Happy Memory Books
“THE PAGE TURNERS BOOKS PROMPTING HAPPY MEMORIES”
Due to ongoing Welsh Government restrictions, Page Turners were not able to meet up. Instead, book club members were asked to reflect on a book that has a special place on their book shelf, or Kindle! A piece of music can often bring back happy and cheerful memories of a time, a place, or a person, and books can evoke similar feelings. The Page Turners were asked to nominate a book they had read that can provoke or prompt happy memories… Do you agree with these choices?
May and Nicola have both spent some time in Africa: May was a teacher in Botswana for 2 years and Nicola grew up in Zambia. They made the same choice of a series of books: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall. For May the books brought back memories of the cheerful, hospitable people in Botswana, the colourful birds, dusty roads, villages of rondavels and continuing blue skies and warm, sunny days. Nicola loved these books as they are so evocative of Africa. She believes Mma Ramotswe, the detective, epitomises a particular type of African woman with down to earth humour and pragmatism.
Babs selection was Angels And Demons by Dan Brown. This book evokes memories of several visits to Rome: Babs has had a number of fantastic holidays in Rome with some lovely people she has been lucky enough to know in her life. She loves the history, the many wonderful buildings, the atmosphere, the people and the food, all of which she is reminded of by this book.
Sandra chose a poem, Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. This poem reminds Sandra of when she first met Peter (her soon to be husband), a true Welsh man, who wanted to teach Sandra, an English lady, about Wales. Sandra was at College in Salisbury and at the play house there was a production of Under Milk Wood. Peter took Sandra to the production, possibly to impress her (Sandra maintains). This was one of their first outings together, which she enjoyed immensely. This poem brings back many good memories for Sandra.
Special memories for Sylvia are prompted by the 1967 TV adaptation of The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. This starred Eric Porter, Nyree Dawn Porter, Kenneth More and Susan Hampshire. It was on for 26 episodes, and Sylvia can still remember the anticipation and the unfolding of the story. No catch up in those days!
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling was Jenny’s choice. Jenny remembers many a happy hour spent reading out loud alternate chapters with her young 7 year old son, in a quiet little Greek taverna on a beach, the waves cooling their toes. Although it was a long time ago, the book makes her recall the sheer bliss of this time. And her son? He went on to collect and read the entire series!
Lynne chose The Magus by John Fowles. The Magus tells the story of Nicholas Urfe, a young British graduate who is teaching English on a small Greek island. It seemed an appropriate choice for reading after finishing my college finals, as my dreams for the future were to travel to sunnier climes. A friend and I, and The Magus, jetted off to Tenerife to await our results. This book reminds me of blissfully carefree, relaxing days under blue skies…away from the cares of the world!
Helen selected Arts of the Eskimo by Patrick Furneaux and Leo Rosshandler. While living in Canada in the early 1970’s, Helen and her husband were greatly enamoured of the Inuit’s traditions. She believes much can be learned about the dreams as well as the activities of a culture long rooted in its environment. Helen was given the Arts of the Eskimo book and in the following months she purchased four of their original works of art. These pictures still grace her walls today and the pictures and the book evoke many very happy memories.
Is there a book on your bookshelf that prompts a journey into a different time, space or place? I hope you enjoyed reading about our choices.
the school. Opposite the church was a fruit tree in full blossom – beautiful. The school has several large, raised beds, an outside classroom, a playing field and a small pond, with a plastic duck. A good fence surrounds the whole area, but we saw several rabbits ‘trespassing’.
The lane joins a road at a babbling stream and leads to a Chapel in Peterston-super-Ely. It is worth exploring the graveyard there are some interesting headstones, but the ground is uneven. Turning right at the T junction we walked across the bridge over the river Ely to follow the river. There are benches along the river, a good place to rest and have a snack. You can walk further into the village to explore the village and church but return to the footbridge over the river to Wyndham Park. A wide avenue of trees takes you uphill past lovely houses. Snakes head fritillaries were spotted on the roadside verge. You can walk around this estate to find the ‘Moroccan’ houses and street names reminiscent of Dyffryn gardens.
Before reaching Homri there is a footpath on the right which takes you down the valley to the Natural Burial ground. There are way markers showing where the path goes. We explored the paths in the Natural burial ground, where there are lots of bluebells but no flowers yet, before returning via the same route and aiming for Peterston-super- Ely, reversing the route described in the first outing above.
rounding it up again before it got trapped momentarily between the fence and a tree trunk; somehow it scrambled out but ran into the next gated field. After a few more minutes of its mother calling, (and us trying to round it up) it came to the gate and we opened it to let it through. Ewe ran off with her two lambs without a backward glance (and certainly no Thank you!), both lambs eagerly suckling when they stopped. This took quite a few minutes, and we were now ready for our lunch which we ate with a view to the north.
For a longer walk you can continue past Dyffryn Gardens along the road and take the footpath to 6000 -year-old, Tinkinswood burial chamber (through a field and over a stream to reach the chamber from the road). A larger dolmen than the one at St Lythans, the Tinkinswood site contained human remains and pottery dating to the early Bronze Age. It is a good place to stop for a while. Instead of returning to the road you can cross a field and a small holding. There is a large open field, with Dyffryn Gardens to the left which seems to have a sense of quiet peace. Eventually the path emerges beside the Nant river and you can walk through Dyffryn village, with a stream either side of the road and some lovely houses.
OFF THE SHELF
American Dirt is a 2020 novel by American author Jeanine Cummins, about the ordeal of a Mexican woman who had to leave behind her life and escape as an immigrant to US with her son. At the opening of Jeanine Cummins’s devastating and timely novel, bookshop owner Lydia and her eight-year-old son, Luca, are the only survivors of a targeted massacre by the Mexican cartel that dominates and terrorises their hometown of Acapulco. Sixteen of their relatives have been shot at a family barbecue, including Lydia’s husband and Luca’s father, a journalist who had been investigating and reporting on the drug traffickers.
Nicola’s choice
Sandra
Jenny’s choice
Helen
May’s selection
A character in 
Sylvia
The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
Our final Page Turners selection of an uplifting read is from