nearly turned into a handbag-dog when the girls were visiting as they tended to carry him around like a handbag. He somehow managed to tolerate all the attention and lick everyone democratically.

I managed to keep my head above poop level - puppy poop and kitty poop.

When my daughter went to bed Kitty regarded her with lemony eyes and all you could hear was quiet suckling of her babies and purring.

Soul Survivor

A very interesting book is "Soul Survivor" by Philip Yancey - about how his faith as a Christian "survived" the church.

He refers to the Victorian journalist GK Chesterton and says:

"By the age of nine he (Chesterton) could barely read and his parents consulted with a brain specialist about his mental capacity. He dropped out of art school and skipped university entirely. As it turned out however, he had a memory so prodigious that late in life he could recite the plots of all 10 000 novels he had read and reviewed. He wrote five novels of his own as well as 200 short stories...etc"

C.S. Lewis looked to Chesterton as his "spiritual father".

The book is a wonderful and encouraging spiritual journey.