Vikings, pirates, adventures and mystery all in one book.

Advantages: A really good old book - a forgotten classic
Disadvantages: Quite a long book at 522 pages

... THE PIRATE SIR WALTER SCOTT ?THAT long, narrow, and irregular island, usually called the Mainland of Zetland, because it is by far the largest of that Archipelago, terminates, as is well known to the mariners who navigate the stormy seas which surround the Thule of the ancients, in a cliff of immense height, entitled Sumburgh-Head, which presents its bare scalp and naked sides to the weight of a tremendous surge, forming the extreme point of the isle to the south-east.? The work of the prolific Scottish writer, Sir Walter Scott, is sadly no longer thought of as fashionable to read. Ask people what he wrote, and the most popular answer I am sure would be ?Ivanhoe?, ?Rob Roy? or perhaps ?The Lady of the Lake?. ?Ivanhoe?, like ?Rob Roy? were part of Scott?s Waverley Novels as was one...

oldchem 13.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Pirate - Sir Walter Scott

A night out with Walter!

Advantages: great place to eat
Disadvantages: slow service

...The Walter Arms is a local pub and restaurant just close to where I live. You can find it on Bearwood Road, between Barkham and Sindlesham on the outskirts of Wokingham. It has recently undergone a substantial refurbishment so when I visited recently I was interested to see if and how it had changed. It is now described as a pub and restaurant with a hint of the mediterranean! The pub used to have quite a cluttered old fashioned feel to it but that has all changed now. When you first go in you notice a light, airy modern feel although they have still retained a real fire which on a cold February night was very welcoming. The last time I visited was on a Friday night a couple of weeks ago with a group of girlfriends for a meal and a natter. As we were there a bit early we stood in the bar area and had a drink first but we could have gone...

kingfisher111 03.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Walter Arms, Sindlesham

Scotts porage oats

Advantages: A nutricious cereal,economical too
Disadvantages: none

...Scott`s porage oats are milled in Cupar,Fife,Scotland and have been since 1888. For as long as I can remember the packet has always had the familiar picture on the front,the poised Highland Shot -putter in the grain field. During the latter part of the 1990`s Scott`s ran a successful advertising campaign featuring the actor Rory McCann.The advert is posted on Youtube if any of you have never seen it. Scott`s oats are rolled thicker and kilned gently to give that individual taste.The oats contain soluble fibre and if they are eaten as part of a healthy diet can lower cholesterol.Oats are also a valuable source of Vitamin B complex,rich in nutrients and help keep blood sugar levels balanced. Porage is a great favourite in our house,but we have different ways of cooking it. My porage is made with half milk,half water,cooked in...

Sarahjh1 18.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Scott's Porage Oats

Going Native Sixty Years Hence

Advantages: Great Classic Historical Fiction
Disadvantages: My copy had very small print

.... Waverley's commanding officers are beginning to question his loyalty and eventually he loses in commission in disgrace. He ultimately has no choice but to join Fergus and the clans in rebel activities. He also thinks his new Highland hill cred will impress Flora since it removes any ideological problems she had about marrying an English Whig. But Flora has other ideas, like joining a convent, and so both Waverley and Mac Ivor are less than pleased with her. Waverley has more adventures which give him a chance to show his bravery and good manners while learning about the foreign Scottish culture. His new loyalty to the Stuart cause is cemented when he meets Charles Edward in person for the Chevalier is everything a prince should be - young, handsome, personally magnetic, and possessing a rare and unique gift of common sense. (Scott admitted to...

tyger 22.05.2001 · Read review
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Review of Waverley - Walter Scott

Wonderful Fish at Scott's

Advantages: Gorgeous fish, decor, atmosphere
Disadvantages: None

...If you are in the market for a wonderful fish restaurant in the heart of London then look no further than Scott?s of Mayfair. It was named as the BMW Square meal Restaurant of the Year in 2008 so I was very excited to try it. I had heard lots of things about it too and had seen it in the celebrity pages due to the fact that a number of stars go there for dinner frequently. The restaurant is located at 20 Mount Street, London, W1K 2HE. The nearest tube station is either Green Park or Bond Street so it?s right in the middle of town, a really good location actually. I made a reservation on line quite a few weeks before we wanted to go as I had heard that it books out very early. I actually had to try a number of different dates before I found a time that would accommodate us. In the end I booked a table for 6pm on a Saturday in...

Spottydog11 11.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Scotts Restaurant, London

Infected - Scott Sigler

Advantages: Good pace, quite gruesome in parts.
Disadvantages: Not 'deep' enough.

...Infected - Scott Sigler. Please not Ciao....this is not an audio book. 'When you hear the voices it's already too late'. I have to say, I find writing book reviews particularly difficult. There is a thin line between enticing someone with enough plot and information to encourage them to read the book for themselves, and too much plot so that they pretty much don't need to read it. At just over 450 pages this is not too long, in fact I read it in 4 days, as one of my 'holiday books'. The cover was what initially attracted me to the book, and when I turned the book over, the short synopsis and recommendations from other authors persuaded me to purchase. At 3 for two in WH Smiths (or was it Waterstones) I did not need too much persuasion. ~~Genre and background~~ Part sci-fi, part thriller, part conspiracy I guess, well, it...

paulhanton 02.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Infected - Scott Sigler

Tilt - Scott Walker

Advantages: incredibly unique music
Disadvantages: perhaps a little too bleak at times

...Blimey - what an album! It's not, however, very likeable. Scott's previous record Climate Of Hunter, for all it's oddities, is still a collection of relatively traditional songs. Tilt isn't. But the opening "Farmer In The City" is still one of the best tracks ever recorded and still, after 12 years and goodness knows how many plays, brings me to the verge of tears at the "Paulo, take me with you..." bit. Amazing. The strings are stunningly powerful. "The Cockfighter" is weird beyond belief, especially the way Scott's voice fractures as he sings "it's a beautiful ni-HIght" which is just freaky. The minute of disturbing scratching noises at the start of the track weirds me out too. A whole new category of music - industrial classical. "Bouncer See Bouncer" goes on way too long before that lovely shaft of light, the orchestra backed...

adams66 14.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Tilt - Scott Walker

Walters reigns supreme

Advantages: Gripping, complex and intelligent
Disadvantages: Disturbing

...No other crime/psychological thriller writer understands the human psyche and its social constraints better than Minette Walters. Her latest novel, The Shape of Snakes, centres around the death of a reclusive black woman who sufered from Tourette's Syndrome and was thus ostracised by her adult neighbours and tormented beyond measure by the local children. Convinced that the victim was murdered, not knocked down by a van as the police and coroner concluded, neighbour Mrs Ranelagh seeks justice and has a nervous breakdown in the process as she is disbelieved by the police and abused and assaulted by her neighbours. Mrs Ranelagh then leaves the country with her husband, but never forgets victim Annie and continues to research the case from afar. Returning to England 21 years later, Mrs Ranelagh once again seeks justice...

sandrabarber 24.01.2001 · Read review
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Review of The Shape of Snakes - Minette Walters

Walters is One Foxy Writer

Advantages: gripping, well written
Disadvantages: none

...After the major disappointment of Acid Row, I swore I?d given up on Minette Walters. I considered that novel so beneath her talents that I was determined not to let her let me down again. However, after assurances from my mum that Walters was well and truly back on form, I got myself a copy of her latest paperback, Fox Evil, settled down with a coffee and found myself instantly hooked. The Plot: Nancy Smith, the adopted daughter of gentrified country parents, receives a visit from a solicitor informing her that her natural grandfather wants to get in touch. Happy as she is, she refuses point blank. Then she receives a letter from her grandfather which makes it clear that her natural family is beset by secrets, shame and tragedy. She is intrigued. James Lockyer-Fox, Nancy?s grandfather and a retired army colonel, lives...

sandrabarber 24.10.2003 · Read review
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Review of Fox Evil - Minette Walters

The Drift - Scott Walker

Advantages: utterly unique - an amazing album
Disadvantages: extremely hard to get into

...How do you go about describing something that is utterly unique? I can guarantee you will never have heard an album quite like The Drift. Not even previous Scott Walker albums prepare the listener for the experience of The Drift. It is, quite simply, the most beautiful, the most emotional, the most intense and the downright scariest album you will ever hear. I can't even imagine what was going through Scott's mind to compose and create such songs. The music is an uneasy mix of conventional instruments, bass, guitar, drums, with orchestral instruments and thoroughly unconventional sounds - on one track the percussionist is thumping a side of meat, on another concrete blocks are used. Lyrically Scott seems to be trying to convey the horror of war and terrorism with oblique asides concerning 9/11, the deaths of both Mussolini...

adams66 23.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Drift, The - Scott Walker