January 2013 - A New Year Quote

"And what does January hold? Clean account books. Bare diaries.Three Hundred and sixty-five new days,neatly parceled into weeks, months, seasons. A chunk of time, of life...those first notes like an orchestra tuning up before the play begins!"  from Country Bouquet (1947) by Phyllis Nicholson

British Birds and Their Nests -Ladybird Book Series 536

 Ladybird Books British Birds and Their Nests Ladybird Series 536 - First Edition

 WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT?

British Birds - nests - bird eggs - trees - hedges - Yellowhammer - Skylark - Wren - Robin - Blue Tit - Long-tailed Tit - Bullfinch - Linnet - Jay - Starling - Magpie - Blackbird - Song Thrush - Goldfinch - Willow Warbler - House Martin - Turtle Dove - Green Woodpecker - Pied Wagtail - Kingfisher - Brown Owl - Partridge - Moorhen - Black-headed Gull

"This, children, is a new book about British birds and their nests. All the birds are common ones, and Allen Seaby has given you lovely coloured pictures, to enable you to recognise each of the birds when you see them.

I have tried to tell you a little about each bird, so that you will know where and how they live; what the bird is when you see it, and you can only do that by watching and keeping your eyes open. So you want to look at these lovely pictures very closely, and then go out and see how many of the birds in this book you can find. You can try their nests as well, but if you do, do not take the eggs - just look at them.

Good Hunting"

 This copy complies with the following First Edition issue points for collectors : "Hardback book issued with dust-wrapper. Original price 2'6 Net. The title text on the dust-wrapper is white (later edition were in blue or black ink). Catalogue page at the rear of the book."

About Ladybird Series 536

Ladybird published 27 titles in series 536 between 1940 and 1980 inclusive. The first 14 titles were originally published with dust-wrapper and had the original price of 2'6 Net.

This was a hugely popular series as it explored the wonders of nature - each title has been reprinted numerous times throughout the years retaining the wonderful illustrations that accompanied the easy-to-read text

 Ladybird Books British Birds and Their Nests Ladybird Series 536 - First Edition

Author: Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald
Illustrator: Allen W Seaby
Publisher: Wills & Hepworth
First Published: 1953

 This is a Ladybird Tuesday Post hosted by Being Mrs C

Weekend Read - The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp by Charles Terrot

"On a certain Monday in May, business was very slack in Mr. Webman's second-hand store. Just before closing time, however, there came into the shop the most beautiful girl Len Burrows, the assistant had ever seen. Beside her stood a full-sized harp. Was she an angel? She looked like one and behaved like one, but here she was in Mr. Webman.s East End shop apparently trying to raise a loan, and on her harp of all things! Nor did she seem too scrupulous about how she came by the money. yet it was curious, as time went on, the effect she had on people, the way ahe brought out the best in them, the way in which, in the end, she showed them the way in which their happiness lay."

So far I'm completely completely and utterly charmed by Charles Terrot's The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp and now I've found out that there is a 1950's film of the book starring Diane Cilento which of course I'm now quite keen to see.