Orbital, by Samantha Harvey

Raw space is a panther, feral and primal.

The 2024 Man Booker Prize went by unanimous decision to Orbital by Samantha Harvey. At 136 pages it is one of the shortest ever Booker prize-winners. It is an unusual book, fiction but not a conventional novel as it has only a very rudimentary plot. It follows six fictional astronauts over twenty-four hours on an orbiting international space station. The astronauts, from America, Russia, Italy, the UK and Japan are there to do vital work. Their days keep to a rigid pattern: preparing dehydrated meals, following a strict exercise routine to prevent muscle atrophy,  monitoring the effects of zero gravity on the mice, routine repairs and maintenance and occasional space walks.

As they travel at speeds of over 17.000 miles per hour, they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times in a single day, spinning past continents and passing through seasons, taking in the beauty of mountains, glaciers and seas. Although separated from their world, they cannot escape its pull as news comes from home bringing thoughts of their eventual return. They watch a typhoon, marvelling at its magnificence but fearful of the destruction it brings. They become increasingly aware of the fragility of human life – so far from Earth, they have never felt more part of it. It has been described as ‘mesmerising, ethereal and tender’, a beautifully written mediation on human aspirations and limitations.

Some of us had to get used to the lack of plot and character development and would agree with the Guardian reviewer that’ ‘thrilled reports of light effects start to fall a little flat’. Nevertheless, we found it enjoyable and worthwhile while the rhythms of the writing made it a compelling read.

Our next book is Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent.

Heather Mines

Foreign Affairs, by Alison Lurie

‘How much nicer and less boring it would be if we were all still children.’

Our book this month was Alison Lurie’s Foreign Affairs (1984), winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, also described as a perfect literary rom com.

Lurie herself was an academic at Cornell University. Like Vinnie Miner, her main character, she was a specialist in children’s literature and folk lore. In the early 1980’s she attended London University Institute of Education on a Fellowship and Foreign Affairs was a result of that time.

The novel is about two American academics who also came to London on a Foundation Grant to further their research. Vinnie, the main character of the novel is researching children’s playground rhymes and Fred Turner is writing a PhD on John Gay. Vinnie is plain and middle-aged and, although academically successful, suffers from self-doubt and self-pity which pursues her in the form of an imaginary dog called Fido.

Fred on the other hand is young and extremely handsome, an up and coming academic suffering from a rift in his marriage. Both characters become involved in romantic attachments. Vinnie with Chuck, a brash Texan engineer, who to her dismay is sat next to her on the flight to England.

Initially Chuck is everything that Vinnie despises about Americans, from his naivety, his lack of education, his wide hat and fringed jacket, and, above all, his plastic raincoat. However, as their paths in London cross and she comes to know him better, she is drawn to his generous spirit and surprising sensitivity and insight and they become lovers.

Vinnie herself is just the opposite – a confirmed Anglophile, staying in a tasteful Notting Hill flat. Now resigned to a single life, she has ordered things as she likes them. Perhaps not totally likeable, a bit of a kleptomaniac at moments of stress or unhappiness, taken for granted by others who think that as a single woman she is always available to help them. Chuck is her first experience who sees beyond the waspish exterior and loves for herself.

The novel is full of humour, in fact book club members described it as great fun and hilarious. I particularly liked the scene in which Vinnie first encounters Chuck sitting next to her on the plane and to keep him from disturbing her she gives him Little Lord Fauntleroy to read and to her surprise he finishes it.

It is not hard to detect the influence of Henry James – there are references to him and the novel echoes James’s own theme of the naïve American encountering the more sophisticated and duplicitous European. Fred’s actress lover is such a character, although there is a twist In this story.  We enjoyed the novel – the scenes of London in the 80’s, the humour as well as the sadness. We recommend it,

Next month: Confession With Blue Horses by Sophie Hardac

French Hats in Iran by Heydar Radjavi

“ ‘They have removed our hats’, an Iranian way of saying ‘we have been cheated’

 ‘They have put hats on our heads’, another Iranian way of saying, we have been cheated’”.

 We have been reading French Hats in Iran (2011) by Heydar Radjavi, a mathematician of some repute born in 1935 and now living in Canada with his Canadian wife. He has always had a   love of literature although he is best known for his work on obscure mathematical subjects. However, he also loved to tell stories about his early life in Tobriz until he lived until he went to university, and his wife and children urged him to publish them, and this collection of mini tales is the result.

Each story can be read independently but together they build up a picture of everyday life in Iran in the ‘30s and ‘40s – a time of tension between the traditionalists and the Shah’s attempts to modernise.

The French hats (Frangi) symbolise this conflict. The Shah forbade both men and women to cover their heads and had policemen on motor scooters to enforce this. They were, however, allowed to wear the modern French hats although most women preferred to stay indoors rather than expose their faces. The theme of hats and head coverings runs through many of the stories.

Radjavi has brought his childhood vividly to life with all the humour and contradictions of growing up in a strict traditionalist family. His elderly father ran his household according to unbending religious precepts, but his resourceful mother and her friends found ways to enjoy such forbidden frivolities as music and dancing and to eat sweetmeats and engage in gossip and laughter together. There is humour in the way the fundamentalists tied themselves up in knots over religious rules – is a woman’s wig ahead covering, or not? for instance. Do animals depicted in art have souls?

One of the most shocking tales is the first one, in which his nine-year-old playmate is married (illegally) and had to leave her own family to live in seclusion with her groom’s family. She cried passionately for her pet cat which her strict father-in-law would not allow because he considered it unclean. The marriage however turned out to be a happy one with a gradual relaxation of rules after her father-in-law’s death until here granddaughters are able to go to university and wear Western clothes.

These are stories of a largely happy childhood in which he and his friends are inventive in finding ways to subvert the rules and enjoy themselves. Forbidden to go to the movies, they discover how to make their own film show much appreciated by their mother and the other women. It is a rich and loving enorinmen. The tone is light-hearted and humorous and sheds light on what is happening in Iran today. It can be dipped in and out of and is easy and pleasant to read.

 

Hadlow Down Book Club reviews Confessions with Blue Horses

‘They have built a new stone wall right through Berlin.’

This month we read Confessions with Blue Horses (2020), shortlisted for the Costa Book Award written by Sophie Hardach. It was a book we all enjoyed very much. Born a decade before reunification, Hardach grew up near Frankfurt in West Germany, but her novel focuses on an East German family.

In 2010 Ella and her brother Tobi live in England although their childhoods were spent in East Berlin. In an extended family which included her maternal grandparents (Oma and Opa). They have happy memories despite the grim poverty of the city – poor food, crumbling buildings, only books and pictures which adhere to the Party line. Nevertheless, Ella remembers the warmth and love – her academic impractical parents, her staunch Socialist Oma and the meals she conjures out of very little, and she especially remembers her lovely little brother Haiku aged only two.

Then it all ends, for her parents ill-advisedly attempted to escape over the Hungarian border. They were caught, her father was shot, her mother imprisoned, and little Haiku was taken from them and given to a loyal Communist couple.

Now Ella’s mother has died and Ella given a bundle of papers relating to the past, opening up mysteries which Ella determines to solve and continue the quest to find Haiko. She travels to an almost unrecognisable Berlin and, with the help of Aaron an intern at the newly opened Stasi Centre, finds fragments which show what her mother had to endure with accounts of interrogations and the prisons she was in.

Hannach skilfully handles her plot – weaving past and present together as well as the sub-plot about Aaron. It is a slow burn of a book; the truth is gradually revealed, and the grim details are filtered through Aaron and Ella’s eyes as they piece the shredded archive fragments together.

She makes a vivid comparison between the lively colourful modern city and what it once was – in fact Ella has difficulty in finding her old home. Nevertheless, shades of the past remain – Stasi loyalists infiltrate guided tours of the prison and cause trouble; Stasi members still work in the Stasi Archives sifting and sorting the papers and Ella is able to meet the prison guard and also her mother’s interrogator who are living comfortable lives. I particularly liked the contrast between the bleak repressive regime and the warmth and love of Ella’s family, past and present. It was an enjoyable and readable book on a subject rarely written about. One reviewer called it a ‘life affirming book’ and it is one we would recommend.

🏆🏵The Summer Show Returns!🏵🏆

🌻 The Hadlow Down Summer Show Returns! 🌻
Saturday 2nd August | Village Hall

We’re thrilled to announce that the much-loved Hadlow Down Summer Show is making a triumphant return to the village calendar!

With the recent and sad closure of the Horticultural Society, you might have thought the days of showing off your prize dahlias, giant marrows, and crafty creations were over. But fear not! Thanks to a group of determined and plucky villagers, the tradition lives on – and it’s shaping up to be better than ever.

Taking place on Saturday 2nd August in the Village Hall, this year’s Summer Show is open to everyone, and we’ve introduced some exciting new classes alongside all your old favourites.

🌼 For the green-fingered and creative at heart:

  • Show off your blooms, veg, flower arrangements, and handmade crafts

  • Try your hand at new 2025 classes like infused gin and homemade wine

  • Crafters – get ready to create a doorstop or something in tie-dye

🧒 For our younger showstoppers, we’ve added fantastic new children’s classes across three age groups:

  • Under 6s, 7–10 years, and 11-14 years

  • Get creative with wooden spoon puppets, an alien made from fruit or vegetables, or a decorated picture frame

🎟️ And it doesn’t stop there! Expect:

  • An exciting raffle with brilliant prizes

  • An auction of donated exhibits for some lively bidding fun

So, whether you’re a master grower, a crafty genius, or just love a bit of community spirit, save the date and get involved. It’s a celebration of all the talent, creativity, and heart that makes Hadlow Down such a special place.

Keep an eye out for entry forms and full details coming soon – and start planning your entries now!

🧀Join Us for a Dramatically Cheesy Quiz Night!🧀


Friday 26th April | 7:00pm | Hadlow Down Village Hall

The Hadlow Down Drama & Variety Club invites you to an evening of fun, food, and a touch of drama at our Dramatically Cheesy Quiz!

Tables are going fast for this lively quiz night, taking place on Friday 26th April at 7:00pm in the Village Hall. For just £10 per person, you’ll enjoy a Cheese and Pâté Ploughman’s supper, a fun-filled quiz with a theatrical twist, and access to our pay bar to keep the good times flowing.

Expect laughter, friendly competition, and a great evening out with friends and neighbours – the perfect way to shake off the April blues!

So gather your team and come along for a night of fun, friendship, and good food – all served with a generous helping of drama.

To book your table, please contact Claire at 📧 claire.rivers61@gmail.com – we’d love to see you there!

Book Club Review – September

‘Jewish is a way of seeing the world, a strong consistent background theme.’

Our book this month is Going Home by Tom Lamont 2024. It is set in the Jewish community in Enfield and centres on Joel, an articulate two-year-old whose mother dies leaving him in the care of her friend Teo. It is about the four adults who take on responsibility for him in their own way. Teo who has moved away from the community to a job in the police force and a flat in Aldgate is the responsible one who takes on the grieving youngster and  learns to care for him and love him. Then there is Ben, the feckless rich boy, the opposite of Teo but also his best friend, and Vic, Teo’s father, dying of a degenerative condition and determined that Joel will not grow up in the care of the Social Services as he once did. Finally, Sybil, the only woman of the four and a progressive rabbi trying in vain to reform the intransigent members of her synagogue. All of them interact with Joel in their own way and find their lives challenged and enriched by him Continue reading “Book Club Review – September”

‘Painting with Plants’ – Wine & Buffet Evening

Last chance for Hadlow Down HS members to get a preferential opportunity for tickets  before they go on sale to the general public!
A Horticultural Society presentation not to be missed!

Chris Beardshaw was born and grew up in Broad Green, near Broadwas, Worcestershire.   He was formally trained in horticulture at Pershore College, and holds a BA Hons and PGDip in landscape architecture from the University of Gloucestershire.  He has won 35 prestigious design awards, including 12 RHS Gold Medals.  He has also been voted for the People’s Choice Award six times, most recently in 2023.
His first TV appearance was in 1999 as the expert on Surprise Gardeners for Carlton TV. After this, he moved to the BBC TV and Real Rakeovers as the expert contributor.  His first show as solo presenter was Weekend Gardener for UKTV Style in 2000. Also in 2000, he co-presented Gardening Neighbours for BBC 2. This was followed by three series of Housecall.  After this, he joined Gardeners’ World Live as a specialist presenter, and then soon moved on to become a presenter on Gardeners World. 
Beardshaw presented The Flying Gardener series for BBC2, which ran for four series. He currently presents Beechgrove and is a regular panel member on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners Question Time .
The Chris Beardshaw Rose was launched at the Hampton Court Show in July 2007. Scented with soft pink blooms, the new rose was produced by international rose specialist C&K Jones. Chris specifically asked for a donation (£2.50) to be made to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) for every rose sold.
He holds an Honorary Degree from Liverpool University and is an Honorary Fellow of Gloucester University and in 2017 was awarded the Kew Guild Gold Award.

Raffle Extravaganza !

Raffle tickets are available to purchase NOW! At only £1 per ticket and with every penny raised going back to Village organisations, it’s a fantastic way to support all our brilliant local projects, groups, volunteers and participants.
Contact Avril on 07812 188871 to secure your tickets Prizes will be drawn at the Fayre on Saturday September 7th 2024

Hadlow Down Book Club August Review

 

A kid is a terrible thing to be, in charge of nothing’ 

Recently we read the childhood of David Copperfield and then compared it to Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver’s novel inspired by her hero Dickens but set in the rust belt of Appalachia and exploring contemporary issues. It was a co-recipient of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and winner of the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Like Dckens, she lays bare and makes an impassioned criticism of social injustice, cruelty and incompetence of those who should be helping children,  Continue reading “Hadlow Down Book Club August Review”