my Ceredigion and my Cardigan Bay » books

Making Coffee the Harry Palmer Way

Paul Williams — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:27:43 +0000

While stumbling about the internet looking for info on the magnificently retro Russell Hobbs brushed stainless steel coffee percolator, I found the the Harry Palmer Movie site.
I’d had it in mind that Deighton had give is then un-named anti-hero some fancy-dan device for brewing his coffee. I was nearly right. It seems that the executive producer had put together a product placement deal to promote the Insta-Brewer, a rather nasty looking cafetiere and it features rather prominently in The Ipcress File.

So apart from learning that Deighton taught Caine how to crack an egg I learnt that my vintage Russell Hobbs Model 3008 looks cooler than an Insta-Brewer. And it makes damn fine coffee.

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The Longest Crawl Christmas Promotion

Paul Williams — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:16:39 +0000

As far as I’m aware I appear in three books pseudonymously. In Mr Ian Marchant’s The Longest Crawl and Parallel Lines: Or, Journeys on the Railway of Dreams I appear under my ‘punk’ name, as photographer Perry Venus (a not very funny spoonerism) and in Real Aberystwyth I get to be the even less imaginative ‘Steve’.

For the Longest Crawl we were privileged to be guided around Lampeter’s Pubs by the then Mayor, Mr Hag Harris; and although this is not a picture of himself it does remind me of a rather jolly evening.

Mythologised, if not immortalised, in print, and now digitalised by Whole Story Audio Books on the CD reading of The Longest Crawl.

As their Press Release so succinctly puts it;

Whole Story Audio Books – publishers of unabridged audio books – are offering The Longest Crawl for under £20 as part of their special Christmas promotion. Visit www.wholestoryaudio.co.uk for details.

Monique Roffey: Reviews

Paul Williams — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:13:46 +0000

I’ve no idea what happened to Monique Roffey’s Not the Booker Prize nomination; after the Guardian-style man-bags at ten paces hoo-haa there in the summer I daren’t go back.*

That aside The White Woman on the Green Bicycle has gathered some excellent reviews and I recently updated her web pages with some choice quotes from them, so if you are inclined you can go and see what people are saying here.

*Well I have had a peek now and she got a very creditable 30 nominations but sadly not enough for the final six.

Photo: Niall Griffiths and the Druid’s Inn Goginan

Paul Williams — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:42:22 +0000

Most weeks I vow to organise my photo archive. And most weeks I abjure that vow. But while engaged in the preliminaries I usually come across images I’ve made that excite me still.

This one from 2006 works very well as a photograph. It’s a black and white conversion from a RAW file and it captures something of a moment. The image depicts two writers; in the foreground Niall Griffiths and in the mirror Ian Marchant who was interviewing Niall in his favourite Mid Wales boozer, the Druids Inn , at Goginan, Ceredigion.

I like particularly the soft diffused evening light through the window.

I include a link here to Niall’s excellent non-fiction book Real Aberystwyth; the pub, though not the photograph, is featured therein.

Monique Roffey and Mariella Frostrup: Open Book

Paul Williams — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:02:02 +0000

Friend and writer Monique Roffey’s new book White Woman on a Green Bicycle is out now and gathers some good reviews. Despite this, she didn’t make the Man-Booker Long List and there’s me thinking it would be a shoe-in. Still there there’s a good chance of getting it on the Not the Booker Prize list that the Guardian is running. Follow the the link and nominate if you are inclined.

Of further note you can hear Monique on the BBC Radio 4′s Open Book show hosted by Mariella Frostrup, the thinking man’s pickled herring.

There’s also Fans of Monique Roffey’s New Book ‘The White Woman on The Green Bicycle on Facebook and you might enjoy The Indie’s One Minute with Monique Roffey

If that’s not enough try ~~her~~ Monique’s Web Pages and Blog.