Officer Training: approximation of a playlist §37

Officers and other ranks

Private Investigation - Dire Straits
I Left My Heart In Papworth General - Half Man Half Biscuit
The ordinary boys – Morrissey
Inner flight [lieutenant] – Primal Scream
I Won’t Back Down Tom Petty [Officer] & The Heartbreakers
Nightshift - Commodores
Dancing in the city – [Field] Marshall Hain
From No Strings Attached – Captain Scarlet Theme – Barry Gray
Generals and Majors – XTC
Dance commander – Electric Six
Do That To Me One More Time - Captain & Tennille
Private Eyes – Hall & Oates
Me And The Major – Belle & Sebastian
January – Pilot
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – Beatles
Where’s Captain Kirk – Spizz Energi

Gilead – dull beyond belief

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

I really didn’t enjoy this. I struggled along until around the half way mark and simply couldn’t abide any more and gave up. Oh dear.

More Wallander action

Firewall, One Step Behind by Henning Mankell

I’m growing to like these books more and more. There is a depth and richness to the characterisation, particularly of Wallander himself, which make for an entertaining ride.

The contrast between the complex, challenging and frequently gruesome cases Wallander has to deal with and the routine difficulties of everyday life from doing the washing to sorting out car trouble (as well as more metaphysical problems) is particularly compelling.

Have only seen one of the BBC TV adaptations so far but intend to catch up in due course.

Fanatical doings

The Fanatic by James Robertson

It is Spring 1997 and Hugh Hardie needs a ghost for his Tours of Old Edinburgh. Andrew Carlin is the perfect candidate. So, with cape, stick and a plastic rat, Carlin is paid to pretend to be the spirit of Colonel Weir and to scare the tourists. But who is Colonel Weir, executed for witchcraft in 1670. In his research, Carlin is drawn into the past, in particular to James Mitchel, the fanatic and co-congregationist of Weir’s, who was tried in 1676 for the attempted assassination of the Archbishop of St Andrews, James Sharp. Through the story of two moments in history, The Fanatic is an extraordinary history of Scotland. It is also the story of betrayals, witch hunts, Puritan exiles, stolen meetings, lost memories, smuggled journeys and talking mirrors which will confirm James Robertson as a distinctive and original Scottish writer.

A really terrific book this which convincingly portrays 17th Century Scotland in all its madness. Particularly enjoyed references to the Bass Rock (see picture at top of blog above). Some of the older Scots (and a little of the more contemporary) is a bit of a challenge in places but well worth sticking with.

Strongly recommended.