Darkness at teatime

As I started to write a new post late on Monday afternoon the power suddenly and unexpectedly went off - no thunderstorm or similar to explain it. It took my part-written post with it, and it didn't come back. Or at least, it didn't come back in a way that could be used, the lights were flickering dimly and most things, including the broadband, weren't working at all. Investigation suggested that a combine harvester had yanked the power line and stretched it - something hotly denied by one of the workers in the field! We rang the power company, who said they would send someone out, and in the meantime, our neighbour came home and confirmed that we had between 60 and 100 volts only, instead of the required UK 240v. The joys of country life, honestly - usually it's our water supply that gets ploughed up. Some hours later the lights came back on, in time for reading in bed, I'm glad to say.

The post I lost was only a reading update: despite the TBR pile being multiple, I of course came home from Edinburgh on Sunday with two books from my elder son and a determination to start re-reading American Gods instantly, having been to hear Neil Gaiman speak at the Book Festival. I could only make time to go to one event, and had been intending to go to hear A.S. Byatt, but then it was announced that Gaiman was doing a Guardian Book Club event, so that won hands down - it was worth it, too. Both sons came with me and we had very pleasant Thai food before heading home.

I had to go to the library as a book had come in for me - Margaret Drabble's The Sea Lady, which I'd read somewhere has a Northumberland connection. I like books with a strong sense of place, and I like living in the north-east, so one feeds the other, and if I'm not careful it will become the next obsession. I'd been checking exactly where in Northumberland it was that there was a Drabble/Byatt connection (Wylam, in case you're wondering) because I thought I'd read somewhere that Byatt's new book, Ragnarok, which I plan to read for R.I.P. is set on the north-east coast. I guess it will become evident - or not - when I read it. In the meantime, I'll read Drabble, with some trepidation - I used to love her in my younger days, but I haven't really enjoyed any of her more recent books.

Anyway, while at the library I also picked up a couple of books on Northumberland: one has lots of pictures and a bit of history, and the other is a complete gazetteer of churches. Lots of the churches aren't interesting at all, but a few are intriguing, and it's nice to be able to read about them all, rather than an author's selection, which may be favourites, but not necessarily my favourites (especially if I haven't yet discovered them!) Time to visit some soon, I hope.