Deborah O'Donoghue

a young boy is holding a knife and writing on a door that says reach ALT: a young boy is holding a knife and writing on a door that says reach

When I'm cooking and the recipe calls for breadcrumbs this is what I hear

He had not uttered two sentences when everybody saw that something was wrong. "He is drunk," said one. "He is "crazy," said another. "This is disgraceful," said a third. Mr. Seward and the Ministers looked on the ground, or moved uneasily in their seats. The Judges of the Supreme Court manifested by their faces their pain and their surprise. Mr. Johnson was so proud of the dignity into which fate had thrust him that he boasted of it in the language of a clown and with the manners of a costermonger. --The Times, 20 March 1865

Coverage of Andrew Johnson's 1865 vice presidential inaugural address:

Absolutely. Strawberries and peanuts seemed to be on the menu du jour yesterday ❤️

Archie, a 29-year-old green parrot surrounded by Christmas treats in his cage in Camilla's Bookshop, Eastbourne

A woman in a bible hat talking to Archie the bookshop parrot

A vintage science fiction pamphlet with a headline about 'Why Guided Missiles Can Not Be Controlled'

An interior view of Eastbourne library

Visiting old Eastbourne haunts today

Music lovers this is for you

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, I could not stop thinking about for weeks

I burst into tears at an airport, reading One Day by David Nicholls

And, Le Maître Bonsaï by Antoine Buéno, which contains the most traumatising scene I've ever read

An image from a freezer manual illustrating the hisses, brrrs, clicks, and blubbs that are normal sounds for a compressor and refrigerant to make. Mosquitoes and purring cats, lights switches and hot irons are used as comparisons.

I'm still not over this graphic designer's way of letting me know all is well with the freezer

I guess it could be.

There are also shades of Mitch having been somehow protected from "street law" by his older brother, who ends up in prison, (played by the impossibly hot David Strathairn). But they really are just "shades" - his weird naivety is not really resolved, for me at least, on screen

Ah, it's because he's book-clever, not streetwise, I hear you say. But no, Mitch McDeere grew up in a trailer park, so he's streetwise too.

To my shame, I've not read the book. Is the plot hole dealt with?

... Tom Cruise runs really, really fast. But there is one gaping plot hole.

How does a top Harvard law graduate, so good he's being courted by the US's fanciest firms, fail so badly to do his due diligence on his employer? So badly that he gets suckered into the wrong job with some very bad men.

I watched The Firm again recently, the film that brought John Grisham's second novel to market. It has it all: glamour, corruption, and a satisfying come-uppance. Holly Hunter oozes sass, Gary Busey steals the show as a loveable rogue, Gene Hackman beautifully embodies regret, and Tom Cruise ...

Thank you! ❤️

Great initiative. Thank you. I'd love to connect with more of these folk ❤️

The Ayrshire coast looking out to Arran, with wild grasses in foreground and the sun piercing through grey clouds

A windswept woman wearing sunglasses and a woolly hat, standing on a rocky, grassy beach.

Ayrshire coast, Scotland. A visit to Dad.

A wintery beech hedge and a dark sky lit by a street lamp and heavy streaks of falling snow

First snow of the season means mulled wine is allowed, right?

A home baked blackberry and apple crumble in a round pyrex dish on a wooden chopping board

Blackberry and apple crumble. Blackberrying around Brussels is not as easy as it was in Sussex and this year was a particularly poor one, but I foraged enough last year to freeze. Also, top tip, it turns out vanilla pudding powder is exactly the same as custard.

I heard this place was all about the positivity

Five women seated around a lounge table with coffee cups, biscuits, a paperback copy of the book Sea of Bones and the author on a device screen.

Last week I joined in virtually as Titchfield Women's Institute book group discussed my debut novel Sea of Bones. What a privilege to meet a band of such avid book lovers. ❤️ Thank you for inviting me.

Silhouette of dark greenery against a cloudy pale blue and yellow sunset.

Close up of roses, gladioli, heathers and foliage in a pink, white and coral bouquet.

A new pair of deep brown leather lace-up derby ankle boots on a green and purple background.

A birthday, a bouquet and boots. Happy sigh

Brussels 31°C

10 of the best travel books - Travel Tomorrow I’ve recently begun the Promenade Verte, a 60 km trail around the outskirts of Brussels, taking in lovingly-tended guerrilla allotments and sneak previews of the old […]

traveltomorrow.com/10-of-the-be...

A color photo of library shelves filled with books, behind a tabletop with an open book, beneath an insert, containing a black and white photo of Andrea Junker, to whom the accompanying quote is attributed: "If you're afraid that books might change someone's thinking, you're not afraid of books, you're afraid of thinking."

A gentle reminder:

"If you're afraid that books
might change someone's thinking,
you're not afraid of books,
you're afraid of thinking."
~Andrea Junker

:-)}

Today my hairdresser accidentally turned my hair charcoal. After thyroid hair loss last year, it made me cry. My students: "But Miss, it looks lovely!" Believe me, it wasn't, but they were, and that's more important. For those who care, I have a sore scalp but the barnet has now been corrected.

If the crush was worth crushing on I'm sure they saw clearly that the other friend was the fack-head

This thread is👌

Once, in a 90s TexMex bar, I chose a "Chee Hoowa Hoowa" (Chihuahua). My date nearly fell off his chair laughing. I've been tempted to put the scene in a novel but my whole body curls so hard with embarrassment every time I think of it that I lose the ability to string a sentenc--

A student told me this morning they once had a family goldfish called Michael Bubblé so that's made my whole year already.

Omg 😍

You inspired me to make the leap. Christ it's like a breath of fresh air over here. Thank you.

They are amazing. I know it doesn't make sense having an extra thing to pack, but, yes they compress, and somehow they do make everything fit better. I have two, one medium, one small. Hardly ever travel without them.