Saturday afternoon. The auld kirk packed to hear the crime writer Ian Rankin read from his latest novel and answer questions. The bookstore has brought over 500 copies of his latest thriller to sign.
At this time of the year the auld kirk comes into its own. Book readings and carol services keep it filled. The radiators work overtime. The building may not have the grandeur and formality of Oxford or Cambridge but in terms of history it can hold its own with the best of them. We both agree that the pews are hard enough to be counted as a form of torture. This does nothing to hinder peoples enjoyment. The questions surprise us with their depth and knowledge.
Much of the country enjoyed wonderful meteor showers last night. We didn't. No sooner had we decided to go out into the garden with a warming glass of Malbec than the cloud drifted down from the North.
Quails eggs in the farm shop. The fields around us have been home to scores of Quails this year. I don't think we've noticed them before. They are affable little birds little troubled by anything other than the local Jack Russells who are noisily inept Quail hunters.
Christmas music #13 - carried over from previous years an amazing voice and a glimpse of one of Washington DC's more remarkable buildings:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGHz9FIk5Po&list=PLI77PkltjNXaE2Y6Kb6EZHA-mprUa1XO9
Friends discovered this in that usually 'rushed through' area north of LA and say the cooking is wonderful :https://www.bellsrestaurant.com/ . Here's yesterdays raved about dinner menu :https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d10fbebeb0c210001b7dcba/t/675e0da6ca0460281c199e3b/1734217126994/Bell%27s+Prix+Fixe+DS+12.14.24+.pdf .
A French postman built this in his vegetable garden. It's now a museum :https://www.facteurcheval.com/en/
5 comments:
Amazing palace and an amazing imagination that had the visions and created it.
Hari Om
Ian Rankin is one of the best, no doubt about it... And oor Annie, too! That 'palace' is reminiscent of Hindu temples... YAM xx
Agree with YAM, Ian Ranking is one of the best crime writers - as attendance at his book reading proves.
What an incredible building - every man should have a hobby!
It's a beautiful church, and I would have loved to hear this reading. I just finished Midnight and Blue last week. I had stopped reading Rankin after Rebus retired (too close to home, perhaps?), but then I started seeing the wonderful photographs he posts on Twitter and, now, BlueSky, and I decided it would be OK and caught up on the most recent two.
A city of readers, paradise
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