I seem to have lost Squid Ink, he went to the library and is possible still wandering the book stacks. Whether he’s lost by accident or on purpose is something I don’t know. I do hope when he’s finished adventuring among the books he will return and show us what he’s found. In the meantime here’s some more scribbles about the book I’ve just finished, I had it in train already so it’s perfect as a fill-in until I can write something else for tomorrow.

The Durrell family are all very interesting people but there is little that we can guarantee is correct as they all seem to have the habit of writing things in the most amusing way with some degree of fiction. I’m trying to read all I can of the memoir portions of their writings from all members of the family in order to have something to correlate. It was only when I read this book that things really began to make sense.

Lawrence and Gerald both being writers seem to have this habit of adding some fictional elements to their memoirs. I didn’t think Gerald had actually started his zoo in Margo’s backyard, I thought he’d only had a few animals there and it looks as if I was right as Margo mentions only a couple of types of animals while at the same time Gerald is busy looking for somewhere to move them to. One thing this book does give me is a photo of Gerald in his late 20s and he is gorgeous with movie star looks, Margo mentions him flirting with all the women and getting on well with the men so it makes it much easier to understand how he managed to do all the things he did. He must have been very charismatic.

The photos are very interesting. Margo herself looks very young, a photo of her with her teenage children shows her looking younger than them.

This is the story of Margo’s first year as a landlady. It’s set in Bournemouth, England in 1947. It comes after she has divorced and she takes her two young boys with her into this adventure. Her maiden aunt gives her the idea of a boarding house expecting she’ll put genteel ladies into her rooms but instead she ends up with the most amazing people.

The first inhabitant is Edward and his wife, Olwen. Edward is a painter while Olwen works outside the house, he insists on the best room for light so he can continue painting there. He is a good cook, swapping ingredients and tips with both Margo and her mother.

Along comes Mrs Williams and her boy, Nelson. She is nothing exciting, we do eventually hear about her husband but Nelson is a scream. He should probably be at school but never bothers to attend, instead he follows all the comings and goings of the house, spreading gossip and extending the stories until they’re quite unbelievable.

Mrs Budden is expecting a baby but they don’t get confirmation until very late in the piece. Mr Budden is not a very attentive father, sometimes leaving the baby crying downstairs in the corridor while he takes ‘special’ time with Mrs Budden.

Roger and Andy take up residence, practising on their musical instruments and coming back at all hours, they do play in a band at night. Along with the two nurses who also do nightshift this helps to scandalise the neighbours as they don’t really understand people might possibly have a nightshift and therefore come home at odd hours of the morning. Margo is accused of running a bordello.

I’ll leave you wanting more as there is plenty more in the book. It is a delight and shows us a number of exciting people all gossiping and having a good time despite the mores of the time. I do suggest you read it, although I don’t know where you’re find a copy as I could only find 27 copies available on the internet.