5/13/2023 0 Comments Oaks by Quentin Wallace![]() ‘In Dunipace parish is the famous Torwood in the middle of which there are the remains of Wallace’s tree, an oak which, according to a measurement, when entire, was said to be about 12 feet diameter. George Harvie’s parish entry in the Old Statistical Account of 1794: One great mystery surrounding the events is where they took place in the Torwood.Īccording to the Rev. You can find out what took place, what was in his afternoon sermon, who Cargill delivered up to Satan, what it meant, when he did it, who was there and how word of it was spread. The Torwood Excommunication is discussed in detail in other posts. It was the day after the anniversary of Wallace’s victory at Stirling Bridge… ![]() ![]() On Sunday 12 September, 1680, Donald Cargill excommunicated king Charles II in a field by the Wallace Oak at Torwood in Larbert and Dunipace parish, Stirlingshire. ![]()
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5/13/2023 0 Comments Lat den ratte komma in book![]() ![]() Emphasizing Dracula and its adaptations and shifting away from a more common focus on sex or romance as the source of vampiric appeal, this discussion argues for the role that nostalgic desires, seductions and illusions play in our relationship with one of popular culture’s most enduring monsters. As an ‘historical emotion’ that ‘came of age’ with Romanticism and mass culture, nostalgia has continued to spread in this century, shaping aspects of everyday life from pop cultural entertainments to national politics. Nostalgia (nostos ‘return home’ plus algia ‘longing’), first diagnosed and named in the seventeenth century, was a disease that, as Svetlana Boym points out, became less curable and more mysterious in its pathology as time passed, resistant to reason and Enlightenment in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. ![]() 5/12/2023 0 Comments Night shift stephen king stories![]() I tried to re-watch Children of the Corn the other day, but my boyfriend lost patience with it. (a segment in Cat’s Eye), The Graveyard Shift and an obscure story of moody kids called ‘Children of the Corn’. There’s ‘Night Surf’ (related to The Stand), ‘The Lawnmower Man’, Quitters, Inc. This is a collection of 20 short stories, many of which were adapted to the screen in the 80s and 90s. ![]() When I do buy, 99% of the time it’s as a gift for one of my little buddies. I’m not a re-reader and the library feeds my hunger. Bought a copy for myself at one of the best places on Earth, Strand. This is one of the few books I own not via street find or gifted. If you’re a fan and struggle to find more of the good stuff, Night Shift is wise to keep within reach. I picked it back up the other day when I was stumped on a uh… work pickle: Are intestines a strong enough to hang someone by or would they stretch? snap? tear? My guess is not strong enough. ![]() I have no idea why it took me more than a year to finish but it did. You get one twisted tale after the next. It’s great horror. Stephen King’s Night Shift has all the makings of a page-turner. ![]() 5/12/2023 0 Comments Firdaus nawal el saadawi![]() During one of her visits to Qanatir prison, the psychiatrist is referred to a prisoner whose story is said to be especially powerful. ![]() At the time, she had no idea that she would one day be imprisoned for engaging in activism based on her empirical research. ![]() ![]() The novel begins with an introduction in which the unnamed psychiatrist, the semi-fictionalized Saadawi, recalls her time as a prison psychiatrist in Egypt. The novel is celebrated today as being one of the first novels on the injustices of the sex trade and its relationship to the oppression of women that reached a popular international audience. Firdaus’s character is loosely based on a woman Saadawi met while working as a psychiatrist and researcher on the psychological consequences of incarceration for women in Egypt. Saadawi draws from her own experiences being prosecuted for speaking out against injustices against women in Egypt, painting a sympathetic portrait of victims of the stigmatized, poorly regulated sex industry. Set in Cairo, Egypt, it follows sex worker Firdaus, who commits to her trade out of desperation, murders her abusive pimp, and then awaits her death sentence. Woman at Point Zero is a 1975 novel by Egyptian feminist author and physician Nawal El Saadawi. ![]() 5/12/2023 0 Comments Nora roberts hideaway series![]() ![]() Once she’s back in Southern California, she joins the family business and suddenly she’s getting a storm of media attention and threatening phone calls in the middle of the night. Not everyone is happy with the outcome, but sleeping dogs lie while Caitlyn grows into a beautiful young woman on her family’s estate in Ireland. Roberts is such a fabulous writer, and readers can feel Caitlyn’s determination, fear, and pain as she stumbles in the dark until she sees a light shining in that darkness, promising safety. She manages to fool her kidnappers and successfully escape from captivity and put together the necessary facts to point the finger at the insider who engineered the attempt. The star is Caitlyn Sullivan, who might have been born into Hollywood royalty and treated like a princess, but she sure is brave and resourceful. This story kicks off with so much promise and an absolutely wonderfully diverse set of characters. ![]() Veena’s review of Hideaway by Nora Roberts ![]() 5/12/2023 0 Comments The Way of Kings by Louise Searl![]() ![]() Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. In a war that makes no sense, where 10 armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.īrightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. ![]() Wars were fought for them and won by them. It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. From number one New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, book one of the Stormlight Archive, begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion. ![]() ![]() ![]() 10-Day Pilgrimage | Great Britain in the Footsteps of Saint John Henry Newman.8-Day Pilgrimage | Northeastern USA & Canada.10-Day Pilgrimage | Austria, Germany, & Switzerland.10-Day Pilgrimage | Prague, Austria, & Germany.12-Day Pilgrimage | Path of Pope Francis. ![]() ![]() 10-Day Pilgrimage | Path of Pope Francis.9-Day Choir Tour | California Mission Trail.10-Day Choir Tour | Marian Shrines of Fátima, Spain, & Lourdes.10-Day Choir Tour | Grandeur of Spain & Fátima.10-Day Choir Tour | Traditional Ireland.10-Day Choir Tour | Central Greece & The Footsteps of St.10-Day Choir Tour | In the Footsteps of St.10-Day Choir Tour | England's Anglican Heritage.9-Day Choir Tour | England in the Footsteps of Saint John Henry Newman.10-Day Choir Tour | Great Britain in the Footsteps of Saint John Henry Newman.10-Day Choir Tour | England's Methodist Heritage.11-Day Choir Tour | In The Footsteps Of Martin Luther.10-Day Choir Tour | Prague, Austria, & Germany.9-Day Choir Tour | Authentic Austrian Advent. ![]() 5/12/2023 0 Comments The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson![]() Reintroducing a classic work to a whole new generation of readers, this Special Edition features a new chapter written by Jeffrey Levinton, a leading expert in marine ecology, that brings the scientific side of The Sea Around Us completely up to date. Quite simply, she captures the mystery and allure of the ocean with a compelling blend of imagination and expertise. Carson's writing teems with stunning, memorable images-the newly formed Earth cooling beneath an endlessly overcast sky the centuries of nonstop rain that created the oceans giant squids battling sperm whales hundreds of fathomsīelow the surface and incredibly powerful tides moving 100 billion tons of water daily in the Bay of Fundy. This classic work remains as fresh today as when it first appeared. It remained on the list for more than a year and a half and ultimately sold well over a million copies, has been translated into 28 languages, inspired an Academy Award-winning documentary, and won both the 1952 National Book Award and the ![]() ![]() Rachel Carson's rare ability to combine scientific insight with moving, poetic prose catapulted her book to first place on The New York Times best-seller list, where itĮnjoyed wide attention for thirty-one consecutive weeks. Published in 1951, The Sea Around Us is one of the most remarkably successful books ever written about the natural world. ![]() 5/11/2023 0 Comments The metamorphosis franz![]() ![]() The story is told from Gregor’s perspective and therefore a reader should empathize with him to the greatest extent. ![]() They screamed in fright and disgust and Gregor sadly scampered back into the room. I found myself hoping that they’d somehow share his practical approach to the situation and find empathy for the poor man. ![]() When Gregor’s condition becomes clear to his family, their reaction is what a reader is probably expecting. Gregor’s responsibility to his family, and responsibility in general, is one of the most important themes of this piece. His family is far from wealthy and most of the money he makes goes to paying off his father’s debts. He is a traveling salesman, a job with people, and hours that he hates. As the story progresses and from Gregor’s perspective the reader learns more about his life, his dedication to his family is emphasized. His family, in all things, comes first for Gregor. This is a feature rather than a bug of his personality. Rather than screaming or questioning his own sanity, Gregor’s first concern is his family. The story catches a reader’s attention through the direct way that this transformation is introduced and the surprising nature of Gregor’s reaction to it. The short novel tells the tragic and disturbing story of Gregor Samsa who wakes up one day to discover he’s been transformed into a gigantic insect/vermin. ![]() 5/11/2023 0 Comments Shopaholic christmas book![]() ![]() ![]() 'Becky and Christmas is just the perfect combination, and this book is funnier and more loveable than ever' Jenny Colgan ***** EVERYBODY LOVES CHRISTMAS SHOPAHOLIC : ***** Will chaos ensue, or will Becky manage to bring comfort and joy to Christmas? With sister Jess demanding a vegan turkey, husband Luke determined that he just wants aftershave again, and little Minnie insisting on a very specific picnic hamper – surely Becky can manage all this, as well as the surprise appearance of an old boyfriend and his pushy new girlfriend, whose motives are far from clear. Unable to resist the draw of craft beer and smashed avocado, Becky's parents are moving to ultra-trendy Shoreditch and have asked Becky if she'll host Christmas this year. Sorted!īut this year looks set to be different. It's always the same – Mum and Dad hosting, carols playing, Mum pretending she made the Christmas pudding, and the next-door neighbours coming round for sherry in their terrible festive jumpers.Īnd now it's even easier with online bargain-shopping sites – if you spend enough you even get free delivery. ![]() ![]() The brilliant laugh-out-loud festive novel from the Number One bestselling author.īecky Brandon (née Bloomwood) adores Christmas. Celebrate Christmas with the ultimate Shopaholic! A Sunday Times bestseller. ![]() |