Bradwell & St. Peters

We were starting to feel a bit trapped indoors by the afternoon so decided to go for a walk at nearby Bradwell.  

When me and my sisters were small we used to go to the power-station at Bradwell every other weekend. A nuclear power-station may seem to be an odd choice for a family outing, but it has a beach, a nature reserve and was more importantly free entertainment when we were strapped for cash.

The nuclear facility has now been decommissioned and is in the process of being demolished, but the area is still a popular site for walkers (and unfortunately also for doggers, the ground is littered with used condoms so be careful where you stand).

The landscape looked rather bleak in the grey weather, but I think I managed to get some half decent pictures.

I read banned books

I've just discovered that it's banned book week. The whole point of a dedicated week, is to explore ideas of censorship, politics and immorality.

There's a list on banned-books.org that lists a selection of book that have been banned historical or are still censored today. This wiki page also lists banned books.

I thought it might be fun to go through the list and pick out the banned books that I've read:-

laughing children, dancing men, crying women

'After situating herself on a huge flat rock, Baby Suggs bowed her head and prayed silently. The company watched her from the trees. They knew she was ready when she put her stick down. Then she shouted, "Let the children come!" and the ran from the trees towards her.
"Let your mothers here you laugh," she told them, and the woods rang. The adults looked on and couldn't help smiling.
Then "Let the grown men come" she shouted. They stepped out one by one from among the ringing trees.
"Let your wives and children see you dance," she told them, and groundlife shuddered under their feet.
Finally she called the women to her. "Cry," she told them. "For the living and the dead. Just cry". And without covering their eyes the women let loose.
It started that way: laughing children, dancing men, crying women and then it got mixed up [...] in the silence that followed, Baby Suggs, holy, offered up them her great big heart. 
[...]
"Here," she said "in this place we flesh; we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard.' 
- Toni Morrison, Beloved 

Geraldine Brooks- People of the Book

I was at a loose end and didn't have anything to read, so I picked up my mum's copy of People of the Book. Mum usually goes for gossipy, family saga novels, so my expectations were pretty low, but it turned out People of the Book is rather an enjoyable read.

Plot: Hanna, an expect of rare books, has been tasked to conserve the priceless and unique Sarajevo Haggadah*. The previous owners of the book have left tiny traces of themselves between the pages, an insect wing, salt crystals, a wine stain and a white hair. It is through these artefacts Hanna is able to uncover the history of the book and the stories of the Jewish people.

* a Haggadah is a Jewish texts that is read at Passover and instructs people on the order of Passover Seder.

This is a fictionalised history of the Sarajevo Haggadah, though from what I've read the true history is equally fascinating. The manuscript was saved from the Nazis by a librarian who risked his life to smuggle it out of the country. It was then kept safe by a Muslim cleric.  

My thoughts and a review of the book after the cut (may contain spoilers):-