What I have read this month.

As we draw closer to the end of April, I am hear to let you in on what I have been reading across the month...


1: Some of me Poems (1976) by Pam Ayres.

I kickstarted off my reading and reviewing in April with my first Pam Ayres book. As she has been author of the month, I picked her first collection Some of me Poems (1976) to read and have a review that you can look at from the beginning of the month.


2: My French...

I do it, I do not stop. I am continually working on my French lessons in a bid to master the language. These of course including reading tasks so I do reading often (in French and English).


3: Bus timetables.

Where I live there have been a number of timetable changes and I am have browsing through all the new timetables to see what changes (again), improvements (unlikely) and reductions (as per) that there would be. I did also come across a brand new 24 hour bus route, though not for my area. It seems that Metrobus are going to be running a new 24 hour bus route from Gatwick Airport to East Grinstead, Forest Row, Nutley, Uckfield, Halland, East Hoathly, Hailsham, Polegate and Eastbourne. This new route due to begin next month, covers most of the current hourly 54 route from Eastbourne to Uckfield and most of the current less than hourly 261 route between Uckfield and Gatwick Airport. This new route will run every hour on Mondays - Saturdays with a service two hourly on Sundays and running throughout the night. I checked both the current 54 and 261 timetables and it seems the 261 does not even run on Sundays so will benefit from buses there and a more frequent service.


4: Thoughts of a Late-Night Knitter (1978) by Pam Ayres.

As I continued on through the month, another Pam Ayres book was up for review. This time I had taken to reading her 1978 collection Thoughts of a Late-Night Knitter. You can have a look at my review from earlier on in the month too.


5: My chess.

I have been continuously doing my chess alongside my French. If I do not read the instructions properly I tend to make mistakes. Still, I am doing well with it and improving a little bit at a time.


6: Instructions on the television.

I watched this programme from channel 4 called 'World's Apart'. Basically the programme saw six pairs, comprised of someone younger and someone older, working together to solve clues in various locations across Japan. The pairs would receive instructions on a modern folding phone. Every time they received an instruction I would pause it and read it myself, trying to decipher the meaning behind the message.


7: On Animals (2021) by Pam Ayres.

Halfway through the month, I reviewed something by Pam Ayres yet again. This time it was her poetry collection On Animals (2021) which includes all her work on animals funnily enough. You can find the review to see what I thought, As it is poetry I have added the 'Poetry' tag to it just like the previous two, should you struggle to find it.


8: Social media.

I use social media to find stuff out though always check it before assuming it is true. I like to try and be in the know, particularly with so many liars around!


9: CD tracklists.

I have been reading over CD tracklists because I have bought CDs as presents for people. I wanted to know what songs were on the various CDs and how many songs there were. If a CD is expensive but only has a few songs on it, is it worth it? Maybe a rare CD but not a generic common one...


10: My brain training.

As well learning French and bettering my chess, I do daily brain training with an app on my phone. I like to keep my mind as sharp as I can. If you do not pay attention and read things carefully then you will not do well though!

11: I am Hattie the Hare (2024) by Pam Ayres.

To conclude Pam Ayres being author of the month, I decided to do a review of her children's book, I am Hattie the Hare which I got to reading. The review was my previous post so you can have a nosy of that!


This is my little list of some things that I have gotten to reading during April. Wait and see what I have been reading in May.


Until next time,


Thomas.

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