A trip to Bristol, Bath, Stratford, Hong Kong...

Hello,

I am so sorry about the lack of posts recently.


Last week I went to England for a few days to attend a wedding and do some sightseeing. We flew into Bristol and I spent a fun day there shopping in Cabot Circus. We also spent a day in Bath which was the part of the trip I was most looking forward to. I was not disappointed. I loved the Jane Austen museum and the Roman Baths but the best part for me was just walking around the city and admiring the lovely architecture. We also went to Stratford where we went to see a Shakespeare play of course! The play we went to see was The Winter’s Tale. It was enjoyable and I am really glad I went to see it. The weather when we were there was pretty mixed but we had a bright sunny day for the wedding which was lovely.

When I was away I finished reading ‘The Piano Teacher’ by Janice Y.K Lee. Initially I found this book hard going and a little slow. However once I got into it I really enjoyed it. The book is set in Hong Kong during the 1940’s and 50’s and tells the story of Hong Kong before, during and after the war. I am really interested in history and particularly enjoy reading novels set at important periods in history because I feel they really give an insight into what life was like for people rather than just stating the facts. I find the characters in these types of books stay in my mind for a long time afterwards. ‘The Piano Teacher’ was compared to ‘Atonement’ on the front cover and this is one of the reasons I picked it up. I can certainly see the similarities as both books are love stories set against a background of war. I have been to Hong Kong before but after reading this book I would really like to return because I feel I know so much more about the place now. I think Hong Kong has such an interesting history. I am now reading ‘Mother of the Bride’ by Marita Conlon McKenna. It is such an easy read and very different to ‘The Piano Teacher’ but enjoyable in its own way.