Finally Found a Book to Read

SPENT SO LONG LOOKING for a good book to read ... the one I finally found might surprise you. It's the sort of slim volume that might go unborrowed in it's tatty plastic-bound hard covers for years at a time. It's a 60,000 word novel about four old people on the verge of retirement. I've only read the first couple of chapters and loved the way the author characterized these individuals by their hair and what they ate for lunch. The book is called Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym. (New York, 1977, Harper & Row/Perennial.) I was quite surprised to find an American edition retaining all the British spellings, expressions and references. Nowadays you hear Brit authors (usually talking to the Guardian newspaper or BBC Radio 4) complaining bitterly about how saccharined-out the American editions of their works become. Like comparing Heinz tomato soup to the real thing. (I bought a tin a few months ago in the vane hope that it might taste of tomatoes. No. "Salty watery sugar-flavour gruel" is what the labelling should have proclaimed. Anyway ...

What have I to tell about today? I hibernated until 5pm when I had to see Valium Marilyn to return £5 she'd lent me. An arduous rush-hour bus journey ensued. Got there and watched Animal Planet on her cable TV ... staff petting lions in Alabama zoo. Marilyn agreed with me: that's a really foolish thing to do. And what happened to zoos' treasured (supposed) belief in keeping wildlife "wild"-?? I heard a shocking story about a giant tortoise and a baby hippo who'd formed a bond in Kenya only to be separated because their relationship somehow went against nature. What rot! I'm quite sure such things do happen in the natural world when mankind isn't about to interfere. And what can be more unnatural than keeping a poor baby hippopotamus in animal prison to be gawped at by the paying bourgeoisie? I'm all for keeping animals but I hate hypocrisy, especially when cruelty is being excused. Give the poor hippo it's surrogate mummy back! So what if she has a hard shell and her head disappears when she's frightened? Are they going to take her back to the Galapagos islands? I think not.

Well I have to go as there's something good coming on telly. (Comic Relief does The Apprentice. Our Apprentice stars Sir Alan Sugar who's 100 times a scarier boss than the bouffonted Donald Trump will ever be. Donald Trump's prestige is all tied up with his money. Sir A has a force of personality that would still shine through if he were living on a park bench. (I somehow don't see that he'd stay there for long ...) See you later.