I’m seeking them all out, Helen! I’d known nothing about the character when I picked up this book, but thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her. The book works really well as a standalone story despite being part of a series.
A while ago I read the second in the series of lighthearted crime novels by another British author, and was enjoying it and looking forward to reading the first. Turns out there’s no need… because of all the plot spoilers for it in the second! Oh well. 🤣
Mind you, I still reread all of my favourite Agatha Christies often - with great enjoyment - so knowing the ending in advance isn’t always a bad thing, I suppose!
American usage of Britishisms sometimes go wrong in an amusing way, like when an American asked me if she could address an audience as Ladies and Blokes. I suppose that's no worse than my usurping of "y'all"!
Admirable post, Rebecca, jollification personified, and an excellent mystery.
I think there should be books of Rebecca "Discovery Mysteries" -- on the same shelf as Pargetter, Christie and Doyle. Vol. One: "Found Shopping Lists". Vol. Two: "Found Books". Vol. Three: "Found Maps". Vol. Four: "Found Teabags". I love the way your mind immediately begins a sort of forensic detection, examining and parsing out clues to build a back story. I don't know anyone else who does that and it is so entertaining!
Sharron, I’m laughing at loud at this - thank you so much! I’d forgotten about the found teabag post! I’m going to link to it here in case anybody passing might find it of interest:
I really enjoy writing about things like this. There is much to enjoy in everyday stuff - but heck, you do exactly the same! Your bus journey accounts are incredible! xxx
I read so much of this post aloud to my Jim and we both chuckled. Your attention to detail combined with Rebecca wit had me smiling from start to finish. It IS a mystery how a book from a state not far from mine, ended up in your campsite. 😁 The book's journey would make good reading!
I’m wondering whether I should write that story, Mary! I always feel I write better from life than from my imagination, though. Should I give it a go? 🫣
Yes, Rebecca, yes! Give it a go! Let your heart by your guide. Because it’s you writing, and your imagination, heart, mind, and soul behind it all, let it flow courageously! ❤️
As a dedicated reader who did my traveling prior to ebooks, I frequently purchased books in used bookstores, then left them wherever I was when I was done. I can easily imagine your book being purchased in Louisiana by either a British traveler who then took it home, or by a local who was planning a trip to Great Britain and wanted appropriate reading matter.
Oh gosh yes, Kerry, both of those scenarios are equally possible! I love the little shelves of secondhand books at campsites - people can take one in exchange for a contribution to the charity tin, or sometimes it’s a book swap, where you leave one and take one. And sometimes it’s both - so you get charged, say, 50p if you’re exchanging, or £1 if you don’t have a book to leave behind. I’m wondering, actually, whether campsite bookshelf books have a life of simply circulating different campsites? There might be books which have only ever KNOWN a camping lifestyle? Oh gosh, that’s a story right there! xxx
Small world, isn't it. And prize twit would probably still have been used, although on the way out, by 1993 when the book was written. Changes in spoken language are always faster than the written words. Fun investigation of this book, Rebecca.
There's my friend, Rebecca Sherlock Holden forensically examining things that we ignore because they're in plain sight! She's amazing!
I love British terms - prize twit, bollocks, knackered, blimey, Blighty (okay, I watch too many war things - Foyle, Rogue Heroes etc!). I'd love a whole phrasebook!
As always, I am amused with your wonderful writing skill and style. I learned something today about how much a “stone” weighs! I’d much rather say I weigh 12s than—er, well, you can do the math in your head, I had to use a writing utensil and a scrap of paper.
As for the “Bloody awful” and “Prize twits”…
“How was the news today dear?”
“Oh, you know, the usual—bloody awful, and all about the one Orange prize twit!”
HA!!!!!!!!!! Your last line made me spill my tea, Gail!
I don’t know why we use stone over here whereas in the US you use pounds, when we have pounds, too! I remember reading a UK-published slimming magazine yonks ago when someone had written to the letters page to say that they lived in the US and wanted clarification as to what a stone was. The answer, very helpfully - NOT! - was something like ‘12 stone is about 76 kilos’. 🙄
I learned all about kilo’s during my early hippie years.
Shhhh, don’t tell anybody, 🤫but back when “Pot” was illegal here in all the states, ahem… my mom and I and my young son, were commissioned to transport 10 kilo’s of it in a large duffel bag in the trunk of her car from one place to another about an hour away. Now who would have ever suspected a grandma, with her daughter and infant son. We got paid $200 for our effort. A lot of money back in 1974! 🤭
Truth be told, I never was real keen on smoking it, however, I did grow a few plants on my property here in Maine where it’s legal now for making salves out of it. That’s the herbalist in me.
Library staff here! I'd say c.2 is most definitely Copy 2 and most likely a replacement! Similarly, the notation of price is perhaps what the library paid, and therefore if a patron had to replace through a dog-worrying/dropped in puddle etc. they would be charged what the library originally paid. (Indeed, this may explain the c. 2!) Anyway, just my thoughts as I've worked in libraries on both sides of the Pond ( Canada and Isle of Man. Entertaining sleuthing regardless, Rebecca!!
Oh wow, it’s great to hear your insider’s view on how these things work, Sue - that’s brilliant! I hadn’t thought of the showing the price as being directly related to what the customer would be charged - although of course it makes perfect sense, because that would be the library’s cost of replacing it!
Thank you so much! xxx
(And now of course you’ve got me wondering what might have happened to the library’s ORIGINAL copy of the title? Maybe there’s a story there, too!)
Well, based on the age and size of the book, I estimate it would take it about 5 years of non-stop walking to make its way back to the place it thought of as home. Since I'm sure it stopped to rest, eat, and spend time with welcoming families along the way, it probably hasn't been back in the UK very long. Maybe it's been enjoying a bit of a break from all that walking. Can you detect any remnants of a southern drawl? 😉
Gosh, that sounds like a VERY long journey - and a wet one, too, with the Atlantic in the way! Just this week I’ve been looking into how jolly vast the USA is - I’m so naïve - I expressed surprise the other day when we were watching a TV show and a character was talking about taking flights between cities in the same state……
‘How big IS California, then?’ I asked Jim, wondering why she couldn’t just nip to LA from San Francisco quickly in the car after breakfast, back before lunch. 🤦♀️
On the basis of that I’ve started brainstorming a post. I shall likely be calling it ‘British, with no sense of scale’!
This is the best! I know you appear to be an artist but were actually born a detective. You pursue so many mysteries that, to the rest of us, would slip away in the chaos of daily living. This essay reminds us to keep our eyes, and our curious mind, wide open.
Oh Rebecca, do you think Mrs. Pargetter is related to the late lamented Nigel Pargetter, of Ambridge, whose blood curdling scream as he plummeted from the roof of Lower Loxley Hall haunts me still?
I have before me an ex library copy of Richard Mabey's 'Weeds' but sadly it has escaped only from Brent Libraries, and despite the fact that I purchased it from a reputable online purveyor of second hand books, it does *not* bear any stamp confirming its withdrawal from stock.
It was due back in 2012 though, so one thing's for certain - I'm not taking it in!
Oh gosh, now, that’s taking me back! I grew up listening to The Archers, and even thought that was an episode from my adulthood, gosh, I know how you feel!
I’m giggling about your Richard Mabey book, and agree that yes, you’d better steer clear of Brent Libraries! The fine on it might well be ENORMOUS…..! 🤣
I remember that episode of More or Less! 'The Scream' was an ongoing topic of conversation for days long before the BBC became so proficient at self promotion that they appear to run commercials, though only for themselves!
I listened to The Archers for decades, but have lost touch over the last few years. I keep telling myself I'll go back to it. I know it's changed, but I do feel it's a part of English life and if it were to disappear, I would feel culpable.
LOL! Nigel was much missed - he was such a great character. I remember him from his ‘Mr Snowy’ ice cream man days, and when he accidentally misled Phil into thinking he was asking him for Shula’s hand in marriage! 🤣
Like you I tuned out of regular Archers listening some time ago - I think it would take me a while to get to know all the characters if I started again now. Mind you, the beauty of a soap opera IS that you can dip in and out, so, well, maybe I’ll check in again!
A wonderful mystery. I love the way your mind works. Super sleuth Rebecca. Beautifully done. A fun read. Thanks so much.
Thank you so much, Beth! I do wonder about my mind going off down these rabbit holes, though… I find things like this fascinating! 😁
I loved the first Mrs Pargetter story and have the others lined up on my Kindle for reading in due course.
I’m seeking them all out, Helen! I’d known nothing about the character when I picked up this book, but thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her. The book works really well as a standalone story despite being part of a series.
A while ago I read the second in the series of lighthearted crime novels by another British author, and was enjoying it and looking forward to reading the first. Turns out there’s no need… because of all the plot spoilers for it in the second! Oh well. 🤣
Mind you, I still reread all of my favourite Agatha Christies often - with great enjoyment - so knowing the ending in advance isn’t always a bad thing, I suppose!
American usage of Britishisms sometimes go wrong in an amusing way, like when an American asked me if she could address an audience as Ladies and Blokes. I suppose that's no worse than my usurping of "y'all"!
Admirable post, Rebecca, jollification personified, and an excellent mystery.
‘Ladies and blokes’ - oh Terry, that’s absolutely brilliant! 🤣🤣🤣
And thank you so much. Jollification is my middle name! 🤪
Really? You should have a word with your ma and pa about that. 🤔
Yeah…… 🙄
I think there should be books of Rebecca "Discovery Mysteries" -- on the same shelf as Pargetter, Christie and Doyle. Vol. One: "Found Shopping Lists". Vol. Two: "Found Books". Vol. Three: "Found Maps". Vol. Four: "Found Teabags". I love the way your mind immediately begins a sort of forensic detection, examining and parsing out clues to build a back story. I don't know anyone else who does that and it is so entertaining!
Sharron, I’m laughing at loud at this - thank you so much! I’d forgotten about the found teabag post! I’m going to link to it here in case anybody passing might find it of interest:
https://rebeccaholden.substack.com/p/80-lucky-litter
I really enjoy writing about things like this. There is much to enjoy in everyday stuff - but heck, you do exactly the same! Your bus journey accounts are incredible! xxx
I read so much of this post aloud to my Jim and we both chuckled. Your attention to detail combined with Rebecca wit had me smiling from start to finish. It IS a mystery how a book from a state not far from mine, ended up in your campsite. 😁 The book's journey would make good reading!
I’m wondering whether I should write that story, Mary! I always feel I write better from life than from my imagination, though. Should I give it a go? 🫣
Yes, Rebecca, yes! Give it a go! Let your heart by your guide. Because it’s you writing, and your imagination, heart, mind, and soul behind it all, let it flow courageously! ❤️
Awwww! Gonna do it! xxx
Hooray!! You go, RH!!
As a dedicated reader who did my traveling prior to ebooks, I frequently purchased books in used bookstores, then left them wherever I was when I was done. I can easily imagine your book being purchased in Louisiana by either a British traveler who then took it home, or by a local who was planning a trip to Great Britain and wanted appropriate reading matter.
Oh gosh yes, Kerry, both of those scenarios are equally possible! I love the little shelves of secondhand books at campsites - people can take one in exchange for a contribution to the charity tin, or sometimes it’s a book swap, where you leave one and take one. And sometimes it’s both - so you get charged, say, 50p if you’re exchanging, or £1 if you don’t have a book to leave behind. I’m wondering, actually, whether campsite bookshelf books have a life of simply circulating different campsites? There might be books which have only ever KNOWN a camping lifestyle? Oh gosh, that’s a story right there! xxx
Small world, isn't it. And prize twit would probably still have been used, although on the way out, by 1993 when the book was written. Changes in spoken language are always faster than the written words. Fun investigation of this book, Rebecca.
Oh yes, that’s a good point - styles of language evolve just like everything else! Thanks so much for reading, Sue! x
There's my friend, Rebecca Sherlock Holden forensically examining things that we ignore because they're in plain sight! She's amazing!
I love British terms - prize twit, bollocks, knackered, blimey, Blighty (okay, I watch too many war things - Foyle, Rogue Heroes etc!). I'd love a whole phrasebook!
Ha! This has really made me laugh, Prue - you’ve picked some of my very, very favourite words here! 🤣
As always, I am amused with your wonderful writing skill and style. I learned something today about how much a “stone” weighs! I’d much rather say I weigh 12s than—er, well, you can do the math in your head, I had to use a writing utensil and a scrap of paper.
As for the “Bloody awful” and “Prize twits”…
“How was the news today dear?”
“Oh, you know, the usual—bloody awful, and all about the one Orange prize twit!”
HA!!!!!!!!!! Your last line made me spill my tea, Gail!
I don’t know why we use stone over here whereas in the US you use pounds, when we have pounds, too! I remember reading a UK-published slimming magazine yonks ago when someone had written to the letters page to say that they lived in the US and wanted clarification as to what a stone was. The answer, very helpfully - NOT! - was something like ‘12 stone is about 76 kilos’. 🙄
I learned all about kilo’s during my early hippie years.
Shhhh, don’t tell anybody, 🤫but back when “Pot” was illegal here in all the states, ahem… my mom and I and my young son, were commissioned to transport 10 kilo’s of it in a large duffel bag in the trunk of her car from one place to another about an hour away. Now who would have ever suspected a grandma, with her daughter and infant son. We got paid $200 for our effort. A lot of money back in 1974! 🤭
Truth be told, I never was real keen on smoking it, however, I did grow a few plants on my property here in Maine where it’s legal now for making salves out of it. That’s the herbalist in me.
Ha! Of course! I hadn’t thought of kilos in that context!
‘That’s the herbalist in me’ is a line which can be used to explain so many situations, Gail! 🤣🤣🤣
Library staff here! I'd say c.2 is most definitely Copy 2 and most likely a replacement! Similarly, the notation of price is perhaps what the library paid, and therefore if a patron had to replace through a dog-worrying/dropped in puddle etc. they would be charged what the library originally paid. (Indeed, this may explain the c. 2!) Anyway, just my thoughts as I've worked in libraries on both sides of the Pond ( Canada and Isle of Man. Entertaining sleuthing regardless, Rebecca!!
Oh wow, it’s great to hear your insider’s view on how these things work, Sue - that’s brilliant! I hadn’t thought of the showing the price as being directly related to what the customer would be charged - although of course it makes perfect sense, because that would be the library’s cost of replacing it!
Thank you so much! xxx
(And now of course you’ve got me wondering what might have happened to the library’s ORIGINAL copy of the title? Maybe there’s a story there, too!)
Well, based on the age and size of the book, I estimate it would take it about 5 years of non-stop walking to make its way back to the place it thought of as home. Since I'm sure it stopped to rest, eat, and spend time with welcoming families along the way, it probably hasn't been back in the UK very long. Maybe it's been enjoying a bit of a break from all that walking. Can you detect any remnants of a southern drawl? 😉
Delightful read, Rebecca. I love your curiosity!
Gosh, that sounds like a VERY long journey - and a wet one, too, with the Atlantic in the way! Just this week I’ve been looking into how jolly vast the USA is - I’m so naïve - I expressed surprise the other day when we were watching a TV show and a character was talking about taking flights between cities in the same state……
‘How big IS California, then?’ I asked Jim, wondering why she couldn’t just nip to LA from San Francisco quickly in the car after breakfast, back before lunch. 🤦♀️
On the basis of that I’ve started brainstorming a post. I shall likely be calling it ‘British, with no sense of scale’!
😂
This is the best! I know you appear to be an artist but were actually born a detective. You pursue so many mysteries that, to the rest of us, would slip away in the chaos of daily living. This essay reminds us to keep our eyes, and our curious mind, wide open.
LOL - that’s ever so kind of you, Donna - thank you! I love writing stuff like this - it’s always such fun! 😁
(Haven’t made any art for far too long - I’m going to be rectifying that very soon thanks to this kind - and very welcome! - prompt from you!) 😘
Oh Rebecca, do you think Mrs. Pargetter is related to the late lamented Nigel Pargetter, of Ambridge, whose blood curdling scream as he plummeted from the roof of Lower Loxley Hall haunts me still?
I have before me an ex library copy of Richard Mabey's 'Weeds' but sadly it has escaped only from Brent Libraries, and despite the fact that I purchased it from a reputable online purveyor of second hand books, it does *not* bear any stamp confirming its withdrawal from stock.
It was due back in 2012 though, so one thing's for certain - I'm not taking it in!
Oh gosh, now, that’s taking me back! I grew up listening to The Archers, and even thought that was an episode from my adulthood, gosh, I know how you feel!
I remember the episode of ‘More or Less’ (about analysing various statistics and mathematics of life) broadcast a few days after Nigel had fallen from the roof - they’d worked out from the length of the scream that was broadcast that Lower Loxley must be 20 storeys high. You can read the working out here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fradio4%2F2011%2F01%2Fcalculating_the_height_of_loxley_hall.html
I’m giggling about your Richard Mabey book, and agree that yes, you’d better steer clear of Brent Libraries! The fine on it might well be ENORMOUS…..! 🤣
I remember that episode of More or Less! 'The Scream' was an ongoing topic of conversation for days long before the BBC became so proficient at self promotion that they appear to run commercials, though only for themselves!
I listened to The Archers for decades, but have lost touch over the last few years. I keep telling myself I'll go back to it. I know it's changed, but I do feel it's a part of English life and if it were to disappear, I would feel culpable.
LOL! Nigel was much missed - he was such a great character. I remember him from his ‘Mr Snowy’ ice cream man days, and when he accidentally misled Phil into thinking he was asking him for Shula’s hand in marriage! 🤣
Like you I tuned out of regular Archers listening some time ago - I think it would take me a while to get to know all the characters if I started again now. Mind you, the beauty of a soap opera IS that you can dip in and out, so, well, maybe I’ll check in again!