Friday, 18 July 2008

The Russian Concubine -- by Kate Furnivall


There are some books that begin with a spectacular first chapter, and proceed to draw in the reader so that they almost become part of the story. The Russian Concubine is such a novel. Set in war-torn China in the late 1920’s, it is a truly gripping romance, based loosely on the experiences of the author’s own. I say it is a love story, but this is only a small part of what makes up this marvellous book. The kind of story that has everything. Romance, politics, drugs, adultery, sex, Communism, pickpockets, and Bolshevik searches. The tale follows Lydia Ivanova, a fiery young Russian who lives with her alcoholic mother in the Russian quarter of the International Settlement in Junchow. The characters are all connected in a loop, but all stem from Lydia. Her schoolteacher, Theo Willoughby, works nights importing opium illegally, before returning home to his lover, Li Mei, whose brother, Feng Po Chu, is the leader of the infamous Black Snakes gang, whose number one victim is Chang An Lo, a Communist who risks everything for the fox-like girl for whom he lusts, Lydia Ivanova. Like all good novels, the mysteries are woven together at its end, which, once reached, is definitely a startling yet rewarding close.
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Read Me!
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Katie J.

Saturday, 12 July 2008

Toilet Troubles

When you have to visit a public toilet, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the cubicle doors. Every cubicle is occupied. Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the cubicle. You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants!The dispenser for the modern 'seat covers' (invented by someone's Mum, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your bag on the door hook, if there was one, so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mum would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!) down with your pants and assume ' The Stance. In this position, your aging, toneless, thigh muscles begin to shake. You'd love to sit down, but having not taken time to wipe the seat or to lay toilet paper on it, you hold 'The Stance.' To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, 'Dear, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWNthere was no toilet paper!' Your thighs shake more.You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your bag (the bag around your neck, that now you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That would have to do, so you crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail. Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The door hits your bag, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest and you and your bag topple backward against the tank of the toilet.'Occupied!' you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, while losing your footing altogether and sliding down directly onto the TOILET SEAT. It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, 'You just don't KNOWwhat kind of diseases you could get. By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl and spraying a fine mist of water that covers your bum and runs down your legs and into your shoes.The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force and you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a sweet wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.You can't figure out how to operate the taps with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDEDit?) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, 'Here, you just might need this. As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used and left the men's toilet. Annoyed, he asks, 'What took you so long and why is your bag hanging around your neck? This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with any public rest rooms/toilets (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers that other commonly asked question about why women go to the toilets in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your bag and hand you Kleenex under the door.
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My mother emailed me this article and I found it altogether too hilarious not to post it on my blog, so here you go, for all the women out there who are jealous of men and their stupid abilities to pee standing up.
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Laughing,
Katie J.

Saturday, 5 July 2008

BBQ, Beach Boys and Bananas

4th JULY 2008

Today marks the two hundred and thirty second year of independence for the United States of America, a country now one of the wealthiest in the world. My family, American by birth, British by residence, celebrated by inviting fourteen of our closest family friends to our humble abode for an All-American Barbecue, complete with Beach Boys soundtrack and traditional American cuisine. Dinner consisted of BBQ chicken, burgers and hot dogs, with woven apple pies and BBQed bananas for desert.

There isn't very much to say beyond this, but I felt the need to write at least something about the independence of My People.

Happy Burger Day,
Katie J.

Wednesday, 2 July 2008

2008 Annual Pilgrimage

Greetings! Today (conveniently an inset day, wherein we are not forced to travel halfway ac cross the city to attend our various schools) marks the 2008 annual Radiatorian pilgrimage. Perhaps a little elaboration is required here.

I am a member of an unofficial social group coined the Radiator Crew, our favourite haunt being the radiator next to the theatre in the Music and Drama department of our school. The laws of the Radiator are simple. Any person over the age of thirteen who is related to or a close friend of one of the Radiatorian founders. Ownership of the Radiator is passed down through generation, and once the Owner reaches sixth form, it is passed on to the next oldest member, and so on. Because the Radiatorians have been somewhat scattered over the years, we plan a reunion every year, our Annual Pilgrimage, where we all get together and have a fun-packed day at Thorpe Park, a London theme park full of rollercoasters and fun games and Stuff.

My sister Almond and I spent the night at my best friend Anna's house the night before, along with Erez and Elphaba, two friends of Evie's (Anna's sister), and then we met the rest of our group at the underground station the next morning to meet the rest of our group. The party consisted of me, Almond, Anna, Evie, her boyfriend Bobbles, Erez, Elphaba, Leo, Eddie and Dov.
After one body-drenching ride on Tidal Wave, we split up into two groups and proceeded to our preferred rides. My group (Erez, Elphaba, Evie, Bobbles and Leo) rode on Logger's Leap (exactly like Tidal Wave except without the humungous splash), X No Way Out, The Flying Fish, and a bunch of other rides.
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Only now that I think about it, I wish I'd done Stealth. And Nemesis.
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Oh well.
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Regretfully,
Katie J.

Tuesday, 1 July 2008

Best Answering Machine Message Ever

Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline. If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly. If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2. If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5 and 6. If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want. Please stay on the line until we can trace the call. If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press. If you are delusional, press 7 and we will connect you to the mother ship. If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer.

Have fun waiting for me to answer the phone!

Katie J.

P.S. By the way, if you call seven times and I don't answer, I'm probably screening my calls and don't want to talk to you. DO NOT CALL ME AGAIN.