Sullington Windmills WI

The Book Club met on a hot sunny day to discuss The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Despite more than one of us having previously avoided reading this book, due to knowing it must contain distressing details of the cruelty and evil of mankind, it was generally agreed that the book is a must-read.

The majority of the group found the novel to be inspirational, as it chronicles the kindness and courage of people in the face of unimaginable horror and trauma. The determination to survive by Lale illustrates the resilience, life force and survival instincts that enabled some to endure the living nightmare that was Auschwitz-Birkenau, whilst at the same time helping and supporting others in the same situation.

It asks questions of us all - would we be kind and resilient in the most horrific of circumstances?

Some discussion centred around the blurring of fact and fiction in the book. A couple of us felt that the love story between Lale and Gita would have been even more difficult to pursue than the book suggests.

However, one Book Club member recommended that we read ‘Stories of Hope’, which is a non-fiction book that contains many of the conversations Heather Morris had with Lale Sokolov, and others, which contributed to her writing The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Overall, although the subject matter was horrific, the writing was simple and easy to read, and the story was that of hope.

“Good and evil coexist in the worst of times. It is then when hope shines through.”

The next book to be read will be "Frenchman’s Creek" by Daphne du Maurier.

This will be discussed on Friday 11th July 2025.

To celebrate World Baking Day I made a batch of Chocolate Cookies following the recipe in the May edition of the Sussex Local magazine. Unfortunately, the recipe is not available on their website.

These were easy to make and the results very tasty. The recipe also made a big batch, between 20-30 large cookies. So far, they have kept well too.

The recipe is also versatile, as you can swap in any chocolate that you fancy to make different flavours of cookie. Next time I think that I will try an orange flavoured dark chocolate.

As the recipe says, “Sometimes the easiest creations are the most delicious”.

** NEXT MONTH**

Friday 27th June 2025 is National Cream Tea Day.

I will be baking around 100 scones as part of a fundraising event for our local cricket club.

Please enjoy this special day by baking your own scones, going out for a cream tea at your local tearoom or holding your own fundraising event. There are lots of different recipes online, or you can use a tried-and-tested recipe. I particularly get consistently good results with Mary Berry’s Easy Fruit Scone recipe (click here).

As always, please join in with me and send me some photographs of anything that you bake.

This past month we have been reading ‘You Are Here’ by David Nicholls.

This is Nicholls’ latest book and is a funny, frank and absorbing look at loneliness, friendship and the risks taken to love and be loved. 

Set mainly on the Coast to Coast walk, a 197-mile long-distance route that connects the west coast of England with the east coast and traverses three National Parks: The Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, and North York Moors, it follows two strangers as they progress not only on their walk but in their understanding of, and relationship with, each other.

Our group enjoyed reading this book very much. Many of us had had some experience of walking, not only the Coast to Coast but also The South Downs Way and others. We discussed how the book transported you to the quintessential British countryside, with the ever-changing weather, the glorious views and the challenging uphill climbs. Reading the book divided the group on their thoughts of walking; some of us wanted to go walking again and some of us were put off ever going on a long-distance walk.

“The peaks were all around them now, outlined sharply against each other, like old-fashioned theatre flats. They walked a ridge, still a climb but not too arduous, the ground easy-going, short, tough grass like office carpet, until they were standing at a viewpoint, a rocky crown, toothed like battlements, the kind of place you might go to summon dragons.”

We also discussed that Nicholls writes so skillfully about internal thought processes and is a shrewd observer of modern life, love and language. The humour in the dialogue is believable and, as with ‘One Day’, you care about the characters and want to know how things turn out for them.

Although this could be seen as a typical rom-com, with all the usual ups and downs, plus the required BIG misunderstanding, there is more to it than that. It is a book full of hope, for being brave to step out of your comfort zone and for making the most of second chances.

“Sometimes, she thought, it’s easier to remain lonely than present the lonely person to the world, but she knew that this, too, was a trap, that unless she did something, the state might become permanent, like a stain soaking into wood.”

The next book to be read will be "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" by Heather Morris.

This will be discussed on Friday 13th June 2025.