Well, it’s another snow day in gloomy old Scotland and once again, I am unable to get to work. And yes, that’s a complaint not a declaration of joy. Surprisingly I actually quite like my day job and I would like to get back to it please… you hear that universe … I would like to get back to it.
Oh well, could be worse … at least I’m safe and warm at home. And the snow really is quite pretty. So please join me as we wait for the snow to melt and let’s look through some of my prettiest pictures.
Okay that’s us, now I’m going back to my room to scream into a pillow. I’m joking of course, but I think up here in Britain we’re all about ready for the snow to be done and life to start again. Hopefully by my next post the weather will have improved.
Goodreads Blurb: The latest novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory features one of the most famous girls in history, Lady Jane Grey, and her two sisters, each of whom dared to defy her queen.
Jane Grey was queen of England for nine days. Her father and his allies crowned her instead of the dead king’s half sister Mary Tudor, who quickly mustered an army, claimed her throne, and locked Jane in the Tower of London. When Jane refused to betray her Protestant faith, Mary sent her to the executioner’s block, where Jane transformed her father’s greedy power grab into tragic martyrdom.
“Learn you to die,” was the advice Jane wrote to her younger sister Katherine, who has no intention of dying. She intends to enjoy her beauty and her youth and fall in love. But she is heir to the insecure and infertile Queen Mary and then to her half sister, Queen Elizabeth, who will never allow Katherine to marry and produce a Tudor son. When Katherine’s pregnancy betrays her secret marriage, she faces imprisonment in the Tower, only yards from her sister’s scaffold.
“Farewell, my sister,” writes Katherine to the youngest Grey sister, Mary. A beautiful dwarf, disregarded by the court, Mary keeps family secrets, especially her own, while avoiding Elizabeth’s suspicious glare. After seeing her sisters defy their queens, Mary is acutely aware of her own danger but determined to command her own life. What will happen when the last Tudor defies her ruthless and unforgiving Queen Elizabeth?
Goodreads Blurb: A group of old university friends leave the bright lights of London and travel to Unst, Shetland’s most northerly island, to celebrate the marriage of one of their friends to a Shetlander. But late on the night of the wedding party, one of them, Eleanor, disappears – apparently into thin air. It’s mid-summer, a time of light nights and unexpected mists. The following day, Eleanor’s friend Polly receives an email. It reads like a suicide note, saying she’ll never be found alive. And then Eleanor’s body is discovered, lying in a small loch close to the cliff edge.
Detectives Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves are dispatched to Unst to investigate. Before she went missing, Eleanor claimed to have seen the ghost of a local child who drowned in the 1920s. Her interest in the legend of the ghost had seemed unhealthy – obsessive, even – to her friends: an indication of a troubled mind. But Jimmy and Willow are convinced that there is more to Eleanor’s death than there first appears.
Is there a secret that lies behind the myth? One so shocking that someone would kill – many years later – to protect?
Blurb: You’ll lose a lot of sleep…. Ralph does. At first he starts waking up earlier. And earlier. Then the hallucinations start – the colours, shapes and strange auras. Not to mention the bald doctors who always turn up at the scene of a death.
That’s when Ralph begins to lose a lot more than sleep. When he begins to understand why his hitherto mild-mannered friend, Ed, is getting out of control – dangerously so. And why his hometown is about to become the new Armageddon….
Goodreads Review: Oh my God that Ending! Fuck you Stephen King for making me feel all these emotions! The man should be in book prison for that ending alone 🤣
Goodreads Blurb: The Godfather—the epic tale of crime and betrayal that became a global phenomenon.
Almost fifty years ago, a classic was born. A searing portrayal of the Mafia underworld, The Godfather introduced readers to the first family of American crime fiction, the Corleones, and their powerful legacy of tradition, blood, and honor. The seduction of power, the pitfalls of greed, and the allegiance to family—these are the themes that have resonated with millions of readers around the world and made The Godfather the definitive novel of the violent subculture that, steeped in intrigue and controversy, remains indelibly etched in our collective consciousness.
Goodreads Review: I’ve a feeling I may not be supposed to root for these people as much as do – and I would feel guilty about that, but on the other hand the world is a very stressful place right now so … Wooh! Go Michael! Go Michael! Let’s get your Don on!!
Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Pinch
Goodreads Blurb: From stories of resurrected mummies and thousand-year-old curses to powerful pharaohs and the coveted treasures of the Great Pyramids, ancient Egypt has had an unfaltering grip on the modern imagination. Now, in Egyptian Mythology , Geraldine Pinch offers a comprehensive introduction that untangles the mystery of Egyptian Myth.
Goodreads Review: Man there were a lot of weird baby stories in ancient Egyptian Mythology – it says something about your Mythos when the Mpreg story is the least … well… certainly not the most weird.
And so we come to the end my Wee Readers – not with a bang or a whimper, but a playlist. To try something new I’m going to let you get a glimpse of this playlist – the first five songs to be precise – before inevitably pressuring you to click through to the whole thing through the link at the bottom of the post.
1. You Will be Found by Ben Platt
As one of the final songs in the Musical “Dear Evan Hansen” – a show that deals with teenage mental health, although admittedly of a different variety- this felt like the perfect song to open our Bubbles Galore playlist.
2. Not While I’m Around by Barbra Streisand
Huh, two for two with Musical songs. I felt this song perfectly encapsulated Bubbles’ feeling of protectiveness towards those she loves, and the deep seeded fear that something terrible was going to happen to them.
3. We are Family by Sister Sledge
A song meant to emphasise the love Bubbles holds for her younger sister … and her mother … but the sister felt like the relationship that was the most pertinent to the plot.
4. My Favourite Things by Julie Andrews
Sometimes a girl just wants to be a bit random, and shouldn’t we be allowed to do that.
It’s going to be the most boring year of her life. That’s what Bubbles has decided. This, her second year at the castle school, will involve no naked dancing, or television appearances. No fires in stone circles. No meltdowns. No hospital stays. You know, not like last year.
As she walks up the tree-lined drive towards the castle, she is immediately surrounded by TV reporters. Next she encounters the enigmatic and charming new boy, American student Aiden, and finds herself in an instalove situation. Being cast as the lead in a historical documentary is altogether too exciting and fun, as are the night-time visits to caves and underground chambers.
As Bubbles navigates her difficult home life, the complexities of her mental health and various intense experiences at the castle, she struggles to maintain equilibrium.
Will she be able to find balance amidst the chaos, or will her carefully laid ‘boring’ plan unravel completely?
Dive into this captivating coming-of-age tale filled with drama, romance, and self-discovery.
Goodreads Blurb:This book is fantastic and frightening, but entirely plausible. It doesn’t just seem scientifically possible, but its characters are living people shaken out of the civilisation they know into the horror of a world dominated by triffids.
The triffids are grotesque and dangerous plants, over seven feet tall, originally cultivated for their yield of high-grade oil. So long as conditions give the mastery to their human directors, they are a valuable asset to mankind. But when a sudden universal disaster turns those conditions upside down, then the triffids, seizing their opportunity, become an active and dreadful menace.
The story of what happens is told here by one of the few people lucky enough to escape the disaster.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Goodreads Review: Do Not Look Out the Window. I first read this when I was a child, and there’s always a fear that books you read in childhood won’t stand up to the scrutiny of your adult mind and understanding of the world. And that’s what I feared with this book. I’ve never been more pleased to be proven wrong. If anything it’s only gotten better 💫
Blurb: You lose three mates, ten babies, both parents, all your siblings and then every friend for scores of millennia and still entertain the concept of being ‘sweet’ on a dead woman still consumed by her own pain.
Doing It never had much meaning to Robin, even when he was alive. Now that he’s dead, it’s really just something to while away all the years. At some point he’s asked most of the ghosts if they want to do it. Some said no, some said yes. His only rule is, they have to genuinely want to do it, too. And, they mustn’t be too sad. One of the ghosts was too sad, for so long, so he waited. And waited.
Description: Over the years stuck as a Ghost, Robin propositions the other ghosts when he first meets them, except Mary who is too sad. You wouldn’t think this description would be of a heartbreaking story of loss, and the pain of years stuck in one place unable to even touch anything but your fellow ghosts. But that just goes to show, never judge a story by its initial premise.
Special Mention: Oh God, Robin’s speech to Julian at the end. ‘I was in tears’, does not put justice to the state I was in after I read this.
Warnings: Mentions of violent death, the loss of children, and other adult matter. Also Julian, he’s a warning all by himself.
What ho, Wee Readers – well I’m back, after a couple weeks hashing out and rearranging my interview with Ailish for the Wee Mailing List, I’m back to my own blog again. Although before I go on I would urge you to go look at her new book, Sisters at the Edge of the World. Not because I have any stake in it, it’s just a really good authentic book.
If you want to know why it feels so authentic, check out my previous post here.
But moving on to the actual meat – Ha! – of the post…
For anyone who follows my Instagram account, you might already be aware that I am a vegan, a big one. You may also be aware – if you’ve been paying close attention to my last few posts – that I am also currently working as a housekeeper at Whetherspoons.
What do these two things have to do with each other? Practically nothing. Except as a employee at Wetherspoons I not only get a free meal provided for me, I get 20% discount in all Wetherspoons.
And you know what that means?
That’s right, top nine list of the vegan stuff at Wetherspoons!
Well I think that’s enough of an introduction – onto the pictures of food now.
9. Tomato and Basil Soup
Rating: 5/10
A strong tasting bowl of thick tomato 🍅 soup.
Further comments: Be careful which tomato and basil soup you buy as they have two with the same name and one of them has milk in them
8. Beyond Burger
Rating: 8/10
For all those Junk Food Vegans out there, Wetherspoons has a burger that would make even McDonald’s jealous.
Further Comments: Lovely, if a bit rich for me.
7.Vegan Sausages , Chips and Beans
Rating: 7/10
A giant portion, including three veggie sausages, and a full plate of chips and beans.
Further comments: Chips were excellent, sausage was a bit too salty for me but I freely admit that’s a personal taste.
6. Fiesta Burger
Rating: 8/10
A heavy stack burger, featuring salsa, guacamole, and roasted vegetables. Served with a side of chips and onion rings.
Further comments : Delicious 🤤
5. Simple Mangalorean roasted cauliflower & spinach Curry with chips
Rating: 9/10
A rich, oily dish of potatoes, spinach and peppers and served with either chips or rice, this ///// Indian dish with make your mouth water just from the smell of it.
Further Comments: Spicy, but not so hot that it makes your eyes run.
4. Five Bean Chill
Rating: 9/10
A chili meal consisting of at least five kinds of beans and if im not mistaken quinoa in the mix as well. All served in a deceptively small bowl, accompanied by rice and tortilla chips on the side.
Further Comments: Deeply filling and the kind of meal that heats you up belly first on a cold day.
3. Jacket Potato with Five Bean Chili
Rating: 7/10
A combination of bake potato and their five bean chili, this dish is perfect for any vegan who needs a little kick with their jacket potato.
Further Comments: The smell alone can make your mouth water.
2. Bake Potato with Roasted Veg
Rating: 8/10
Talk about your gluten-free carb fest, this giant potato, piled high with succulent roasted veg and served with a glorious side salad of lettuce 🥬 , tomato 🍅 , cucumber 🥒 and Onion 🧅 is sure to sate the appetite of even the most hungry of vegans.
Further comments: That is one big ass potato 🥔
1. Takeaway Chips
Rating: 9/10
It might seem like a simple thing to put so high on this list – and yet Wetherspoons chips are gorgeous, and the fact that we can get them as a takeaway is just so exciting to me.
Additional comments: Yes, I’m very easily pleased – now shut up and let me eat my chips.
If you enjoyed this Wee Vegan list of mine don’t forget to follow the Wee Blog if you haven’t already. And check me out on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Goodreads, Facebook and TikTok. Also sign up for the Wee Mailing List before November 21st for more lovely vegan pictures. Until next time Wee Readers, keep safe, keep sane and have a very bonny day.
The Wee Writing Lassie 