The Decemberists: The Crane Wife

Advantages: Superb indie pop/rock
Disadvantages: Perhaps not as musically arresting as previous work

...The very title of this fourth album by American unclassifiables The Decemberists sets the tone for the whole record - their love of the unconventional and original is evident in every note. This is what is so fantastic about this band - they make no concessions their major record label, choosing instead to make an album that focuses principally on an obscure Japanese folk tale. Lyrically, The Crane Wife is built around two different narrative ideas: a re-telling of Shakespeare?s ?The Tempest? and the Japanese folk tale of the ?The Crane Wife?. Musically, anything and everything goes. Twelve-minute epic ?The Island? features the band?s predilection for storytelling through their lyrics, rather than resorting to the clichéd angst and melancholy favoured by other contemporary bands. A bold choice as the second track, this song is...

cazzie_alice 18.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of Crane Wife, The - Decemberists

An excellent Christmas present idea!

Advantages: Safe, sturdy, good value for money
Disadvantages: None for me

...As we are fast approaching Christmas I thought I would do another toy review. The toy in question this time is the John Crane First Bike and it is gorgeous! Having watched my friend?s little boy playing with his I thought I must write a review about this one! He loves it and I thought it might help someone else looking for a good present idea! The bike is made from strong, replenishable Rubber wood and, as with all John Crane products, is excellently constructed. It has no sharp edges and is designed with the comfort and safety of the child in mind. It is strong enough to be used outdoors so the child gets fresh air as well as exercise but can also be used indoors if the weather is bad and you have the room of course! The manufacturer?s recommendation is that the bike is suitable for children between the ages of three and six...

SusanLesley 29.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of John Crane First Bike

A brilliant present idea!

Advantages: An excellent quality item, safe, strong and durable
Disadvantages: None - it is superb!

...having a seat hand holds and foot rests, obviously this would be for the slightly older jockey! There are soft pads on each end of both of the rockers so that the rocking horse does not mark your floor or hurt any small feet that might get in the way. As with all John Crane Pintoy products it is made from replenishable Rubber wood so it is eco friendly and it is strong and sturdy so it will withstand the knocks and bangs of boisterous play. There are no sharp edges for little hands or heads to get bumped on ? everything is finished to a very high standard for safety and good looks too. My friend?s son loves his rocking horse and he and his slightly older cousin have rocked it fairly energetically without any problems. In conclusion you have an excellent, safe, well made toy which will last well enough to be passed on once...

SusanLesley 17.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of John Crane Pintoy Rocking Horse

Stylish Fun

Advantages: fun, good exercise, fun, sociable, club events, did I mention fun?
Disadvantages: None

...Last autumn, I started a new job which involved moving to the opposite end of the country away from friends and family. Good though the job is, this had some problems associated with it, particularly at first. I got lonely. I didn?t know anyone outside work and it wasn?t easy to get back home or visit university friends. This led to the situation where I could go from Friday evening to Monday morning without any real, human contact. This was depressing, to say the least. So I looked up courses and classes to see if there was anything I could do during the weekends that would get me out of my flat and meeting people. In the course of my searching, I came across a website for Fujian White Crane Kung Fu. At that time, the sum of my knowledge of kung fu came from a combination of The Matrix and Power Rangers, so I was going in...

87degrees 28.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Fujian White Crane Kung Fu

COSTA del CRANE

Advantages: Sunshine
Disadvantages: Feels like England

...rooms to be sold CARPETS whether we wanted to or not. That was the low point of the day. Glad I went, but not sure I could recommend it. We also took a day trip to Mijas (me-AH sss) which must have been a lovely little town before the area became so tourist oriented. In the opposite direction, Cabopinos and La Cala were interesting, including a restaurant called Alberts and a blue flag beach which we meant to return to but never did. The lasting impression I had was of hundreds of Cranes - the mechanical type not the wildlife, everywhere, with blocks of new condominium / apartment hotels being built. The airport at Malaga was heaving with people, and it wasnt even high season. Imagine what it will be like when the building is complete? I heard another person mention that the area is so full of English people who tend to...

Reynarda 25.04.2005 (31.07.2005) · Read review
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Review of Costa del Sol (Spain)

This is the way the babies (and small children) ride!

Advantages: Lovely quality item
Disadvantages: Is quite expensive

...My second daughter was given this rocking horse as an early first birthday present from granny. When I saw it I thought it looked beautiful, but was sceptical as to whether it would get used, having seen friends buy expensive rocking caterpillars and the like and see them gather dust. A rocking horse certainly wasn't on my list of toys I thought we needed; I have to say that in actual fact this has been a fantastic toy. The horse is made from very good quality wood - as with all John Crane pintoy products. It is brightly painted and resists knocks and bangs well. It has a relatively small footprint; I just measured and I reckon it takes up about 30cm by 70cm of floor space so not excessive! As you can see from the photo the horse is a unisex red, blue and yellow and her a handle for little ones to hold onto to ride...

azana 26.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of John Crane Pintoy Rocking Horse

The dolls have a lovely bed to sleep in!

Advantages: Robust, excellent quality, pretty, safe
Disadvantages: You may feel that it is a bit expensive but you do get what you pay for

...My niece has a beautiful dolls house called the Marlborough Dolls House which is a John Crane Pintoy product ? in fact I wrote a review about it some time ago. There are various sets of furniture made in 1:12 scale available to fit in this, or indeed any other, dolls house including bathroom, living room, kitchen, nursery and bedroom furniture. Earlier this year she received the set of living room furniture which she loves playing with and then for her birthday she received the set of bedroom furniture which she loves just as much! I thought I had better tell you about it in case it was useful as a Christmas present idea! Since I hadn?t a clue how much it cost I have just searched via Google and found the set ranging from £14.99 at Mail Order Express, to £13.95 at Amazon, down to just £12 at www.kidsrooms.co.uk where they also...

SusanLesley 08.12.2009 · Read review
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Review of John Crane Pintoy Doll's House Bedroom Furniture

Something Very Special

Advantages: An amazing album that's both innovative and accessible.
Disadvantages: None.

...When you've written songs about love, death, war, art, drugs, rock n' roll, how you're extremely good/bad and how someone else is extremely good/bad you might start repeating yourself. What's left to do but use a song to tell a story? That is what the Decemberists do. They're an eccentric indie/folk group from Portland who make a name for themselves using an amazing array of instruments like mandolins, bottle-necks, accordions, double-bass and ukuleles. Let me tell you now that I have nothing bad to say about this album. The first track, The Crane Wife 3, sets an amazing tone for the album. It's part of a trilogy of songs, eccentrically out of order and telling the Japanese folk tale of a man who helps a wounded crane, gets a beautiful wife who can make beautiful cloth, gets greedy and doesn't notice his wife's deteriorating health...

Furbystein 24.01.2008 (27.01.2008) · Read review
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Review of Crane Wife, The - Decemberists

Gorgeous dolls house furniture!

Advantages: Well made, safe, robust
Disadvantages: None that I can see

...My niece has a beautiful dolls house called the Marlborough Dolls House which is a John Crane Pintoy product ? in fact I wrote a review about it some time ago. There are various sets of furniture available to fit in this, or indeed any other, dolls house including bathroom, living room, kitchen, nursery and bedroom furniture. Earlier this year she received the set of living room furniture which she loves playing with and it is so cute I just had to tell you about it! Since I had no idea how much it cost I have just searched via Google and found the set ranging from £14.99 at Mail Order Express, to £13.95 at Amazon, down to just £12 at www.kidsrooms.co.uk where they also stock furniture for all the other rooms too! Incidentally the pictures of the items on this website are excellent and can be enlarged so that you can...

SusanLesley 24.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of John Crane Living Room Dolls House Furniture

I wish I'd kept my doll's house

Advantages: Traditional wooden construction, easy for children to play with
Disadvantages: None for me

...When I was a little girl my dad made me a beautiful doll?s house with leaded windows and all sorts of other bits and pieces. Sadly I sent it to our local children?s home when I grew out of it and often wished that I had kept it! Recently, however, I have had the chance to ?play? with a superb traditional doll?s house that made me wish I was a little girl again! The doll?s house in question is John Crane Pintoy Wooden Marlborough Dolls House which is currently for sale at www.amazon.co.uk for £104.99. Well that was the price when I started this review but I have just been back to the Amazon site to check some facts and found that the sale is now over and the doll?s house is back to its normal price of £129.99! The house is described as a ?picturesque dolls' residence to house the Pintoy family?. It has six rooms set across three...

SusanLesley 23.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of John Crane Pintoy Marlborough Dolls' House