It’s amazing the surprises that rise from the soil as it churns with the seasons. 
Our old garden yielded a lot of lovely Victorian bottles including R Whites lemonade, mostly broken, alas.
Probably the most unusual object was this pipe bowl, pictured. I found it again last week while having a clear-out.
I asked around when it first emerged and was told it probably dated between 1750 and 1850, hand-painted with what might be a Black Forest hunting scene, the sort of item popular with German military.
So why were German soldiers camping in my old back garden in North London?
If anyone can shed any light I’d be very interested.
THERE are many people better qualified than me to mark the passing of author PD James. Baroness James of Holland Park OBE, FRSL, FRSA, packed a tremendous amount into a busy and very respectable 94 years. Her long and broad experience offered much wisdom but if I had to chose a quote it would be, “The thing about being is writer is that you need to write,” – simple but fundamental. A colossus of crime writing is gone but her impact remains.
MY BLACK FRIDAY bargain – all four Danny Lancaster crime thrillers on Amazon for just 99p each in the UK, $1.55 in the US – was so popular I’m going to run it into what I like to call DARK DECEMBER.
You can wile away the winter evenings with 400,000 words of action and adventure, love and lust, courage and treachery plus cliff-hangers and surprises – all with 5* reviews.
The UK links are:
THE WRECK OF THE MARGHERITA www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007OVUG6Q
DEATH SQUAD www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0085V9HL4
ROUGH DIAMOND www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DK7F6I6
ROCK HARD www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GXDU5DA
The US links are:
THE WRECK OF THE MARGHERITA www.amazon.com/dp/B007OVUG6Q
DEATH SQUAD www.amazon.com/dp/B0085V9HL4
ROUGH DIAMOND www.amazon.com/dp/B00DK7F6I6
ROCK HARD www.amazon.com/dp/B00GXDU5DA
Treat yourself for Christmas!
STILL struggling to make a dent in my TBR list. My latest read is the excellent Fall
From Grace, a Tim Weaver thriller featuring missing persons expert David Raker.
Raker is asked by a senior police officer to find her missing father, a legendary Met Police detective. But as Raker digs hard he comes up against secrets that many want to remain buried. The story is pacy, dark and compelling.
www.facebook.com/DannyLancasterInvestigates
@williamjtodd
Remembering Barbara – www.barbaragubbins.co.uk
GUNNER: The diary of an ordinary soldier – all proceeds to a military charity
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LGSZQTU – only 77p
US: www.amazon.com/dp/B00LGSZQTU – only $1.26