This is the first post on what I hope will be a regular feature. My aim is to talk about all things books rather than it being a formal book review so to speak, what I've been up to, what's on my (teetering) to read pile, where I've been and things to look out for. Please do feel free to join in and tell me what you have been up to!

This week saw World Book Day take place. My facebook feed has been filled up with pictures of my friends' children dressed as their favourite fictional characters. I saw a lot of Harry Potters and Hermiones, (good to see that this is still a firm favourite!). My nephew dressed as a dinosaur because he loves them and loves books about them and the Instagram feed for Mrs Hinch was filled full of cuties dressed as Mrs Hinch complete with dusters, sponges and mops! Brilliant. I hope everyone enjoyed the day and the feast of events that took place and to all you mums and dads out there, well done for pulling together some truly great costumes.

Sadly this week has also seen the level of coronavirus cases ramp up. I hope everyone is staying safe out there. A number of book related events have already been cancelled, such as the Bologna Book Fair and publishers are looking at staff to work from home wherever possible. Please do spare a thought for the retail staff, who will be there come hell or high water and will be the last to close.

On March 18th 2020, the Great British Menu returns to our screen and this year the theme of the competition is Children's Literature. The theme is to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens who wrote Oliver Twist, the first book in English to feature a child in the title role.

For those of you who have never seen the Great British Menu before, each week focuses on a region of the country. Over four day, Chefs create a starter, fish course, main and dessert based on the theme. On the Friday the top 2 scoring chefs go through to judging and one chef is chosen to represent their region. The judges are joined by a guest judge who has a connection to the brief. Once all the regional winners are chosen, they compete against the other regional winners and the best dishes are chosen for a banquet marking the brief. I am so looking forward to hearing the chefs talk about their favourite childhood books as well as seeing the amazing dishes they will create.

I am currently reading Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks having finally come to the end of my Tudor England run. Does anybody else do this? Read one book and then end up down a rabbit hole of similar books? I've read this quite slowly and am appreciating it. I have added to the towering pile of 'to read' books as I visited Read in Holmfirth and purchased The 39 Steps by John Buchan. This was a cute little gem of a book in a cute little gem of a bookshop. Can't wait to 'read' it! (haha see what I did there).

Cake wise I have been very lax indeed, but have spotted a gorgeous recipe for Apple cake by Mary Berry that I am going to give a go. I love Mary Berry and her recipes. They are written with clear instruction for a novice like me!

Well I think that's all from me this week. Have a great weekend everyone

xx