Himalayan Hospitals: Sir Edmund Hillary’s Everest Legacy by Michael Gill

Posted by Abbie Jury in Adult non fiction and tagged with

Himalayan HospitalsI suspect my sole criterion for reviewing this book is the fact that I lost a brother in the mountains there and I am guessing that my editor did not realise that in the intervening 28 years, I have assiduously avoided anything to do with the Himalayas in the media. But I must have absorbed a certain amount of information by osmosis. This book sat, ignored, in my pile of review books for too long until I plucked up the courage to confront my demons. What a treat I was avoiding in this handsome book.

New Zealand has a special relationship with the Himalayas and its people, driven by Sir Edmund Hillary’s success in conquering Mount Everest and his subsequent charity and aid work in the area. He focussed first on schools but then on hospitals and healthcare from the sixties onwards. What this books shows is that the volunteers who staffed those hospitals, young doctors and their partners from New Zealand and Canada, were equally remarkable and special people. The majority of the book tells the stories of these intrepid volunteers, often from their very candid correspondence home to the sponsoring organisation, the Himalayan Trust. Working in one of the world’s most remote and inhospitable areas, they had to be enormously resourceful and resilient. Usually the only westerners, they forged relationships and personal friendships with the Sherpa people and the result is a privileged insight into the lives and culture of those people.

This could have been a worthy but dry book. It is anything but dry. Each person has a story worth telling and it is an absorbing read whether you work from beginning to end or browse randomly. It is a big book, beautifully presented as befits Craig Potton Publishers, with plenty of photographs documenting the times and the people.

The author is a New Zealand doctor and a mountaineer who has been involved with the Himalayan healthcare project from its inception. It should be noted that these remote hospitals are now run by fully qualified Sherpa doctors – the ultimate measure of success for any aid project.

Himalayan Hospitals: Sir Edmund Hillary’s Everest Legacy by Michael Gill (Craig Potton Publishing; ISBN: 978 1 877517 43 3) reviewed by Abbie Jury.

Now is the Season by Laura Faire

Posted by Abbie Jury in Cookbooks and tagged with

Now is the SeasonAnother NZ cookbook with recipes following the seasons, advocating local, organic foods, including gardening hints and wrapped up with soft focus photography – so what is different about this book? The passion of the author, I think. Laura Faire is a trained chef who lives in Auckland and I am guessing she has put a great deal of her heart and soul into this book which is more than a glossy front for a stylish cafe.

It is not simple food, though some of the recipes are simple enough. Sorrel pesto is not difficult as long as you have the main ingredient in the garden (it did make me want to grow sorrel). Asparagus and Ricotta Tart with Caraway Pastry introduced a new flavour combination, to me at least, and I am planning to try the Green Garlic and Almond Port Terrine which looks delicious. Each recipe has the preparation time detailed, which is helpful when planning to cook a new recipe. Most of it is good food to share with friends, rather than everyday meals for the family. You need a well-stocked pantry and some semblance of a vegetable and flower garden would be helpful too.

The author is a keen home gardener but not particularly experienced. The Husband looked at the photo on the front cover and commented that I did not look like that when I garden. That could be because I don’t garden wearing a pristine, long-sleeved white shirt and the digging pose did not suggest she had done a lot of it in the past. I quite liked the garden hints because they did not pretend to be comprehensive so were wonderfully random and eclectic. That said, there is a bit of a question mark over some of them (strawberries fruiting best in their second year and peas cropping more if you pick them frequently, for example). But the food is what matters in this book and the author is passionate about good food and the pleasure that can be achieved by taking the time and effort to prepare fresh food to share. That passion is engaging.

Now is the Season by Laura Faire (New Holland; ISBN: 978 1 86966 316 2) reviewed by Abbie Jury.

River Cottage Veg Every Day by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Posted by Abbie Jury in Cookbooks and tagged with , ,

River CottageWe love Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall – the pin-up boy for sustainable living in the UK even if it must be admitted some of the boyish charm went with his long, dishevelled locks. It is a new-look, clean cut, short-haired Hugh on the cover of this large book on vegetable cooking. But it is the same engaging Hugh who does the writing and he manages to conduct a vegetable crusade without falling into either preaching or purple prose.

We all know we should eat more vegetables for our health. We should all eat a lot more vegetables and a lot less meat for the health of the planet too. This encyclopaedic book may be all you need if you are a little uncertain how to turn out complete meals which are vegetarian yet varied. I am pleased to report that lentils come more as dhal, not the dreaded lentil burger and there are no lentil sausages, or indeed marinated tofu. This is not trying to make vegetable substitutes for meat. It is taking a comprehensive approach to preparing and presenting food so omnivores may not even notice meat is missing. There are ten chapters and a couple of hundred recipes.

The author is an advocate for the tapas or meze style of shared eating with several smaller dishes of food available. However, he reassures us that preparing multiple dishes need not be a burden and gives us the wonderfully quotable comment: “In my house, food like this tends to be prepared and consumed in a sort of rolling relay, from meal to meal.” I was enchanted. We no longer have leftovers in this house. They are called tapas instead.

So to the recipes themselves. We tested several in two households. It is English so there are some variations in cultural habits. It would never occur to me to serve fresh radishes with a pot of semi soft butter and rather a lot of flaky sea salt. Could I ever look at the words Heart Foundation again with a clear conscience if I put that on the table? The cauliflower and chickpea curry and the macaroni peas were just a little bland for our tastes but it is easy enough to ramp up recipes once you have a feel for how they work. We also tried the River Cottage garlicky flatbreads, the cheaty Hollandaise and I had forgotten how delicious Upside-down onion tart (or onion tarte tatin) could be.

It is comprehensive. Ingredients are readily available. Instructions are clear. Results seem to be reliable. Presentation is in a large format hardback which opens flat, usually one recipe and photo per double page spread, but not glossy and glitzy. This is every day food for every day people. I will be keeping my copy on the kitchen shelf because I expect to use it often.

River Cottage Veg Every Day by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Bloomsbury; ISBN: 978 1 4088 1212 9) reviewed by Abbie Jury.

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.

People by Blexbolex

Posted by Abbie Jury in Family and tagged with ,

People by Blexbolex

There are just two or three words (one of which is the indefinite article) and one illustration per page in this book by a French illustrator and cartoonist. He trained in screen printing and that is clear in the flat, very matt, deceptively simple pictures. It is the subtle nuances which make this book so rich – a blind man juxtaposed with a distracted man (the latter is about to walk into a post). A hostess is hurrying on a page facing a cat burglar in a very similar pose who is definitely sneaking furtively. A sailor and a siren, a romantic and a prince, a friend and a bully – there is much to look at, talk about and laugh at in this book. It is not for very young children. I would be holding off until the five to eight age range but in the end, I suspect it is another of those books which will be appreciated more by older siblings and adults. It is, perhaps, a book for children to grow into but it is also a book for families which are visually literate and inclined to conversation.

People by Blexbolex (Gecko Press; ISBN: 978 1 877467 78 3) reviewed by Abbie Jury.

The Big Book of Words and Pictures by Ole Konnecke

Posted by Abbie Jury in Picture books, Preschool picture book and tagged with ,

The Big Book of Words and PicturesFor people who feel kids’ books should be overtly instructional, this is a good option. It is a large format, sturdy board book of eight double page spreads, most with around 30 different items named clearly on every page. The illustrations are cute – anthropomorphised animals and some sequences on each page which make very small stories. It also introduces the alphabet, numbers, simple shapes and colours. The solid construction and level of detail means that it can be used repeatedly and it has a high visual appeal for pre-schoolers.

The Big Book of Words and Pictures by Ole Konnecke (Gecko Press; ISBN: 978 1 877467 87 5) reviewed by Abbie Jury.