feather_ghyll

A bit odd for it to be the quarter finals when the top four seeds were only playing for the second time. ( Read more... )

I didn’t have time to post that on Saturday morning, and saw the semis on catch-up. ( Read more... )

So, women are back playing competitively at Queen’s club for the first time in 52 years, so whoever wins will be a trailblazer, in a way. Apparently they will be getting less in prize money than the men next week – boo! And I say that as someone who doesn’t believe in equal prize money at the slams, because I think there should be some fractional recognition that the men’s singles are five sets, even if women were probably barred from playing five because of past sexism. Oh, sorry, ‘the schedule’. (Do they run a shorter distance in a marathon?) But here, what’s the excuse? All the matches will be best of three! Wanting women to prove themselves? The ticket sales have been good, (and the attendance and support will be a boost after the issues at the French.) I wonder what state the courts will be at the end of the week, and if that will throw the men - oh well, they'll be financially compensated for it, won't they?

Is it a bit rough that a 500 event is being held straight after a grand slam? Admittedly, the turnaround between surfaces is notoriously quick at this time of the year, and so it looks as though they’ve had a strong field, because players want time on the grass, and Queen’s will be less windy than Eastbourne.

They’ve renamed the centre court Andy Murray arena. First on it were ( Read more... )

The top four seeds had byes in the first round and will appear today.

I’m glad ‘Roland Garros’ put Rafael Nadal’s goodbye on YouTube. ( Read more... )

As for the tennis, (I caught up via news reports, live radio and highlights), ( Read more... )

Borderland: Rhiannon Lassiter, Oxford University Press, 2003.

I picked this up at a charity shop because the blurb seemed quite interesting (looking back at it, it only gives a taste of what’s in the book, but it was effective.) Three strands are introduced, ( Read more... )

Companions of the Night: Vivian Vande Velde, Magic Carpet Books, 2002

Kerry Nowicki is sixteen years old, has a learner’s driver permit and an afterschool job at a supermarket. When her four-year-old brother Ian begs her to go back to the laundromat to rescue his stuffed toy, despite it being the middle of the night, she gives in. ( Read more... )

Hope you had a happy Easter!

Henrietta Sees It Through: Joyce Dennys, Bloomsbury 2010

This is a sequel to Henrietta’s War, which I read almost five years ago, during lockdown. This time around, I felt some more distance from the wartime characters and their privations. It covers 1942-45, ending, with qualified hope, just after V.E. Day.

Henrietta is ( Read more... )

The Enigma Game: Elizabeth Wein Bloomsbury, 2020

In the author’s note at the end, Wein herself describes her books as World War Two thrillers, I suppose I’d just add the descriptor ‘young adult.’ This is the fourth book in the Code Name Verity Cycle, following ‘The Pearl Thief’ chronologically, and about events that precede ‘Code Name Verity’ and ‘Rose Under Fire’. I don’t believe you have to have read all the others to appreciate this, but knowing about various characters and relationships mentioned in passing and what’s coming for some of the characters added depth to me. Also, if you have read all those (excellent) books, you will know that the ‘game’ in the title is a misnomer, really. ( Read more... )

I followed Indian Wells via highlights and news reports, where ( Read more... )

As it happens, I saw a copy of this book (a more modern reprint) at a charity shop today.

The Far Country: Nevil Shute. Pan, 1967.

So, it looks as though I’ll be rereading all the Nevil Shute books that I have. That is, I assume this was a reread, and I must have last read it years ago, if I did, because it felt as though I came to it fresh. If you were to categorise this book, I suppose it would be as ( Read more... )

This is all from a distance, following liveblogs, the Quick Served recaps and occasionally listening on Five Live.

For what it’s worth, before it started, I thought that the favourites to win were ( Read more... )