The holiday is over

Madame Vin and I have returned from France feeling culturally enriched and rested, even though I had a cold for the last five days of the holiday. To be honest the holiday was good and though we didn't see every chateau / vineyard / museum / French country town we hoped to it was at least restful and we even got some sun which I can prove as most of my skin is now flaking off causing me to look like a sufferer of rare skin disease.

Highlights included a private tour around the vineyard of Domaine Salvert which was informative and ended with a great tasting, the Abbye de Fontevraud and our hotel in Paris which was cool (apart from the fire alarm at six am).

Photos can be seen in the following location: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10492&l=6dd90&id=633081765

One picture I'll show here demonstrates that direct web names don't always work when using languages other than English. I'm not sure the company Fee du Scrap had this in mind...

While I was away I was able to do a bit of reading. 'Porn' by Irvine Welsh is funny and sad at the same time. The numerous voices, some written in dialect, give character and depth to those involved. The central story concerns the character Sick Boy who must team up with his old friend Renton who is hiding out in Amsterdam after ripping all his friends off at the end of 'Trainspotting'. What Sick Boy doesn't tell his old friend is that Begbie has been released from prison is now looking to get even with Renton.

The added fascination for me in this book is that it is set in and around Leith and Edinburgh, with the student flat just up the road from mine in Tollcross. That and the fact that Begbie is one evil bastard.

The second book was another in the Charlie 'Bird' Parker novels 'Dark Hollow' with Bird getting pulled in to a thirty year old mystery involving the disappearance of woman up in the snow filled town of Dark Hollow. As always the snappy dialect between Bird and his friends Louis and Angel is great and the bad guy wonderfully evil. Though there is less of a supernatural element to this book the dark undercurrent of souls desperate for peace and revenge is still a powerful undercurrent.

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Now that holidays are complete I'm starting work on a new piece of fiction which I hope to complete a first draft off by Christmas. It's a dark tale about brothers, war and loss. I'll enlighten you more as I write.

I also have the festival to contend with plus visits away to see PC Benny graduate and visits from Van the Man and the Father figure.

August does not look like a quiet month.

Read this week:
Porn by Irvine Welsh
Dark Hollow by John Connolly