For obvious reasons, many friends and family members no longer buy me books for Christmas, but every so often someone can't resist. That's how I became the proud owner of '
You Made Me Late Again!',
Pam Ayre's latest collection of poems, anecdotes and sketches.
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'You Made Me Late Again!'
by Pam Ayres
(Ebury Press, 2013) |
Pam Ayres is well known for her wonderful ability to take the trials and trivia of everyday life and see the funny side. As her fans know, she's also skilled at reflecting on everyday heartaches and reminding her readers that they're not silly for feeling sad. All these sides of Ms Ayres' work are reflected in this latest volume. As well as covering feeling terrible after a party that was a bit too much fun, loosing sleep over loosing sleep and an evening ruined because of worries about curling tongs that may or may not be on, her latest collection also makes observations on such varied topics as animal welfare, favourite pets (yours and other people's!), salespeople who let their expertise get the better of you, fly tipping, bigotry and Ilfracombe's sea front Damien Hurst.
I enjoyed this book, even though it's not something I would've bought myself. I both cheered up and welled up as I read it Boxing Day and by the end found myself marvelling at all the little, shared experiences of life that are so easy to miss along the way.
As you may have noticed, I'm not a big fan of poetry, but just as Ms Ayres' subjects are accessible, so are her rhymes, so don't let the label put you off. It was also good fun to have prose and sketches mixed in with the poems.
Overall, this was lovely surprise and a charming read that I would recommend, although it's probably more for the girls than it is for the boys. I certainly enjoyed it and am sure I'll read it again. A well chosen Christmas present gratefully received!
