Sunday Wrap-Up ~~ 2022 Week #39 End of an Era

~ Louise H

Welcome to my weekly round-up post where I link up with The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberley @Caffeinated Reviewer as well as The Sunday Salon meme hosted by the wonderful Deb @Readerbuzz. Do please pop by their blogs and show them a little love 💗.

Life Last Week

Whilst I’m not an ardent royalist the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II felt like too historic and important an occasion to ignore. Three moments will stay in my mind. The first was when the coffin was carried up the steps of St George’s Chapel, I think I was as anxious as the soldier pallbearers must have been. The other two moments were more poignant in tone, the first being the removal of the Sceptre, Orb and the Imperial State Crown. It had such an air of finality about it. The other moved me more than I had expected and that was when the lone piper walked slowly out of St George’s Chapel, his lament of Sleep, Dearie, Sleep fading with distance.

In other news, the older-by-a-minute son visited Glasgow. His train journey there started smoothly but was hit by minor delays. However, the journey home was a nightmare from the start, since problems with the overhead lines meant that trains couldn’t leave Glasgow trains station. His journey started with a long coach journey to Carlisle, a long wait for a very delayed train which was packed as all the other trains were cancelled. It was so late he couldn’t make his connection to Nottingham and the train company had to provide a taxi for an hour and a half trip from Stafford. He finally arrived home in the very early hours of the morning relieved but exhausted.

Last Weeks Books

I managed to complete an arc that, whilst enjoyable, was longer than the plot warranted and a Book of the Month read that was nice but forgettable. I didn’t mind too much since it was a kindle unlimited read.

Currently Reading

If you knew how your love story ends, would you dare to begin?
From the outside, Lorelai is an ordinary young woman with a normal life. She loves reading, she works at the local cinema and she adores living with her best friend. But she carries a painful burden, something she’s kept hidden for years; whenever she kisses someone on the lips, she sees how they are going to die.
Lorelai has never known if she’s seeing what was always meant to be, or if her kiss is the thing that decides their destiny. And so, she hasn’t kissed anyone since she was eighteen.
Then she meets Grayson. Sweet, clever, funny Grayson. And for the first time in years she yearns for a man’s kiss. But she can’t…or can she? And if she does, should she try to intervene and change what she sees?
Spellbinding, magical and utterly original, With This Kiss is one love story you will never forget.

Looking forward to…
This pair usually only just tolerate one another!


… reading more library books.

… the return of Nottingham’s Goose Fair.

… visiting our permanent (at least for a year or two) work “home”.

2022 Reading Stats
Books read –  105 (103)
Re-reads –  10 (10)
Owned books from TBR list read – 24 (23)
5 Star reads – 22 (22)
DNFs – 24 (24)

24 thoughts on “Sunday Wrap-Up ~~ 2022 Week #39 End of an Era”

  1. I am not a royal watcher, but you moved me to tears describing those events. Your poor son! Are you familiar with the film Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? That’s all I could think of when you described his horrendous journey. Glad he got home safely

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    1. I do remember that film and I’m sure he would say his journey was worse 😂. For quite a while he had no idea what would happen when he couldn’t travel any further by train, that was rather stressful!

      Liked by 2 people

    1. I enjoyed it but I felt that it didn’t quite have enough plot for the number of pages! I did enjoy Second Star to the Left (book #1) more.

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  4. Here in the States, my youngest is in the Army National Guard. For months he and about 8 other soldiers were meant to go to Northern Ireland with a few days in London at the end of their 10-day trip for a sort of diplomacy-type thing. His trip still happened, he arrived less than a week after the Queen’s passing, but it was a much different trip than planned. Their 3 days in London became less than 24 hours, but they got to go to Scotland for a day which wasn’t on the original itinerary. On one hand, it was historic to be there during the last 10 days, but they ended up having to spend most of their time in the barracks not getting to appreciate the beautiful country. He hopes to get the opportunity again or to save up enough so he and his wife can go and really experience the UK.

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    1. How disappointing – I do hope he gets the opportunity to come back at some point. I’d thoroughly recommend skipping London and visiting places like Bath, York or the Peak District.

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    1. You couldn’t escape news of her death and the funeral over here but it was such an historic moment for us that I didn’t mind.

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  6. Powerful images. I missed the funeral but had wanted to watch it. I bet it was very moving.

    The Goose Fair sounds fun!

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  7. Delays when traveling are particularly hard to deal with. I know I’ve grown quite frustrated when we’ve had them and it just gets to “I just want to go home.”

    The Queen’s funeral was so moving. She will be missed by all ❤️

    Have a good week!

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  8. The days following the Queen’s death,i saw a country being united in mourning. Even while some countries in the Commonwealth didn’t feel the same,it was still impressive. But then again,she represented an era. She was a fixture in so many people’s lives. Steadfast,objective,and with a sense of humor. The only thing i think she did “wrong” publicly was how she reacted when Diana died…I saw parts of the funeral and i agree with the moments you picked as moving. That lone piper moving out of sight,and hearing,being the one that stood out…

    What a horrible journey your oldest-by-a-minute had! But he found his way home in the end,and that must’ve been a relief. Not just for him,but for you,too!
    (Sidenote….i ám glad to hear our railway services aren’t the only ones that are thát bad….)

    Interesting choice in books yet again😎

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    1. There are many things I don’t care for about the Royal family as a whole but I do appreciate the historical and cultural value.
      Public transport in the UK is great so long as you only want to travel in London…😂

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  9. I love your observations of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. I didn’t get a chance to watch it. I think the piper would’ve stood out to me too since I love bagpipes.

    I’m sorry to hear about the horrendous travel problems your son had to deal with. They do sound exhausting! I’m glad he got home safe, though.

    I hope you enjoy your week!

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  10. So glad you son made it home after all of that. My son will be taking the train home from university for the first visit home in two weeks. I hope it goes smoothly for him.

    With His Kiss sounds cute – but is it a romance (HEA) or women’s fiction. I would definitely need to know if I was going to pick it up!

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    1. Sadly it bored me and I skipped most of the middle section just to read the end. The pace was very slow and I didn’t warm to the main characters.

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