#Review By Lou of The Bravest Word By Kate Foster @kfosterauthor @WalkerBooksUK@LoveBooksTours #Kidslit #MiddleGrade #ChildrensBook #MentalHealth #Football #Dogs #TheBravestWord

The Bravest Word
By Kate Foster

A brave, heartfelt book for Middle-grade children that combines a dog, football and prevalent childhood issues.

Blurb

A rescue story of love and trust between a boy and a dog from the talented author of Paws.

Matt is a football superstar. He can handle anything. Except lately his chest feels empty and his head is screaming. He can’t concentrate in school or enjoy football any more, and he is so, so tired. When Matt stumbles across an abandoned dog, there’s no doubt in his mind that he has to save him. But maybe the dog isn’t the only one who needs help.

Review

The Bravest Word combines some childhood interests, such as football with mental health, or rather suffering from poor mental health. It’s a winning combo, especially when a cute dog is also added to the mix. It’s a book many children will relate to.

Matt is lost. He loved football. He was a superstar and this book shows that even heroes are not infallible and are human after all. They can also find life tough at times as well as see their mental health decline.
When Matt comes across a dog, he feels moved to rescue it, but it becomes a greater partnership than he could ever imagine, turning it into a positive, heartfelt story.

The book cleverly draws the readers in with the style of writing, which also includes text message format here and there, that adds to the story and something kids can easily latch onto too, along with a feeling of not being alone.
There’s a supportive and hopeful nature about the plot of this book.
This is a great book for kids to either read alone or as a group or with a parent/caregiver as it can be used as a talking point or to foster empathy.
There’s plenty food for thought and a great plot to keep kids engaged.

There’s also a rather interesting and informative author’s note at the end too.

#Review By Lou of All You Need Is Love By Peter Brown and Steven Gaines @Octopus_Books @RandomTTours #AllYouNeedIsLove #TheEndOfTheBeatles #PeterBrown #StevenGaines #TheBeatles #Biography #Music #NonFiction

All You Need Is Love
By Peter Brown and Steven Gaines

A Must of All Beatles Fans! All You Need Is Love is a fascinating look into The Beatles as told by their inner circle and The Beatles that uncovers lots of previously unpublished interviews. It’s quite astonishing and an incredibly interesting read as it is interviews and not an oral history. Find out more in the blurb and my thoughts below. Then discover more about the authors of All You Need Is Love. Their own bios have a tale or two to tell about how intimate they were with The Beatles.

Blurb

All You Need is Love is a ground-breaking oral history of the Beatles and how it all came to an end.
Based on never-before-published or heard interviews with Paul McCartney,
Yoko Ono, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and their families, friends, and business
associates, this is a landmark book, containing stunning new revelations, about the
biggest band the world has ever seen.
In 1980-1981 former COO of Apple Corp, Peter Brown and author Steven Gaines
interviewed everyone in the Beatles’ inner circle and included a small portion of the
transcripts in their international bestselling book The Love You Make, which spent four months on the New York Times bestseller list. But left in their archives was a treasure trove of unique and candid interviews that they chose not to publish, until now.
A powerful work assembled through honest, intimate, sometimes contradictory and always fascinating testimony, All You Need is Love is a one-of-a-kind insight into the final days, weeks, months and years of the Beatles phenomenon.

Review

I wasn’t born when The Beatles were at the height of their fame, nor was I when they split, but everyone knows who The Beatles are/were, even at primary school a major song to learn was Yellow Submarine and everyone knows the Christmas songs too, even today in the decade of the mid-2020’s. Two are dead and yet their long lasting reach into public consciousness goes on with popstars coming after them still influenced by their music and even into film culture where All You Need Is Love features in a major scene in that great film, Love Actually.

As for the book, All You Need Is Love has sparkling never published before interviews that are bound to set tongues wagging as conversations start.
I know, there’s been a few of these dotted around, but these interviews are highly significant. There are revelations about the band and in a midst of ever speculation about how it all ended, this feels like it gets to the roots of everything. It’s particularly special because it isn’t second hand information.
Some of the book is, however, bittersweet as there are interviews by John Lennon not long before he was murdered.

Once started, it becomes intensely fascinating in a way I hadn’t quite expected. The presentation of the interviews feel so free-flow and so candid, in a way that you feel like you’re in rooms with everyone being interviewed, much like youre sitting in an audience.

The book feels so natural, like nothing is stilted nor concealed, even contradictory statements. A picture emerges of the building of tensions and you get a feel of what that time of The Beatles coming to an end may have been like for all concerned.

It’s great that the interviews see the light of day from previously being hidden in the depths of archives. It got me thinking that in a way, what with both fans who perhaps saw The Beatles and the remaining Beatles and Yoko Ono getting naturally older, it feels fitting that this book is published. It got me wondering if this would be the last one with previously hidden facts. I guess we will have to wait and see. For now, this is quite some emergence of interviews with The Beatles and people who they were associated with like family, colleagues alike, some who are now dead, but their names also live on in the music industry and beyond. This makes it special and quite unique.

Whether a Beatles fan or a music fan in general, this is a totally fascinating read and one that may well get you thinking of the band all over again and in a new light.

About the Authors

STEVEN GAINES is the New York Times bestselling author of Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons and The Love You Make: An Insiders Story of the Beatles (with Peter Brown).
His journalism has appeared in Vanity Fair, the New York Times, and New York magazine, where he was a contributing editor for 12 years.
Mr. Gaines is the co-founder and a past vice-chairman of the Hamptons International Film Festival. He has lived in Wainscott, a small hamlet on the East End of Long Island, for 40 years.

PETER BROWN is the former COO of Apple Corp, the Beatles’ financial empire. He’s been a Beatles intimate since their earliest days in Liverpool.
Their passports were locked in his desk drawer. He was best man at John and Yoko’s wedding, he introduced Paul to Linda Eastman, and perhaps the most charming of his credentials is that he’s the only real person ever mentioned in a Beatles song, “Peter Brown called to say, you can make it okay, you can marry in Gibraltar near Spain,” from the “Ballad of John and Yoko.”
Mr. Brown is now chairman of the international public relations firm of Brown Lloyd James LTD.

#Review By Lou of Expert Gardening Guide – Create Your Own Nature Garden By Joe Swift #JoeSwift #GardenersWorld #CreateYourOwnNatureGarden #Gardening #GardeningGuide #Spring #Summer #Nature #Plants #Flowers

Nature Garden
By Joe Swift

Now’s the time to start thinking about your garden and planning ahead for spring and summer. Will you add to it? Change it? Nature Garden is inspiring. Find out more in the blurb and my review below of Create Your Own Nature Garden, whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or expert, there’s always something new to pick up.

Blurb

Support and protect the natural world with tips from expert gardener Joe Swift.

With around 16 million UK gardens covering a larger area than all our nature reserves, you could say our largest nature reserve is one big garden! In this practical guide, Joe shows you how to support and protect our rich and varied wildlife habitats.

Joe’s no-nonsense approach covers everything you need to know about doing your bit for wildlife. Learn how to manage soil and carefully select plants to create rich and varied habitats, from tall trees down to tiny, spring-flowering bulbs.

In this book, Joe demonstrates how to manage your outdoor space sensitively, and debunks the common misconception that ‘wildlife-friendly gardens’ have to be unkempt.

From bug hotels to pollinators, he also shares his ideas on fun and innovative projects to help kids, as the future custodians of our planet, engage with nature.

Joe Swift is an author, TV presenter and garden designer. He makes regular appearances on BBC’s Gardener’s World and the RHS Flower Shows

Review

I like Joe Swift’s books. I reviewed a book of his about Houseplants. It was so good, I bought a copy for a friend’s Christmas and she loved it very much for its tips.

Nature Garden is another book with a great, easy to use layout, full of hints, tips and practical advice for what to plant to create or add to your garden.

We all know garden’s are great for the environment and for wellbeing. With this book, you can attract bees and butterflies etc and create a wonderful chilled out space for you and your family.
This book shows it doesn’t have to be complicated and you can create something good, whatever your budget and space.

Gardens change in fashion all the time and now is the age of the nature garden, where plants and configurations of them is to encourage wildlife and help it along. Joe Swift guides you by the hand to do this, in a gentle and helpful way. Even on the page, it feels like he could easily be there in-person as the book tells you everything you need to know, even which plants are best and how to plant them.

I highly recommend this easy to use book, that you can dip in and out of for help and to inspire. So, I wonder what you’re going to plant this year…

#Review By Lou – This Is Your Own Time You’re Wasting By Lee Parkinson and Adam Parkinson #ThisIsYourOwnTimeYoureWasting Classroom Confessions, Calamities and Clangers @HarperCollins #LeeParkinson #AdamParkinson

This Is Your Own Time You’re Wasting
By Lee Parkinson and Adam Parkinson

One for teachers to have a chuckle over, resonate with and for parents/caregivers to find greater insight. Discover more in the blurb and review below, of a book that’s based on the Sunday Times Bestseller, that started life as a successful podcast.
Thanks to Harper Collins for the book, in-exchange of an honest review.

Blurb

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

The side-splittingly hilarious and heart-warming new book from your favourite teacher duo and hosts of Two Mr Ps in a Pod(cast)

Remember the distant days of lockdown and those futile attempts to homeschool distracted, disinterested kids?

Parents rejoiced to send them back to school, while teachers prepared to face them all again … Five. Days. A. Week! Coming out the other side of the pandemic years, podcast sensations Lee and Adam Parkinson – aka the Two Mr Ps – bring you the most hilarious, ridiculous anecdotes from inside our primary schools.

Join in on the classroom antics as they share the unexpected pitfalls of online teaching, all the reasons you need a strong stomach to take on Early Years and why not every household item makes a suitable Harry Potter wand …

Review

From teacher duo and hosts of Two Mr Ps in a Pod(cast), brings funny book: This Is Your Own Time You’re Wasting. It will resonate with most child educators and support staff. I, myself work with children of many ages and have done for many years and this is a book for both parents/caregivers and education staff to have fun over, especially staff. There are anecdotes galore, from Show and Tell and how not everything might be quite what you would expect to kids wanting to share every detail with you, including bodily functions to stories they tell to the antics they get up to. For parents/caregivers, there are certain things that will give them insights into what they may not see in the home and also a small bit about staff.

It also serves a little bit of a reminder of education in the pandemic, to a certain extent as the focus is on teachers and we know that there are many other people involved to make education work.

The style is chatty, much like a podcast is, so it makes this a book that’s easy to dip in and out of, rather perhaps, feeling the need to read it all in one go. For the type of book it is, I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing or way to read it.

#Review By Lou of #CookBook by #Chef Sat Bains – Eat To Your Heart’s Content @SatBains1 @Octopus_Books @RandomTTours #RecipeBook #EatToYourHeartsContent #HealthyEating #Food #NonFiction

Sat Bains Eat To Your Heart’s Content
By Chef Sat Bains
Introduction By Dr. Neil Williams

Review by Louise Cannon (Lou)

As we now reach the end of any leftover chocolates and other treats from Christmas and look towards a different lifestyle, Eat To You Heart’s Content is great. It is full of healthy foods for your heart and body, easy to buy ingredients, simple to prepare and cook recipes.

I am delighted to be closing the Random T. Tours blog tour with a review of chef Sat Bain’s new cookbook – Eat To Your Heart’s Content.

Cookbooks absolutely still have their place in the era of the internet and just looking up a recipe that include things in your kitchen. They feed the curious and they make you more adventurous in your cooking. A good cookbook will take the fear out of trying something new and that, in part is what this does.
I’ve been cooking up a storm in my kitchen as I decided in-order to give a fair review, I would try out the recipes in just an ordinary, everyday kitchen. I am just a very ordinary home cook. Nothing fancy about me. So, time to perhaps make you hungry.

Check out the blurb and then my full review, with some pics of what I tried out. Here are also a few photos from the book. These are recipes I will try out as look delicious, but this time I tried some different ones and you’ll see some pics of those too.

Blurb

Sat Bains worked out, always maintained a reasonable weight and considered himself fit and healthy, so it was a shock when, in March 2021, he had a massive heart attack and underwent an emergency triple heart bypass operation.

During recovery, Sat consulted his friend, nutritionist Dr Neil Williams, who guided him on a revised diet to help maintain heart health. Having two Michelin Stars and a three-decade long obsession with flavour, Sat was not willing to sacrifice great food just because his diet now had to be heart healthy. This collection of recipes is made up of those he devised following surgery and focuses on lean protein, a mix of legumes, good fats – such as avocado, nuts and olive oil – and vegetables and fruits.
These delicious, simple dishes are designed for every day, they use supermarket-friendly ingredients and are accompanied by nutritional advice highlighting the ingredients rich in heart-healthy vitamins and minerals.

Review

I reckon I was first conscious of Sat Bains when I saw him on Saturday Kitchen and liked watching him show what he can do. He also holds Michelin Stars. Don’t be intimidated by this. I say this as I know sometimes some recipes seem so complex and involved, the recipes in this book are easy enough to cook. I am just an ordinary home cook and found it all to be straight-forward and not overly time consuming.

It was written out of Sat Bains having a health condition, explained in the introduction, so also sets out informative and interesting paragraphs alongside recipes about nutrition of the ingredients used.

There’s everything from vegetables to meat; starters, mains, desserts and sides are all covered, along with suggestions with what each goes with, although, of course you can easily mix and match. There are also alternative suggestions, which expand what you can use certain ingredients for ie changing cod for salmon etc.

Buying The Ingredients

Ingredients, even those I wouldn’t use everyday, nor ever bought before, such as chai seeds was easy to get from just an ordinary, everyday supermarket. This gets points from me. It made shopping easy. I wasn’t having to hunt things down from specialist places that may not be local to me.

Following The Recipes

Easy to follow, step-by-step recipes, including what is essential equipment. I love that some state air-fryer. I found that there are other ways to do something if you don’t have a particular piece of equipment, so don’t let that concern you.
It states how an ingredient needs to be ie chopped, toasted etc.

Trying Out The Recipes

There are a good choice of recipes using easy to source ingredients.
I chose 4 recipes to try for the purposes of review, although I wholly plan to try out more.
What was great was cooking times were pretty accurate and it seems like a book you could actually use most or everyday.
Please note photos are of Sat Bains perfect outcomes to recipes on the left and my attempts on the right.

Nut and Seed Crispy Chicken Escalope

It was a resounding success in my family. It uses various seeds, nuts and panko crumbs all mixed together with harissa and cooked in the air fryer. The crunch was amazing and it felt and tasted healthy. The nutritional notes were interesting. The time was in the preparation, perhaps because I couldn’t buy everything pre-crushed, but but so easy to do myself.
The really impressive thing is, even my rather fussy dad, who reckoned he wouldn’t eat anything I made from the book, ate this, enjoyed it and said he would have it again. Almost unheard of when it comes to something new!
The recipe even made more than what I needed, which was perfect as it stores really well.
I also tried this out to put a supermarket through its paces, what with so many different seeds and nuts, but sure enough, it truly did deliver.

I decided to serve it with:

Broccoli with Spring Onions. Chilli, Soy and Sesame Seeds.
It was so lovely to find a tasty alternative to just the plain broccoli I would normally have. I couldn’t get tenderstem broccoli, but the purple sprouting variety proved a good alternative. I was amazed at what just a small bit of the mixed seasoning, that takes seconds to make, did when broccoli was tossed in the mix. A little bit truly went a long way.

I would definitely be making these again.

I then made:

Cod In Baking Parchment
It had a lovely lemony spiciness to it, but not too overpowering. It says about alternative fish options. I definitely plan to try it out with salmon some time. I served it with the broccoli side dish again as this is the dish it suggests to serve it with, and I added carrots as I had to use them up. Still works beautifully well.

I then tried out:

Butternut Squash, Olive Oil and Parmesan

This makes handling butternut squash easy as it suggests keeping the skin on. It cooked well and there’s a pork dish it suggests to serve with, that I didn’t try on this occasion. I added a bit less parmesan cheese, just for my tastes though.
I may not try this again, or I’d have a small amount, but that’s only because I discovered I wasn’t massively fond of butternut squash. Brilliant trying it out though and absolutely would be great for fans of this vegetables.

About the Author

Sat Bains is best known for being chef proprietor of the two-Michelin starred Restaurant.
Sat Bains with Rooms in Nottingham, England. It also holds one Green Michelin Star. He won the Roux Scholarship in 1999 and worked in France before returning to the UK and opening his own restaurant.

Sat won Great British Menu in 2007 and has continued making regular appearances on television.

#TheatreReview of David Suchet – Poirot and More: A Retrospective – 5/5 star Talk and Performance @David_Suchet #Theatre #Poirot #Stage #TV #PoirotandMore

Theatre Review of David Suchet – Poirot and More
A Retrospective

Written By Louise (Lou)

David Suchet, actor of many parts on stage and screen, but perhaps most famously, that little Belgian man of Agatha Christie’s creation – Poirot is on tour with:
Poirot and More: A Retrospective. There’s a link at the end of my review so you can discover where you can see him. He’s touring across the UK and Ireland until and including March 2024. He’s also written books, find out more later…

I saw David Suchet at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh as part 2 of a birthday present from my parents and as a thanks for caring for them. I was so excited and I am genuinely pleased to say, it lived up to expectations and so much more…

I highly recommend this talk. It’s running time is about 2hrs 20 mins and time goes fast . David Suchet is mesmerising with excellent stage presence as he passionately and warmly shares his fascinating life as an actor on screen and stage and more… He has acted in many tv series and films and mentions Doctor Who, Blott on the Landscape, Maxwell and of course, Poirot. I have a link, after my review for you to explore what else he’s acted in. He also talks of stage acting, such as doing Rep Theatre, part of getting into Equity and being in Panto for the first time in recent years, playing Captain Hook.
He’s admired by people, young and old and everything in-between.

The interviewer, Geoffrey Wansell, is a great friend of David Suchet’s, and you can tell on-stage, which is really lovely. He’s a well-informed person, not only about David Suchet, but about the history of the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh. How excited they got when it is revealed that it used to be an Empire theatre. There’s a reason for this, but you’ll have to see the talk to find out more…

All eyes were on David Suchet. It’s great that, although he begins in a chair, he doesn’t stay in it and makes use of the whole stage he’s as he treat the audience to a mix of talk and acting. There’s also a screen behind him that is used to great effect as photos and a short film are shown to illustrate what he’s talking about.
When he talks to the audience, it feels inclusive. He isn’t talking at you, but to you, with parts that feel conversational. It feels special! You can feel the care, respect and appreciation he has of his audience when he speaks.

He talks of his family, his mother and father that brings much poignancy and humour, as well as mentioning his famous brother, John Suchet and shares many anecdotes throughout, that ooze love for his family and brings laughter. He also takes the audience right back to when he was 8 years old, at school and being in a play as an oyster and what funny thing happened whilst on-stage.

There’s much chat about his route to London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and how he is perhaps not quite your typical student. For anyone looking to apply to stage schools, his talk of this would be most inspiring as it was far from the case of him applying and being accepted. He talked about it taking time and many tries.

It is a joy to watch David Suchet act. He does most of this in the second-half, but there is some in the first too. His acting is powerful and you end up hanging on his every word as he brings characters to life. It hits your heart and soul. This, perhaps is because he cares about the characterisation and the writer who created them. For Poirot, for instance, he studied him so much to get him right. I truly have a lot of respect for him for this. He talks of going back to what the original writer has on the page and wants to be depicted and translates it to the letter, as much as possible, on stage and screen. You can tell this belief is strong, even if he has to change those people’s minds, who may want something different from the original creation.

Later, there’s music in the background as he launches into a speech from Amadeus. Then he goes and does something even more surprising, and gives what is like a quick and fun masterclass in Shakespeare that includes the language, rhythm and art. If you didn’t think Shakespeare was relevant or couldn’t understand it, you sure will after this performance. I sat, thinking he should make a short film of it and share it to educational establishments, tv and continue it in his talks. I even heard adults around me saying they then really understood it like they hadn’t before and gained greater appreciation.

It, of course all culminates, more or less in talking about his most famous creation of all – Agatha Christie’s Poirot. It wasn’t a role he immediately jumped into. He shared anecdotes of this about what his brother, John Suchet and friend, Geoffrey Wansell had to say. Suffice to say, the opinions were polar opposites. He has the props and shows, bit by bit how he gets into character. The skill and care is immense and it is fascinating to watch. He talks about how, even after all these years, since the series finished, he still has a love of the role and is grateful for it.

The role of Poirot instilled David Suchet into many hearts and minds. I explored what else he did before and was eager to watch what he did after. So, when Long Journey into Night arrived at a theatre in Scotland, I jumped at the chance to watch it and I avidly watched Murder In Mind at the time on TV. I now see this is being repeated. I borrowed a DVD of Blott on the Landscape. I watched many other tv programmes, I can also recommend, such as Maxwell, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Urban Myths, Tales of the Unexpected, The Way We Live Now, The Phoenix and the Carpet (voice of the Phoenix).

Suffice to say, I was impressed by this talk, that exceeded all expectations.

If you get the chance to see David Suchet’s talk, then I highly recommend it and do have fun exploring the actor’s work and books.

As everyone walked out at the end with the Poirot theme tune, aptly playing in the background, there was a buzz of positivity and cheerfulness around.

I then joined the stage door queue and was lucky to talk to David Suchet, on what was a very cold January night. He was very kind, indeed and I felt very privileged to meet him, something I hadn’t ever thought I’d get a chance to do.