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Tag: booklover
Blog Tour – A Mother's Christmas Wish
"It was true she had fire in her belly, a lust for adventure and a craving for excitement that she knew she'd never find living in a small village."
I've read all of Glenda Young's books so far, and I maintain that it's impossible to pick a favourite, but if I had to; then this one would certainly be a strong contender. Cakes, Christmas and a whole lot of smashing the patriarchy – what more could you possibly want in a saga? Although it would be hard to choose a favourite book of Glenda's so far, Emma is without a doubt my favourite character she's written. Don't get me wrong, I love all of our hardy Ryhope lasses who conquer their fears and overcome huge obstacles to find their inner fire, but what particularly charmed me about Emma is how she arrives in Ryhope with her fire already blazing; perhaps a little too brightly! At first, as much as she made me chuckle, I didn't really feel sorry for her in the way I usually do for the heroines Glenda writes. Even though it gets her into some sticky situations, I love how Emma seems to just let whatever ideas or observations pop into her head fly out of her mouth or transpire into action with absolutely no regard for the consequences. I suppose the polite way of saying it is that she has no filter, and I can't imagine why I would relate to someone with that particular ailment (although I'm sure my husband would have a theory).
So, after bursting into Ryhope with a somewhat colourful entrance, Emma has the reverse journey of the heroines who have come before her; gradually learns to see things from other people's perspectives and, thankfully, fine tunes her ability to judge other people's characters, realising that there is often more to people than what is apparent on the surface. Similarly, I quite enjoyed seeing Emma's leading man's journey from a brooding, rude and somewhat of a Marmite character to a dependable, thoroughly wholesome and definitely fanciable type. He's also somewhat of a modern man, almost feminist in his support for Emma and her leading ladies which I really loved. Of course I won't name names for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but it was an interesting twist between Emma's character development around becoming more balanced and less led by her emotions, and him learning to push through his instinct to be cautious and fear of feeling anything too deeply. By the end, they were balancing each other out perfectly.
"Being with him made her feel free in the same way as she felt roaming the hills above Loughshinny."
I've made no secret of my desire to have a spin-off novel where all of Glenda's feisty heroines unite and take on the world together. So, I was absolutely thrilled to see all of them getting together in the final chapters for Women's Christmas (a tradition which I will certainly try and implement in my family; as the one who usually gets lumbered with cooking the dinner it seems only fair!). Emma's story is also set a few years later than our other heroines', so it was very nice to see that they are all still settled and thriving in Ryhope by 1923. As if we would expect anything less from these fearless females, though?
"Ryhope becomes a part of your very being. It embraces every part of you."
As always, my only criticism of Glenda's saga novels is that I want more. I'm a glutton for the triumphs and tribulations of her feisty Ryhope heroines and my need to know what they get up to next will never be satiated. But, 'A Mother's Christmas Wish' has left me feeling more than sufficiently festive, itching to hear my boots crunching in the snow and peckish for some apple cake (even though I've never actually had it) – so any recipes would be greatly received!
Glenda Young credits her local library in the village of Ryhope, where she grew up, for giving her a love of books. She still lives close by in Sunderland and often gets her ideas for her stories on long bike rides along the coast. A life-long fan of Coronation Street, she runs two hugely popular fan websites.
For updates on what Glenda is working on, visit her website glendayoungbooks.com and to find out more find her on Facebook/GlendaYoungAuthor and Twitter @flaming_nora.
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mothers-Christmas-Wish-heartwarming-sacrifice-ebook/dp/B09GFHCKBP
US – https://www.amazon.com/Mothers-Christmas-Wish-heartwarming-sacrifice-ebook/dp/B09GFHCKBP
Esther reading, Reviews Leave a comment November 28, 2022 November 14, 2022 3 Minutes
Review – The Cottingley Secret
"Possibility is where all the best stories begin."
Hazel Gaynor could write flatpack furniture instructions and they would still be utterly enchanting; I honestly cannot find the words to do justice to her ability to make stories come alive. As has been the case with her other novels I've read thus far, I didn't read 'The Cottingley Secret', I lived it. Or at least, it certainly felt as though I did. This was absolutely not a novel I could dip in and out of between appointments or on lunch breaks; as soon as I opened the pages I was totally consumed by the characters and their unique journeys. Put simply, if I'd read this while running a bath, my house definitely would have flooded.
My knowledge of the Cottingley fairies was pretty limited before reading this re-telling; like most people, I'd seen the photos at some point but never really known the story behind them. I vaguely remember seeing the film adaptation in the 90's, but even that memory is quite hazy now (especially as I am reluctantly beginning to accept that the 90's were 30 years ago and not 10 as I often still think they were). If anything, however, that possibly made this story even more enthralling for me. I first discovered Hazel Gaynor's novels through 'The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter', which reimagines the story of a really significant part of North East history and was therefore close to my heart, and also thoroughly enjoyed 'The Girl who Came Home' set around the Titanic, an event which we all have some knowledge of, but having limited knowledge of the 'real' events made me feel so much more connected to the characters. For once, I had no desire to google every detail and compare this retelling to the story of the 'real' fairies because I knew Hazel's version is the one I want to believe is true.
Having said that, for the few aspects of the story I did google in vain attempts to pacify my own curiosity, even though I knew some parts were products of Hazel's imagination and arose from the need to advance plots or fill in gaps in the real story, she intertwines fact and fiction so well that it becomes extremely difficult to separate the two. The story of the Cottingley fairies is already a pretty solid base for an exciting and spellbinding story, but Hazel's imagination is like adding petrol to the low embers of a bonfire and giving the reader an absolute inferno of intrigue and excitement.
It must be difficult enough to tell one story, with the complexities of character depths and managing plot progression, but again Hazel Gaynor has taken that challenge and raised it with another story interweaved through the original so neatly that they're knitted together like stripes in a jumper. The story of the present-day Olivia embarking on a new adventure despite her heart-breaking personal losses, whilst running the bookshop of all of our dreams, had enough emotion and intrigue to be a standalone contemporary fiction novel, but using this as the lens through which we discover Frances and Elsie's secrets means we're gifted with two incredible stories for the price (or three-week library loan in my case) of one. Personally, I found both stories equally gripping as well, something I find quite rare in these novels which flit between past and present; usually I develop a clear preference for one story after a few chapters and find the parallel story an irritating inconvenience but that couldn't be further from how I felt whilst reading 'The Cottingley Fairies'.
My ever-sceptical husband did ask me, whilst I was about half way through 'The Cottingley Secret' why I was reading a fantasy book when this isn't usually my genre of choice, and why I was so invested when, quote, 'they're obviously not real' but, in a way, are any books real? Every time we crack the spine of a novel we're entering someone's world of fantasy and make-believe. And, the key question with the Cottingley fairies is not whether the photographs were real or faked, but whether you choose to believe.
"There's magic in every bookshop, Olivia. You just have to bring people to it. The books will take care of the rest."
Esther reading, Reviews Leave a comment September 25, 2022 October 5, 2022 3 Minutes
Review – Curtain Call at the Seaview Hotel
"The Seaview had weathered many storms, but she felt this one might be her trickiest yet."
Rain pelting the windows, the toddler finally snoring beneath his cot blankets upstairs, candles flickering on the fireplace – surely nothing could make this moment any more cosy, I hear you say? Wrong. My sense of pure comfort more than doubled as I cracked the spine of 'Curtain Call at the Seaview Hotel', and checked in to my favourite beachside B&B. Although Glenda Young's cosy crime series is definitely best enjoyed snuggled up by the fire on a rainy Autumn evening, I found both instalments so atmospheric that I really believe I could have read them in the Maldives (a girl can dream), and still felt the misty sea fret dampening my face and the aroma of fish and chips wafting up from the pages just as strongly.
I'm not usually much of a crime fiction lover, (it can be somewhat of a busman's holiday for me) but since I always thoroughly enjoy Glenda's historical sagas, I checked 'Murder at the Seaview Hotel' out of the library during a rare few days off work and was hooked straight away. I was so late to this party that I read the first instalment only weeks before 'Curtain Call at the Seaview Hotel' was released; which worked out great in the end as I got double the intrigue without the impatient waiting period between publications.
With characters as complex and mysterious as the plot, I'm not sure how I became so invested in their stories after only a couple of chapters; but that's the caveat of Glenda Young's gripping storytelling; just as I start to have the characters worked out, there's another intriguing twist which has me suspicious of everyone and second guessing myself. So, my decision to try this series in an effort to fill some spare time on days off quickly spiralled into "surely it will be resolved in the next chapter, just a few more pages before bed" and the inevitable cycle of frustration and the unrelenting need to find out what happens next; more commonly known as 'the binge read'.
As I've said, crime novels can be a bit of a busman's holiday for me, but I'm almost embarrassed to admit that, in neither 'Murder' or 'Curtain Call at the Seaview Hotel' was I able to correctly guess the murderer. In fact, on both occasions I was completely flabbergasted as I'd formulated totally different theories as to where the plot was going to progress; which again is a testament to Glenda's talent for creating plots which are even richer than Jean's home made chocolate cakes. Being so well established in the saga genre, it was no doubt a nerve-racking move for Glenda Young to branch out into cosy crime but I'm delighted that she did. Both instalments were equally as gripping, with the second possibly even more so since the characters were, by then, more well established which allowed her to delve further into their personalities and back stories, forcing the reader to question everything we thought we knew about these now familiar faces.
As much as I'm desperate to check into the cosy Seaview to join Helen in her exploits, and of course to pet good old trusty Suki, I don't know if I could handle the stress. With the amount of plot twists which emerge so subtly I hadn't even the slightest anticipation before they were hitting me in the face, I can only imagine the anxiety Helen must feel dealing with these every day. Of course, with a location as atmospheric as the Seaview and friends as wonderful as Sally and Jean I can see why Helen soldiers on through it and, even speaking as a vegetarian, I can say with confidence that I would definitely risk a night or two under the same roof as a murderer if it came with the promise of one of Jean's full English breakfasts…
Esther reading, Reviews Leave a comment August 28, 2022 August 28, 2022 3 Minutes
Farewell, Shipyard Girls!
We all have certain stories, certain characters or worlds which stay with us long after we've turned the final page. 'The Shipyard Girls' may appear to the objective observer as a typical saga series (a very well-written and addictive one at that), but for me this series marked the start of my first 'proper' writing experience; the first time someone other than my immediate family or friends (i.e. someone not morally obliged to) told me that I wasn't terrible at it. I was a little bit late to the SYG party, but a couple of months after binge reading the first three books on holiday, I found myself between jobs and a bit unsure of the next steps. With a decent stretch of spare time on my hands for the first time in years, I decided to start writing. On the advice of a friend who had had some success, I began by writing about things I enjoyed and so, this saga series which I couldn't put down seemed a logical place to start. When I received an email from Nancy herself to say she really enjoyed one of my reviews and asked if I'd like to be part of the next blog tour, I couldn't believe it – a proper, successful author liked something I'd scribbled together on my ancient laptop one rainy afternoon.
I had no idea where my writing journey was going to go, and as evidenced by my completely sporadic and random postings on this blog, I still don't. But the main constant since I started this page has been regularly scheduled hype about the latest SYG instalments and gentle background encouragement from Nancy. Since joining the club of SYG bloggers and having the privilege of getting to know Nancy, I've had three more career changes (I never was able to focus on one thing for too long) and become a parent; none of which has even slightly resembled the life plan I had in mind at the time I started blogging. Which, is what made it especially poignant to be alongside the girls as they all ended this chapter of their journey in preparation for embarking upon their next unique and exciting steps.
"Life, she had learnt, was lacking in certainty, and sometimes it ended up sending you down a different route to the one you had intended or wanted to take. Sometimes…those unexpected turns in life led to something rather special."
I'll admit I was nervous to start 'Three Cheers for The Shipyard Girls', partly because, as with all of the readers who have loved this series, I didn't want it to end but also because I was really apprehensive of a potentially rubbish ending spoiling the rest of the series. It's strange to think that we (as readers) have these particular series and characters that we really love, which are a result of a particular author's imagination, and yet we seem to have no faith whatsoever in their ability to take the stories where they need to go. I genuinely felt under pressure as I started to read Three Cheers, and was quite fraught about whether Nancy was going to do our girls justice; so I can only imagine the anxiety which the prospect of ending such a well loved series caused her! Of course, as always, she absolutely nailed it.
My prediction for 'Three Cheers' had been a final epilogue with a flash forward to the girls with their granddaughters at the 2020 VE day anniversary celebrations (obviously in a perfect universe where coronavirus didn't exist), mainly so that I would get to find out where life took all of them but actually, the ending Nancy gave us far surpassed this. Really, the ending of 'Three Cheers' felt like a beginning, with all of the girls parting ways to embark on the next stage of their lives and all being exactly where they should be; their collective journey having been completed and now fragmenting into individual, enthtalling stories just waiting to be written. The imagination of the reader as to where our girls might end up after they've taken these next steps takes their journeys so much further than any author (even Nancy) could. Even as an avid SYG reader myself, I can't specifically whittle down where I want each of the girls to go in life; so the possibilities being conjured up by the individual readers' minds are boundless. Just imagine the fan fiction spin-offs we could end up with!
As sad as it is to know that I won't have any more exciting anticipation of new SYG books, I will certainly be re-reading the previous ones from time to time to catch up with my old friends and reminisce of our adventures; and I don't mind admitting I'm glad to have finally shed the anxiety of Helen and Dr Parker's infuriatingly inconsistent 'will they, won't they?' drama. And, it's comforting to know that we've left each of our girls at the exact right place for them to embark on the next passage in their lives (including Miriam – if you know, you know) but, if the day ever does come for an on-screen dramatization then Nancy, you know where to find me. As a Mackem lass who grew up within spitting distance of Tatham Street, I can think of nobody more befitting of a cameo…
Esther Uncategorized Leave a comment April 14, 2022 4 Minutes
Recent Reading Roundup – December
The Girl Who Came Home – Hazel Gaynor
I discovered Hazel Gaynor a while ago and absolutely devoured 'The Lighthouse Keepers Daughter', but somehow never got around to reading any of her other work until now. Titanic is one of those events which has been told and re-told so many times, especially in the historical fiction/saga genre that it is hard to make it fresh. However, as with 'The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter', Hazel Gaynor has a really unique ability to take factual events and sensitively intertwine fictious plots which breathe fresh life and emotion into already familiar stories, rendering them like an entirely new plot to even the most well-read historian. The story of the Addergoole Fourteen is one I'd strangely never come across despite (like everyone) having seen umpteen films, documentaries and novels about Titanic; and again Hazel Gaynor strikes the almost impossible balance between respecting the real-life characters' personal journeys and adding her own creative flair to fill in the blanks which history has left and enrich their stories for the reader. I will certainly be making my way through more of her back catalogue when time allows!
Suffragette Girl – Margaret Dickinson
Obviously I love historical sagas and all things feminism, so there was no way I could have walked past this when I saw it in my local library. I will admit that I was initially taken aback by the prologue taking place in the 1930's, and a bit confused as to how it could possibly link to pre-WW1 suffrage, but the plot was so multi-faceted that, before I knew it, I was following the characters into the 1920s and still wanting to know more about where their journey would take me. I did find the pacing a little bit fast for my taste, but this didn't occur at the expense of any individual character development, I just would've enjoyed delving deeper into the shorter term milestones of the characters' lives rather than skipping to bigger events which take place many years apart. That said, I do think this story had enough layers to it that it could have been a two, or potentially even three, part saga as it has definitely left me wanting more – which I suppose is the mark of any great story!
Skipping Christmas – John Grisham
On the hunt for some more specifically festive reads which don't include a single woman finding love where she least expects it in a country village over Christmas after having her heart broken in the big city, and as a fan of 'Christmas with the Kranks', I was very much looking forward to this. As a footnote to that last point, there's nothing at all wrong with chick-lit, I love chick-lit, I just don't personally love Christmas chick-lit. I find good, standalone, Christmas stories quite difficult to find if I'm honest – Dickens really has the market on that one doesn't he? Anyway, I did the strange and taboo thing of reading the book version after being familiar with the film, but in my defence it was only recently that I was made aware that this story was a book first. I was a little bit disappointed that some scenes and even dialogue were word for word the same as the film version, but then again I complain if "film versions" differ even slightly from books I've enjoyed so I suppose there was no winning either way in this scenario. I did however really enjoy the difference in Nora and Luther Krank from the "film version". If I'm honest, the book makes a little bit more sense and the plot is more believable than the film – Nora in the film never seemed very sold by the whole scheme and I never quite understood why she got on board in the first place, but I found the Kranks' literary counterparts much more united and a little bit more likeable in that sense; I was really rooting for them to have their Christmas-free holiday whereas in the film I always find the portrayal much closer to the stereotypical "grinch" dad and overly festive, motherly housewife. A testament to why the "book version" is literally always better.
Esther reading, Reviews Leave a comment December 23, 2021 December 23, 2021 3 Minutes
Blog Tour – The Miner's Lass
"Polly's words about her never accounting to anything made her blood boil. She didn't know how, not yet, but she vowed to herself that one day she would prove the woman wrong."
Having my annual trip to Glenda Young's dramatic yet enchanting world of Ryhope Village in 1919, I wondered what most saga fans do when they come across another story from the same context…how much further can she really go with this? What can she give us that we haven't already seen? Well, once again, my ponderings became immediately redundant.
As with its predecessors, of course there were many aspects of 'The Miner's Lass' which continue to set Glenda Young's stories apart from others of this genre, but the element which really jumped out for me, more so than anything else, was the sensitive, poignant and yet contextually appropriate depiction of mental health issues. Coal mining is such a fundamental part of the North East heritage that it is often romanticised in novels of this kind, but Glenda wasn't afraid to shy away from this by depicting the harsh reality which accompanied this profession for probably the majority of those who experienced it. The account of Michael's first day down the pit, and the subsequent impact which it continued to have on him, was so moving that I wanted to jump right into the pages to give him a huge hug and tell him that everything would be alright. Similarly, Mary's experience of depression was framed through the context of 1919 Ryhope, wherein the collective understanding of such issues was of course very narrow and the prospect of appropriate treatment for a working class woman was essentially non-existent, but it was written so sensitively that it could easily have been lifted from a contemporary story, or even real life in 2021. Balancing the ignorance and misconceptions of this time period with a need to portray these issues in an empathetic way cannot have been an easy task, but Glenda Young managed it seamlessly with her unique and heartfelt ability to make a reader really 'feel' the characters' journeys.
"Maybe a little bit of madness runs in us all. The trick is not to let it overwhelm us."
Of course, it wouldn't be a Glenda Young saga novel without our headstrong heroine having hurdles metaphorically thrown at her every few chapters, but, (without spoiling any twists for anyone who hasn't read this book yet), I was really struck by the potential conflict and betrayal between Ruby and one of her closest friends. The feminist overtones of Glenda's previous saga novels (and indeed this one) have always been so fierce that it was an intriguing change to come across conflict between some of our hardy, independent Ryhope lasses. Again, one of the things I love so much about Glenda Young's sagas is that, although the attention to historical detail is so meticulous that you can almost smell the coal dust emanating from the pages, the plot elements are always so universally human that the reader feels as though the characters are people from our own lives.
"Whatever happens, we'll get through it. We're Dinsdale women, we're strong."
It was also an interesting change of pace to have a romantic lead who, quite frankly, made my skin crawl; and also that of the majority of the other characters except our protagonist. Again, I never like to spoil plot twists for anyone who hasn't read the book yet, but fear not, our latest heroine isn't fooled for long – Glenda's team of fearless females never are ones to be fooled twice, they're far too intuitive and headstrong for that. Although that scene with the bath tub will live rent-free in my mind for a while; I heard inklings about that particular moment a while ago from Glenda's twitter and all I will say is that it did not disappoint! Fear not, confused reader, you will know when you get to it!
So, we're six stories deep into Glenda Young's Ryhope saga novels, but rest assured, things are far from getting boring. In fact, it seems as though every time she graces us with another exciting installment, I find myself feeling less satisfied and only hungrier for more drama and heartache; so once again I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. And I'm still waiting for her to announce a spin-off wherein all of her strong Ryhope heroines unite like 'The Avengers' in some epic finale to this enthralling collection of novels.
Esther Reviews Leave a comment November 10, 2021 November 9, 2021 3 Minutes
Blog Tour – The Shipyard Girls on the Home Front
"The next few months would decide the fate of the war – and thereby, the fate of humanity."
The feeling of being at the tipping point of a totally unprecedented moment in history, where the efforts made not just by those on the front lines but by all of us at home too, could essentially make or break whether the hardship will end successfully or continue for goodness only knows how long; is something which will resonate with anyone who reads the tenth installment of 'The Shipyard Girls' in real time of its release. Life often has a funny way of imitating art, and although I would like to think our world leaders are all 'Shipyard Girls' enthusiasts too, it's probably more likely that this is a happy coincidence; or Nancy Revell has a crystal ball. Every book in this series has a multitude of themes and sub-plots, but the overarching theme within 'On The Home Front' is sacrifice, which, reading whilst I'm sat at home, having not seen family or friends in months, wearing a mask just to step outside of my front door and wondering if my hair will ever be a normal length again; felt quite poignant. Surely if our old friends from Thompson's Shipyard are still putting the graft in, day in day out and in all weather conditions to do their bit in the fight against global fascism, often without any hope or assurance that it will end successfully, if at all, then we can do our bit on our 'home front' against the pandemic; by staying snuggled up indoors with a good book. As inspiring as our Shipyard Girls are, I know which 'home front' I'd rather be on – so thanks for giving us another great story to make that a bit easier, Nancy.
So, we're ten books in and are still getting to know new characters; which must be quite the juggling act for Nancy Revell. I often imagine she must have an entire wall in her house covered in photos of all the different characters, with string and notes pinned in between which join and inter-connect their stories; like the briefing room on a really good police drama. Having said that, to anyone who is new to this saga, don't let that put you off starting it. I'm a stickler for reading sagas in the correct order, but the characters in this series are created and written with so much love and detail that I do firmly believe a reader could pick up any 'Shipyard Girls' book and become fully immersed in the story straight away. Their rich back stories and carefully orchestrated interactions with one other allow the characters to tell more of their story in a few short lines than any summary or spoiler ever could; so even though Bobby is somewhat of a fresh face (aside from being referenced third hand by other characters previously), as always it only took a couple of pages for him to become part of the furniture.
I must admit, I wasn't initially sure whether I really liked Bobby, but as Nancy Revell drip fed me more and more of his feelings and perceptions around significant events which us familiar 'Shipyard Girls' readers already knew inside out, it definitely made me look at Gloria's long since buried back-story from another angle. Despite being a bit frustrating for the reader who has become a bit spoiled by happy endings in this saga, Bobby's reaction to Gloria's story was told very bravely and sensitively. Within my day job I work with a lot of people who have had similar experiences to Gloria and her boys, and as lovely as it would have been to have a rosy family reunion where all past evils are forgotten and made right by the promise of a better future, in reality the process of moving past something like that is usually quite messy and fraught with even more conflict and resentment. It would have been easy for the author to put a wholesome glow over this whole sub-plot, but she bravely gave a more 'warts and all' interpretation, which I'm sure will resonate with many people who may read it.
"'Love!' Dorothy put both hands on her chest. 'There is to be a lot of love this year! I can feel it in my bones.'"
Of course, this being a 'Shipyard Girls' book, the path to true love, in whichever form that takes, continues to be anything but straightforward. We may now only be two more books away from the finale, but that evidently doesn't mean the drama is going to slow down. I am usually a binge-reader of this series, but 'On The Home Front' was the first instalment I've read which I had to put down for my own well being. Granted, I am significantly more hormonal than usual these days, but the rollercoaster of emotions within the whole D-Day chapter did get a bit too much, especially after Rosie and Gloria's brief interaction at the bar where they simply admitted to not being alright; which served as a moving reminder that the joyous success of D-Day, and the war itself, didn't come without sacrifice. The statistics of fatalities throughout the War are something which can never really resonate for those who read them; numbers on a page are just that, but it's the thoughtful re-telling of these personal stories, despite being fictional, which preserve the personal struggles felt by so many people throughout those tremendously difficult years.
Speaking of binge-reading, I did also commit a cardinal reading sin when I was about two thirds of the way through 'On The Home Front'. My baffled husband looked out of the corner of his eye to me frantically thumbing through the pages ahead with a determined look and asked what on Earth I was doing; to which my response was something like "I need to know if he's alright after this, I need to know what I'm getting into before I continue!" To which he said "can't you just read it?". Of course I could have simply read the book at a normal rate, but I felt the need to emotionally prepare. Once I found the reassurance I needed, I snuggled back down into the duvet and continued happily. Until the next evening. Being a 'Shipyard Girls' book, of course there are still plot twists at every turn; and so the smugness I felt at having spoiled some perfectly good tension building for myself by skipping ahead for reassurance, was quickly wiped away when Nancy Revell threw another unexpected twist at me. I certainly deserved it, but I was furious. I don't mean to speak (or write) in riddles, but I don't like to spoil these things for anyone who hasn't already read this, however if I simply mention the foreshadowing of the aeroplane having done this journey umpteen times without issue, anyone who has read it will know what I mean. It was with the same smugness that they said the Titanic was unsinkable; so I really should've seen that one coming.
Still, if we're ten books in and I'm still finding the plots to be unpredictable, then this is absolutely not a bad thing. Just, maddeningly frustrating at times – but I wouldn't have it any other way, and I'm sure all you other 'Shipyard Girls' enthusiasts would agree!
Esther reading, Reviews Leave a comment March 16, 2021 March 8, 2021 5 Minutes
Blog Tour – The Paper Mill Girl
"If she wanted to protect her family, she had to make an impossible choice."
A young girl living in an already difficult situation is faced with an even bigger challenge and must find strength she didn't know she had to overcome said challenge; then ultimately comes out on top and with her dream man in tow? Saga readers like myself do like to think we have it all worked out, don't we? But, as with its equally exciting predecessors, Glenda Young has once again blown all of those pre-conceived assumptions out of our minds like a gale swirling around the pier of Hendon Beach with her latest novel 'The Paper Mill Girl', and its fiercely independent heroine Ruth Hardy.
That said, Ruth's mission to navigate almost Dickensian conditions which just seem to get periodically harder as more and more obstacles present themselves, with no real hope or guarantee of when things will get better made for an incredibly humbling read. Of course I don't mean to say that 'The Paper Mill Girl' is depressing and will leave you feeling like this poor girl could never catch a break in life, but her inspiring story just became that bit more thought provoking through reading it in a time when we really don't know when we'll be coming out of the horrible situation that we've all found ourselves in for the past year; and yet all we seem to do is complain and dwell on the awful sides of it, whilst the Ruth Hardys of the world are simply putting on their tattered old boots, lifting their skirts and putting one foot in front of the other with no solid hope or reassurance that things will get better. In a nutshell – I felt a bit crap reading about her incredible and inspiring story on a Saturday afternoon in my warm house whilst feeling bitter about how long it's been since I could go shopping and get an overpriced latte from a coffee chain.
"You're an angel, Ruth Hardy. You know that? You care for everyone else and take nothing for yourself. I don't know how you do it."
Obviously Ruth's story is fictional, but no doubt inspired by the real tales of so many women from a time period which is largely overlooked by the history books, and as with all of Glenda Young's stories, was so well researched that it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it turned out there really had been a real life woman who had this, or an extremely similar story to tell. I actually grew up near the old Hendon Paper Mill, and went to school just around the corner from where it stood, but am embarrassed to admit that I had to have a little google of where it actually stood and how long it had been in operation. I was aware of it to an extent, but unlike Sunderland's more dominant industries like the mines and shipyards, the paper mill has largely been lost to the history books like a battered old toy forgotten at the back of a cupboard. That is, until Glenda Young obviously came along, realised the potential for so many amazing stories which have been sitting in the back of a metaphorical cupboard and breathed new life into this largely forgotten part of our Mackem history. (Google that phrase if you're not from the North East).
Of course it wouldn't be a saga novel without some romance weaved in between Ruth's overarching endeavours, but once again Glenda Young has left the 'know it all' saga readers such as myself perplexed, intrigued and sometimes a bit angry through the twists and turns in Ruth's relationship with the charming but, at times somewhat disappointing, Mick Carson. I really try not to spoil the plot for anyone in these reviews, but I must say I was bloomin' furious when he started being a bit of a, well, a bit of a bloke really! Fictional leading men aren't supposed to be useless – we have real life men to provide us with disappointment and we read books to escape and dream about men who don't sometimes say the wrong thing or get intimidated by our fearlessness and let us down.
"Love seemed to have a nasty way of making itself felt in hurt and despair."
But, I've said before how I love Glenda Young's stories in particular because they don't follow the typical reassuring plot themes of some other historical saga novels; and the relationship between Ruth and Mick definitely kept me on my toes as I turned the pages and had genuinely no idea as to how it was going to pan out. Again, as with all of Glenda Young's wonderful novels however, it was apparent throughout 'The Paper Mill Girl' that she really knew Ruth inside out, and so graced her readership with the ending that she and the other characters deserved, without falling into the trap of being a sickeningly perfect romantic reconciliation which we all saw coming from chapter one. I have no doubt that it would've been easier to write a consistently perfect romantic hero, but as many of us know that's very rarely how it goes in real life. The perfectly imperfect, human nature of Glenda Young's characters are what keeps her readership hooked, and we come back time and time again as we know she will always take us on a journey through unexpected twists and turns which challenge both our beloved characters and our assumptions; always leading to a surprising yet perfectly fitting and thought provoking ending. After all, the path to true love never did run smooth did it?
Esther Uncategorized Leave a comment March 13, 2021 March 8, 2021 4 Minutes
Blog Tour – 'A Christmas Wedding'
As with the popular groups in secondary school, 'The Liberty Girls' is a series which I have admired from afar for a while now, but never actually been included in. Of course, the difference with literary girl squads is that you only have to purchase (or loan, in a simpler time when libraries were open), a copy to welcomed into their inner circle with open arms. If only everything in life were this simple. Anyway, so there I was, thrilled to have been invited to metaphorically sit at the popular girls' table, but simultaneously nervous about being the last person to arrive at the party. I'm a stickler for being methodical, so the idea of starting a new saga in the final instalment simply wasn't sitting well with me. However, it's a testament to Fiona Ford's writing that, within a couple of chapters, all my anxieties had been alleviated and I felt like I'd been one of the gang the whole time. If anything, it might have made the story even more enjoyable, as the troublesome thing with sagas is that sometimes, when you've read all of the previous instalments, you become so familiar with the characters that you're able to predict their next move, which can take away some of the suspense. In this case however, I had no pre-conceived ideas about any of the characters or where the story was likely to take me next, so every twist and turn of the plot was that bit more intriguing and kept me from being able to stop reading.
Taking place between London and Devon, 'A Christmas Wedding' takes the feisty and fearless 'Liberty Girls' on ever-twisting and yet intertwined journeys as their saga comes to an emotional conclusion. My anxieties about having not read the previous instalments of this saga were alleviated even more through the introduction of new recruit Brenda, who has an intriguing yet closely-guarded past. I was able to break into the already tight-knit cluster of main characters and familiarise myself with their rich histories through her induction into the group. As with any great saga or even standalone story, the fiercely independent 'Liberty Girls' share unbreakable bonds which are felt by the reader immediately, and are no doubt a result of a complex history of collective tears, laughter and perseverance; all of which is hinted towards throughout, which has left me wanting to back-track and find out more about the events which led to this nail-biting finale.
"Everyone knows it's women what really run things, but whether menfolk'll feel the same way whenever they come home once this blasted war is over is another matter."
This may be an unpopular opinion, and I sincerely hope it doesn't cause any offence or unrest among existing 'Liberty Girls' readers, but I must admit that it took me a while to really understand Dot's character and her appeal. As a brusque woman myself, I should have immediately related to her character and mannerisms, but I did struggle at first to comprehend why the girls were so accepting of her somewhat harsh nature; especially in some of her behaviours towards Peter and Brenda. However, as the story progressed and more secrets were revealed about her past, I definitely warmed to her and was eventually rooting for Dot, who seems to be the fierce, mama-bear type in the group.
"Something was wrong, and no matter how it distracted her from her own happiness, if one of her Liberty family was in trouble, Dot was determined to find out why."
Dot's relationship with Ivy and Helen in particular invoked feelings which are as warm and fuzzy as the festive final chapter, and had me misty eyed as their tragedies unfolded, yet were overcome with triumphant courage and their unbridled love and support for each other.
"She knew they could marry in a tin hut and their wedding would still be special as long as they were surrounded by so much love."
So, with my heart sufficiently warmed and my nose phantom-smelling the aromas of pine needles and Christmas pudding, I definitely feel suitably festive now, irrespective of what a 2020 Christmas may end up looking like, and am off to make a start on my list for Santa…which definitely has the rest of the 'Liberty Girls' saga at the top!
Blog Tour – The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon
A fan of Glenda Young's sagas already, I opened this latest release with much the same anticipation as I approach a roast dinner made by my Mam's recipe, or a fluffy Victoria sponge; on the assumption that it was going to follow much the same blueprint as her previous novels, which I knew from past experience would no doubt leave me feeling warm, fuzzy, satisfied and full. Well, perhaps not 'full', maybe I'm taking this food metaphor a bit too seriously. But, as with the recipe for a roast dinner or a Victoria sponge which have been tried and tested through generations, if something works and produces a great result every time – why change it? However, clearly not someone to live life in her comfort zone, I hear Glenda Young shouting "challenge accepted" to her readers as she takes us through Jess Davison's unique and turbulent journey with each turn of a page.
"The truth of her birth, of who she belonged to, was unfolding right in front of her eyes. It seemed that anything was possible now."
So, as I returned to 1919 Ryhope on the naive assumption that I was going to be enjoying more of the same feisty female heroines overcoming secrets which were resurfacing after being long buried in their pasts, I became my own worst enemy and consistently tried to get one step ahead of the plot. "I know where this is going, she's built drama in this context before, such and such is definitely going to happen next" I would think, smugly. However, for the first time in my life, I experienced what I presume is the sensation of being wrong (thankfully my husband doesn't bother reading my blog, so I know this is a safe space for such an admission). Of course, Jess is every bit as feisty and fearless as her predecessors, and yes, naturally she had a lovely happy ending which drew a satisfied tear to my eye, but that's about where the similarities to Glenda Young's other saga novels end. Perhaps it was deliberate, in order to throw the reader off the scent, but I was initially convinced that the heroine of the story was going to be Mary, which was of course quickly forgotten when Jess' courage and determination came storming into the story; and then flabbergasted once again when my prediction about what Mary's role would be in the ending turned out to be completely off the mark.
Having read quite a lot of saga novels, I really thought I had this plot worked out, but Glenda Young just kept throwing curve-ball after curve-ball, which left me totally unable to put this book down. It also feels important to point out that, even if she had played it safe and kept to a pretty 'standard' saga plot with typical twists and a predictable ending, this author's wonderful storytelling ability would still nonetheless have had readers gripped. But, rolling the dice and serving her readers an ending which definitely leaves food for thought in terms of Mary's role and her character make-up, was a gamble which absolutely paid off and more. I finished this book a few days ago now, yet I'm still pondering over what my opinion is of Mary; I just can't make up my mind about her – perhaps there's scope for a sequel?
Clearly not satisfied with a single dose of feisty heroine in one story, I really enjoyed the author's creation of Lena. Initially, I thought her character would serve as the unremarkable best friend who helped the plot along by being the leading lady's confidante, but her personal journey was really heartwarming and inspiring to read, touching on an issue which is rarely given the opportunity to be addressed in novels set in this time period.
"'Who's to say what's normal or odd?' Lena said. I think a bit of madness runs in us all."
Similarly, I first had Miss Gilbey written off as the inevitable 'baddie', and was skeptical about every move her character made, which just serves as further confirmation that Glenda Young is evidently not putting her feet up and settling into an easy routine of churning out novel after novel which follows the same standard formula. 'The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon' is proof that she can write well outside the box and put unexpected, fresh twists on what can often be a 'safe' and 'samey' genre. I, for one, am fastening my seatbelt now, in eager anticipation of whatever exciting and unpredictable ride she's planning to take her readership on next.
Esther reading, Reviews Leave a comment October 1, 2020 September 29, 2020 3 Minutes


Los Angeles: Singer Miley Cyrus says she has quit alcohol and marijuana to focus on her new music.
She has often spoken candidly of her tryst with drugs, and said that she had decided to quit smoking marijuana in June.
In an interview to The Sun, Cyrus insisted she has been sober for weeks, reports dailymail.co.uk.
She is working on her new music and album "Younger Now".
The "Wrecking ball" singer, 24, claimed that smoking the drug had affected her energy levels and hindered her ability as a performer.
"It doesn't allow me to have as much energy as I'd like to have or to focus on my work… I really want to be clear about my music. For me, I wanted to be clear-headed," she said.


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The Serengeti Lion coverage was the culmination of ten years of work with the great photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols. He photographed and I filmed the lion prides who inhabit a remote and closed area of Serengeti National Park. We worked there 9 months over a nearly two year period. It was the assignment of a lifetime, and made even better by Brent Stirton's incredible coverage of human/lion issues.
Just last month we heard the tragic news that the lion pride (dubbed "Vumbi") who we followed most closely was wiped out by young Masai hunters – apparently inside Serengeti NP. It was a senseless act of cruelty, is indefensible, and even more tragically also resulted in the death of a young Masai who was accidentally killed by another Masai as they stabbed the eldest lion (Vesuvious) to death.
Many of my colleagues are in France right now, and the short film I created on Serengeti Lions is showing there at an exhibit of Nick Nichols' photography. Here is the curator of that festival in a short video which I find gets right to the point.
Jean-Francois Leroy from Photo Raw Magazine on Vimeo.
Got back yesterday from NYC, where Nichols and I were flown up to appear on CBS' This Morning show. It was very exciting to share lions with so many people..
Whoa! NBC Today show throws up several minutes of my footage in an interview with Nick Nichols without real attribution.
The multimedia site I've been working on all spring is finally up and running. I'm so proud, it seems for the first time the video I've shot is really getting out there in a way I believe in. The format is a riff on how I first edited the material when I was showing it around early this year, more poetic than linear. I was looped in to edit the video with a really strong group of new hires at the magazine. Exciting times. Click here for the link.
Wow. It has been a busy few months. The lions footage I've been working on for the past two years premiered at the Look3 Festival last month. I created a 24 minute multimedia installation with Michael Nichols for his photo exhibition inside an old church. What made me happiest was seeing all the people from the community who came in to watch this free gallery show. Word had spread on the street virally. Very cool.


I currently work under the name "gainforest" and make analog synthesizer music in a style that I call VoltageControlled Music because I use my modular to create voltages that change the music without my intervention, a sort of automatic music. But I also use other gear to achieve this, mainly sequencers and drum machines. I've been into analog synthesizers for four years and have made quite a few songs under other names. I release my music for free on the internet as mp3 downloads and my first official gainforest release should be up soon.


We'd love to get to know you and walk with you in our journey of discovery. Please let us know a bit about you and one of our staff will reach out to you soon.
Pastor Jason was born and raised in Sugar Land, Texas, just outside Houston. His dad is Taiwanese and his mom is Singaporean (although he's totally open to being spoken to in Konglish).
Jason didn't grow up a Christian, in fact the opposite. He was the kid who argued and fought with those who were religious. But in a journey of science and revelation, Jason came to know and believe the Gospel his senior year of high school. This caused him to love sharing and debating the Gospel with high school students.
Jason went to the University of Southern California and studied film production, during which he became a member of ANC. He started as a pastor at ANC in 2009, and has worked in both Junior High and High School ministries. He obtained his Masters of Ministry at Harvest Bible University in downtown LA and was ordained in February 2018.
Jason loves movies, television, comics, board games, football, hockey, and video games. He's a huge super-hero geek. Pastor Jason is married to Hannah and has two children Evangeline Grace Chao and Abigail Blessing Chao.
Faith Kang has been a part of our staff since 2007. She has consistently led our Northridge Life Group and has served as our superintendent since 2015. She is the head of human resources for California Chicken Cafe.
Faith and her beloved husband have three beautiful children, Caleb, Annette, and Esther.
Our ministry interns are dedicated members who love our students and are being trained to do ministry, make disciples, and teach the Gospel.
Eunice Lim is a graduate of UCLA and is currently preparing to apply for medical school.
Soyoon Lee works for One Voice Student Missions, is a graduate of YWAM (Youth With a Mission), and is currently studying art.
Sam Jeon is a graduate of UCLA and is currently applying to law school.
Our church's overall vision is to make disciples of Jesus in every generation. We see high school as a focal point of that vision. Our high school students are uniquely positioned to find and develop deep Christian relationships with mentors above them and to be mentors to those younger than them.
Our desire is for our students to experience genuine life change through a growing relationship with Jesus. Our hope is that you would know Jesus intimately and make Him the priority in your life. We believe the most important thing the church can provide to help you with this is to connect you into an authentic and intentional discipleship making family.
It's hard for us to measure your own personal relationship with God, but we do know that a good indicator of a healthy Christian life is healthy Christian relationships (1 John 3:11-18). The best way to see this play out in your life is what we call the 3x3x3 model. The question is whether you can say that you have 3 intentional mentors, 3 real friends, and 3 authentic disciples in your Christian life.
An intentional mentor is someone whose life you want to emulate as they follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). It's someone who you meet with regularly, talk with openly and honestly, and who can challenge, guide, and advise you in the Christian Life that God has for you.
This is of utmost importance for all of us because none of us know how to perfectly live our lives. We need people to help us see the paths before us, the grace today, and the redemption in our pasts.
Our main way to help you find these mentors is Friday Night Life and Home Life groups. However, we also encourage you to find these mentors in your parents, in other ministries, and by participating in activities with our college and adult ministries.
Real friends not only spend time with you and have shared hobbies, but are honest with you about your flaws (Proverbs 27:6 & 17), keep you accountable in your struggles to improve (Proverbs 17:17 & 18:24), remind you of Jesus' Grace (Hebrews 10:25), and share real Christian fellowship (Amos 3:3).
We understand that this can be hard to find at a church of our size, especially on a very rushed Sunday. We hope that you understand that God truly wants to bless you with a great Christian community and we hope Christ First Student ministry can be that place for you.
Retreats and life groups are a great way to start engaging new people and opening up to new friends.
Jesus doesn't just save us for our own benefit, but so that we can also be a light to others (Matthew 5:12-16 & 2 Corinthians 1:3-11). Therefore for healthy Christian growth we need to be engaged in making disciples that can follow us as we follow Jesus.
We highly encourage you to participate in our Junior High, KidzWinc (Elementary), AWANA (Sunday after church) and Vacation Bible School (VBS or elementary summer retreat). For more info please contact us and we will refer you to the correct department.
All Nations Church's ministers mostly to three local communities, each a valley: Crescenta Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, and San Fernando Valley.
Each valley has life groups and will have their own fellowship activities to help students connect and grow together. We encourage you to join each region's facebook group for updates and information.
Crescenta Valley Home Life Group.
First meeting is Friday August 31st and is hosted and led by Christopher and Sarah Kim.
San Fernando Valley Home Life Group.
Santa Clarita Valley Home Life Group.
First meeting is August 31st. For the first semester of 2018-2019, we will be having separate male and female life groups.


text:
Opinion|When New York City Police Walk Off the Job
When New York City Police Walk Off the Job
Bill de Blasio met Tuesday with police union leaders.CreditCreditRobert Stolarik for The New York Times
Many members of the New York Police Department are furious at Mayor Bill de Blasio and, by extension, the city that elected him. They have expressed this anger with a solidarity tantrum, repeatedly turning their backs to show their collective contempt. But now they seem to have taken their bitterness to a new and dangerous level — by walking off the job.
The New York Post on Tuesday reported, and city officials confirmed, that officers are essentially abandoning enforcement of low-level offenses. According to data The Post cited for the week starting Dec. 22 — two days after two officers were shot and killed on a Brooklyn street — traffic citations had fallen by 94 percent over the same period last year, summonses for offenses like public drinking and urination were down 94 percent, parking violations were down 92 percent, and drug arrests by the Organized Crime Control Bureau were down 84 percent.
The data cover only a week, and the reasons for the plunge are not entirely clear. But it is so steep and sudden as to suggest a dangerous, deplorable escalation of the police confrontation with the de Blasio administration. Even considering the heightened tensions surrounding the officers' deaths and pending labor negotiations — the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association has no contract, and its leader, Patrick Lynch, has been the most strident in attacking Mr. de Blasio, calling him a bloody accomplice to the officers' murder — this action is repugnant and inexcusable. It amounts to a public act of extortion by the police.
And for what?
Let's review the actions that Mr. de Blasio's harshest critics say have driven the police to such extremes.
1. He campaigned on ending the unconstitutional use of "stop-and-frisk" tactics, which victimized hundreds of thousands of innocent young black and Latino men.
2. He called for creating an inspector general for the department and ending racial profiling.
3. After Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, was killed by a swarm of cops on Staten Island, he convened a meeting with the police commissioner, William Bratton, and the Rev. Al Sharpton, giving Mr. Sharpton greater prominence than police defenders thought he should have had because Mr. Sharpton is a firebrand with an unsavory past.
4. He said after the Garner killing that he had told his biracial son, Dante, to "take special care" in encounters with the police.
5. He generally condoned the peaceful protests for police reform — while condemning those who incited or committed violence — and cited a tagline of the movement: "Black lives matter."
The list of grievances adds up to very little, unless you look at it through the magnifying lens of resentment fomented by union bosses and right-wing commentators. The falling murder rate, the increased resources for the department, the end of quota-based policing, which the police union despised, the mayor's commitment to "broken-windows" policing — none of that matters, because many cops have latched on to the narrative that they are hated, with the mayor orchestrating the hate.
It's a false narrative. Mr. de Blasio was elected by a wide margin on a promise to reform the policing excesses that were found unconstitutional by a federal court. He hired a proven reformer, Mr. Bratton, who had achieved with the Los Angeles Police Department what needs doing in New York. The furor that has gripped the city since the Garner killing has been a complicated mess. But what New Yorkers expect of the Police Department is simple:
1. Don't violate the Constitution.
2. Don't kill unarmed people.
To that we can add:
3. Do your jobs. The police are sworn public servants, and refusing to work violates their oath to serve and protect. Mr. Bratton should hold his commanders and supervisors responsible, and turn this insubordination around.
Mr. de Blasio has a responsibility to lead the city out of this impasse, and to his credit has avoided inflaming the situation with hasty or hostile words. But it's the Police Department that needs to police itself. Rank-and-file officers deserve a department they can be proud of, not the insular, defiant, toxically politicized constituency that Mr. Lynch seems to want to lead.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 18 of the New York edition with the headline: When Cops Walk Off the Job. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Since the first Minority Finance Forum (MFF) a year ago, MBDA Business Centers have been building the only pipeline of its kind, mid-market minority-owned businesses looking for growth financing. After a year of monthly calls where Business Centers discussed challenges and opportunities related to access to capital, the second annual MFF at the Chicago Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) 2015 Midwest Capital Connections was held October 19, 2015. MFF featured panel discussions and extensive networking at the Untitled Supper Club in Chicago, Illinois, with the connection event the next day at Navy Pier presenting over 200 investment bankers, private equity, and other capital sources looking to make deals with businesses and amongst themselves.
The program began with a welcome from George Mui, Market Access Team Lead-U.S. Department of Commerce-MBDA and Senior Advisor to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders. Joshua Gutstein, Senior Financial Consultant at the Chicago MBDA Business Center, also welcomed the attendees on behalf of all MBDA Business Centers. The Chicago Center was joined by representatives from MBDA Centers in St. Louis, Cleveland, Minnesota, and Dallas.
The first panel explored the challenges and rewards of investing in MBEs. Mark Wilson, CEO of eVerifile, spoke first-hand about obtaining Minority Control Certification by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and was joined by private equity investors who shared investment strategy when taking a non-controlling stake in an MBE. Under the Minority Control Certification by NMSDC, at least 30% of the equity of the business is held by minority owners, but the minority owners maintain operational control. While a challenge to obtain, the special certification allows for growing MBEs to maintain the benefits of certification while attracting needed institutional investors, many of whom are seeking more than 50% ownership in exchange for investment.
The second panel addressed due diligence issues to help attendees better prepare in seeking investment. Issues such as quality of earnings, board makeup, and valuation are investigated by capital sources. The panelists encouraged attendees to take a hard look at their customers, where revenues were coming from, to ensure a diverse and strong base of earnings. When thinking of valuation, MBEs should take the time now to get good accounting help in order to maintain reliable and accessible numbers.
Han Bonner, Executive Director of the Chicago MBDA Business Center, will continue to lead the MBDA Business Centers in building on the success of the MFF including the incorporation of quarterly MBE pitch seminars and trainings to expand the growing pipeline of "investment ready" MBEs. To learn more please contact the Chicago MBDA Business Center.


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text:
Miami-Virginia Tech 2017: The biggest advantage the Hurricanes could have
[ The future of Miami: Offense | Defense]
[ Sitkowski decommits; Richt on N'Kosi Perry]
In several ways, Miami and Virginia Tech have similar parts.
Both have developing first-year quarterbacks who are mobile enough to worry opposing defenses. The Hurricanes' Malik Rosier and Hokies' Josh Jackson can throw it, too.
Both teams have offensive-minded head coaches known for having a certain amount of expertise in tutoring top-tier QBs. Miami's Mark Richt and Virginia Tech's Justin Fuente are in their second seasons on the job, firm in their belief they are building championship contenders.
They have a lack of pop in the run game. The Oct. 7 season-ending injury to star tailback Mark Walton hurt UM's already-iffy ground attack even more. Virginia Tech is gaining 3.98 yards per carry, ninth in a 14-team ACC.
Both teams have respected defensive coordinators. Bud Foster is a name brand, in the sense that commentators herald the Hokies' success by referring to "that Bud Foster defense." Manny Diaz has made a similar name for himself, though he has mere years of credit on his resume, rather than decades.
Both defenses are fast, physical and aggressive. Both sides' special teams have made their share of game-changing plays.
There are two factors that could swing Saturday's critical ACC Coastal game (8 p.m., ABC) in Miami's favor.
One of them is the home crowd, which the Hurricanes hope will be as loud as it has ever been in the season-plus at the renovated Hard Rock Stadium. This will be by far the unfriendliest environment for Virginia Tech, which has played road games at sleepy Boston College and a de-facto neutral site at East Carolina.
The other factor is this: Virginia Tech's weakness on defense is stopping big plays through the air, and that has been Miami's offensive calling card.
The Hokies have allowed 50 passing plays of 10-plus yards, which ranks 12th nationally. That's obviously quite good. But once the chunks get larger, the Hokies drop.
In the category of 20-plus allowed, they're 73rd (27 plays, or about 3.4 per game). Passing plays of 30 yards or more? They're 59th, having allowed 11. Forty yards or more? 79th, or seven, or just under one big passing play per game.
Virginia Tech (7-1, 3-1 ACC) sits in a glut of teams which have allowed three passing plays of 60-plus yards. Three busts may not seem like a lot, but only nine teams nationally have allowed more. Of note: ECU's Trevon Brown made a 76-yard touchdown reception in Week 3, in which the Hokies started slow in an eventual 64-17 blowout. Clemson running back Tavien Feaster hit them with a 60-yarder, getting the Tigers off and running in the Hokies' only loss.
Coaches want to be good at everything, which is why offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said the Canes "aren't going to make a living" off big plays. But they have the talent to make teams think they'll be happy doing so.
While Miami's running game has sagged since Walton went down (3.58 yards per carry in October, 95th nationally) and UM struggles to score touchdowns in the red zone, the Hurricanes boast an ACC-high six different receivers who have made a reception of 40 yards or longer.
Freshman Jeff Thomas, who has the longest play of the season at 78 yards, has three (good for second in the league), and has more plays of 70-plus (two) than anyone. Among freshmen nationally, no one has more.
Slot receiver Braxton Berrios (two plays of 40-plus) and tight end Christopher Herndon (one play of 50-plus) have burned defenses for yards after the catch, as has freshman running back/receiver DeeJay Dallas (49-yard catch-and-run against North Carolina). Big-bodied Darrell Langham (46-yarder against Bethune-Cookman) can make contested catches, though he doesn't have great speed.
We haven't even talked about Ahmmon Richards. Miami's No. 1 deep threat hasn't been able to match his record-setting freshman season because of a hamstring injury. In breaking Michael Irvin's 31-year-old UM receiving record for a first-year player (934 yards), Richards had 10 catches of 30-plus yards and three of 60-plus. This year, his longest reception was a 49-yard touchdown at Duke.
Miami has tried to keep him healthy, hoping he'll be 100 percent for games like this. If he's the Richards of last year, that would make the Hurricanes' air attack tough to stop — and could help UM lock up the Coastal crown.
More Miami-Virginia Tech
[ Diaz wants 'spooky' environment for Hokies]
[ It's a 'Miami Nights' blackout at The Rock]
[ Miami defense healthy, hoping for payback]
[ Fun with proud grandpa, candy corn-lover Mark Richt]
[ Brown slams Miami's offensive performance vs. UNC]
[ Hard Rock Stadium to host 2021 national championship]
[ Canes 10th in first CFP rankings]
[ Miami: Bad unbeaten team, or 'learning how to win'?]
[ Berrios up for national scholar-athlete award]


text:
use crate::chunk::Chunk;

#[derive(Default)]
pub struct Builder {
    signal_name: String,
    trampoline_name: String,
    in_trait: bool,
    is_detailed: bool,
}

impl Builder {
    pub fn new() -> Builder {
        Default::default()
    }

    pub fn signal_name(&mut self, name: &str) -> &mut Builder {
        self.signal_name = name.into();
        self
    }

    pub fn trampoline_name(&mut self, name: &str) -> &mut Builder {
        self.trampoline_name = name.into();
        self
    }

    pub fn in_trait(&mut self, value: bool) -> &mut Builder {
        self.in_trait = value;
        self
    }

    // https://github.com/rust-lang/rust-clippy/issues/8480
    #[allow(clippy::wrong_self_convention)]
    pub fn is_detailed(&mut self, value: bool) -> &mut Builder {
        self.is_detailed = value;
        self
    }

    pub fn generate(&self) -> Chunk {
        let unsafe_ = Chunk::Unsafe(vec![self.let_func(), self.connect()]);

        Chunk::BlockHalf(vec![unsafe_])
    }

    fn let_func(&self) -> Chunk {
        let type_ = "Box_<F>".to_string();
        Chunk::Let {
            name: "f".to_string(),
            is_mut: false,
            value: Box::new(Chunk::Custom("Box_::new(f)".to_owned())),
            type_: Some(Box::new(Chunk::Custom(type_))),
        }
    }

    fn connect(&self) -> Chunk {
        Chunk::Connect {
            signal: self.signal_name.clone(),
            trampoline: self.trampoline_name.clone(),
            in_trait: self.in_trait,
            is_detailed: self.is_detailed,
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Fact or Fiction: Does a Spoon in the Bottle Keep Champagne Bubbly?
A persistent bit of kitchen folklore appears to have little basis in fact
By John Matson on January 4, 2013
Credit: Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 2.0)
If you had trouble polishing off any open bottles of sparkling wine on New Year's Eve, you may have employed an old kitchen trick to keep the leftover bubbly ... well, bubbly.
The trick is simple: just put a teaspoon, handle down, into the bottle's mouth. Many people have cited anecdotal evidence that the spoon helps keep sparkling wines effervescent in the fridge for a day or more after opening.
There's just one problem. Belief in the spoon tactic, which is of uncertain origin but seems especially prevalent in Europe, appears to be misplaced.
"I think it's a myth," says Stanford University chemist Richard Zare, who undertook an extracurricular investigation of the teaspoon's preservative powers in 1994. Zare, along with food writer and San Francisco Bay Area resident Harold McGee, their wives and other friends, uncorked several bottles of bubbly and refrigerated them for 26 hours under different preservation methods—including some with spoons and some without. Then they sampled and scored the sparkling wines in a blind test. The result: Zare and his fellow testers did not detect any boost in the sparkle of the spooned bottles. A more recent, smaller-scale test on the television show MythBusters arrived at a similar conclusion.
Although Zare's study was somewhat informal, he believes the methodology was solid. "Hal McGee had just bought a new refrigerator that had nothing in it," he recalls. "This was great—because it had no smells or anything in it." And the bottles of wine, which all came from the same lot, were kept under identical ambient conditions. "We really tested it quite extensively," Zare says.
What is more, the California test jibes with the results of a similar experiment conducted around the same time by researchers at the Interprofessional Committee of Champagne. The CIVC, as it is known by its French initials, is an association of grape-growers and winemakers in the Champagne region of France that defends the literal geographic meaning of the appellation "champagne"—bubbly from other locations is sparkling wine. "The experiment was done in pernay, near Reims, with champagne from the same batch, and the pressure was measured in various circumstances, such as opened bottles, opened bottles with spoon, bottle closed with stopper [and] bottle closed with cork (after having been opened)," wrote chemist and food journalist Herv This in an e-mail; This described the research in his 2006 book, Molecular Gastronomy. "The pressure in bottles opened and left open or in bottles opened and left open with a spoon decreased in the same way—whereas a stopper or cork prevented the gas escape," he added.
So if the dangling teaspoon appears to have little to no effect on preserving carbonation, what is a champagne sipper to do with his or her half-empty bottle? No special stopper is needed, says Zare, in whose (admittedly subjective) taste test recorked wine rated poorly. "Keep it cold. In fact, never let it warm up. That's the secret," he says. The reason: in many liquids, including water, carbon dioxide is more soluble at low temperature, so cold liquids better retain their dissolved gas. Some sparkling wines are so saturated with carbon dioxide, Zare says, that they can remain bubbly in the fridge for days, even without a stopper. "If you keep it cold from the start," he adds, "it just goes on and on."
John Matson is a former reporter and editor for Scientific American who has written extensively about astronomy and physics.
Astronaut Chris Hadfield Covers David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in Space [Video]
In Einstein's Universe, Airplanes and Staircases Are Time Machines
Sean Carroll Entangles Time and Entropy
Champagne Bubbles Liberate Flavor Compounds
September 29, 2009 — John Matson
Pour Champagne on the Side for Better Flavor
Bursting Bubbles Beget Itty-Bitty Bubbles
Carbonation Has a Taste


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Twenty years ago today, the Berlin Wall fell. Through a gallery of 25 absolutely beautiful photographs, Slate takes a look at the building of the Wall and the different lifestyles of those who lived along it in the years that followed.
Stop what ever you are doing and see them now. Don't miss the very last one, which made me happier than I have been in a long time.


text:
+27 (72) 174 6167 info@bodystressrelease.co.za
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The BSR Associations in different countries oversee the practice of Body Stress Release and provide continuing educational workshops in their countries. All certified BSR practitioners are members of these Associations and are governed by their constitutions. This ensures that professional levels of practice are maintained with defined standards of conduct, practice and ethics and disciplinary powers vesting with these Associations.
At present Body Stress Release is practiced in a number of countries around the world including South Africa, United Kingdom, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Iceland, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Curacao, Canada and the U.S.A. The Executive Committee of the International Association oversees the various national associations.
THE SOUTH AFRICAN BODY STRESS RELEASE ACADEMY
The BSR Academy is located at Rondevlei, a small village near the scenic lakes on the Garden Route in the Western Cape. Rondevlei is 6km from a major highway, the N2. The largest towns nearby are Knysna and George. George airport is a 35 minute drive from the Academy.
It's nestled against a hill, where the call of the Fish Eagle is often heard, and one of the five lakes in the Wilderness area can be viewed from the front lawn. The Academy has two classrooms and a library of 1000 books. Leisure activities in the area include hiking, bird-watching and water sports on the sea, lakes and lagoons. Reasonably priced accommodation is available in local holiday cottages and guest suites.
The Academy faculty are Dr Gail Meggersee B.A. U.E.D. (SA) D.C. (USA), one of the founders of BSR, and Boetie Toerien B.A., M.B.A. (SA), the Chairperson of the Body Stress Release Association (SA) as well as two highly experienced South African Body Stress Release practitioners, Sandy Damant and Jeanette Gibbs. Mary Parker is also a newly appointed member of the facilitating team. The Body Stress Release Academy is overseen by an Executive Committee which controls the future development of Body Stress Release. Correction of chairman etc. (updated details needed here
South African Academy: academy@bodystressrelease.co.za
Website: www.bodystressrelease.co.za
THE EUROPEAN BODY STRESS RELEASE ACADEMY:
The first training course at the BSR Academy Europe commenced in November 2014 at a beautiful venue just outside of Dorchester in Dorset, England.Dorchester has excellent train links into London and both Bournemouth and Bristol airports are within reasonable distance.
The course is residential with comfortable furnished accommodation located on site. Students have use of the swimming pool and tennis courts and there are many beautiful walks in the local woodlands and countryside.
Dorchester is not far from the famous Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Leisure activities in the area including walking, cycling, clay pigeon shooting, horse riding and fishing. The course takes place from the beginning of November to the beginning of March each year with a two week break over the Christmas and New Year period.
They are Tracy Highton, Gwen MacPhail-Masureik, Chris Balaam, Caroline aan de Stegge, Erik Onderweegs and Kees Varkevisser.
European Academy: paul@bodystressrelease.org.uk
Website: www.bodystressrelease.org.uk
Interesting Reading
Body Stress Release – 'Down Under'
Turning Back the Clock with Body Stress Release
Protected: Improve your Posture
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text:
Starting the conversation inside church walls
by Leah Reynolds on July 11, 2016 in Feature
Imagine watching television when suddenly the following headline interrupts the program...
BREAKING NEWS: Shooter opens fire in elementary school.
Like most people, Marcie Hatfield's heart sinks when such news reports come on her television.
"Who would do such a thing?" she asks herself, coming to the conclusion the suspect likely reacted out of rage stemmed by a mental issue such as schizophrenia or depression.
Over the years, Hatfield has observed people struggling with mental illnesses. In one instance, a friend whose son committed suicide while suffering from Bipolar Disorder expressed how she felt the church was turning its back on those suffering by being silent. Hatfield visited with her husband, Dr. Stephen Hatfield, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lewisville, about the friend's remark. The couple began to ask the questions, "Why are we afraid to help? Why are those suffering afraid to reach out for help?"
"It seemed sad these people were suffering without any support," she said, "especially in the church, and we've never really talked about it at church."
Expressing those ideas generated interest around their congregation at FBC Lewisville to begin a ministry for people who feel they are struggling, or have close family or acquaintances who are struggling with mental illness.
Studies from the National Alliance on Mental Illness show 1 in 5 people are touched by mental illness. Yet, it is not often discussed in churches.
"The problem is people are embarrassed to say, 'I have bipolar' or 'I struggle with depression' or 'I have anxiety' whereas if we have diabetes or if we have cancer, the church rallies around those people and brings them casseroles," Hatfield said. "If somebody suffers with mental challenges, you just don't talk about."
But FBC Lewisville, and other churches, are changing that stigma and have begun the conversation amongst their congregation.
Last November, FBC Lewisville invited Joe Padilla, founder of the Mental Health Grace Alliance, to train them on starting that conversation. He preached one Sunday and Dr. Hatfield preached the following three Sundays about the biblical importance of addressing and promoting positive mental health.
"One of the strongest community leaders in any society is the church," according to Padilla. "It's important for the church to be aware and educated on all the issues."
The sermon series attracted enough volunteers to serve as leaders for five Grace Groups--small groups designed to support those affected by mental illnesses.
Each Grace Group caters to a different group of people who are impacted in some way or another by mental illness. The five groups each fell into one of the following three group titles.
The first group, Living Grace Group (LGG), is for those living with a mental health difficulty or disorder. LGG provides psycho-education and practical tools within a supportive community. It includes topics such as Holistic Recovery, Healthy Thinking, Medication and Rest/Relaxation.
The second is Family Grace Group (FGG), which is for the families of those living with a mental health difficulty or disorder. FGG provides psycho-education and practical tools within a supportive community. It includes topics such as building your faith, Boundaries to Rebuild, Enabling versus Empowering and Staying Ahead of the Game (prevention planning).
The final group, Living Hope Group (LHG), is for those who have experienced trauma or PTSD. LHG provides psycho-education and practical tools within a supportive community. It includes topics such as Stress & Trauma, Safety & Control, Guilt & Shame and Staying Resilient.
FBC Lewisville finished its first set of courses in the spring and, after receiving a positive response and having over 50 participants, began a new set for the summer. Hatfield said they anticipate beginning them again in the fall.
"It's just been so amazing how God has brought all these people together," Hatfield said. "God has just totally led every step from when we started to go down this path. That's been the most exciting thing. I feel like He's brought the right people at the right time to lead or encourage us."
One of the key components to ministry being so successful, Hatfield said, is having the congregation's support and involvement during all of it.
"The education and information has to keep being in front of the whole church," she said. "We can't just start these little groups and let them go on their own."
Having the right message of grace from the church will save hundreds, maybe even thousands of lives on the verge of committing suicide, Padilla said. Beginning the conversation inside the church walls is the first step to helping heal and restore lives affected by mental illnesses.
Read more articles in: Feature, Mental Health and the Church
More from Leah Reynolds
Childhood Discipleship: Training up a child
Texas Baptists bring BSM to Guadalajara University
Los Bautistas de Texas Recaudan Más de $26,000 para Ayudar a Refugiados Sirios en el L&iacut
< July >


text:
Puerto Rico governor to run in 2020 local elections
Published Mon Dec 16 2019 20:26:39 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Puerto Rico's governor has announced she will run in the island's 2020 general elections after repeatedly saying she was not interested in the position when she became leader by default following political upheaval earlier this year. Wanda Vazquez will face veteran politician Pedro Pierluisi in the primaries of Puerto Rico's pro-statehood New Progressive Party. Pierluisi was sworn in as governor of the U.S. territory in August but held the position less than a week after the island's Supreme Court found that Vazquez was the constitutional heir to the position after the previous governor stepped down.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez announced Monday that she plans to run in the 2020 general elections after repeatedly stating she was not interested in the position when she was appointed leader following political upheaval in the U.S. territory earlier this year.
Vazquez will face veteran politician Pedro Pierluisi in the primaries of Puerto Rico's pro-statehood New Progressive Party.
Pierluisi was sworn in as governor in August but held the position less than a week after the island's Supreme Court found that Vazquez was the constitutional heir to the position after the previous governor stepped down amid political turmoil.
Vazquez, the island's former justice secretary, had initially said she would serve as governor until December 2020. It is the first time she seeks that position, while it is Pierluisi's second attempt. He lost in the 2016 local primaries to former governor Ricardo Rossello, who resigned in August following massive protests fueled in part by anger over corruption and the leak of an obscenity-laced chat involving several government officials.
Pierluisi previously served as the island's congressional representative from 2009 to 2017.


text:
Letters to the Editor: Voter suppression is still a problem. Just ask Stacey Abrams
Georgia gubernatorial candidates Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp debate in Atlanta on Oct. 23, 2018.
(John Bazemore / Associated Press)
To the editor: Columnist Jonah Goldberg is absolutely wrong to suggest that the Georgia governor's race in 2018 was conducted without "voter suppression," put in quotes by Goldberg as if this problem is minor or doesn't exist. ("Can Republicans dig out of the hole Trump dug? He hopes not," Opinion, Dec. 1)
Then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican, ran for governor against Democrat Stacey Abrams, who had been working hard and succeeding since 2014 to register voters in minority communities. Kemp, as secretary of state, tried in vain to investigate Abrams' New Georgia Project for fraud.
Kemp oversaw the very election in which he was running against Abrams, a clear conflict of interest that should never be allowed to happen.
Furthermore, as secretary of state Kemp oversaw the purging of about 1.5 million voters from the rolls, which affected people in mostly minority areas. He also shut down polling places, most of them again in minority neighborhoods. I could go on.
If this isn't voter suppression, then I don't know what is.
Joanne Turner, Eagle Rock
To the editor: Republican Party figures, especially Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, deserve any consequences they get from supporting this poor excuse for a president we've all had to endure these past four years.
President Trump has damaged our reputation in the world, made a mockery of our laws while calling himself a "law and order" leader, attempted to extort another country so he could gain an electoral advantage and, perhaps worst of all, has been a significant force in causing the deaths of more than a quarter of a million Americans from COVID-19.
All along prominent Republicans knew exactly who Trump was, but they excused his behavior and even outright lied for him. Some of them even expressed the hope that the president would see the errors of his ways and do better. How well has that worked out?
When you choose to aid and abet a president like Trump, you get what you deserve
Christin Rubesh, Port Hueneme
To the editor: I am curious if The Times would be willing to reach out to the Trump voters and other conservatives it published after the election.
Trump has been denying his loss and amplifying conspiracy theories. How do they justify their support for him now? Has he lost their respect yet? Do they agree with his assertions?
I believe that, given the unprecedented aftermath of this election, those who stepped forward in favor of Trump should be called upon once again.
Erin Judge, Los Angeles
OpinionLetters to the Editor
A cure for the common opinion
Get thought-provoking perspectives with our weekly newsletter.
Opinion: The pope's latest decree is a victory for Catholic women
Gender roles in worship divide liberal and conservative Catholics
Op-Ed: A doctor's view: Healthcare workers who refuse COVID-19 shots are selfish
A doctor asks: If you don't trust the coronavirus vaccine, why are you in medicine? Getting the shot is a civic duty.
Opinion: The final COVID lie
Operation Warp Speed officials proclaimed on Tuesday they were releasing all COVID-19 vaccinations held in reserve. The problem? There was no reserve to release.
Opinion: Donald Trump gave America a four-year civics lesson — the hard way
If there is any good to come from this atrocious administration, it's that Trump has forced a much closer understanding of civics and the Constitution.
Op-Ed: Banning Trump from Twitter and Facebook isn't nearly enough
Use liability law to sue Facebook and Twitter for building platforms they knew would nurture and spread toxic extremism.
Letters to the Editor: Fine, move out of California. Just don't bash our state on your way out
California isn't perfect, but people have been writing about its demise for some time. Good luck with Phoenix in July or Minneapolis in January.
Letters to the Editor: What happened at the Capitol wasn't 'protest,' it was terrorism
A reader says the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 should not be talked about as if they were merely attending a protest that got out of hand.
Heffernan: We need the truth about 1/6
We need the impeachment of President Trump and criminal prosecutions of rioters to provide justice, and we need a 1/6 Commission to supply truth.
Editorial: Due process still matters, even for rioters who stormed the Capitol
We can only add to the damage done to our system of laws if due process is completely ignored.


text:
How's this for a way round the Arrogate 'World's Best Racehorse' dilemma?
Chris Smith | January 25, 2018 |
World's Best Racehorse: few would have argued if Arrogate had been honoured for the 'Longines World's Best Performance' instead. Photo: Martha Kelly
A certain amount of muted enthusiasm greeted the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings when they were revealed in London on Tuesday. Okay, Arrogate was devastating in Dubai, but few impartial observers could quite square his three subsequent defeats with the pronouncement that he was the best racehorse anywhere on the planet (for the second year in succession).
This is not the first time the end-of-year verdict from the handicappers of the IFHA (International Federation of Horseracing Authorities) has prompted a degree of head scratching within a significant swathe of racing opinion. Indeed, back in 2014, the Japanese 5-year-old Just A Way had far less concrete claims to the title than Arrogate does now.
In both cases, the key was a race at Meydan in March. The Juddmonte colt's performance in the Dubai World Cup last year was one of those rare instances when you can barely believe what you're seeing - maybe up there with the best of Frankel or Secretariat, or (a personal favourite) Chautauqua's utterly impossible victory run to win his third straight T J Smith Stakes in April, 2017. Just A Way's win in the 2014 Dubai Turf was almost as impressive (see video below), although his most significant victims on that occasion undoubtedly had better days to come.
In each case after Meydan, both Just A Way and Arrogate simply faded away.
Arrogate ran three times more but was barely a shadow of the magnificent beast who had set the sport alight at Saratoga, Santa Anita, Gulfstream Park and Meydan. So much so that he has no chance of taking the U.S. Horse of the Year crown from his immediate victim in Dubai, Gun Runner, at the Eclipse Awards later today.
It was like that with Just A Way. After the splendour of Meydan, his season fizzled out tamely. He scrambled home in the G1 Yasuda Kinen over a mile, finished down the field behind Treve when asked to stretch his stamina out to a mile and a half in the Arc, and then finished second in the Japan Cup and fourth in the Arima Kinen, both over the longer trip.
Precious little evidence there to back up the contention that this was the best horse in the world. He wasn't even considered the best horse in Japan if that country's Horse of the Year title is any reflection. That honour went to the mare Gentildonna, who won the Arima Kinen and had taken the Dubai Sheema Classic on the same day at Meydan that Just A Way produced his pièce de résistance.
Interestingly, despite a career in which she won seven G1s, including two Japan Cups, and became the highest-earning racehorse in history (she now lies second to Arrogate in that league table), you'll have to go down an awful long way in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings order of merit for 2014 to find Gentildonna. The daughter of Deep Impact was rated only the joint 78th best horse that year.
Of course, the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings provide an important service - strengthening internationalisation, bringing jurisdictions closer together, adding a valuable edge to a sport that has still to find an answer to the billion-dollar question 'how can we make horse racing more popular?'
But the time has surely come for a re-evaluation. Instead of just one award, perhaps there should be two. Despite a campaign that ultimately left his image slightly tarnished, few would have argued if Arrogate had been honoured for the 'Longines World's Best Performance'.
His defeat of America's subsequent Horse of the Year and a collection of top-drawer U.S. dirt performers was certainly that (it seems incongruous, incidentally, that the Dubai World Cup was rated inferior to both the Arc and the King George - both soft-ground affairs featuring many horses ill at ease in the conditions - in the Longines World's Best Horse Race order of merit, which was also revealed on Tuesday.)
A 'best performance' award would have left scope for another (perhaps even more prestigious) Longines accolade: World Horse of the Year.
Of course, it would have been no simple matter for the IFHA to decide on which runner to bestow that title for 2017. Winx perhaps? Or Gun Runner? Or maybe Enable?
The handicappers' ratings are an excellent guide to a horse's level of ability, but that's really all they should be seen as. They are fallible, and essentially subjective. There are so many factors involved - ground, distance, track, tactics, many other variable circumstances - that it is impossible to interpret precisely how good a horse actually has shown itself to be. One that wins by a wide margin will usually be awarded a higher mark than one that performs best when being produced for a late run. Yet often the hold-up horse is actually the better.
Winx, for instance, raced nine times in 2017 from February to October over distances from seven to ten furlongs, on going varying from good to heavy. She won all of them - by margins from a head to 7¼ lengths. Her performance ratings varied by 20 pounds, yet she was the same horse throughout, always superb, always imperious, always Winx.
Deciding how she compares with Gun Runner, a veritable machine on American dirt, or Enable, who was magnificent on grass over a mile and a half, can only ever be a matter of opinion. But introducing a 'World Horse of the Year' award alongside the ratings would free the IFHA of the shackles - and much of the associated criticism - of having to declare a 'best racehorse'.
And hopefully make a lot of people a lot happier.
Eclipse Awards
Gentildonna
Just A Way
Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings
The world's all-time highest-earning racehorses: Lys Gracieux makes a big mark
Chris Smith | December 26, 2019
Winx is your World Horse of the Decade
The spring is definitely back in Joao Moreira's step