Sullington Windmills WI

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.

I hope that you all had a very happy Easter.

Mine was improved with the eating of some delicious Simnel cake, made following a recipe provided by the Surrey Federation website.

This was an easy recipe, although the grating of the marzipan was a bit sticky!

I didn't have the right size tin, only a larger one, so just kept my eye on the cooking time to make sure that the cake did not over bake.

I was very happy with the result and it all went down well with the family on Easter Sunday.

** NEXT MONTH**

Sunday 18^th May 2025 is World Baking Day.

Crunchy biscuits, gooey brownies, decadent tortes, sweet cupcakes, crusty baked bread…baking is an art that this world would just not be the same without.

This World Baking Day, why not dust off your recipe book and prepare something delicious! Surprise a friend, neighbour or relative with a delicious sweet or savoury treat to let them know how much you care, or just make something to enjoy in your own home.

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

We had a very good meeting this month, with the new committee and chair doing an excellent job.

Business was covered off quite quickly, moving on to the more interesting part of the evening.

Our speaker was Jonathan Cox, who retired from the Metropolitan Police in 2013 and within days had published the first of his books in The Nostrils Series. 

We learned how Jonathan’s real life policing experiences had fed into the storylines of his books and why the main character has the nickname of ‘Nostrils’.

This was a fun talk, with lots of enlightening and entertaining stories, which gave a good insight into the atmosphere and attitudes of policing in the 1980s.

Members were able to purchase Jonathan’s books at the end of the evening and the Book Club are considering his first novel, ‘From Green to Blue’, as one of their monthly reads.