From the Vicarage Library

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I am currently taking a break from Agatha Raisin which has resulted in me pinching three old books from the Mhinisteir’s library.

That Was The Church That Was: How the Church of England Lost the English People by Andrew Brown and Linda Woodhead

According to the Mhinisteir, the CofE tried to stop the publication of this book which caused a lot of controversy. Reading it has just made me realise that just like all other institutions, the CofE too is corrupt. It is an easy read and people who are not church going but still interested in the CofE might enjoy it. This was published in 2016 so some of you might already have read it!

The Country Vicar by David Osborne

This is another easy read book and I’ve just got a few more pages to go. It is an analysis of rural ministry with case studies.

Herbert Hensley Henson A Biography by John S. Peart-Binns

This is the book that I am going to read next. As the title indicates, this is a biography of the 86th Bishop of Durham.

I hope to return to Agatha Raisin after this!

At some point I am hoping to get a second hand copy (when it becomes available!) of Murder before Evensong by the Rev Richard Coles. I was initially very reluctant to even consider it as I disapprove of am not keen on “celebrity” vicars but I have a sneaky feeling that this book will be right up my street. I just hope that there is no bad language!

All because of a cat…

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I don’t like cats. In fact, this photo terrifies me but I felt obliged to include a photo of one and this was the “friendliest” I could find on Pexel! I am terrified of cats. They remind me of tigers. There is just something about their eyes.

On Saturday, I found myself rereading the final pages of The Witch of Wyckhadden, the 9th book of the Agatha Raisin series. You see, the night before, I had finished reading that book and had moved on to the 10th book in the series. It was then that I realised that Agatha only has the 2 cats, Hodge and Boswell when she moves to Norfolk in the Fairies of Fryham. What happened to Scrabble? Scrabble was the third cat that she had “adopted” while in Wyckhadden and she had definitely brought Scrabble back with her to Carsely but strangely there was no mention of Scrabble in the Fairies of Fryham.

Ach well I might never find out but then again Scrabble might resurface later in the series.

The Vicarage Christmas 2021

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We were late in going to bed on Christmas Eve. Actually, it was already Christmas Day when we went to bed at 2am; I was waiting up for the Mhinisteir to come back from the midnight mass. I always get very nervous when he has to drive in the dark especially during the festive period when half the drivers appear to be less than sober!

The next day, I struggled to get up for the Christmas Day service. Unlike the Mhinisteir, I wasn’t bright eyed and bushy tailed but at least I wasn’t grumpy after a nice warm shower. Just as I was about to enter into Church, a parishioner approached me for a hug. I had to politely decline. He was shocked and I felt bad but I had to act responsibly. I wish that he hadn’t put me in that situation in the first place but ……

While in Church, I realised that it was warmer outside than it was inside for I was frozen. After the service, folk were saying how cold it was in the church but that’s rural churches for you; poor heating and no loo😁. The service was lovely and I got to see the new baby; a young family who are regulars have had a new baby boy. They already have two other boys.

Back home, I struggled to thaw. After a bowl of warming soup, I decided to head to bed with Agatha Raisin and the electric blanket while the Mhinisteir went ahead with his home visits/communions.

A few hours later, I found the Mhinisteir reading next to me in bed! It also meant that it was time for our Christmas dinner which was pan fried turkey breast with rosemary and all the trimmings. I know that the Mhinisteir was exhausted as he also had a few deaths in the parishes in the run up to Christmas so I didn’t insist that he dressed up so we had our Christmas dinner in our old pyjamas which was a first for us!

In case you are wondering, we do have family whom we are very close to but unusually for us, both sets of our families are very busy doing good between the Christmas and New Year period so we don’t usually have a get together during the festive period. It is not something new but has been going on for generations. In fact, almost 50 years, the Mhinisteir’s uncle was returning home after distributing food and presents to the underprivileged when he was tragically killed by an errant driver.

ps: We have yet to open the Christmas presents that came from our parishioners. We hope to put that right this evening and after that I have to start writing thank you cards.

From the Vicarage Library | Agatha Raisin Series

I first came across M C Beaton‘s Agatha Raisin series of books when we first moved to England. Prior to that, I had read her Hamish Macbeth series while living in Scotland and thoroughly enjoyed it because my life resembled that of the inhabitants of the fictitious village of Lochdubh.

When I first looked at the Agatha Raisin series of books in the library, they didn’t interest me. It was set in the Cotswolds and I didn’t think that it would be as exciting as the Hamish Macbeth series of books. How wrong I was! Out of curiosity, in Autumn 2019, I started buying and reading the Agatha Raisin series book by book and got hooked. I still have not finished the whole series and the pandemic meant that I got a bit side tracked.

Fast forward to Autumn 2021, I decided to re read the Agatha Raisin series of books in my bookshelf and order the remaining books from the series so that there will be a steady flow to the storyline. I started with the very first book “Agatha Raisin and Quiche of Death”; I couldn’t remember the story which is not a bad think. I have also read “Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet”. Tonight, I should finish the third book of the series “Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener”.

A little bit about Agatha Raisin herself, Agatha Raisin is a 50 something woman who retires to the Cotsworld village of Carsely after a successful career in PR in London. However, Carsely is not the quiet village that she had imagined it to be. The first murder happens very shortly after she arrives and Agatha Raisin becomes a suspect!!!! It is this experience that causes her to turn into an amateur sleuth much to the annoyance of the local police.

M C Beaton’s books are known as cosy crime books so they won’t give you a nightmare when you sleep at night!

This book is for you if you have always wanted to live in a cosy little English village.

If you have enjoyed this blog, then you will enjoy Mrs Bloxby, the vicar’s wife!!!😁

From the Vicarage Library | The Little Bakery on Rosemary Lane

I bought this book for a pound at a Charity shop on Monday 23 March 2020,the day when the National lockdown was announced by the Prime Minister. 6 months later, we are still in some kind of a lockdown with news today that the rules are being tightened as the number of Covid infection cases rises again.

Anyway, back to the Little Bakery on Rosemary Lane. I would describe this as a rom com version of a book. A book one would read when you are having a bad day! The main character, Roxanne, a 46 year old fashion director from London goes back to her home village in Yorkshire to nurse a broken heart.

I usually don’t go for books like this. I like cosy murder mysteries like the Agatha Raisin series by MC Beaton. I also like books by Alexander McCall Smith. I was only attracted to this book because of its colourful cover! How wrong can you go for a pound?

I read the book for the second time last week!

M C Beaton

The first piece of news I heard just after we welcomed in 2020 was the death of author M C Beaton. I was very sorry to hear it as she is one of my favourite authors. I have just started reading her Agatha Raisin Series of books. While in Scotland, I enjoyed her Hamish Macbeth series.

This morning while reading an obituary of her in the Telegraph, I discovered that the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams was a fan!!!

Holiday Reads

I bought some books to read during the holidays and I am pleased to say that I am not disappointed.

The books I bought were from M C Beaton’s Agatha Raisin’s series.

I started off with the very first one in the series called Agatha Raisin and the quiche of death. It was so wonderful that I have now also finished the next one in line Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet. I have just literally placed an order for more books from the same series.

If like me, you like light hearted murder mysteries then Agatha Raisin is your woman!!!!

Spoiler Alert: The Vicar’s Wife, Mrs Bloxby is portrayed as a very sweet lady!!!