Evaluating the Books I Read in 2019 for Diversity

This year I decided to evaluate the books I’ve read in terms of how representative of diversity they were. The results surprised me.

In recent years the number of books I’ve read has dipped vastly. I used to read around 100 a year; a couple of years ago I read 35. I love books and have a houseful of them, plus loads more on my Kindle and even more on my Amazon wish list. I really want to read all my books, but I’m not going to do this if I only read 35 a year.

It’s not because I’ve lost interest but more because of the way my lifestyle has changed. I used to get public transport everywhere and I could use that time to get loads of reading done. Also books were pretty much the only thing I read.

These days I drive nearly all the time, so have lost hours each week of valuable reading time. I also read more magazines and blogs and of course there’s social media to distract me to. So I know I’m unlikely to get back to my previous reading levels but I have really tried this year.

So how many did I read?

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Exploring Edinburgh’s Coffee Shops

Get the lowdown on 9 very different coffee shops: there’s one in a crypt, one in Scotland’s oldest department store, one in library and one in a centre for Spiritualism. I also found coffee shops with Harry Potter and Outlander connections.

As I was in Edinburgh for the Festival and the Tattoo I spent most of my time dashing from place to place leaving little time for really exploring the the city’s coffee and foodie scene. However, as I do need coffee to function most days and I do like sitting in quirky coffee shops and people watching, I did aim to try at least one ‘interesting’ coffee shop each day. What I found made me realise I do need to spend more time exploring Edinburgh’s coffee shops as this city has a whole lot to offer on the cafes and coffee shops front.

Grab yourself a coffee and settle in while I share my findings with you.

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Beginner’s Guide to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

A kaleidoscope of colour and a cacophony of sound – everyone should go to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at least once in their life.

This year I was lucky enough to go to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo for the first time. It’s one of those things I’ve always intended going to, but during the dates it’s on I’m either far too north or in a completely different country. This summer I did things a bit differently and built in a few weeks holiday based around Edinburgh so I could go to the Festival and the Tattoo.

I’ve only ever heard people talk about how wonderful it is and not once come across anyone disappointed with it, so I was expecting it to be good. But you know what? Even with my expectations already high, I was still blown away by it. It’s one of those things that you really have to experience to appreciate it properly. If I lived in Edinburgh or if it was at a different time, I’d go every year.

In case you’re planning to go next year, or even if you’re not sure what the Tattoo actually is and are wondering if it’s something you might fancy doing one day, read on for my Beginner’s Guide to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

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When a United fan goes to City

Venturing into rival territory, I spent a day exploring Manchester City’s ground on an Etihad Stadium tour and got to watch the first ever women’s Manchester derby.

I grew up as a Manchester United fan. In my teens I was pretty obsessed and spent hours reading and learning about the team, going to games when I could afford to and plastering my bedroom walls with Man Utd posters. I even spoke about the history of the team for the oral part of my O Level English exam.

Then I moved away and wasn’t able to keep up-to-date. By the time I eventually returned to Manchester the team I’d loved (and the game in general) had changed so much it was as though my team didn’t exist anymore.

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Exploring the Gospel Pass – Wales’s Highest Road

Exploring the Gospel Pass – Wales’s highest road – is a great way to get a taster of the Wye Valley when visiting the Hay Festival.

I’d seen the sign pointing the way to Capel-y-ffin each time I passed the narrow road on my way between the campsite and the festival site in Hay-on-Wye. I was there for the festival and had booked lots of events, but I made sure I also built in time for exploring some of the local area.

When I had pretty much a whole day free to explore I decided to turn up this narrow road and see what it had to offer.

It turned out to be a whole lot. I spent the day driving over and exploring the Gospel Pass and stopping off not just at Capel-y-ffin, but also at several other places as well. If you’d like to have a similar day exploring the Gospel Pass – Wales’s highest road, here’s what you can expect.

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Food at the Hay Festival

I’m always a bit unsure of what to expect of the food at festivals as it can go one of two ways. Either it’s all poor quality, overpriced burgers and chips or it’s an amazing selection of food from around the world, often healthy, always good quality and served in generous sized portions.

As I hadn’t been to the Hay Festival before I didn’t know which way it would swing and so came prepared with plenty of dehydrated pasta and noodles that I could quickly whip up in the van.

It turned out I needn’t have worried as the food at the Hay Festival was blummin’ lovely. I took all my pasta and noodles home with me again.

So in case you’re thinking about going to Hay next year and you’re wondering what the food will be like, I’ve collated some of my photos of the things I ate. Scroll down to find out more about the food at the Hay Festival.

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The Hay Festival Survival Guide

I had a lot of questions before I went to the Hay Festival for the first time and you probably will too. So I’ve written a Hay Festival Survival Guide to answer them.

I’ve just returned from a fabulous week at the Hay Festival. It was my first time there and I really don’t know why it took me so long to actually get there. As it was my first time I wasn’t too sure of what to expect and so in case you’re planning to go next year I thought I’d write this Hay Festival survival guide whilst everything is still fresh in my mind.

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Exploring Caithness

Caithness in the far north east corner of mainland Britain is full of ancient brochs, cairns and castles and gorgeous beaches. But hardly any people or traffic.

Caithness is the county that covers the far north east of Scotland. You might think it’s so far away that there won’t be much to do and see there apart from getting your picture taken at the John O’Groats sign, but you’d be wrong. You could really dedicate an entire holiday just to exploring Caithness and still not see everything. Even though I’ve travelled round it several times I still have plenty of reasons to go back and I know I won’t run out of things to do any time soon.

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Exploring Thurso – Scotland’s most northerly town

Quirky gravestones, an old well and a nuclear power station control room are all good reasons for stopping off and exploring Thurso, Scotland’s most northerly town.

Thurso, in case you don’t know, is mainland Britain’s most northerly town. It sits right at the top of Scotland looking out across the sea to the Orkney Isles.

The north coast of Scotland is absolutely stunning and has so much to see and do, you might be tempted to just pass right by Thurso. I wouldn’t blame you for taking one look at that gorgeous coastline and thinking ‘town? – meh! – I can see towns any time, why would I waste my time visiting one now?’

I take your point, but before you make the decision have a read of this post as I think you might find it worth your while stopping off for a few hours.

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Exploring Mey – Scotland’s Homeliest Castle

The Queen Mother turned a derelict castle on the far north coast of Scotland into a beautiful home. I went to explore and found a place I never wanted to leave.

Who doesn’t love exploring an old castle? Whether it’s clambering around ruins or wandering through stately rooms decked out for the 1800s there’s just something about a castle that will pique most people’s interest.

The best kind of castle though, at least to me, is one I really could imagine living in. And to help facilitate my imagination it’s best if the castle actually looks like a home I’d want to live in; the sort where I really have to restrain myself from pulling a book off the shelves, flopping on the sofa, putting my feet up and pouring myself a coffee from the silver pot (there’s always a silver pot).

The Castle of Mey is just such a castle.

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