Sunday 4th February

Hi there!

It's been a while since I've blogged - I've been tied up with other stuff! I'm still hobbling, but it's much less painful, and I'll be back to work at the end of the week.

For all of you out there hunting down Valentine's gifts, check this little lot out, all listed on Ebay, just search my seller id, Sunspark 58!

These two rather gorgeous little keycharms are both for sale - the one on the far left is a blue lampworked glass bead with a yellow and blue flower, and four small Duranga beads in blue.

The one with the large heart shaped split keyring is fabulous, and has four fluorite beads strung with decorative whole silver plated rings, and a fine chain with amethyst heart hung from it. The Lilac ribbon adds a certain something I think.

This keycharm on the far right is silvertone metal, hung with blue and green beads. I'm particularly fond of this, I love the colours.

And this is a great 7 and a half inch silver plated charm bracelet, hung with clear crackleglass beads and round haematite beads, a couple of large smokey glass hearts, and small haematite stars.

I've got loads of other things on there, why not zip over to Ebay and have a look?

Anyhow, on with my efforts at reviewing.

In Cold Blood - wow this is one amazing book. It's very gripping, and totally sad, such useless pitifully inept violence with only a gallows waiting at the end of it.

But... I couldn't read it without wanting to re-read the Capote biography, because it fills you with this need to know, what kind of man could write that book? Its such a strange mix of poetry and beauty, and the ugliness of the crime. It's extraordinary in the way it places this violence in the heart of the community that experienced it, the way it accounts for the effect that it had on the people that became involved. It's a verbal picture of a crimson slash through the American rural lifestyle of the time.

So I have gone back to the Capote biography. He was born around 37, and was the son of a very odd couple, entirely inadequate parents. He - Capote's father, was actually called Persons. Capote's name was changed when his mother re-married, and he was adopted by the step-father. Both parents had more or less abandoned him, leaving him with her relatives. She appeared to be off to the cities, either in search of work, or fun - she was only in her forties when she died, a suicide, following a life trying to overcome alcoholism. She appears to have actively hated Trueman, she was totally unable to cope with his homosexuality - and it may have been that there was also some hormonal problem going on there, because his voice never appeared to break, and as a young man he was late to experience puberty, and remained 'youthful' looking for a considerable period of time.

Anyhow, I'm still reading the biography, and I'd like to read it fully, and then go back to both In Cold Blood, and Capote in general. I do promise not to write an essay!!

So - have a good week. I hope to be posting again soon!