When Piper Mills was twelve, she helped her grandfather bury a box that belonged to her grandmother in the backyard. For twelve years, it remained untouched.
Now a near fatal riding accident has shattered Piper’s dreams of Olympic glory. After her grandfather’s death, she inherits the house and all its secrets, including a key to a room that doesn’t exist—or does it?
And after her grandmother is sent away to a nursing home, she remembers the box buried in the backyard. In it are torn pages from a scrapbook, a charm necklace—and a newspaper article from 1939 about the body of an infant found floating in the Savannah River.
The necklace’s charms tell the story of three friends during the 1930s— each charm added during the three months each friend had the necklace and recorded her life in the scrapbook. Piper always dismissed her grandmother as not having had a story to tell. And now, too late, Piper finds she might have been wrong.
This week has been a very meh week for me. I didn’t do much, yet the week ended very fast!
I hope that I have come out of my February slump as I have taken to calling it and this week is much better in terms of what I am able to accomplish.
There is nothing really that stands out this week, so this update is going to end here. Hoping that this week is better in terms of what I am able to do and complete.
This is a normal week for both BB & GG. GG had some weighted assessments (one of which was very sudden for her as she had not seen the date for this exam) and so is currently busy studying. BB, on the other hand, has his common tests starting from Monday and is still blase about it as ever.
GG suffers from examination anxiety where she pretty much freezes and forgets all her learning during an important exam. This happened to her four years back during her PSLE exams and I very strongly believe that this was the cause of her lower than expected marks in the exam. She seemed ok during the first few years of secondary school and I was relieved that she had overcome this fear. But this year, with the O levels looming, I fear this anxiety is making a come back. I have been coaching her constantly and try to motivate her, and I hope this is working. This is going to be a year-long project for me, so wish me (and GG) loads of luck.
That’s all folks from the children this week. Happy Sunday everyone!
Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India – Madhur Jaffrey
Today’s most highly regarded writer on Indian food gives us an enchanting memoir of her childhood in Delhi in an age and a society that has since disappeared.
Madhur (meaning “sweet as honey”) Jaffrey grew up in a large family compound where her grandfather often presided over dinners at which forty or more members of his extended family would savour together the wonderfully flavorful dishes that were forever imprinted on Madhur’s palate.
Climbing mango trees in the orchard, armed with a mixture of salt, pepper, ground chilies, and roasted cumin; picnicking in the Himalayan foothills on meatballs stuffed with raisins and mint and tucked into freshly fried “poori”s; sampling the heady flavors in the lunch boxes of Muslim friends; sneaking tastes of exotic street fare–these are the food memories Madhur Jaffrey draws on as a way of telling her story. Independent, sensitive, and ever curious, as a young girl she loved uncovering her family’s many-layered history, and she was deeply affected by their personal trials and by the devastating consequences of Partition, which ripped their world apart.
After I blogged about Part 1 of my UK bucket list, I spoke about it to GG. She immediately got excited and wanted to visit London immediately! Since S and to an extent BB had less interest in the historical sites we would want to see, she suggested that they stay back while we explore these places. I had to curb her enthusiasm a bit and promised her we would very soon go there. On to some more places in London and the UK that I would definitely want to visit.
The Shard: In 2012, Italian architect Renzo Piano transformed London’s skyline with a strange but striking structure. Despite its glassy, futuristic look, the huge pyramid that is The Shard (now the capital’s tallest tower) was in fact influenced by the London of old. Piano took inspiration from the eighteenth-century spires he’d seen in artworks by Venetian landscape painter Canaletto. Reaching 244 metres from the ground, The Shard was built with everything in mind: offices, homes, hotels, bars, restaurants and, of course, the alluring viewing platform. From the highest point, the public is allowed access (floors 69-72) you get stunning 360° views of the city.
The London Eye: The London Eye is a gigantic Ferris wheel located on the south bank of the River Thames. It was completed at the beginning of the 2000s, which is why it bears the nickname The Millennium Wheel. The wheel stands tall at 443 feet and has a diameter of 120 meters. A complete wheel turn takes about 30 minutes and the capsules provide visitors with a stunning 360° view of London. It’s recorded as the world’s tallest Ferris wheel and is a true beauty at night when it comes alive with bright neon colours. Tourists are entertained with a glass of royal champagne as they enjoy a sweet ride.
Museums and Galleries: As I have mentioned previously, GG and me and to an extent BB are history buffs and so visits to the various museums and galleries in London like the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Natural History Museum, Museum of London, Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Library will be a must. I understand quite a few of these are free and this will be a huge boon to tourists on a budget.
Royal Observatory Greenwich: Visit the Royal Observatory Greenwich and stand on the world-famous Meridian Line with one foot in the west and one foot in the east. With your complimentary audio guide, learn about the discoveries of great scientists and inventors based at or associated with the Royal Observatory. Explore how great scientists first mapped the seas and the stars in Charles II’s magnificent Christopher Wren-designed Octagon Room – dating from 1675. Marvel at the Great Equatorial Telescope, the UK’s largest historic telescope which gave astronomers new views of the universe over 100 years ago. From the Royal Observatory, you will enjoy one of the most loved views of London across Greenwich Royal Park and the river Thames.
Bath: One of the most beautiful cities in the whole of the UK, with a rich and varied history stretching back thousands of years, it’s easy to see why Bath welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. First established by the Romans who built temples around the hot springs here in 76BC, Bath has been welcoming weekenders for almost 2,000 years. This pretty spa town is oozing with history, from the Roman baths (of course) to its grand Georgian houses, parks and sweeping crescents, timeless attractions and Victorian gothic structures. Bath’s natural hot springs are what the city is most famous for, but it also has a fantastic cultural scene, with plenty of theatre, music, comedy, art and more.
Stonehenge: One of the most important survivals of prehistoric England, Stonehenge consists of a group of huge rough-cut stones, some more than 20 feet high, arranged in two concentric circles. Located 10 miles north of Salisbury on Salisbury Plain, Stonehenge is Europe’s best-known prehistoric monument (the site is so popular that visitors need to purchase a timed ticket in advance to guarantee entry). Exhibitions at the excellent visitor centre set the stage for a visit, explaining through audio-visual experiences and more than 250 ancient objects how the megaliths were erected and telling about life when they were placed here, between 3000 and 1500 BC. After walking around the enormous stones, visit the authentic replicas of Neolithic Houses to see the tools and implements of everyday Neolithic life as volunteers demonstrate skills from 4,500 years ago.
Manchester: S is a huge fan of the English Premier League and the team he supports is Manchester United. So for him, a trip to the industrial town is a must if we are in England. A visit to the Theatre of Dreams, Old Trafford where he can pay homage to his favourite players plus a visit to the National Football Museum and we should be done here.
Loch Ness and Inverness: Nessie is Loch Ness’s oldest resident, first sighted back in the sixth century. Over the years, a host of hunters and hoaxers have followed in her wake, but we’ve yet to get a clear shot of the monster. If you fancy your luck, Jacobite offer a range of tours on the water, from sedate cruises to the high speed ‘Beastie Boats’. Even if Nessie is feeling shy during your visit, the loch (never pronounced ‘lock’ with a hard ‘k’ sound) remains a prime example of austere Scottish beauty. Gazing into that deep, murky water, it’s hard to shake the feeling that something is staring back.
Stratford on Avon: This market town in England was the birthplace of Shakespeare and so the best things to do in Stratford-upon-Avon includes plenty of attractions related to its most famous inhabitant. Catch a show by the eminent Royal Shakespeare Company at one of its theatres or visit some of the well-preserved buildings whose very walls tell the story of the Bard’s life and death.
I am sure there are many attractions and places I have missed on this list. I am going to do some more research and see if I can come up with part 3. Are there any attractions or places you feel need to be included? Would love to hear from you.
