Anthony Anaxagoru, If I told you

I went to a talk yesterday on racism,  oppression and percepticide, this poem by Anthony Anaxagoru was played at the end:-

There was salad and chocolate on the top shelf

"There was salad and chocolate on the top shelf, old rice and curling bacon on the bottom, and - squeezed on its side on the middle shelf- a severed human head, lips drawn back, veins poking from the frayed flesh and pressed against the frosted glass. One eye socket was empty, the other was hidden by a jar of Tesco Value peanut butter"

- Belinda Bauer, Rubbernecker 

currently reading

With the nights drawing closer, and only a few days left to Halloween, I've been scaring myself silly with crime and horror novels- reviews coming soon!

spelt scones

You can't beat a warm, home-made scone for leisurely brunch. 

If you are gluten or wheat intolerant, you might want to give spelt four a try. Although it does still contain wheat and gluten it is easier to digest than ordinary flour. Personally, it doesn't seem to give me any problems, plus it make tastier baked goods compared to specialised gluten-free flour.

 If you fancy whipping up your own spelt scones the recipe is after the cut:-

Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself

quote: "Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms."- Angela Carter 
book: Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis 

Sylvia Pankhurst at the Tate Britain

The Tate Britain- it's undergoing a bit of a facelift at the moment. 

I am a proudly proclaimed feminist, but I wasn't aware that as well as being a major campaigner for women's rights, Sylvia Pankhurst was also an artist. Running until March 2014, the Tate Britain has a free exhibition on Sylvia Pankhurst's work.

Pankhurst's art mainly focused on the lives of working-class women, and was a usefully propaganda tool in arguing that women's working conditions and pay should be improved.

Sylvia Pankhurst- domestic servants 

 Pankhurst also designed badges, banners and flyers for the WSPU, often incorporating the 'angel of freedom'. Also on display is the various badges that would be awarded to suffragettes, for membership or for stays in the notorious Holloway prison.

suffragette tea set,  with the 'angel of freedom' in the WSPU colours of green and purple  

If you do pop in to have a look around the gallery and the exhibition, I also recommend you have a walk down by the river when your done, London really is the best place just to stroll around.

Vauxhall bridge and MI6 headquarters 

Naoki Higashida-The Reason I Jump

I think this maybe the first non-fiction review I've done? 

Naoki Higashida wrote The Reason I Jump when he was 13, in an attempt to share and explain what it feels like to be autistic by answering frequently asked questions.  It is a plea for compassion, patience and understanding. Translated from Japanese from the acclaimed author David Mitchell, and his wife KA Yoshida, who are themselves the parents of an autistic child.

I know people who are autistic, have autistic children or just have an interest in the condition will find a lot of merit in The Reason I Jump. There is a lot of optimism and positivity in text, and Naoki contradicts many of the preconceptions there are about autism. I can imagine that is people are struggling with the diagnosis, they would find hope in this book.

The problem is autism is so person-specific, that Naoki's answers are only really relevant to his experiences. I think there is is a danger that people will generalise and think that all autistic people are like Naoki.

I think The Reason I Jump goes some way in explaining autism, but it is held back as its really difficult to explain thought processes and feeling, I just don't think there's the right vocabulary available to express these ideas. For example, when I talk about what it's like to to be dyslexic, I can list the things I struggle with, but I lack the words to probably explain what actually happens in my brain. The Reason I Jump also suffers from this restriction in language.      

I would recommend The Reason I Jump, especially if you have a personal connection to the condition and if you haven't done so, I'd also suggest reading the excellent The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. 

James W. P. Campbell & Will Pryce - The Library: A World History

I'm starting my Christmas wishlist already with James W. P. Campbell and Will Pryce's The Library: A World History. (ISBN:  978-0500342886). The images in this book in look absolutely stunning, and are guaranteed to give you wanderlust.  

The Tripitaka Koreana at the Haeinsa Temple in South Korea. image taken from here. I used to live in South Korea- such a missed opportunity that I didn't visit!

 George Peabody Library, Baltimore

The book is a little bit pricey (£38.99 currently on Amzon) but would make a fabulous gift for a bibliophile. 

edit: just like to point out that the fabulous photographer Will Pryce took all of these stunning pictures. 

double chocolate cookies

The recipe for these double chocolate cookies can be found here. They are a Nigella Lawson creation so they are v unhealthy, but taste delicious. The cookies are cake-y and slightly bitter, so go well with a cup of coffee.

no one is so busy that they can't take time to make a decent cup of tea

“no one is so busy they can’t take time to make a decent cup of tea and if you are that busy you don’t deserve a decent cup of tea for what is it all about anyway? Are we put into this world to be busy or to chat over a nice cup of tea?”
- Frank McCort