Do No Harm by Henry Marsh. Book review

Do No Harm by Henry Marsh. Book review

book review library

Hello. I seem to have had a run of interesting books from the mobile library just lately. Non fiction is the smallest section there and I go through it over and over again, in case there are any little gems I might have overlooked before. I don't have any particular subject in mind when I browse, because even the most unlikely topic can be brought to life by the writing skills of the author. 

I wasn't sure I wanted to read about brain surgery but I took a chance, and I'm glad I did. Reading the blurb inside the cover told me that it wasn't going to be all sweet and sugary with happy endings, indeed it wasn't. Henry Marsh writes a gripping, brutally honest account of his thirty odd years in neurosurgery, making agonising decisions, often in the face of great urgency and uncertainty. 

Henry Marsh achieved great things, his operations have saved many lives. He has also had some harrowing disasters, which have haunted him for many years.

How the NHS works, the frustrations of staff and bed shortages, and the human dramas which unfold within the hospital, are all covered. Henry donates some of his time to hospitals in the Ukraine, he frequently travels there to train and assist Igor, a willing pupil who is dedicated to his work. These trips gave him an insight into the drab and poorly equipped hospitals Igor was up against.

Henry is indeed a true hero, a compassionate man who is dedicated to his craft. There are twentyfive chapters which can be read singly, but once into it you won't want to put it down. Be prepared for some triumphs, but also some sadness. There are no photographs so nothing to be squeamish about. A lot of it is case studies where the identities of the patients have been changed.

There are a few videos on yooootoooob, I've picked this one out, it's eleven minutes long, A Day in the Life of NHS neurosurgeon Henry Marsh. It gives a taster of the man himself, it may or may not give you an appetite for the book.



Weather not so good today, Crafty Club was good this morning, now I'm going to get on with some painting, crochet, and stitching. I have some projects which I want to finish.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
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Eric Clapton The Autobiography. Book review

Eric Clapton The Autobiography. Book review

book review

Hello. This book has been a bit of an eye opener. I think we have all heard of the Drugs, Sex, and Rock and Roll thing which was rife in the music world of the early sixties. I was a very naive teenager then and all I did was scream at the bands when they came on the telly, not really understanding what went on behind the scenes. There was the odd news item about pop stars getting busted for drugs, but I was never sure what drugs did to people apart from making them appear to be drunk. 

Eric Clapton goes into great detail about his drug and alcohol addiction in this book. He even says himself it's amazing that he is still alive. There were long periods of time where became a recluse, not leaving his house and living on junk food, chocolate, drugs and alcohol. When he reached rock bottom he went into rehab. 

Such a shame that his whole life has been blighted with pushing the self destruct button. He is one of the best guitarists in the world, yet his personal life has been a shambles. He treated women abominably, which I was very saddened to read about.

There is a lot about the early days from when he started to take an interest in music, where he drew his influences from, lots about the bands he set up, the disagreements about the type of music they would play, and how he was drawn to go in a different direction which caused him to split and start again with another band.

This book would be an excellent read for anyone who is battling against a drug or alcohol addiction, he tells it how it was when he was at rock bottom. It's also a good read for anyone who was a teenager in the sixties, there are a lot of references to his friendships with other pop bands on the scene, the Stones and Beatles, and everyone else who was around at that time. It's common knowledge that he was in love with Patti Boyd, wife of George Harrison. I can remember seeing all this on the telly and thinking what an exciting life these pop stars lead. This book lifts the lid on the dark side of it all. Eric goes through a roller coaster of different emotions. Now at the age of 72 it appears he has finally got it together and has a family.



Thanks for popping in, enjoy your Sunday. We'll catch up soon.
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One Man's Everest by Kenton Cool. Book review

One Man's Everest by Kenton Cool. Book review

book review

Hello and Good Morning. Thought I would write a quick report on this book before I take it back to the library. A really good read.

Kenton Cool is a renowned mountaineer and mountain guide, also a motivational speaker. The book says he has climbed Everest eleven times, I see on Wikipedia that he did it again last year, taking the total to twelve. He holds the British record for the most summits of Everest.

In 1996 while climbing in Wales, an accident almost destroyed Kenton's hope of climbing mountains. After a heavy fall which shattered both his heel bones he was initially told he would never walk unaided again. He spent four weeks in hospital, had three operations, three and a half months in a wheelchair, and months of rehab. He is still struggling to walk now, yet he still climbs.

Kenton's obsession with rock climbing started at school, and after his rehabilitation he has climbed extensively all over the world. The book is an interesting insight into the mind of someone who is so driven to the dedication of his sport. He details the escapades of the young Kenton and the risks he took, right through to becoming a much respected professional climber and expedition leader.

I always wonder what goes on in the mind of someone who is so focused to follow their dream, especially against all odds. What drives people to never give in, always pushing forward. Kenton describes in detail how mountaineering has become big business, large numbers of people are willing to pay a lot of money to be led up the mountains. How Everest is managed, descriptions of base camps, how Sherpa's play an important role in supporting climbers, death on the mountain, and even how removal of human waste is a big problem. All the practicalities are laid bare in the book.

I found it fascinating, the book itself is an inspiration, and I would recommend it for a good dose of  tell it like it is reading.

Here is Kenton's web site.

Kenton's trek to Base Camp


If you have 30 minutes to spare take a look at this motivational speech. I haven't time to watch it all now, I'll watch later.


I have much to do today, so I'll get off me bum and start by taking Bailey for a walk, then to the vet to pick up Heidi's tablets, then another Bailey walk, then books to go back to the library, then my last three mile walk of the month. That's my day mapped out.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
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Globe Trekker by Lee Morton. Book review

Globe Trekker by Lee Morton. Book review

book review healthy eating vegetarian

Hello. I've got a book review for you today. I'm not sure I'm actually going to read the whole of the book, because I'm sort of bored with it now and I'm only two thirds through it. I was looking forward to it as it covers a lot of countries, which should make it interesting, but I am disappointed with the writing style. The character descriptions are almost non existent, and there is a lot of inane and uninteresting details in it. It's as if a school boy wrote it. I was appalled at how many spelling mistakes are in it, on almost every page, was it ever spell checked, it can't have been proof read before it went to print. 

In a nutshell, Lee Morton drank his way around the world, went in this bar, went to that party, chatted women up, plenty of hangovers, stayed in this hostel and that hostel, and had long bus journeys on uncomfortable old buses. The blurb on the back cover is heavily embroidered and does not give an accurate description of what is inside the book.

He didn't have anything nice to say about the Australian people, some of his remarks were rude and condescending, and at times he comes across as arrogant and full of his own self importance. He reminded me a bit of a loudmouthed football fan, getting blathered after the match. 

Amazingly there are more positive reviews than negative on Amazon. I don't know how that happened, but as most of them are from a three month period in 2006, when the book came out, I can only assume they are from friends and family. Now I have talked myself out of finishing the book, I won't waste any more time on it. I can't recommend this book.

My dinner tonight. Yes, I have salad, bought before all the hoohaa about shortages and price rises. I like these Tesco vegetable grills, at £1 for a packet of six. Handy to have in the freezer to add to salad, or steamed vegetables. 

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
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Thanks for Nothing by Jack Dee. Book review.

Thanks for Nothing by Jack Dee. Book review.

book review funny

Hello. Jack Dee always makes me titter so when I saw this book in the library I thought it would be an interesting read. I love his deadpan look, and his sarcastic observational comedy. It was first published in 2009, and covers his early life of disastrous day jobs, and finishes when he finally makes it as a paid stand up comedian on the comedy circuit. 

Jack talks about many of his unskilled jobs, including working in an artificial leg factory, delivering incontinence pads, waiting at tables and bar work. As I was reading it I could hear his voice in my head. He shares his views on everything, from personal trainers, boutique hotels, to people who hold their cutlery the wrong way. He is a brilliant story teller and made me laugh out loud.

At the back of the book, as usual, is the index page. A typical example of Jack humour, just two words. . You've got to laugh at that, haven't you.

It's a funny book if you like Jack Dee humour. You might like to look at this funny clip from yoootooob



Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon.
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Toni My Story, by Toni Mascolo. Book review.

Toni My Story, by Toni Mascolo. Book review.

book review cooking

Hello. A book is a good place to get lost in, and I'm afraid that I don't always make time to read. I pick books from the library and often they only get a skim read, picking out a few pages. The last couple of weeks though I have needed to fill my brain with distractions and a book is a good way to do that. 

I like rags to riches stories, and I had heard of Toni & Guy the famous hairdressing conglomerate, but knew nothing about it's origins, so I chose this book. 

Toni Mascolo was born in a small town near Pompeii in 1942. His father was a barber. The whole family moved lock stock and barrel to London when Toni was 14 years old. They rented rooms in a large house which was occupied by several other Italian families. Toni's first recollections of an English school was to find no order or discipline, noise and wild behaviour was normal. He was shocked at the difference to his previous school in Italy. 

When he left school he worked with his father in a hairdressing salon. At the age of twenty he was devastated by the early death of his mother, and being the eldest son, he took over the role of keeping the family together. 

Jumping ahead a few years, Toni and his brother Guy opened their first salon in 1963, in Clapham Park Road. In ten years they bought two more salons, at Streatham and Mitcham, and realized that to establish themselves as leading London hairdressers, they had to move to the city. It's interesting to note that he said no one wanted to publicise a suburban salon, and the area around their salons was changing with a huge influx of immigrants moving into that part of South London. He said it was like introducing a nation into a nation when they all arrived at the same time. Funny how this is a talking point at the moment, history moves in circles.  Now, after half a century of amazing expansion, there are more than 500 salons across the world. 

On the whole I enjoyed the book. I enjoyed reading about the early years, the last few chapters focus mainly on the expansion of the company, which would be of particular interest to anyone looking for lessons on how to grow a business. Give it a go.

Yesterdays dinner. Onions, chick peas, mushrooms, half a tin of tomatoes, and Quorn sausages, on two microwaved potatoes. I made two portions and about to have the second for lunch today. 

The sun is shining and I'm off to road test the boots shortly, so I'll say tatty byes for now.
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Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry. Book review

Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry. Book review

arty stuff book review

Hello. I have been hanging on to this book for several weeks now, keep picking it up and finding more little gems of wisdom. I like Grayson Perry, his art, his humour, and his cross dressing. In this book he tells it like it is, the art world stripped bare according to the Perry ethos. 

He chose this title for a reason, it could have been entitled, 'Sucking up to the Academic Elite', but he has based it on some of his popular Reith Lectures. He answers some of the basic questions about art, but are too embarrassed to ask, such as what counts as quality art, and how do you become a contemporary artist.

A few interesting and amusing snippets. What is quality art? Validation is the key point, who is doing the validating? Quite often you can't tell if something is a piece of art apart from the fact that people are standing around looking at it. How can you tell if a photo is art? He says we live in an age when photography rains on us like sewage from above. That made me laugh.

This is Grayson Perry's personal journey through the art world, helping contemporary art in it's struggle to be understood. He asks if it has become mainstream, and says anyone is eligible to enjoy art or become an artist. He also says, very few artists make art to make money, they do it because they are driven, or they love to look at it, or to be around artists. People think it's fun to be an artist, but it takes a lot of hours to produce an artwork.

This book is a refreshing look at the art world in a direct and no claptrap pretentious waffling way. Read it if you enjoy art, but also read it if you are baffled by art and are looking for a simple way of understanding it.

Plenty of reviews on Amazon here. 

If you've got nine minutes to spare take a look at this yooootoooob video. He talks about his preparation for the Reith Lectures.



Right, I'll toddle off, things to do. A new exhibition at our 20 21 Arts Centre has started and the artist is there in person today, so I want to go and meet her.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
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