Guest Review: A Christmas Wish for the Village Midwife by Tilly Tennant

As stars sparkle in wintry skies, the little village of Thimblebury is getting in the Christmas spirit. Fairy lights hang in shop windows, couples kiss under the mistletoe and midwife Zoe Padbury has a heartfelt Christmas wish…

For midwife Zoe Padbury, there’s nowhere more magical than her Lake District home at Christmas. The air smells of hot chocolate and mulled wine, there are Santa cruises on the lakes, and Zoe has her hands full welcoming babies into the world – the best presents of all.

But at home at Kestrel Cottage, despite the lights twinkling on the tree, the mood is far from festive. Zoe has just had unexpected news: she may never be able to have children. She and her boyfriend Alex have been dreaming of starting a family of their own, and as she watches Alex put together the perfect Christmas for his daughter Billie, she hides her heartbreak. She’s determined not to ruin the holidays for him…

Zoe wraps presents with Billie, and sees Alex look at them both with such love. The season should be joyful, but she’s far from feeling light and hope. But what’s more important at Christmas? Keeping the peace or telling the truth? Zoe’s only wish is for many more Christmases with those she loves. But is her relationship strong enough to survive the secrets she’s been keeping?

Review: This is the fifth book in a series of stories about the life of Zoe Padbury, a midwife attached to the medical practice in the small Lake District village of Thimblebury. She moved there from Manchester, after the break up of her marriage and currently lives with partner Alex, his daughter and baby granddaughter in a farm outside the village. Although this and other books in the series feature recurring characters and references to previous stories set in Thimblebury, I feel that each one can be read as a standalone.

This story sees things a little unsettled in Zoe’s household as Alex’s daughter, Billie, has returned from visiting her in-laws in Spain in a strange mood. Life continues as normal for Zoe at work in the run up to Christmas, but things are strained at home because of Billie’s moods and Alex’s attempts to find the cause. Her relationship with Alex is also tense after devastating news about her health. Some plans Alex has for the future are causing a little ill feeling among some local residents. Can Zoe get her wish for a peaceful family Christmas?

It was lovely to return to Thimblebury and catch up with some familiar characters, including some mums and babies from previous stories in the series. I have to admit that I got rather impatient with Billie’s behaviour in this book; she was more like a badly behaved teenager than a mum in her mid twenties. Since it was nearing Christmas, it was great to watch seasonal preparations taking place in the village, have encounters with the big man and see just a dusting of snow. Fans of the series and newcomers alike should enjoy this festive family story.

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Guest Review: The Illusionist: The True Story of the Man Who Fooled Hitler By Robert Hutton

Cairo, 1942: If you had asked a British officer who Colonel Clarke was, they would have been able to point him out: always ready with a drink and a story, he was a well-known figure in the local bars. If you then asked what he did, you would have less success. Those who knew didn't tell, and almost no one really knew at all.

Clarke thought of himself as developing a new kind of weapon. Its components? Rumour, stagecraft, a sense of fun. Its target? The mind of Erwin Rommel, Hitler's greatest general. Throughout history, military commanders have sought to mislead their opponents. Dudley Clarke set out to do it on a scale no one had imagined before. Even afterwards, almost no one understood the magnitude of his achievement.

Drawing on recently released documents and hugely expanding on the louche portrait of Clarke as seen in SAS: Rogue Heroes, journalist and historian Robert Hutton reveals the amazing story of Clarke's A Force, the invention of the SAS and the Commandos, and the masterful hoodwinking of the Desert Fox at the battle of El Alamein. The Illusionist tells for the first time the dazzling tale of how, at a pivotal moment in the war, British eccentricity and imagination combined to thwart the Nazis and save innumerable lives - on both sides.

Review: Dudley Clarke (1899-1974) was an officer in the British Army, a pioneer of military deception and an advocate of special forces. Robert Hutton has written this biography, using recently-released documents. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by the comedian and historian Al Murray.

Dudley Clarke was born in South Africa and experienced the Boer War during his early childhood. After the war, the family returned to England where Clarke attended school and military college before receiving a commission in the Army. Too young to serve on the frontline during the First World War, he joined the Royal Flying Corps and completed his flying training in Egypt, starting an affinity for the Middle East. He remained in the Army after the First World War and served in a number of posts in the Middle East. During the early years of the Second World War, after the British had been forced to retreat from mainland Europe, one of the means of striking back at the enemy was small raiding parties. Clarke, having been impressed by the guerrilla tactics employed by the Boers in South Africa, suggested these raiding troops should adopt the name commandos, after the Boer units.

Towards the end of 1940, Dudley Clarke was posted to the Army headquarters in the Middle East in Cairo as an intelligence officer. His principal role was to develop deception plans to fool the enemy as to the strength of the Allied forces and when and where an attack may come. His methods involved feeding small pieces of information, such as orders to fictional units, using double agents, and visual deception such as dummy vehicles, over a period of time. In this way, the enemy was allowed to assemble the pieces like a jigsaw. He always emphasised that what mattered was not making the enemy think what you wanted, but making him do what you wanted. One of the fictional units he created in January 1941 was the Special Air Service (SAS) Brigade. He persuaded two soldiers to wear uniforms bearing airborne forces insignia and spend time in bars in Cairo and Alexandria where they would be seen. Later that year he met David Stirling who had come up with the idea of forming such a unit and Clarke persuaded him to use the SAS name for this unit. One of Clarke’s most important deceptions was to persuade the Germans that an attack at El Alamein in 1942 was not imminent but, when it came, would be at a different area of the front, ensuring the element of surprise.

However, Dudley Clarke’s most infamous moment came in October 1941 when he was arrested by Spanish police in Madrid whilst dressed as a woman. The British authorities managed to secure his release and get him to Gibraltar, but no explanation was offered for this behaviour.

Throughout the book the author uses comparisons with stage magicians or illusionists who try to mis-direct their audience’s attention in order to pull off a trick. This was very much the approach adopted by Clarke and his disciples, hoping to divert the enemy’s resources away from where an attack would take place. As a highly entertaining account of a shadowy and unsung figure, and a fascinating insight into the world of military deception, I would recommend this book.

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Guest Review: Match of the Day Football Almanac: Six Decades of Trophies, Tournaments, and Timeless Moments By Nick Constable

Do you remember the Battle of Old Trafford? Shearer's dream debut hat trick? Or how many goals Haaland scored in his first Premier League season? Hope, heartbreak and victory, over the past 60 years Match of the Day has shown it all.

From bombastic debuts in August to May’s nail-biting end-of-season title races, the football calendar is filled with legendary moments. Packed full of stories from 60 years of football history, The official Match of the Day Football Almanac is your ultimate guide to the highs and lows of the football season.

With a foreword from Gary Lineker and featuring the most legendary footballing stories from the last 60 years of Match of the Day, this month-by-month guide includes giant-killing FA Cup battles, the birth of the Premier League and the dawn of VAR, all culminating in legendary World Cup and Euros tournaments – with stats and insights from the experts at Match of the Day along the way. This is the perfect gift for any football fan, and a fitting tribute to our favourite football programme.

Review: In August 1964, the first transmission of a football highlights programme “Match of the Day” was broadcast on BBC2. Since then, the programme has become a Saturday night institution in England and Wales. This book, published in 2024, celebrates 60 years of this iconic programme.

Initially available only to a limited audience in the London area who had access to BBC2, the programme featured highlights of a single match in the English Football League First Division. It then moved to BBC1 and gradually expanded. In 1992, the breakaway Premier League was formed and nowadays the programme will feature extended highlights of one main match, followed by briefer highlights of all that other day’s fixtures in the Premier League. The book is divided into 12 chapters, each focussing on one month, beginning with the season’s opening fixtures in August. Hence, the chapters cover: dream or nightmare debuts as the season kicks off in August; managers’ fears of the sack (not from Santa) in December; giant killing acts as the FA Cup 3rd round pits lower league clubs against the top league clubs in January; and possible title deciders in May. The chapters relating to June and July cover the performance of England men’s and women’s teams in international tournaments (spoiler alert - the chapter on the Lionesses’ achievements is now out of date).

As an interesting review of the history of “Match of the Day”, including its presenters, commentators and pundits, over its first 60 years, I found this to be highly informative. It should appeal to all football aficionados.

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Guest Review: I’ll be Home for Christmas by Helen Rolfe

Chrissie used to love Christmas in her Swiss childhood home… until she lost her husband eight years ago. Add in a prolonged conflict with her sister Meg, and the holidays in the snowy Alps are just too hard to face. Now she’s in quiet Oxfordshire, focused on her daughter Sarah’s wedding.

But when Sarah runs away to her grandparents’ chalet just weeks before the big day, Chrissie heads to the mountains to help – and finds her estranged sister Meg there too. Usually in London at the helm of a thriving chocolate shop, Meg’s hiding the troubles of a tough year.

Trapped by snow in Winterbruck, the sisters must face old tensions, support Chrissie's daughter, and discover that family –and a little chocolate – can make even the coldest Christmas cosy.

I absolutely adore Christmas books and was excited to find this one from Helen Rolfe the first of many to appear in my kindle library this year. She is an author who always produces a heartwarming festive tale in an interesting setting. This story is set in Switzerland, and, I must warn other readers, is full of chocolate goodies as well as oodles of snow. It should really be read by a warm fire with a box of the confection close by.

This is very much a family story, featuring three generations. In the Swiss town of Winterbruck, grandparents Earl and Astrid (Grump and Nanna) are pleasantly surprised to receive a letter from granddaughter Sarah asking to come and stay over Christmas. She is due to get married on New Year’s Eve but her elderly grandparents will not be able to travel to England for the wedding, so they will be delighted to see her. Another surprise visitor turns up slightly after Sarah in the shape of her aunt Meg, who she has barely ever seen due to an estrangement between her and Sarah’s mother, Chrissie. Then, sensing that something is amiss with her daughter, Chrissie arrives on the doorstep. It is a long time since Chrissie has visited her childhood home, as it reminds her of her husband who she lost several years ago. The chalet is filled with tension as Earl and Astrid wonder what is going on with their daughters and granddaughter. It takes a near disaster for everything to come out in the open and begin to heal all the troubles.

This was a truly uplifting story brimming with family and friendship. In contrast to the cold snowy landscape outside, the Winterbruck chalet was full of warmth and love. I loved Sarah’s grandparents who looked on their family with affection and fed them lots of lovely local homemade favourites while they all worked out their problems. It was entertaining each time there was a knock at the door to guess who was there next. There was quite a crowd by the time the story ended. I liked the way in which the reader gradually learns what caused the estrangement between sisters Meg and Chrissie and what each of them has been doing in the interim. Sarah’s story also emerged in time. Being trapped by heavy snow was definitely beneficial for everyone to sort out their problems. The town of Winterbruck itself sounded absolutely amazing with its mountain views, snowy vistas and, importantly, chocolate shops; the author really had me wishing I could visit. I can highly recommend this as a book to add to your Christmas reading list.

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Guest Review: Cassino ‘44: Five Months of Hell in Italy By James Holland

There are no such thing as an easy victory in war but after triumph in Tunisia, the sweeping success of the Sicilian invasion, and with the Italian surrender, the Allies were confident that they would be in Rome before Christmas 1943.

And yet it didn't happen. Hitler ordered his forces to dig in and fight for every yard, thus setting the stage for one of the grimmest and most attritional campaigns of the Second World War.

By the start of 1944, the Allies found themselves coming up against the Gustav Line: a formidable barrier of wire, minefields, bunkers and booby traps, woven into a giant chain of mountains and river valleys that stretched the width of Italy where at its strongest point perched the Abbey of Monte Cassino.

It would take five long bitter winter months and the onset of summer before the Allies could finally bludgeon their way north and capture Rome. By then, more than 75,000 troops and civilians had been killed and the historic abbey and entire towns and villages had been laid waste.

Following a rich cast of characters from both sides - from frontline infantry to aircrew, from clerks to battlefield commanders, and from politicians and civilians caught up in the middle of the maelstrom - James Holland has drawn widely on diaries, letters and contemporary sources to write the definitive account of this brutal battle. The result is a compelling and often heart-breaking narrative, told in the moment, as the events played out, and from the perspective of those who lived, fought and died there.

Review: This book is an account by the military historian James Holland of the five months’ attritional battle that took place south of Rome between January and May 1944 as part of the Second World War Italian campaign. Following their success in North Africa, the Allied forces invaded Sicily and southern Italy in the summer and autumn, respectively, of 1943. The Italian dictator Mussolini was deposed and the Italian government signed an armistice. The Germans subsequently occupied the northern part of Italy, whilst the Allied armies pushed northwards with the aim of seizing the capital Rome, expecting little resistance. At the start of 1944, resources were diverted from Italy to England in preparation for the D-Day landings in France scheduled for late spring/early summer of that year. The campaign in Italy continued, with the objective of diverting German resources from France and the Eastern Front.

The mountainous terrain of the Italian peninsula lent itself to a defensive campaign in which the Germans could establish blocking lines in the mountains from where they could overlook Allied movements in the valleys below. By January 1944, the Allies had reached one of the strongest of these defensive lines, the Gustav Line, centred on Monte Cassino, with the town of Cassino at its foot and a Benedictine abbey at its summit. The book, based on diaries, letters, contemporary accounts and interviews with survivors, describes the successive attempts to break through. The amphibious landing at Anzio north of the Gustav Line, in an attempt to draw some of the defenders away from Cassino, is also described. As well as the commanders, such as Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, commander of German forces in Italy, General Harold Alexander, commander of Allied forces in Italy, and General Mark Clark, commander of the United States Fifth Army, the book follows the fortunes of rank and file soldiers and airmen, as well as civilians caught up in the conflict. The Allies finally broke through the Gustav Line and broke out from the Anzio bridgehead in May. On 5th June, Mark Clark led his Fifth Army into Rome. The following day, the D-Day landings in Normandy took place and the Italian campaign was consigned to the back pages. Interestingly, Mark Clark has been criticised heavily for his decision to turn the Fifth Army towards Rome rather than encircle the German forces retreating from the Gustav Line, but the author presents a strong argument that there were sound military reasons for this decision.

The book is a well-researched and detailed account of this part of the Italian campaign and included numerous photographs and maps. However, I found some of the maps confusing since not all the symbols are explained in the keys to the maps and there appear to be some typographic errors in the names of some of the locations. A further geographical error occurs in the extensive notes and bibliography in which initially the town of Otley is stated correctly as being in West Yorkshire, but later on its location is described as Lancashire. These are minor criticisms, however, and this highly detailed account of a gruelling battle will appeal to all interested in military history.

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Guest Review: The Villa of Secrets by Emma Burstall

Can a stay at a magical villa help her find her way to start again?

When Cleo arrives at Villa Ariadne on the sun-drenched island of Crete, she’s hoping for space to breathe – and perhaps some clarity about the life she no longer recognises. Newly divorced and estranged from one of her children, she’s not sure what comes next.

Sharing the villa with a small group of women, each carrying their own private heartaches, Cleo is drawn into the gentle rhythm of island life. Beneath the lemon trees and endless blue skies, friendships begin to form and long-buried hopes stir.

But when an unexpected event shakes their peaceful escape, the women are forced to come together in ways none of them anticipated. And as Villa Ariadne works its quiet magic once more, Cleo may discover that even in uncertainty, second chances are still possible.

Review: Like the last book I read from this author (Beside the Turquoise Sea), this one features the Villa Ariadne, a large, luxurious and somewhat magical villa on Crete. As well as being reacquainted with the villa itself, it was nice to catch up with some of the local people from the seaside village near to it.

In this story, Katerina, the elderly lady who owns the Villa Ariadne, has been persuaded to rent it out for use as a wellness retreat. It goes on to follow the fortunes of the first group of women who have arrived to spend a week at the retreat. Taking centre stage is Cleo Frobisher, who, like others in the group, has been having a tough time lately. She is recently divorced, and her daughter has suddenly been avoiding contact with her. The other women also have their tales of woe which emerge gradually. As the week progresses, friendships form within the group and everyone relaxes aided by the peaceful atmosphere, sunshine and good food. However, the peace is suddenly shattered by an unforeseen event, forcing the women into difficult situations and they find themselves doing things they never imagined they could.

This was a very enjoyable and compelling story with a twist in the middle. Like the characters who arrived at the Villa Ariadne, I relaxed in the peaceful atmosphere of the picturesque Greek island so vividly described by the author and could imagine the taste of the mouthwatering dishes being served up. I really liked the way in which the friendships among the women and also with some of the locals developed gently. At the same time, stories of their lives were revealed. When their calm visit became a bit of an adventure, everyone learned more about themselves than they expected when they set off from home. Definitely a book I would recommend for anyone looking for a bit of escapism.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Nationalities in the Title

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This is a fun one because I feel like there are more of them than we realise...I hve extended to all place names but taken it a bit further back to include some of my favourites!

Bonus title that has not yet been released...