On the last weekend of November I ...

...read a really interesting book. INCONTINENT ON THE CONTINENT by Jane Christmas and loved every page of it.

Since the beginning of time, mothers and daughters have had notoriously fraught relationships. “Show me a mother who says she has a good or great relationship with her daughter,” Jane Christmas writes, “and I’ll show you a daughter who is in therapy trying to understand how it all went so horribly wrong.”

To smooth over five decades of constant clashing, Christmas takes her arthritic, incontinent, and domineering mother, Valeria—a cross between Queen Victoria and Hyacinth Bucket of the British comedy Keeping Up Appearances—on a tour of Italy.

Neither has been to Italy before, but both are fans of ancient art, architecture, and history. Will gazing at the fruits of the Italian Renaissance be enough to spark a renaissance in their relationship? As they wander along the winding Amalfi Coast, traverse St. Peter’s Square in Rome, and sample the wines of Tuscany—walkers, biscuits, shawls, and medications in tow—they revisit the bickering and bitterness of years past and reassess who they are and how they might reconcile their differences.

Unflinching and frequently hilarious, this book will speak to all women who have tried to make friends with their mothers.



... supervised while Paul changed the taps in my laundry tubs in the basement.

... marvelled at the smarts of the man to put on waterproof shoes while doing plumbing.


... shared my Christmas beer while we ate hamburgs and watched the Grey Cup

Bah Humbug Christmas Cheer spiced beer -- lightly spiced with cinnamon this is a rich ale complimented with subtle tones of dried fruits. Wychwood Brewery Oxfordshire England