This weekend I spent a couple of days staying with an old friend in her beautiful home on the south coast.
We packed in an extraordinary amount of activities - eating and chatting, visiting shops, museums and galleries. Undoubtedly I'll be recommending some of the titles I've collected from the various exhibition bookshops!
But above all, it was wonderful to be welcomed into my friend's home. Her decor and furnishings, her collection of ceramics and artwork, and her bookcases full of fascinating titles collected over the many years of our friendship, caused me to feel uplifted, inspired and re-energised.
Of course I was here on invitation and she delighted in my taking books from her bookshelves to browse and discuss.
Unlike a situation in Rome recently.
The news reports have stated that an individual entered a flat in the city with the intent of robbing the residents. He'd already filled a bag full of expensive clothing from an earlier raid. But shortly after entering this property, he was distracted by a book on a bedside table.
It gave an account of Homer's 'Iliad' and apparently proved so compelling that the thief found himself confronted by the homeowner who had subsequently woken up to discover the intruder lost in the book.
The thief was arrested - and the author of the book has offered to provide him with his own copy so that he might finish reading it!
I suppose you never know where you will find your next good book.
Thank you for reading.