No Gaming in August, but plenty of butter and reading

August was a bleak desert for hobby activity, on every front.  However, I can't complain.  The beginning was taken up with stays at Lincoln, North Yorkshire and Bronté country, and the Lake District. The latter was more an homage to Beatrix Potter than Wordsworth - that probably reveals much about my level.

The second half was the annual pilgrimage to stay with my in-laws in Bretagne, France.  

Bretagne/Brittany is famous for a number of things including: crêpes, cidre, butter and high rates of alcohol consumption.  I made sure that I enjoyed daily visits to a crêperie to enjoy the first three on the list, and superb evenings eating and drinking well.

The best place to buy fresh baked kouig amann and gateaux bretons.  The latter being like a bakewell tart but with more butter. The former being a laminated pastry thing made almost entirely out of butter and sugar... amazing fresh and warm from the oven. Terrible for the heart!

My summer reading complimented my getaways.  For Yorkshire, I read Jane Eyre and The Professor by Charlotte Bronté. The former I had read before and remains my favourite Bronté novel.

For my stay in France I read House of Lilies.

Basically telling the story of the Capetian kings of France from the rise of Hugh Capet in 987 to the death of the last, Charles IV, in 1328.  A story that bumps and grinds against the history of England with their Norman and Plantagenet kings.

An excellent account that opens up the idea of playing out some of the many and little known battles fought within France and against their neighbours.

What was great for a history book was the inclusion of maps that located every one mentioned in the text.

With what seemed a fair amount of Wars of the Roses chatter, I decided to acquaint myself better with this bit of my history.  So, onto the Hollow Crown by Dan Jones.

I have yet to read anything by Jones and be disappointed.  This was no different.  He has a way of telling, what is a fairly complex, story in an entertaining, engaging and comprehensible narrative.  His family trees and maps were helpful and complemented the text perfectly. Not once did I get lost amongst the numerous Edwards, Richards and Henrys.

This not a detailed account of battles, though the battles feature... of course!  For me it was a clear telling of the story of the times taken from 1420 through to c.1509.  It compellingly told a story of wars created by the collapse of royal authority.

I would highly recommend both.

I must end by confessing that I quite enjoyed not blogging for a month.  I'm not sure what this says about me?