Below is a link to BBC Radio 4 and a reading of 'And His Letters . . .' by the actor Nigel Havers who btw is appearing as Maxim de Winter in Rebecca on the London stage. Perhaps not quite Olivier but he does have that aristocratic 'something' about him. At the BBC site click on Monday And regarding aristocrats, Frieda, maybe some people in the UK feel that a hangman's gibbet should stand outside the House of Lords or that hereditary peers should be replaced by friends of the Government with deep pockets . . . not so different from the old system when you consider how many 'top people's' ancestors obtained their titles. Either way, arriving with William the Conqueror or slightly more recently when various Royal Mistresses demanded positions for their offspring, this group is part of the Establishment. No amount of money, delicacy of character, nobleness of soul makes it possible for the rest of us to join this elite group (and it is amazing how many would like to be Up There). Top actors, pop singers, Party Girls etc hang round the edge but they are almost never admitted into this inner-sanctum. Of course there are some very wealthy people in this bracket; mostly from ownership of land and lots have 'Stately Homes'. Many of you have probably been to Chatsworth, Castle Howard, Warwick Castle etc. who's owners have wisely turned their properties into money-making enterprises. Interesting about the story of the student and her father. Surprisingly over here, for everyone below Royalty if such a thing had happened (a father writing in on behalf of his daughter) any university would have put the application straight in the bin; there is no automatic right of entry to any uni' for sons/daughters of alumni. Re adoption: there are certainly far fewer babies available these days. Although many many more babies are being born 'out of wedlock' (for want of a better expression) this is usually by choice . . . of at least one parent . . . and in both big cities and small country towns the sight of groups of very young females pushing baby buggies, smoking, chatting to boys (the possible fathers?) is very common. Our Govt gives out vast amounts of benefits to this group so the need to put a baby up for adoption is very low and many people only want healthy white children. The Social Services who are usually the first port of call in these matters make the 'process' very very difficult, especially for middle-class couples. It seems that if a child comes from a poorer, perhaps racially mixed background the social workers wants it to be adopted by people from that 'class' without considering whether the child might stand a chance of a better life. Some parents look abroad as I expect they do in the US, but this can lead to even more problems . . . and cost far more than going through the usual channels. When the cases of the Romanian orphans was first aired on TV some people tried to adopt a child, thinking with their hearts rather than...

This, too, comes into the 'For what it's worth' department .... I was just reading Peter Beales 'A Passion for Roses' (published in 2004) and noted the following comment he made in the section on Floribundas - "A few roses are completely timeless, and two of these I must mention here: 'Grüss an Aachen' and its sport 'Pink Grüss an Aachen'. 'Grüss an Aachen' is a superb rose, introduced in 1909, and one of the best cluster-flowered roses ever raised. Its colour is a soft flesh-pink, changing to cream in maturity, and it is fragrant and very free flowering; it is also tidy in habit and perfect for both bedding and group planting, 'Pink Grüss an Aachen' is a much deeper pink but in all other respects exactly the same, and just as charming. I confess to being one of a number of nurserymen who, until recently, have distributed the pink form erroneously as 'Irène Watts', a mistake I regret but have now rectified" So, I wonder where the Beales nursery sourced their 'Irène Watts' stock when they realised that what they had previously sold as that rose was in fact the PGaA? Tricia

Lucky Annie, you get to immerse yourself in Moscow for a transcendent reading experience! It was definitely one of those books that left me so sad to come to the last page. I"m in the midst of reading one of the JA Jance Joanna Brady/JP Beaumont series of mysteries. This one is Fire and Ice, and although it's listed as a Beaumont mystery (I've not read that series from its start) it is actually a dual storyline book; each character alternates chapters. They are working separate cases but eventually they will dovetail and the protagonists will connect. I want to thank the person, apologies for not recalling exactly who, that recommended the Joanna Brady books. Love them, and reading one is definitely literary comfort food. I know I'll get solid characters, an intriguing mystery and a sense I've checked in with some virtual friends.

Since I know this group will appreciate my thrilling literary luck. Project Hail Mary sounds intriguing and I loved The Martian when we read it for book club a few years ago. So based on your recommendations, I just rolled through the 4 options for how I get library books: hard copy and e-versions on both systems I belong to. And I hit the winning literary lottery ticket! One of the systems had the Kindle version waiting to be snatched up. So I did :). I"m supposed to be giving the house a clean this afternoon but that may have to wait...LOL