The Janus Stone

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths is an excellent spooky and atmospheric read. Set in Norfolk it features forensic archaeologist, Ruth Galloway. She is prickly, highly educated, overweight and pregnant with DCI Harry Nelson's child. At the start of the book she is debating when and if to tell him about the baby. She is also involved with two archaeological digs - one at Swaffham and one in Norwich. Nelson calls for her expertise when a headless skeleton of a child is found at the Norwich site.

Ruth's investigations soon put her in danger and she is unsure who to trust. Who is Max Gray and why does he want to be friends with her? He is in charge of the Swaffham site but he wants to know about the skeleton found in Norwich. Can Ruth trust him? Cathbad, the Druid, makes a welcome reappearance in this book as does Shona, Ruth's flaky friend.

Full of atmosphere, the Norfolk background comes vividly to life. Pagan and Roman religions are contrasted with modern Catholicism. Modern day evil is much to the fore. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and felt it was a worthy follow up to The Crossing Places. The characters are realistic and the climax on the Norfolk Broads is well done. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Day trip to Norwich

I had to go to Norwich today for my 3 monthly dental appointment - which is a bit of a nuisance though it was a pleasant day out. I was surprised by how few people were out and about and I was wondering whether everyone has done their Christmas shopping and are sitting at home feeling smug! Even Norwich city centre didn't seem as busy as I remember it being this close to Christmas.

I also noticed 2 Tesco Express stores - one at the bottom of Westlegate opposite Marks and Spencers and one half way down Prince of Wales Road. The one on Prince of Wales Road would have been extremely useful when I was working in Norwich as it is only a few minutes walk from the office. I always used to have to make a special trip to an out of town store to do my shopping when I lived in Norfolk. I can see why the one on POW Road is there because there are a lot of newish houses and flats in that area - in fact instead of being a bit seedy it's looking really quite smart and almost continental though I do wonder whether it's still the red light district.

Teeth and the sales

My crown is now back where it should be - in my mouth - and I am no longer catching my tongue on the rough edges. Norwich is about 70 miles from where I live and we allowed plenty of time to get there as we wanted to go to Staples - the office supplies store. Our nearest one is about 40 miles away and as we were going right past one on the way into Norwich we thought we'd use up some of our spare time and go and browse. Traffic was relatively light until we got to the outskirts of the city but then we hit the traffic. It took 45 minutes to drive less than 2 miles!!
Norwich traffic has always been bad but most of this must have been people going to the sales as it was between 11.00am and 12.00pm. I was beginning to think at one point that I'd have to get out and walk in order to get there on time! Our route took us through a small part of the shopping centre - past M & S and Debenhams - for those who know the city. It was just wall to wall pedestrians! Loads of cars queueing for the car parks as well which doesn't help the traffic flow.
Everyone was carrying masses of carrier bags. I really can't see the attraction and where does everyone get the money from? Perhaps the ones shopping are the ones who didn't spend money at Christmas? I suspect though that it's those of us who spent less on Christmas who are also boycotting the sales. There is nothing I particularly need anyway so Ican't see the point in braving the crowds.

My next item really deserves a separate post . . . .