Restless, published in 2006 and winning the Costa Book Award the same year. A spy thriller but not in the classical meaning. in 1976 single mother Ruth Gilmartin gets the records of her own mother. These reveal that her original name is Eva Delektorskaja and that she was working for an intelligence service during World War II. In 1939 she was recruited by Lucas Romer shortly after the death of her brother. To her husband and daughter she had always hidden her real identity but now she feels pursued and threatened and shares her past with Ruth.
A story being suspenseful till the end and yet without any lurid scenes and descriptions. The prospect that it is possible to completely hide one’s original identity makes us pause a moment. Rather shocked we must admit while reading that we only know our fellow men as well as they allow us to do and this is even true for our mother.
A really nice book for all those who love tension but like to abstain from brutality and aggression.
William Boyd was born in Ghana in 1952. He is now living with his wife in London and the South of France. The several times awarded author ist writing short stories, screen plays and novels.
Every now and then we need to wrap a gift voucher. They are offered in various sizes and forms but I prefer presenting them in a more personal way. At ScrapNgal I found a wonderful instruction which doesn’t need too many tools and no special skills. Mesure the size of your voucher and draw four circles with the diameter being a bit wider. For drawing the circles you may use a pair of compasses or the top of a glass or anything else having the right size and being round. The circles are folded in halves and then assembled in a way that the folding lines are forming a square. Then they are to be fixed with glue so that one half of each circle is situated under and the other side of it on top of the next circle. Put the voucher in the middle and close the second halves of the circles proceeding the same way as with the bottom of the packing. Close it with a gift ribbon and attach a little pendant including a saying or congretulations.
The voucher for a restaurant I once placed in a wrapping made of pages deriving from a cooking magazine. The all show food or tableware. To draw the circles I used a saucer having just the right diameter and fixed them as written above. If you hand the voucher personally you may close it with a licorice string which unfortunately I didn’t have when taking my pictures. Otherwise you may take a colored ribbon and suspend some sweeties.
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- Geschenkverpackung – Gift Wrapping
Up to now I’ve only seen that in Berlin! Beneath the bell tower of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedaechtniskirche you can buy souvenirs but as well savour the famous Berliner Curry Wurst (a sausage cut in pieces, served with a spicy tomato sauce) and Reibekuchen (potato pancake). To the chimes of the bell many tourists take a quick lunch while inside the church people just sit down in devotion. The blue window glasses create a very appeasing atmosphere and some of the visitors probably send a petitionary or thanksgiving prayer to the enormous angel hanging over the altar. Outside a part of the church looks like a large department store crowned with the top of church tower. The assumed store is a scaffold made to protect the visitors at Breitscheidplatz.
Close to this wonderful church people may visit several further temples where they indulge mammon and consumption. I’m talking about the buildings of Commerzbank, Europe Center and the KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens,very famous and luxurious department store). In the last ones tourists are looking for bargain buys or souvenirs for those who stayed at home. From here most of the visitors start walking along Ku’damm, rambling through all the precious boutiques. Maybe you dont’t want to live in this noisy and bustling part of Berlin but as a tourist you can’t get enough of all the exciting impresions. That’s why you should always leave a suitcase – at least mentally – in Berlin. (This refers to a song of Marlene Dietrich: There’s still one of my suitcases in Berlin, that’s why I have to go there again. All happy moments of the past are still inside this little case….)
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- Berlin
Christmas is approaching and you can find cookie cutters of all sizes and forms. Some of them found their way into my basket and back home I immediately tried them for a short pastry recipe. Mix all ingredients at room temperature with the dough hooks of your food processor and let rest for about 30 minutes. Then unroll the pastry and cut out as many cookies as possible. For those you don’t want to coat with chocolate later you may whisk an egg yolk with some milk and apply it on the cookies. Then spread some coarse sugar on top. The cookies then should stay in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180°C. Those without sugar can be coated with melted chocolate as soon as they cooled down. Put them in a cellophane bag, add the printed recipe as well as the cookie cutter and ready is the cutest little present for beloved friends.
Those who love Amarettini should immediately try these dough pastry snails. In summer I already tried a recipe with them and some raspberries. This time I tried a recipe with apricot jam and mascarpone cream. For the pastry mix flour, sugar, egg, yeast and a dash of salt in a large bowl. All ingredients should have room temperature. Blend carefully and pour milk successively until the pastry is soft and smooth. Finally add the melted butter. Let rest for at least 20 minutes. Mascarpone, egg, sugar and custard powder should be mixed for the filling. Then unreel the pastry, cover it with the apricot jam and then with the mascarpone cream. The Amarettini are to be crumbled with the rolling pin in a freezer bag. Then spread them over the cream and roll up the pastry beginning at the long side. Cut your roll in slices of half an inch. Lay them on a baking tray covered with parchment paper and bake in the oven at 400°F for about 20-25 minutes. When snails are lightly brown place them on a rack to cool down. For serving disperse some powdered sugar on top.
