A Review By Keith Smith

Timothy West has led a charmed life as an actor: Rarely out of work, moving effortlessly between TV and stage, film and recordings, he is perhaps most famous for his television portrayals of Edward VII and as patriarch Bradley Hardacre in the hit TV series Brass. With his wife, Prunella Scales, and now his son, Samuel, the West family have provided many memorable moments in theatre, film and television. Timothy West’s early years as a young actor read like a map of a now vanished landscape: box-office at Frinton, assistant stage manager at Newquay, weekly rep at Hull, a two-year contract at Salisbury…and meanwhile coping with a small child and a manic depressive first wife.

Soon the parts get meatier, and the venues better known: the West End, the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing Dickens and Dostoyevsky on television, and a stint running the Old Vic, which includes coping with Peter O’Toole and his disastrous ideas for Macbeth…

Not my usual sort of book, so I thought it would be enjoyable to read something out of my normal tracks. In fact I gave up after a short while, as Timothy West seems to be a bit of a bore. If sewing fish into a landlady’s settee because her digs weren’t good is the sort of thing that amuses you this might be the book for you. Alas, not for me……Can’t recommend, except for out and out thespians.

A Review By Keith Smith

I really really enjoyed this book. I can understand now the reviewer who said that he didn’t want Bess to die. Neither did I. Her life was so fascinating and tells us so much about the times in which she lived.

My interest was pricked when we decided to visit Hardwick Hall one Sunday recently (to try to get more use out of our National Trust cards……). The drive up the M1 was certainly worth it. The buildings are magnificent. ‘Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall’ the contemporary rhyme went. And the new hall built by Bess is truly astonishing…a Modernist building before its time. But then the old hall next door where Bess was born is equally breathtaking with its astonishing views and magnificent rooms.

So, as soon as we got into the shop on the Monday I ordered a guidebook to Hardwick Hall which duly arrived next day (I was just as pleased as our customers at the wonderful service), and the book by Mary Lovell. When I got it, I laid it to one side. It was long, and by someone I didn’t know as a reputable historian. Curiosity got the better of me, however, and I picked it up one evening in bed, and fell asleep with it in my hand much later at about 3am. From then on I devoured it.

‘Bess of Hardwick’ is incredibly well researched, with much more use made of original documents and correspondence than by most accepted historians. In fact it puts people like David Starkey to shame. And yet, it is written in such a way that we feel Bess’s life is unfolding before our eyes in magazines or newspapers. It is gripping stuff. A book you can’t put down. A thoroughly interesting, entertaining rollercoaster of a ride yet all based on absolutely top-notch, solid scholarship. What could be better? My book of the year.

A Review By Keith Smith

Another offering from Nigella, most like her ‘How To Eat’ ( I have read them all, and used them extensively ). This time divided into two main parts ‘Kitchen Quandaries’ and ‘Kitchen Comforts’, it reads like an extended and intimate conversation with the voluptuous lady herself and why she thinks cooking is such a vital part of life and why the kitchen must be the centre of any good home, just as say in Italy. It really is such an important message to get across…the difference between a family life based around the kitchen table, and a TV life where meals are eaten on knees, and easy conversation between the age groups. including nana and granddad just doesn’t take place.

I have no doubt that, as usual, all the recipes will work and will absolutely delight those lucky enough to eat them, but it is the added value that is such a reward in reading Nigella and why you can (and I do) read her books just like a novel. And I am hugely cheered that, following up my remarks about ‘Economy Gastronomy’ she includes VERY helpful sections on ‘making leftovers right’ a clumsy phrase but the idea is sound.

All in all one of the best buys this year….we do want you to buy it so we have knocked a hot £6 off the price! Highly recommended.

Of all the travel guide series this is, in our opinion,  by far the best, and I couldn’t resist picking up this particular guide to Devon – as reading about it is the next best thing to being there. I particularly like the full-page inserts where local people tell of their favourite spots, restaurants, pubs etc…the information seems much more meaningful when it comes live from someone on the spot. And, having used the companion guide to Cornwall last time we were down that way, I can vouch for the fact that the recommendations seem to hit the mark.

These seem particularly thoughtful guides as they have all the sections you want to see in there…

What to see and do in fair weather

Ditto in wet weather

What to do with children

The Best …places to stay

The Best…food and drink

Eating out

Staying in

Further afield

There are of course lots of insets on the highlights of Devon, whether it’s churches, film locations or whatever. I just loved reading it from cover to cover and planning our next trip. Highly recommended.

First, the basics. This is one of three launch titles in the new “Slow” series of regional UK guides from two of the UK’s most distinctive travel publishers: Bradt and Alastair Sawday. You certainly travel slowly and sustainably with Hilary Bradt, founder of Bradt guides and a resident of Devon, as she takes you on a personal ’slow’ tour of Devon and Exmoor. Her wish is that you can connect with the people, places, environment and heritage of this spectacular part of the country and discover for yourself the unsung delights, well known sights, wildlife, coast and countryside – not to mention the foibles of the locals – in this unique guide.

Topping it off is an enticing selection of accommodation from the inimitable collection of Alastair Sawday. Hilary Bradt is the founder of “Bradt Travel Guides”; she has recently moved to Devon.

I must say, despite knowing Devon well enough, I really enjoyed reading this guide. For read it I did. If any of you remember SPB Mais, a travel writer par excellence, this is a bit like one of his books with lots of useful information thrown in. Just makes you want to get up and go, and dicover all the bits you have missed. Friendly, chatty, it’s like having a personal guide. Recommended, and of course you are in for a great experience if you book any of Sawday’s recommendations, and some of them of really good value. Recommended.