November

Alfie has had enough of the football too.

As I write this there is yet another football match on TV.  I am very bored with the World Cup already. I suppose it is forcing me to write a blogpost though.

November has been a kind of literary month for me. I’ve read a lot, wrote a bit and attended several author events.  I went to see Patrick Gale talking about his books and in particular his latest, ‘Mother’s Boy’ which is loosely based on the life of the poet Charles Causley.  I’ve been studying his book’Notes on an Exhibition’ with one of the adult classes I teach so it was good to have an opportunity to ask him questions about it. He was a very entertaining speaker and seemed happy to speak to us about his writing.

I also went to see Maggie O’Farrell talking about her latest novel ‘The Marriage Portrait’ which is based on Browning’s version of the suspicious death of Lucrezia di Medici a year into her marriage with Alphonso, Duke of Ferrara. I’m halfway through reading the book and enjoying it a lot. I queued up to get my copy of the book signed and told her about my own attempts at writing. Her advice was simple - keep going.  So I will.

Otherwise a dull month of damp dog walks and routine chores.  I’m pleased December begins tomorrow. This weekend I’m going to be seeing two of my sisters and one of them is about to travel to NZ to see another sister.  I have already done quite a lot of my Christmas shopping so I can deliver presents myself instead of relying on the post.  I do wish I was going to New Zealand too - the idea of leaving winter behind is very tempting.

 Chester is looking very festive - the Christmas market is open.  I didn’t buy any presents there - lots of candles, fancy hand creams, weird alcohol etc.  But I did buy one of the paper stars in the picture below. We also have a brand new permanent Chester Market which seems mostly to consist of food outlets and coffee shops. There’s a huge bar running along the back wall of the hall and lots of seating.  Some of the shops from the old market have moved there; others either couldn’t afford the rent or weren’t considered suitable.  So no fancy dress shop, no greengrocer shouting out his deals, no stall offering cut price ‘fancy cheese’ deals. Instead there’s a florist which is selling a huge flowering Christmas cactus for £150; a shop selling wacky frames for glasses; an upmarket patisserie etc.   It all looks lovely but I feel it’s aimed at tourists rather than anyone wanting to do proper shopping.  I was hoping for something more like a French market with the focus on good quality fresh produce. I’m hoping it will improve as more of the stalls open.  But then many of the shops in the main shopping centre and on Chester’s famous Rows have closed down.  This development was planned years ago before internet shopping destroyed the high street. I do hope it succeeds but have my doubts.