Author: My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett)

“Swindon bin bag travels 15 minutes from home” is the best local news article I’ve read so far this year

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) British, comedy, Humor, Humour, Swindon, Uncategorized , , , , ,

I appreciate it’s a bit belated, considering the article was penned on 29th January, but honestly this article is quite possibly the best thing you’ll read all year.

Brought to you by local newspaper the Swindon Advertiser, “Swindon bin bag travels 15 minutes from home” follows the story of a lost recycling bag which, you guessed it, was blown away in recent storms, ending up a location that is 15 minutes away by foot.

“I expected to see an address on it for my street…but was shocked to see the Church’s name on it as that is a fair distance for it to be blown in the wind…I placed it on the railings where I found it and decided the decent thing to do was post its location so someone could inform the church where to find it.” Emma Viggers, Swindon resident

The best bit comes at the end. After an article detailing the recycling bag’s journey, we get this as a journalistic afterthought:

Meanwhile, a structure at the Abbey Stadium was also damaged.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Link to original article (and credit to Edward Burnett for originally reporting): Storm Isha: Swindon bin bag travels 15 minutes from home | Swindon Advertiser

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Poetry Review: “The Must-Be-Admired Things” by Gary Miranda

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Rating: 5 stars

Headline: A beautifully diverse range of poems that will melt even the coldest of hearts

Review:

The Must-Be-Admired Things is an anthology of poems by Gary Miranda. A respected poet in his own right, Miranda’s works have featured in a plethora of publications, including the American Scholar, West Coast Review and The New Yorker. This singular title marks a compilation of four previously published books and is a reflection of years of hard work invested by Miranda into his craft. And it is those years of devotion that really shines through because of it.

Miranda’s diverse range of poems, spanning those of only a few stanzas to multiple pages long, draws extensively on lived experiences. Many of the selected poems are further heightened in their imagery by clever observations that reflect the natural world. A particular favourite, “Visibilities” (originally published in Grace Period) brings the two worlds of humanity and fellow creature together to tap into the innocence of humans as being the only species who admire the skill and form of the natural world. After reading this poem, birdwatching trip at the lake will never be the same again.

Every one of the poems in this book is perfectly balanced and weighted. The tempo and bounce to each fits perfectly with the topics at hand (with those tackling harder discussions being punchier and direct, versus those that read with the slow-tempo ease of something written in the back of a rowing boat on calm waters). While reading this title it is incredibly easy to randomly land on a page and find a poem to best suit a mood for any given day. I had begun jotting down some choice lines to drop into my everyday conversations when I had to stop, the pages were filling up that fast.

There are few people who I would dissuade from reading The Must-Be-Admired Things. When then poetry is as carefree as this, it is of no surprise Miranda has as many publishing credits as he does.

AEB Reviews

Links:

Reedsy Discovery Review: AEB Reviews – “The Must-Be-Admired Things: Collected Poems & Translations”

Purchase Link: “The Must-Be-Admired Things: Collected Poems & Translations” (Amazon)

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My foot: an update

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) comedy, Humor, Humour, Medicine, Swindon, Uncategorized , ,

You know, it struck me the other day that I have this uncanny ability for calamity, like the time I tripped on a paving slab and did my noggin’ in.

Putting that to one side, an update to say things are going going better with my foot (you know, the one I tipped a mug of boiling water over). This was how it was looking before, after the skin had been taken off at a minor injuries unit and a couple of days into a course of antibiotics:

I’m intentionally leaving out photos of my swollen foot at the point boyfriend Ben dragged me into an urgent care unit.A week later after the first bandage, my foot was looking more like this:

Battling infection was a low point, alongside the accompanied pain, and balancing antibiotics with my primal need to constantly eat. (‘Take one tablet four times a day, at least one hour before food and two hours after food.” Hmm…this is going to be a truly rubbish week!’)

Comedy point was when I tried to keep my foot dry in the shower by sticking a plastic bag over my foot, held in place by a hair band. Not only did it fail within seconds, giving me a soaking bandage, I also nearly slipped in the shower.

I also realised afterwards the bag was from a Chinese takeaway I’d had the week before. I’m nothing if not true to brand.

In all the ups and downs, I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had a supportive family network around me, one which have both taken care and refused to let me out of their sight where herbal tea is concerned. It is thanks to them that I’m well on my way to feeling more myself, even if it has been a slower process than I had initially expected.

It won’t stop me drinking my beloved cups of tea (and coffee), though.

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Poetry Review: “Dancing Words” by Jocelyne Smallian-Khan

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Rating: 3 stars

Headline: A likeable and pleasant read, with the author’s creativity providing energy and bounce on every page

Review:

Dancing Words is a collection by the poet Jocelyne Smallian-Khan. Smallian-Khan’s thirty one poems are themed around dance and movement, many of which being dedicated to individuals close to the author. Lengths and styles of the poems vary, including haikus, one stanza statements and poems spanning multiple pages.

This is a nice little collection of poems and I am quite sure any reader will find a favourite in amongst the collection. Two standout favourites for me are the short a sweet three liner “Temple Dancer” which considers the movement portrayed in ancient art and “Tannoura, Tannoura, Tannoura”. The latter rates highly for its quirkiness and the author’s decision to twist the words into a circle shape which adds unexpected energy and bounce to the content.

Where I perhaps would have liked more in Smallian-Khan’s work is in her use of description and imagery, which felt frustratingly lacking. In most cases the poems are too short to be given the room to breathe and expand in the reader’s imagination. They are over too soon. The use of international dialect also creates confusion, it makes some of the poems a harder experience to read. It is hard to truly become immersed in poetry if you cannot understand what is being conveyed. That said, I am the first to accept that as a native English speaker with poor grasp on global language this could be a case of reader error.

To the right readership, the type who revel in short and snappy poetry, there is a lot to take away in Dancing Words. Those in search of beefy sagas, poems with ample detail and strong visuals may need to look further afield. It makes for a likeable and pleasant read, just not something that can be so readily debated over in poetry groups.

AEB Reviews

Links:

Reedsy Discovery Review: AEB Reviews – “Dancing Words: A Poetry Collection” by Jocelyne Smallian-Khan

Purchase Link: “Dancing Words: A Poetry Collection” by Jocelyne Smallian-Khan (Amazon)

Author Website: https://jjsk.ca/

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Start 2024 as we mean to go on

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) comedy, Holiday, Humor, Humour, Theatre, Vacation, Wedding , , ,

2024 has gone swimmingly so far.

Towards the end of December 2023 I went to a pantomime (just don’t ask how many people in attendance fitted the category of aged 30 – 40…with parents). If you don’t know what pantomime is, check out this article, it does a much better job of explaining than I ever could.

Given the size of cast, it was a really production with each and everyone of the actors giving it their absolute all. The heckling from children in the audience had to be the ultimate highlight of the whole experience, with one calling out “it’s all common sense really!” as one cast member asked for help locating their ‘missing’ friends. (I don’t think they’d got the “it’s behind you!” part of the audience participation script.)

You know what isn’t fun though? Copyright claims. So you’ll have to take a photo of me stood at the base of the theatre stairs as proof we had fun.

And then boyfriend Ben and I travelled up a wedding in Darlington, a location so far north that at one stage I wasn’t sure if I was going to get altitude sickness. (Turns out there is a world beyond Birmingham, who knew!)

It was a really lovely wedding which served as a fitting end to 2023 and an area to which boyfriend Ben and I have decided we will most certainly be visiting again. Although I’m still not entirely sold by Ben’s new hat (as lovely a wedding favour as it was…)

He’s still trying to convince me.

All the above in mind, shout out to the following places:

And then…

And then, Alice decided to pull a Calamity Jane and spectacularly slip-up on a stone doorstep, bruising one side of her body.

And then, less than 24 hours later, I dropped a cup of herbal tea all over my right foot. No milk, just pure boiling water straight onto my foot. (I’ll spare you the photos of immediately after, the bandages, creams, ice packs and numerous blisters.)

Safe to say any hopes of entering into the foot modelling market are now very much scuppered. And, if anyone else says to me “just put your best foot forwards!” I swear I’m going to start charging a penalty fee.

Oh well, you know what they say, start 2024 as you mean to go on.

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Book Review: “The Dog Stays and Other Stories” by Marjan Sierhuis

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Rating: 4 stars

Headline: From laughter to tears, this is a book you will want to keep picking up

Review

In recent years the popularity of the short story has boomed. And it is easy to see why, some readers want their fiction in quick hits, some authors don’t need 500 pages to get a message across. Spurred on by the increased number of writing competitions favouring themselves to shorter bodies of text, authors across the world are seeing new possibilities in creative writing and picking up their short story pens.

The Dog Stays and Other Stories by the Canadian author Marjan Sierhuis is a broad and varied collection of stories, ranging from the semi-humourous “Mrs. Claus”, where an exhausted wife tries to persuade her husband to, for once, take a holiday (vacation) at Christmas, to those such as “Scott’s Mother” that confront the topic of human mortality head on. When it comes to Sierhuis’ writing, it would seem nothing is off the table.

Regardless of content, a contestant pattern emerges throughout in the strength of the author’s writing. Sierhuis’ writing is poetic and crisp, deploying familiar writing approaches time and time again to great effect. “The Summer of 2026” is one of my personal favourites for its clear sense of place, conveyed in only a brief few sentences. You can almost feel the sweat dribbling down your neck as you turn the page. With collections like these it can sometimes feel like the author has just thrown words on a page and barely given the copy a second glance. Quite the reverse, The Dog Stays and Other Stories is anything but a first draft.

An slight advisory to prospective readers is that the contents of this book are made up entirely of flash (or micro) fiction. Flash fiction is anything that comes in at under 500 words, short stories normally vary between 1000 and 5000 words. With that in mind, those looking for a bit more of a yarn to their tales may be disappointed. That said, this is a well written book with stories that remain engaging throughout. From laughter to tears, The Dog Stays and Other Stories is a book you will want to keep picking up.

AEB Reviews

Links:

Reedsy Discovery Review: AEB Reviews – “The Dog Stays and Other Stories” by Marjan Sierhuis

Purchase Link: “The Dog Stays and Other Stories” by Marjan Sierhuis (Amazon)

Author website: https://www.marjansierhuis.ca/

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Pottering about in Watford and London

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Cast your mind back to a time before Christmas (Why? Because I may have forgot I was wearing a Christmas jumper at the time and it makes continuity a bit of a nightmare)…

Boyfriend Ben and I had a great time visiting The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford. A year in the making (not joking), we had lots of fun exploring the Harry Potter sets and Ben telling me what it meant.

(Just don’t tell anyone I stopped reading the HP series when I was about 15 and a third into Order of the Phoenix.)

Jokes aside, we both had a really good time (so much so it’s got me wanting to watch the films again, much to Ben’s delight).

I also drank too much butterbeer and the foam puffed out my cheeks like a moustached chipmunk.

Watford wasn’t too shabby as a place either! Especially the cocktails…

From Watford, we went back down to London and spent a few days there. This included a birthday surprise from Ben when he took me to a lovely restaurant on the Thames, followed by a night of laughs watching The Play That Goes Wrong on the West End.

And the birthday celebrations were rounded off with cake and a cat.

We had a wonderful time with plenty of memories to carry with us into 2024. That, and copious amounts of toiletries I took from the various hotel rooms (sorry, not sorry).

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Book Review: “The Vitality System” by Kyle Gonzalez

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Rating: 4 stars

Headline: Delivered with skill and confidence, The Vitality System is a lifestyle bible

Review:

The Vitality System by Kyle Gonzalez is, at its heart, a relatively simple self-help guide with aims which are anything but. Broken down into four key areas (known as “The Core Four”): Movement, Nutrition, Recovery and Lifestyle, the target audience of this book is anyone who wants to hit a reset button on their life, content which is prefaced by what Gonzalez’s refers to as the “Foundational Principles”, empirical-type enablers which help readers unlock the true value of the Core Four (e.g. Exploration, Experimentation and Evolution). While on the surface the headings seem obvious and straightforward, very quickly you realise there is more than meets the eye on the Core Four (and with about fifty pages dedicated to each, it is also a case of more than meets the page!) For those struggling with the amount of content, there is a section towards the end of the book which provides an executive summary of the Core Four, alongside additional resources to support ongoing personal growth and development.

There is a lot of valuable insight in this book and with plenty of useful tips and guidance on how to make small and manageable changes. The book can be a little overwhelming in places and personally I would warn against trying to tackle all the content in one sitting. It is better digested when consumed in smaller chunks. Gonzalez’s writing style is informed and reassuring in tone in a way that gently reminds readers long-lasting change can never be seen as a quick-win (hence the equal importance of adopting the right lifestyle and thereby mindset as well as doing and eating the right things). Gonzalez is clear in this aspect, he is not here to encourage readers to boil the ocean.

As a trained health and wellness practitioner with a background in sports, Gonzalez places himself in a strong position to write this book. Through his detailed descriptions and summaries to the scientific breakdown of nutritional food groups and regions of the brain, you can feel the invested blood, sweat and tears ooze off every written page. This is a man who has poured his heart and soul into producing a book of immense quality and standing.

Delivered with skill and confidence, The Vitality System is not merely a book, it is a lifestyle bible.

AEB Reviews

Links:

Reedsy Discovery Review: AEB Reviews – “The Vitality System” by Kyle Gonzalez

Purchase Link: “The Vitality System” by Kyle Gonzalez (Amazon)

Author Website: https://thevitalitysystem.co/

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Book Review: “Mama’s Notebook” by Skye Ryan

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Rating: 4 stars

Headline: Mama’s Notebook makes for a lovely addition to any stationery collection

Review:

When someone like me reads as many books as I do (coupled with all the reviews that come with them), sometimes it can be hard to keep on top of everything. With my latest read I think I may well have found the answer to my chaotic prayers.

Mama’s Notebook is a lovely addition to any stationery collection. Comprised of eighty-four pages, this notebook of mostly lined pages give structure and order, a place to jot down thoughts or snippets of information. The latter third of the book contains a multitude of organisational resources, including an expense and exercise tracker, a spot for ticking off “to-do’s” and, my personal favourite, a reading list for jotting down titles and recording a star score rating for each.

The top of each lined page is accompanied by a small heart drawing and the curvature of the heading fonts for the most part make this notebook best placed for a female target market (which should come as no surprise, given the title of this publication is Mama’s Notebook). The varying font typeface in the latter third (where tables and grids are more prevalent) seem to suggest the content may have been reused from other publications. It would have been good to see a little more design consistency in this department.

Other than a brief acknowledgement at the start that the book was made with the author’s mother in mind, content does not jump out as applicable only to women and/or women who have had children. There is nothing pointing towards night time routine and family meal planning, local sports fixtures or other commitments a parent may face into. With that in mind this notebook is fairly generic and applicable to all.

Mama’s Notebook is a neat little item, perfect for those wanting to sort out the basic chores of everyday life.

AEB Reviews

Links:

Reedsy Discovery Review: AEB Reviews – “Mama’s Notebook” by Skye Ryan

Purchase Link: “Mama’s Notebook” by Skye Ryan (Amazon)

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Book Review: “The Wish That Saved Christmas” by Kate A Harvey

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Rating: 3 stars

Headline: The Wish That Saved Christmas is a likeable book that needed a bit more editing in places

Review:

The Wish That Saved Christmas is a children’s story penned by London-based debut author Kate Harvey. Set in the fictional town of Hope’s End, the story starts in the run-up to Christmas day, where many of the residents have been struck by a mystery illness. One of the sickness-stricken residents includes the dad of protagonist Emma, leaving her and her mother Sara scrambling to find the rent money or else risk eviction and relocation to the significantly less likeable town of Pewksbury. In desperation, Emma takes her her toy doll Nell to the town’s central Christmas tree and makes a wish. Little does anyone in the sleepy town realise that Emma’s plea is about to unlock a whole lot of magic, magic which may well save the town from more than just one eviction…

This is a fun story to read, full of lovely flowing descriptions and energetic dialogue that is bound to captivate younger readers as they progress through the story to the thrilling climax. The illustrations at the top of each chapter are also a nice touch which helps to hint at what adventure awaits in the chapter yet to come.

With The Wish That Saved Christmas it is the page length that forms the biggest stumbling block for me. At 164 pages of average-sized font feels is a bit too content-heavy for the intended seven to ten age readership, and at points it results in the pacing feeling a bit off. While nicely written, the additional storylines did not always progress the story line quite as timely as it could have done.

Another element that feels a bit off is the book’s starting point and early scene setting. Given so much is said through inter-character dialogue on the attractiveness of Hope’s End, it feels difficult to visualise the appeal as a reader. A few more descriptive paragraphs in the first couple of pages would have helped a great deal with solidifying the charm of Hope’s End and raising the odds of what the family would lose should they move to the neighbouring town of Pewksbury.

The Wish That Saved Christmas is a likeable book for advanced readers within the primary / elementary school bracket or as a bedtime read for parents and children to fully appreciate the charm this book has to offer.

AEB Reviews

Links:

Reedsy Discovery Review: AEB Reviews – “The Wish That Saved Christmas” by Kate A Harvey

Purchase Link: “The Wish That Saved Christmas” by Kate A Harvey (Amazon)

Author Website: Therapy Toolbox

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