MORE AND MORE OFTEN I FIND MYSELF ASKING ........

......... If it ain't broken, why fix it?

I don't know if I was more saddened or annoyed to discover on Lilly's site, The Lilly Pad, that yet another classic book had been retold (click HERE to read said post).

To which book do I refer? I'll give you a clue ........

... by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.

Yes, its THE VELVETEEN RABBIT by Margery Williams.

A truly magical tale  of a stuffed toy rabbit that comes to life thanks to the power of love, it never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

Ok, so I haven't read this retelling of the story by Maggie Downer (published 2005)and to be honest, though I feel I should, I'm not sure I can bring myself to do so as I'm pretty certain it can't be as magical, as beautiful, as the original ...... can it?

And, though not quite as disturbing but almost ....... Dirty Dancing, one of my all-time favourite films is to be remade - is nothing sacred any more?

So come on, which of your favourite books/films has been redone? Which would you love/hate to see remade?

DEAD RECKONING.

DEAD RECKONING by CHARLAINE HARRIS.

Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana. It's a job which has its own challenges, but now the vampires and the shapeshifters are finally 'out', you'd think the supernaturals would get on with each other. But nothing is that simple in Bon Tempe!


..... And Sookie has a knack for being in trouble's way; not least when she witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is known to be two-natured, suspicion immediately falls on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but before she can investigate something else - something even more dangerous - comes up.


Sookie's lover Eric Northman and his 'child' Pam are plotting something in secret. Whatever it is, they seem determined to keep Sookie out of it; almost as determined as Sookie is to find out what's going on. She can't sit on the sidelines when both her work and her love life are under threat - but as their plans gradually become clear Sookie finds the situation is deadlier than she could ever have imagine.
..... Inner front cover.

FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): The attic had been kept locked until the day after my grandmother died.

MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 154): "Those weren't my kittens" he told me ......

KEEP IT OR NOT?: One for the shelves but only because I have all of the 10 previous books.

The 11th outing in the Sookie Stackhouse/True blood series and I have to admit that not having enjoyed the last instalment (DEAD IN THE FAMILY) I started reading with more than a little apprehension.

Better than Dead In The Family, Dead Reckoning was never the less a disappointing read. Lacking in the humour of the earlier books and with a poor story line, it was the character of Sookie that  I felt really let things down. 

Now I know its necessary for characters to change, to develop, and especially when its a long running series, BUT I just don't like what Sookie is becoming. 

No, I don't intend to continue with this series of books ...... though never say never. The only thing that would keep me reading would be to discover how the relationship between telepathic Sookie and vampire Eric plays out and I really don't think that this is a good enough reason to continue.

Purchased from the Book People catalogue, dead Reckoning is the 64th book read for my 100+ Reading Challenge.

GONE IN 15 YEARS?

Now I know not everyone shares my love of that delightful, prickly gardener's friend, the hedgehog, but please indulge me.

"Gone in 15 years, the hedgehogs that are fighting to survive ...... Garden favourite is one of 10 species at risk of vanishing from Britain"

- David Millward, The Telegraph (August 2011)

Sad but true, hedgehogs could disappear from Britain within 15 years, a study has warned. Once commonplace, they are among 10 indigenous species(including the cuckoo and the red squirrel) to have suffered the most dramatic decline over the past century.

The reasons why?

According to Dr Bunnell who runs a hedgehog sanctuary near York, there are a number of reasons ........

• Pesticides have eliminated  much of their food such as caterpillars and beetles.
• A reduction in habitat which has seen the mammal move into residential areas where they face the problems of rat poison, the strimming and mowing of lawns and garden ponds etc.
• Garden fencing/walls. Used to being able to go from one garden to another in search of food because of fencing/walls they can't do this anymore.
• Motorists - over 50,000 hedgehogs a year are run over by cars, lorries etc.

Not the only dangers though, in the latest edition of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS)magazine, the following are also sited as a danger........

• Broken glass
• Tins
• Rubber bands
• Plastic bags
• Four/six pack rings commonly found around drink cans
• Yoghurt pots
• Plastic cups
• String.

Notice what they all have in common?

Yes, all of these problems are caused by ........

MAN

So how can we help?

Well .........

• How about leaving a patch of garden to grow wild? This will not only be appreciated by our prickly pals but also by many other creatures.
• A nesting box can be acquired fairly cheaply.
• Provide food and water. Tinned cat/dog food and water please. NO bread and milk.
• Use wildlife friendly slug pellets.
• Beware when gardening, bonfires are a particular hazard and should always be checked before they are lit.
• Escape netting should be placed at pond sides which enables the hedgehog to climb out. Make sure this netting is of such a size that a head cannot become stuck causing strangulation.
• Be road aware. Special alerts are available - ultrasonic, wind activated whistles they deter animals from the roadway.
• Discard of litter properly.
• Carefully break down plastic pots and cups.
• Crush tins.
• Cut four/six pack rings and rubber bands and ask your postman/woman not to discard their red rubber bands by leaving them lying on the ground.
• OR how about raising money for the BHPS? This can be done in a number of ways including the collecting of used postage stamps/old coin etc, donating online, buying goods from the 'hogologue' which has a wonderful selection of hoggy goods, and using 'bay for charity' as a means of selling unwanted goods whilst raising funds for the charity. All methods can be found on the BHPS website as detailed below.

For further reading:- To see the full article by David Millward click HERE, to visit the BHP website click HERE AND for further hedgehoggy reading see 'Sites I Frequent' on my blog sidebar.

Oh and one last thing if you are on FaceBook how about becoming a friend of BHPS? Simply type in 'British Hedgehog Preservation Society' and away you go.