My weekly column 'Nellie Knows" also appears in The Wokingham Paper
I went on the Red Jet to the Isle of Wight last week and I kid you not I had the theme tune of Bergerac going round in my head, I know the Island (as my Isle of Wight friends call it) isn't Jersey but it's an island.
I'd never been before and a grey day in Cowes wasn't my best introduction but I will certainly head back there again. Most of the people I spoke to had been to IoW as children on family holidays, but we'd never been. We did go to the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides which was an 'experience' and all of this talk of childhood holidays makes me hanker after those days. I can remember the excitement at settling down in the tiny cabin on the sleeper and waking up as great swathes of the countryside went before our eyes. Flying to Barra was fun, though not in the wind and our arrival and departure dates were somewhat hazy depending on flying conditions and tides. How funny that when I used to stay with school friends in Guernsey (or on Guernsey?) her father, Dr Bob, once told us off for being nose deep in a book instead of admiring the beauty of the Channel Islands. Two things. I went a number of times so I wasn't ignoring the charm or beauty, and most importantly I was so in love with Pendle and Ace that nothing else mattered (mmmmmh I might be showing my age there!). Anyway Dr Bob would be turning in his grave at the technology at our fingertips these days and would think that a Jilly Cooper book was infact AOK. Whilst on the subject of books I have just finished The Last Day by local author Claire Dyer. Oh well yes indeed you are in for a treat. I'm delighted to be taking part in the blog tour so look out for my review on 21st Feb over on www.nelliepompoms.co.uk.
At the moment I am reading Terms & Conditions: Life in Girls' Boarding Schools, 1939-1979 By Ysenda Maxtone Graham and am loving it (thanks Abi for the recommendation). I grew up on a diet of St Clare's and Malory Towers so I assumed that's what boarding school life would be like when I got there. Wrong. We got dressed under our duvets as it was so cold, the food truly was disgusting, there was no swimming in rock pools (Malvern is obviously nowhere near the sea), there were no jolly hockey sticks just clattering lacrosse sticks, but I enjoyed it immensely which is why I'm devouring the book.
I've recently been introduced to a skincare ranged called Rhodes to Heaven and whilst my skin will never be as young as it was when I was regularly nose deep in Jilly Cooper books I'm already noticing the benefits of a good skincare regime and as I approach 50 I will be sparkly skinned.
So that's it for another week, who knows what the week will bring but I can already tell you I will be rattling on about friendly customer service, blogging workshops, photographic backdrops and anything else that might have crossed my path in a week!
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