Happy International Women’s Day - let’s go fly our kites!!

A sneak peek at a fabulous new addition to @NaasRacecourse and the wider Naas community. Lily & Wild At The Post will be open 7 days a week for brunch/coffee/lunch - great location and a great team involved @LilyandWild

That’s probably my binge reading fest over for a while but what a great book to finish up the holidays - Playground by Richard Powers. A real multi-layered tour de force that makes you ponder long after you’ve put it down.

My non-fiction latest was Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg - this one I’ll definitely read a few times - loads of nuggets about how to have meaningful conversations.

I often have two books on the go, one fiction and one non-fiction. The Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood is a cleverly crafted book about a pivotal day in the life of an overwhelmed woman. Great read!

Beautifully written, wonderful prose: I found The Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollingshurst compelling (for the language) but ultimately unfulfilling (for the plot)

Another 2nd hand book purchase (on hols in S Africa). Race by @rylandfisher.bsky.social This one I skimmed as
(1) I didn’t like the format (interviews on race-related topics, interspersed with the author’s views) (2) it was written in 2007 so pretty outdated (I assume? Not my specialist subject!)

I picked up Ann Patchett’s Truth and Beauty in a second hand bookshop. I knew nothing about it, but I’m so glad I read it: a compelling memoir of a complicated friendship between two writers. Highly recommended!

It doesn’t often happen, but I think I’m admitting defeat with One Hundred Years of Solitude and it will go on the ‘half-finished’ pile. Maybe another time…..

There’s nothing like a holiday for an opportunity to read!! This my latest read of 2025 was These Are Not Gentle People by Andrew Harding - a gripping non-fiction retelling of events that tore apart a small South African farming community.

The next book of 2025 is different: The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson (my husband was given it as a Christmas gift) - a fascinating insight into the (mostly toxic) life of a FX trader. I wish there was more about his pivot to attempting to solve wealth inequality - maybe there’ll be a sequel?

I’ve always been an avid reader and my sole simple resolution for 2025 is to read more books. First off was Graham Norton’s Frankie. No huge expectations but I absolutely loved it.

I was in London for a day last Saturday, wandering around Marylebone and stumbled on the Selvedge Winter Fair - a feast of textiles, embroidery, ribbons, crewel work…..I’d make a special effort to go next year!

This is a guaranteed great night out, in aid of a great cause! #TreoEile #NewDirection
#ThoroughbredAftercare