Our birthdays

Hello to all!

I thought it might be a good idea to post our birthdays (no, the year is not necessary!), so that we might celebrate them here, in our group.

Mine is October 2 (and the year is 1956, yes, I am that old!).
What about you?

Great idea. I am even older!

18 February 1948

Mine is January 13th (1971 if you must know!)

By the way my daughters birthday is October 2nd.

Well, hollytom, your daughter must be an exceptionally wonderful girl!!!!!
;-))

P.S. englishrose60, methinks that what matters is mental age, not physical!

Mine is January 15th (1955).

It is the person inside that matters - as I used to say to my children. Fine until they turn round and tell *me*!!

Oh yes, Juliette!!!!!

My mother was born in 1933. Although she is quite frail, she is reading her second Perephone, telling all her friends how good they are and eyeing up my Virago collection.

So hoepfully we all have a lot of potential reading years ahead of us!

I was born on 2nd March 1964, just a few hundred yards from where I live now.

My birthdate is 14 February, 1947 - a great year - just a little older than you englishrose.

I can definitely say that when I was growing up St Valentine's day was not acknowledged at all. Very different in the 21st century!!

How romantic to have a birthday on Valentine's Day!

Hey, if we are doing Mums my Mum was born May 1915. It is a long story that I may share one day but my parents couldn't conceive. They went to an adoption society (Knightsbridge, London) with their request. They wanted a girl ... who would 'like books' ... and that is moi :))

Hi guys,

I'm a November baby: November 15, 1960. The first time I thought about the year was this past weekend at a neighbor's party. Being the energy-conscious soul that I am, I hitched a ride with another neighbor and so arrived at the aforementioned party in the back of an old Chevy pick-up truck loaded with hay. Yes ya'll, I live in the southern section of the US - Tennessee. As I walked around the back of the house to get a drink, some guy (he looked like a million-year-old Harley dude) leaned over and said: "I had my eye on you when you climbed out of that pick-up. I said to myself, now there's an 'old' hippie." For the first time it occurred to me that I had become a woman of an interesting or, shall we say, dangerous age. I just don't get the same pick-up lines that I used to receive.

November 8, 1964.

Oh!!!! That is sooo cute! I am sure they could not have picked a better daughter!
My father was born in 1915 but, sadly, he passed away in 1997.
My Mom was born in 1920 and she is doing just fine. She is a voracious reader herself (as was my father, for that matter) but, since her English is not very good, she cannot read any Viragos or Persephones, which I am sure she would love.

Well, urania1, I find myself in analogous situations, and a target of past-middle-age-kind-of-old men and their often gallant remarks!

I'll go with mental age as well. Mine's August 26, 1948.

#10 Ooops I forgort to say - my lovely Mum is still going fairly strong at 93! Sadly she is now reegistered blind and suffers from macular degenerate disease so her reading days are behind her.

Juliette, what about audio books?
She might enjoy those, don't you think so?

Mine is April 13, 1956, and yes, it was a Friday. My Mother was born in 1933, and although she does have vision problems, she loves to read, mostly mysteries.

Mine is February 18, 1962. Legend has it my grandmother was quite distracted by the "any day now" launch of John Glenn's Friendship 7 voyage around the earth, and had a hard time tearing herself away to visit my mother in hospital. Of course this all could be window-dressing on their mother-daughter relationship ...

>11 urania1: urania, great story. I can't top that! I did look younger than my age for a while but sadly I don't get carded in liquor stores anymore.

>19 lauralkeet: lindsacl: My wife's birthday is February 18, 1961!

Mine is May 21, 1957 -- do I detect a similar age range for many of us? My parents are in their 80's and still read a lot. I got carded until I was about 40 or so, but then I had children and went downhill, er... "developed a new level of complexity." ;-). My kids look at old photos of their parents now and say things like, "Who is that lady?" (me) or "Daddy, I didn't know you used to have dark hair!"

lindsacl: we can raise a glass together on our shared birthday!

My, what a busy morning it is here! (I'm on sleepy California time)

So here's what we have so far:

hollytom: January 13
juliette07 January 15
mrspenny: February 14
englishrose: February 18
lindsacl: February 18
Fleurfisher March 2
Sqdancer: April 4
marise: April 13
aviddiva: May 21
marensr: June 3
cariola: August 26
Aluvalibri: October 2
christiguc: October 10
rbhardy3rd: November 8
urania1: November 15
bleuroses: December 16

You can add me to the list: October 10, 1980.

juliette07, same here! Although I think they got more than they bargained for as in my earlier days, my name should've been 'wildroses'!! That was back in '59!

urania1, great story. I've been called the "hippiechick" as well, but it seems, lately, I'm disappearing.

Updated list on #23!

:) thank you!

>20 rbhardy3rd: Rob, wow, what a coincidence! Other than John Travolta I don't know anyone who shares my birthday. Well, I don't know him, either, actually.

>22 englishrose60: englishrose60, but I do know YOU, now! Silly me, I read through all the messages before me and didn't even notice! I saw mrspenny the valentine but missed yours!

>23 bleuroses: at the risk of being anal, can the list be ordered chronologically (month/day only!!) ?

See Update on #23. (I should've known, little miss geek!)

Mine is June 3rd (1975)

Just stopped by after a very late evening with work - difficult meeting scenario.

Read all the last messages and reflected 'what a wonderful group we have here - thank you for your friendship'

PS Geek husband says we should do a google doc - I say we would miss alll the affectionate chatter and banter....

I agree with you 100%, Juliette.
The possibility to meet "kindred souls" is, in my opinion, one of the most appealing features of LT.
Just think, we are literally scattered all over the world and it does not matter! We can communicate as easily as if we were next door neighbours (actually, in many cases, even better).
What a wonderful thing!!!!!
:-))

Hear, hear, aluvalibri. Here's to good friendships, good books, and kindred spirits :-)).

... and here's to birthday parties as well !!

Here here to kindred spirits! I remember the first time someone from the group sent me a book and my husband asked, "So you have strangers sending you books now?" and I explained that we are not strangers really just friends and fans of good books who happen to have never met.

Ha, ha, Marensr, my husband had much the same reaction!! Yes, here's to kindred spirits!

UPDATE! See above.

Cheers and hugs to each of you, dear kindred spirits!!!

> 36, 37

Mine just says "Is it a book from one of your computer friends?" He seems to have grasped the basic concept. :-)

ETA: Another spring baby here: April 4th.

hollytom: January 13
juliette07 January 15
paola201: January 26
Soupdragon: February 10
mrspenny: February 14
englishrose: February 18
lindsacl: February 18
Fleurfisher March 2
sqdancer: April 4
marise: April 13
tiffin: May 20
aviddiva: May 21
marensr: June 3
cariola: August 26
Aluvalibri: October 2
christiguc: October 10
rbhardy3rd: November 8
urania1: November 15
bleuroses: December 16

33, 34, 35, 36: Indeed, indeed! What a wonderful thing it is, meeting fellow-booklovers, moving in a phalanx of shared book-passion, rather than slavish following! And you all are a marvelous bunch. Truly. A standout on a site that is, itself, a standout. To birthday parties, for one and all!

My boyfriend took a couple of rounds of questions to get sorted out just who was sending me books - and then he thought it was very nice. But, being states away, often he sees them more as they go into my catalogue, and less arriving from afar...

On the above list, wedge me in between marise and aviddiva, if you will. :) I'm another, born in the spring. April 21 (1978). With Marensr and christiguc, roughly. My mother, I'm afraid, is a child of 1954; devoted to books (as are my grandmothers), but not of exactly the Virago sensibility. Still, she looks reminiscent of the hippie/Jesus Freak she once was.

10: juliette, just what I'd want! And how marvelous.

Every time I get here I think "It get better and better". Perhaps, one day, we shall manage to meet. Now, THAT is a swell thought!

Hey,

Who says we can't plan a Virago meeting. We could set a date (far enough in the future to give everyone time to plan) and a place. It would be our "enchanted April." We might decide to rent a tumble-down villa in Italy, or if we needed to economize further, I offer my house in Tennessee (less romantic than Italy I know but the housing is free). I live on a mountain-top in a rather unusual house (none of the rooms is rectangular in shape). All are based of some version of a hexagon (my husband has been keeping bees for too many years and the hexangonal honeycomb has gone to his brain). Our house is a work in progress. My husband has built it all himself. I like to think it's eclectically charming (although I may be granting myself too much license in this direction). I have lots of roses (twenty bushes right now but more by next spring), flower gardens, a small lavender field in the planning stages, and a vegetable garden. My husband bakes wonderful bread (he grinds his own wheat), and I make fairly decent scones, so we could have fresh bread and honey from our bees every morning for breakfast. We're right at the base of the Smokey Mountains, so it's only a short drive to some wonderful hiking spots for those so inclined. So . . . enchanted April anyone?

I am definitely game!
The description is so.....enchanting! that I cannot help wishing to be there RIGHT NOW!

Sounds heavenly urania1!!

Too far for me to come from UK, unfortunately, and I love lavender and honey - I'd give the bees a miss though!

#43 Sounds lovely Urania. I am trying to imagine hosting us all in my little community garden plot. Not quite as romantic I am afraid but we'd have some yellow pear tomatoes. Ah city living.

I am glad there are so many understanding husbands/boyfriends/partners. In fact, my husband asked me the other day if I won't need a new bookshelf when we move to a larger apartment.

I'm in Chicago if anyone stops by. I think on the tea thread I was discussing meeting aluvalibri and eurydice at some point.

#47 Marensr,

What a coincidence. I come to Chicago on a fairly regular basis. My husband was born there and all his siblings still live there. And I love visiting the Seminary Book-Coop. Maybe we can meet sometime.

Urania's mountain-top sounds close to heaven! I can only offer a small Midwestern college town, but I also make excellent scones (if I do say so myself) and bagels and all kinds of bread. You're welcome to come and visit if you're ever in Minnesota!

My wife and I are planning a bit of 20th anniversary walking in the south of England next summer, and may look up fabrileheart. I like the thought of a world of Virago hospitality!

mine is january 26th.

Benvenuta tra noi, paola2601!
:-))

Yes let me know when you are in town Eurania. Isn't the seminary coop divine? I am glad I am not in Hyde Park as much any more. I would be much much poorer.

Rob, I love that idea. "A world of Virago hospitality."

What a wonderful idea. I would love to see urania1's house of bees. I'm on the west coast near San Francisco, and while I don't have a large or remarkable home to share, I'd love to meet up with others if they're out this way.

Well this was a fun thread to catch up with, bees and all. As a gardener, I love bees. I have a lavender bed but not a small field, Urania. I plant my English cottage garden to feed bees and butterflies.

May 20, 1948 here

ETA: a photo I took of a bee and my Siberian irises...for you, Urania.

tiffin,

What a lovely picture. Thank you so much for sharing it. I have Siberian irises and bearded irises. I also have small wild irises growing wild in the woods.

Meeting would be marvelous. Urania's bee haven, and Rob's baking, exert considerable attractions. (So does San Francisco.) Chicago, I visit anyway, but if another plan is made, as you say, far in advance, I'll do my best. It'd be worth it.

There are good things about where I live, but garden space is not among them. Nor are woods. (Not close enough.) There's something a little heart-catching about your post, Urania. Space for flowers and wild ones to see? That feeds something a bit lost, here.

At least there are trees, and water, and loads of ducks and birds. :) These are - with the weather and lots of open sky - a continual delight.

But I'm glad - that's the essence of it - glad to hear anyone, inhabiting them, speak of such diverse and yet lovely places, to live.

Sorry to go so OT....

Well here am I in flat and flood-prone East Yorkshire and just hit 40.

My birthday: 10th February 1968

I had been feeling unenthusiastic about both of these facts but Virago-wise it's fine. If I was any younger, I wouldn't have the wonderful memories of reading beautiful new green Viragos as a student. And yes, it is relatively easier to find Viragos in Britain though there are still some that are extremely elusive!

Just a shame about the constant rain :)

Ah Soupdragon, I tend to think of us all as "Virago age" the perfect age to enjoy really good books some have just had longer to grow their collections!

Oh I love the constant rain. It reminds me of a professor I once had who said "You really were born to be tramping around moors or something." I decided it was a compliment.

Soupdragon: I spent a week's holiday in east Yorkshire last April (2006) and loved it. I remember driving through Pickering, I think, in April, and then seeing it underwater on the news about two months later. And then poor Gloucestershire. My favorite English church, Tewkesbury Abbey, had flood waters inside for the first time in over a hundred years.

Here in the American Midwest, parts of Iowa (one state south of where I am) are currently experiencing "500-year flooding." Awful. I hope you in beautiful Yorkshire avoid that level of flooding this year.

thanks a lot aluvalibri!I hope we become virtual friends!

Well being British, I moan about the weather but actually I don't mind the rain (until it looks close to entering my home) and love all the greenery it creates! Really I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, except possibly on Urania's mountain-top sampling her fresh bread and honey (:

Maren: I think it is a compliment. :)

At least, rain and moor-tramping seem perfect, to me. How boring, to love only sunshine!

Soupdragon: Strikes me as merely sane, minding rain, then. ;)

We do get heavy marvelous rainstorms, here. Yesterday evening and Wednesday evening, both, were deluged. My grandmother (from Ohio, not Texas' coastal plain), held walking happily in the rain, after childhood, a mark of virtue. Particularly the idiosyncratic sort she praised.

As my friend Debbie likes to say (about walking in the rain): "We're not made of sugar."

!!! Wonderful!

There is a lot to be said for walking in the rain and even more for coming in and listening to it in the company of a good book.

Which is lucky given that here on the south-west tip of England an awful lot of it gets blown in from the Atlantic.

Yes. Yes. That was the one downside to our recent storms. I was running errands with family and friends, not able to walk or - better - sit with a book and the backdrop of sound as it hit the roof, or pattered and spattered against window glass.

I love the rain when I'm curled up indoors with a good book.

Great quote Rob.

It sounds wonderful both walking in the rain and being blown around and returning to be cosy with tea and a book.

I was the child who went for a walk as soon as it started raining. Who am I kidding? I still go for walks when it is raining and I love my great big rubber 'slogging' boots as my husband likes to call them.

Bravo. I am thinking about it right now: late lunch, or rainy walk?

Here in Minnesota it's, unfortunately, 85°F (29°C) and humid, so the winner is: Diary of a Provincial Lady and a gin and tonic on the shady porch.

#62> We shall indeed, paola2601!

As per English weather, I simply adore it. I love, love, love rain and would trade any summer day here for that!

I wish we had summer rain here in "sunny" California! Today it is hot and humid, but it's not likely to rain a drop until September. Fog, yes. My husband (who is from Oregon) often looks at the clouds and says, "It's gonna rain today." I just shake my head and smile.

We are well into our winter here (on the earth's dryest continent) and have had 3 weeks of lovely rain and wind. I live on the coast and it is spectacular to see the rain storms coming in over the Pacific. Our winters are reasonably mild and the lowest temp reached is approximately 8 degrees (Celsius). I have been ploughing through the BTR mountain during the rainy wheather but as quickly as it reduces, it increases again:-))). Winter solstice happens tomorrow which is always encouraging as summer is on its way for us !!

Duing this week, I took a trip to Canberra, ACT and managed to find some really good Virago bargains which I will shortly post on the duplicate copies strand. During the visits to the bookshops, I was albe to raise more awareness about the beloved VMC's. It still amazes me the number of booksellers who do not know of the series and the authors. Does anybody else encounter the same lack of awareness by booksellers of VMC's when they are browsing?

englishrose60- I have posted you a message on your profile page.

As for rain, I can't think of anything more delightful than dancing in it, preferably with nothing on. The beauty of living on top of a secluded mountain is that one doesn't have to pay homage to the conventionalities that tag along like unwanted company in polite society. When I lived in the city, I had my neighbors terrorized simply for giving voice to the desire. I truly identify with Cassandra's stepmother in I Capture the Castle. Oh wild nights with the wind blowing and the rain coming down . . . sheer ectasy. And think about the the lovely lines of e.e. cummingg's poem "In Just":

in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

P.S. Don't worry, I won't strip when we have our enchanted April holiday :-)

Hey! If you want to strip, just do it!
I am past the age when I could have been shocked (which did not even happen when I was young) and do not care in the least about what is conventional or not!

P.S. Actually, there is a 'perverse' side of me who greatly enjoys shocking pompous and conceited people. Just think of the looks on their faces! HA!

Thanks aluvalibri. A woman after my own heart! I've done a lot of shocking in my lifetime. It's fun.

#75 And of course we have the Summer solstice here in the UK tomorrow!

I am the odd one out here - I love warm, dry sunny days. As a younger person I was a tennis freak and played in all my spare time. Maybe it is the memory of how sad it was when I couldn't play because of the rain - especially annoying when it was a tournament!

#77 absolutely!

>79 juliette07: I am the odd one out here - I love warm, dry sunny days I'm with you Julie! They are my favorite. Would you come join me for a refreshing Orangina in the olive grove?

I have lots of roses (twenty bushes right now but more by next spring), flower gardens, a small lavender field in the planning stages, and a vegetable garden. My husband bakes wonderful bread (he grinds his own wheat), and I make fairly decent scones, so we could have fresh bread and honey from our bees every morning for breakfast. We're right at the base of the Smokey Mountains, so it's only a short drive to some wonderful hiking spots for those so inclined. So . . . enchanted April anyone?

urania, that sounds like a paradise! Fresh honey reminds me of my childhood; while my siblings always wanted ice cream or chocolate, my favorite treat was two tablespoons of honey in a small cup with some fresh fruit for dipping. Apples, oranges, bananas, plums, carrots, peaches--and toothpicks to assist with things like grapes or pineapple (so I didn't leave sticky fingerprints about the house). My favorite dessert then, and come to think of it probably now as well, was fresh honey with good ripe pears. You don't happen to grow fruit as well? :) Either way, it sounds romantic and enchanted.

lindsacl - you will always be welcome in our French bolt hole where there are olives and Orangina aplenty! In addition there is the wine and food from the land - the vineyards, the farms, olives, goats cheese, brebis (lamb's cheese), foie gras, lavender, sanglier (wild boar), local honey, wonderful local hospitality and french bread, croissants and the most delicious locally grown salads, tomatoes, courgettes etc etc!!! Not to mention the fruit ... and the walnuts ...

HEY! I thought you liked us too, juliette07!!
:-((

I love you all - no favourites - you are *all* welcome to come and chill with your Viragos. I feel a picture coming on!!

Don't hold your breath as it may take a while!!

Oh dear - not the best photo - I'll have to get one from my dear Keith!

Oh, juliette - this Julie would give any amount of rain (oh, at least half-a-year's) for an interlude with all that!

Food passions are stronger with me than weather ever will be.

it's always about the food ;)

Juliette, is that your actual place in France? It looks like one of those wonderful places the Tour de France goes by.

christiguc,

As a matter of fact, I am working on fruit growing right now. I planted two fig trees last year. They didn't supply any fruit last year, but I'm waiting anxiously this year. I do have a flourishing strawberry patch that dreams of world domination. There are wild blackberries. I have also planted two apple trees, but no results yet. Neither flowered this year; consequently, cross-pollination couldn't occur. Next on the agenda are blueberry bushes. When it comes to blueberries, I'm like hobbits are about mushrooms. However, Rob and I are still trying to decide where to site them. Then comes the really hard work, double digging. I also want to put in some raspberry canes and grapes. I have so many projects that I strongly suspect I will never finish. This year I put my big efforts into roses.

juliette, I'm envious. You're so much further along than I am.

urania1 - raspberry canes are great and give so much - you will love them. We don't grow *all* that just yet!! We simply enjoy being in a place where the connection to the land is so evident and delightful. We have fig trees over the fence in France! As for grapes we have two vines here in England that Keith tends but really they are for pleasure - not wine. He used to grow for wine, keep chickens and bees. Trouble with the bees was that he became seriously anaphylactic to their stings so we had to stop which is really sad. I would love to do it in France because there is so much more wilderness and ooportunity for delicious tastes!! Locally we have Garrigue honey - the bees live off the plants that grow on the garrigue. We have five vines but they are in their first year at the moment. They were a gift from a french vigneron who is a friend of ours and produces a beautiful sparkling wine called Blanquette de Limoux - it is much better than champagne!

tiffin - you wrote is that your actual place in France? Well yes it is and I realise how very fortunate we are! My lovely Mum had to sell her home four years ago when she realised she could no longer manage independently and gifted us some of the money with which we bought our french 'home'. We actually bought it via an internet auction set up by the notaires of France. Quite an experience in itself! The house is situated in the Eastern Pyrenees in a village called Rennes les Bains and quite bizzarely yes the tour de France goes past about 8km away!!

Wow, Juliette07! How stunning! In 2003, I spent ten days in the village of Baillargues, east of Montpellier, and it was like a fairytale world. Every hilltop with its Cathar chateau; Roman remains; amazing medieval churches...and the brébis was the best cheese I've ever tasted! Now we can only buy Côtes de Languedoc wine in our Midwestern liquor store and close our eyes and remember...

90 Juliette: can one expire of envy? You are in Languedoc, rich with Cathar history, incredible food and wine and architecture! How lucky you are!

Ah tiffin I was thinking the same thing and quietly longing for a home with a real garden. But I really can't complain about my apartment with kitties.

It is beautiful Juliette!

Juliette, methinks the phalanx should come over en masse!
Beautiful house!!!! I wish I were there now, to enjoy the very pleasant company (you) and lovely luscious landscape.....sigh.....

#94 we would welcome the phalanx with great joy.
#91 Rob - we are about two hours West of Montpellier, roughly an hour from Carcassonne.
#92 tiffin - please do not expire - postcards will be sent!!
Thanks guys - I didn't realise you would all be so interested!

Of course my love for the house, village and area is so very closely tied up with reading as I can sit high up on the terraces behind the house, overlooking the village and river across the valley or on the balcony to read and reflect. My journal is so much more reflective when I am there.

Sorry for hijacking the thread .... we had better get back to reading.

No, it's been our pleasure. Truly. Just reading about it, and seeing your photo, is a sort of respite from the surroundings, here; much as I have to be grateful for. It is good to hear about such places (urania's, yours), and best of all to hear of such kind and lovely people as each of you living in them.

All the pleasures of travel and food writing are conjured. :)

Hijacking??? Who said that?
The beauty of our threads is that, beside talking about our beloved green covers, we can wander into any other kind of subject and get to know each other better.
This, by now, looks more like some extended kind of family than a group of people united by common book love. And, to me, it is just perfect!
:-))

Yes, indeed it is! :) :) :) Paola has said it perfectly.

And I really enjoy hearing about all of you, preferences, lives, surroundings - and libraries!

Another January baby checking in - I'm 21 January 1972 myself.

And I'm happy to host UK Virago-ites in lovely central Birmingham (sorry - Birmingham in the centre of the UK, I don't live right in the middle)

Hey - we could all meet up at the same time and have a web cam or at least live chat get-together!!

Lovely to get back to you all after a holiday in Sunny Menorca. It's very grey here!!

I second aluvalibri and Euryidice. It doesn't surprise me that the readers of Viragos would love beautiful places and lovely gardens with softly buzzing bees and tasty scones sipped with tea perfect for an afternoon of summer reading.

I delight in seeing and hearing about your homes and gardens and hope that slowly but surely I will meet some of my green kinfolk.

I love hearing about other people's homes. House and gardens are one of my passions. Maybe we should start a house and garden and decorative arts thread. #100 - Maren, among the reasons I love Chicago so much are some of the beautiful houses and brownstones. I positively drool every time I visit. Incidentally, I will be in Chicago from the 27th of this month and returning home on the 1st of July. Do you think we might meet up while I'm there? I'll definitely be at the University of Chicago at some point during that time. Two of my former students go there. I would like to see them if they haven't absconded for the summer. Otherwise, I'll be staying at my father-in-law's house in Hinsdale. My husband is coming up for a guys reunion with two of his good friends from high school, so I think I'll pretty much be left to my own devices.

I join Englishrose as one of the old ladies of the group -- my birthday is August 21, 1948 -- 60 looms large this summer.

urania1 I will be here during that time. I would be delighted to meet up with you. Just let me know your plans. I am on the northside but I too was a U of C student so I can certainly make it to Hyde Park if that is where you are or some other location.

We could go on a used bookstore tour. . .

janeajones. I am delight you joined us. I hope your upcoming birthday is a splendid one.

Welcome, janeajones!!
We should have a special celebration thread for 60th birthdays (and 50s, 40s, etc.), and, even if late, we should celebrate englishrose60 together with janeajones.
Any comments/ideas?

Oh, urania, I feel the same way about Chicago. Chicago style designs, in housing or commercial buildings, just draw me; as, downtown, do the beauty (or mere interest) of even the most functional designs. - Granting Mies van der Rohe wouldn't charm, much, without, say, the brilliant juxtaposition of the Calder Flamingo. I started indifferent, and have come to love it. Oh, for public sculpture tucked in so many corners! And the skyline.... I could take thousands of pictures and not tire.

I wish I was going to be there then, too! My dad and brother are coming in to visit in Houston on the 27th, and will be here till after July first; so even if it were not a bad time for my boyfriend, I can't leave.

Later July or early August, I'm hoping. I should know at least what's likely in the next ten days. (For Maren and Paola: I'll let you know what I find out.)

Speaking of scones and tea, I made ginger cream scones with blueberry sauce (quite thick and jam-like, actually), fresh blueberries, and vanilla-lime whipped cream, yesterday, for friends. We drank Upton's St. Isaac's Blend, a Russian Earl Grey with grapefruit and lemon (and perhaps orange), added to the bergamot.

I was aiming for a casual summery shortcake-analogue. Lime really is as good with blueberries as lemon (maybe better).

If only we'd interspersed the visit with some reading! ;)

Oh, dear, yes! Best birthday wishes, late and to come, to you both!!

Re: 'old ladies', I saw a quote again today which I like:
roughly -
Age is a thing of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

Attribution forgotten.

(Which is not to negate age, and any of its benefits or difficulties. :) )

It's true -- it really doesn't matter, except for creaky knees and the utterly diminished desire to climb mountains (or even very many stairs for that matter);-) But I'm off to Cross Creek to visit Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' house tomorrow and then to St. Augustine and points north to escape the sauna of a Florida summer for a couple of weeks.

OK, I'm late to the "I love Juliette's house" discussion but ... I LOVE JULIETTE's HOUSE! Lovely setting. For some reason I imagined your house was in the north (quicker/easier to get to from Oxford) ... I love France but especially loved the southern countryside.

#95 - juliette - when I visit I will have to stay at least a month ( because of the length of trip) but I will earn my keep by helping with gardening, and other odd jobs and reading Viragos in the sun in the afternoon and discussing matters literary with Virago friends!!

mrspenny, you beat me to it! I was going to volunteer my gardening labor in exchange for a stay if I ever can have time to get away. I'm good with roses. And I can tell you if your raspberries taste good. :)

In the novel I'm reading now, E.M. Delafield's Provincial Lady is embarking on a trip to the south of France. If only I could hitch a ride...

Juliette, I can always help with the house chores and cooking....:-))

104: Don't forget me! I will be 60 on August 26.

Oh no!!! I could I forget our dearest Cariola!!!!! Shame on me...please forgive the oversight!
Well, we shall have a triple celebration, then. How wonderful!!!!!

:) Celebrations are in order!

(And they're fun. ;) )

Oh Eurydice your scones and tea and blueberry sauce sound wonderful and I think the time you are visiting Chicago is good for me as well. Just let me know when your plans firm up.

I second the plans for birthday a triple birthday celebration.

Thank you. I certainly will.

My advantages of being 60:

State pension.
Free Bus Travel Pass.
Family more helpful with household chores.
Afternoon nap.
More time to read.

Reasons enough to celebrate!!!:))

118 - you can go right across England on that bus pass now, too, can't you!!

janeajones, I turned 60 in May. It feels exactly the same as 27, if a tad slower physically and a lot wiser between the ears. I retired on Friday and am feeling a bit stunned by it all but joyfully optimistic about things to come with this new freedom. All told, it isn't a bad age to be at all!

#118 Unfortunately, no such advantages here in the US or for me personally. I would love to retire but don't see myself in that position for at least 10 more years.

#120 As Oscar Wilde said, it beats the alternative!

# 120 and you're lucky to get to retire at 60 - I took a look at a nasty Govt website and discovered to my horror that my retirement date is not at 65, as I'd thought, but SIXTY SEVEN!! That's a long time to keep on working and two fewer years for reading than I'd expected!!!

Congratulations Tiffin and here's to wishing you a long, happy and fulfilled retirement.

Mmm Lyzzybee - I fall into the category of 'oh dear you will not be retiring at 60' as we were led to believe when life started in teaching! Joy of joys I have to continue to 63 (last time I heard from the great government)

#118 Yes but I think it is only on certain buses.

Don't know why govt. wants women to work longer - could it be something to do with equal rights or is it that they don't want to part with the money???

englishrose60 Methinks the latter - our Governement can't afford to let us retire at 60.

I left headship a couple of years ago as I really wanted to make it to 60! It is the best job but my longevity - and hence reading time - was looking as if it could be compromised!!

I understand juliette. My sister-in-law found the pressure too much and left teaching for another career.

#126, Teaching is high-pressure these days. I belong to a breast cancer support group. I am constantly amazed at how many of us are former academics who have jumped ship. I adore the teaching part of academia and working with students. But I can't stand the administration part and the infernal, internal politics. Sometimes I feel extremely frustrated. Teaching could be one of the most delightful and enjoyable jobs around, but the profession is filled with busybodies (Miss Mapps, to those of you familiar with E.F. Benson, on steroids). I suppose I'm still in mourning. I resigned from a teaching position. Although I'm enjoying my freedom (and fortunately have the means to do so having traveled light - ahem with the exception of books and hats), I miss the classroom and I hate feeling as if my PhD is wasted.

Mine is April 23, 1958. I never like to feel I have to act my my age no matter how old I am. You have learn how to be spontaneous, do something wild and crazy, have a great sense of humour, know how to have some fun, let your inner child out every once in awhile. Don't worry about what other people say or do. If it feels good, do it. I know that I don't think of myself as being old. I still think like I'm a teen-ager,
or in my early 20's. But no older than ealrly 20s.

beatles1964

Crikey, urania, Mapp was bad enough without steroids! Sounds as though you are well out of that. I don't think education is ever wasted, regardless of how far up the food chain you have gone. I like to think of any education I have as a personal adventure of me and my grey matter. ;)

Now, with tiffin having turned 60 not long ago, we have FOUR 60th birthdays to celebrate!
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

urania and others in the teaching profession, one word: assessment. It gives any darned administrator and underling a reason to create busy work for us and a resume line for themselves.

OK. I am a little behind but just want to say that someone else described urania1's place as sounding enchanting and I just need to ditto that. It just sounds so great and makes me just feel this need to get out of the city!

I am relatively new not just to virago's but also to online networks and just can't say enough about how lucky it is to stumble into this group.

My birthday is January 2. I think we need some kind of calendar!

Now, I know that some of you are very good at doing things like spreadsheets or the like (I am a total disaster), so, perhaps, we should do a list of our names and birthdays. Also, who wants, could add e-mail and address, but only who wants to share the information.
I have no problems sharing mine. In fact, my e-mail address (for whom does not know it already) is psergi@hotmail.com
I have no problem posting my address, but in private messages. So, does anybody volunteer to prepare the list?
:-))

I will gladly prepare the list. Those who want to: leave me a private message with whatever information you feel like sharing and your email address (noting whether or not you want that on the list or whether you want me to email you the list and then promptly erase all memory of that email address!).

Only put what you feel comfortable sharing--just birthday, even without year, is fine. No pressure!

134 - you are an angel. My Keith has kept up with this thread as I have chatted and smiled along with you all. He *keeps* saying Google doc it, do a spreadsheet etc so thank you christiguc :))

Thank you - yes!

# Rob - you wrote 'ten days in the village of Baillargues, east of Montpellier, and it was like a fairytale world. Every hilltop with its Cathar chateau; Roman remains; amazing medieval churches...and the brébis was the best cheese I've ever tasted!'

I went straight to the map and found Baillargues - it is much further East than where we are. Leave me a private message with your address on my profile and I'll get a postcard to you when we are on holiday! Did you get as far West as Carcassonne I wonder ... and how wonderful to love brebis (je m'excuse ... pas d'accent!). So do you speak French as well I wonder ... Let me know if ever you want to go back to the region!

Edited to correct typos.

We never made it to Carcassonne, but my brother-in-law and his family did; they were living in Baillargues for a year on sabbatical from an American university, and doing population genetics research at the university in Montpellier. I have enough French to read Le Petit Prince, but not enough to speak coherently (or always to put the accents in the right place!). Being a shy person, I learned Latin and ancient Greek—two languages I wouldn't actually have to speak!

I see that Kate Mosse's new book, Sepulchre, is set mostly in and around Rennes-les-Bains.

Mmmm - I was refraining from mentioning Sepulchre but you are absolutely correct. Apparently the paperback edition has photos in the back. My husband began it but did not get on with it. However he says that the details regarding the village are fairly accurate - in fact we have eaten at the Pizzeria *many* times. Rennes-les-Bains is a very small village - 120 inhabitants - but is delightful, especially during the Summer. Before the advent of our home there we used to camp on the small (28 pitches only) camp site.
I am wondering if you know of Rennes-le-Chateau as well?

I'll be without internet access for the next three weeks, so there will be silence on my end for a while. Here is a photograph of where I'll be: our summer place, on an island in Lake Huron off the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It's quite rustic (no electricity, kerosene mantle lamps, etc.), but the best place in the world for uninterrupted reading! It's been in my wife's family for a hundred years. (The green buildings behind us are the main "camp;" the nearer building is a dilapidated "blockhouse" that belongs to my wife's aunt.) Think of me up there reading Margery Sharp and Sophocles!

Rob, what a wonderful vacation place! We will miss you. Have fun!

It looks terrific! Enjoy it!

Rob- how wonderful - it truly appeals to the outdoor and romantic girl in me! There is something special about going back to basics, we used to love it when camping. We don't have computer access on holiday either - which, from my personal point of view is not a bad thing.

We are so blessed to have these wonderful oases of calm in our lives. Enjoy one another's company, the tranquility and of course the reading - we will miss you.

Oh Rob that is lovely. It sounds wonderful to unplug like that. Have a lovely time. When I was a child there was a little rustic cabin in Montana that we would go and the whole pace of life changes what a good thing.

Marvelous! Have a great time, Rob. We shall miss you, but every time we think of you reading Margery Sharp and Sophocles (what a combination!), we shall smile and be a bit envious of the blissful peace of your surroundings.
By the way, your wife is very cute!
:-))

The peacefulness of that island shows in your faces, Rob, and I am more than a bit envious! Enjoy!

How lovely, Rob. I was born in Michigan and spent some time on Bois Blanc Island, not far from Charlevoix. My dad also owned a string of cottages north of Port Huron.

Wow! I go on holiday for two weeks and come back to a birthday thread and the planning of a little virago 'enchanted april.' I love this group!
My birthday is August 22, 1976

Well Rob and Cariola - Thank you - I have just been to look at Google earth and zoomed into Huron, Bois Blanc and Charlevoix. It all looks fascinating and certainly away from it all. The names sound so French - sounds almost European!

#149 Detroit was founded by the French explorer Cadillac, and Ontario, which borders Michigan on that side, was a center of the French trapping trade. The state is full of French and Indian names.

(Of course, many of the names became Anglicized. Bois Blanc is pronounced Boy Blank.)

#150 Thank you for that information - really interesting.

About 15 years ago we went on holiday with some friends who had a family place near where Rob is staying. It was so remote and stunningly beautiful. It helped that our friends were gourmet cooks so we came laden with food and wine and had a very enjoyable time indeed! Hope you are having fun Rob!

Just a tiny clarification Juliette, re Ontario: the bulk of the fur trade was in Quebec and northern Ontario. The south (along Lakes Erie, Huron, Ontario) was settled predominantly by Scots and Irish settlers, with later immigration from England, so its place names come from that influence. A lot of southern Ontario is on the pre-ice age old lake bed, so is rich farming land, attracting those kinds of settlers. The northerly part of the province is very wild, with vast forests and many thousands of lakes. Pre-colonial days saw the indigenous people using the land the same way, with peoples like the Mohawks farming in the south and staying "settled" in areas while northern tribes (e.g., Cree) moved with the animals they relied on through vast territories (the land is a lot less hospitable once you hit the Canadian Shield: rock, rock, rock).

So you'll see a few French names further north, north-east (although there is a Paris in the south!). My area had heavy Scots/Irish immigration, hence names like Ennismore, Douro, Cameron, Stirling, Tweed, Perth etc. There are still pockets of francophones in north-central Ontario and Quebec (of course) is French speaking.

Thank you dear tiffin - I can't speak for other friends but I love learning from LT friends. I am wondering if you have read The Tenderness of Wolves and if so how true a portrayal is it of the land and the people?

Sorry - a bit off thread theme ....

Juliette - there is a wonderful Virago Traveller written by Susanna Moodie called "Roughing It In The Bush" or Life in Canada initially published in 1852 and by Virago in 1986. It tells of her experience of living in rural Canada. It is an excellent read of the hardships of pioneering from a woman's point of view. Susanna was born in England and migrated to Canada with her husband in 1832.

I have only recently discovered that the wonderful Margaret Atwood has written a book of poems (which I have just ordered:-)) based on Susanna's experience.

That sounds worth a search mrspenny. I am thoroughly enjoying some of the non fiction Virago finds. The Margaret Atwood connection sounds fascinating. As I read my last Pioneer on great women a number of connections with fiction struck me. The Age of Innocence was set in very much the same period that these non fiction ladies were living - and wow - what a difference in terms of their lives!

ETA - yay, just found the Roughing It In The Bush book was reprinted in 1986 and that I can reserve it from the great Oxfordshire library service. It is in the 'central store' so it may even be the original ...

mrspenny -what was the title of the poetry book please?

juliette - the title of M A's poetry book is The Journals of Susanna Moodie. I found a copy at Powells.com

Thank you so much dear mrsp! I love the links in reading and this really appeals to me.

I have The Tenderness of Wolves sitting on Mount TBR, Juliette. I'll let you know once I read it.

Off Virago Topic: Susanna Moodie and her sister, Catharine Parr Traill, lived in my area. I have read Sisters in the Wilderness by Charlotte Gray and it was a very good account of their lives. There is a relatively new book out by Michael Peterman which is just beautiful - full of photographs and wonderful information. Hang on, I'll hunt down the title.

ETA: the title is Sisters in Two Worlds: a Visual Biography of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill

I take a brief hiatus from LibraryThing and look what happens! This is a lovely idea!

My birthday is the 13th of March ... 1963 if we're counting years.

janeajones - I hope you are having a wonderful 60th Birthday.

Yes jane, may you have a felicitous 60th year,

I think 60th birthdays deserve their own party thread! I'm off to create one for jane now ...

You lead, I'll follow!

Here I come, at last, to this thread. What fun to read. Surprises galore, having nothing whatever to do with age and birthdays! Still, I'm here to add mine-- December 15, 1951.

Good. Glad to have it.

May 14th 1958 - is someone recording these on a spreadsheet too, or how do you keep track of them?

christiguc has put together a spreadsheet. Now she can add you too...oh jolly!!!!!!

Yes. Also there is a Google Calendar here of our birthdays.

Christina....you're a Google gem!

Christina, thanks for the calendar! That's great!

Christina, I just found this thread (still catching up after England). That calendar is brilliant! We've got some Scorpios coming up soon (I love Scorpios).

I just discovered, because VMC author Martha Gelhorn was mentioned on another thread, that she and I share a birthday: November 8 (she was 1908, I was 1964).

That's my oldest son's birthday, too, Rob! (1989)

My internet has been down for over 24 hours so just saw this post today. I think it's wonderful that the whole group is composed of people of all ages! My birthday is June 15 (1970).

Oh! You are my favourite nephew's age, Tuppy!
:-))

And I am exactly 2 weeks younger than Rob - November 22, 1964.

Talbin: You should plan a trip down to Northfield sometime in November for a joint birthday round at the Contented Cow!

HEY! Are we not invited too for a celebration at the Contented Cow?????

Of course, you all are invited. If you can get here, the first round's on me!

Rob - Hmmm - I need to convince DH that a trip to Northfield would be in order. I've never been to the Contented Cow - my college days were spent at The Reub and The Cave - so it would give me an opportunity to see a new drinking establishment in town.

I thought I'd bring this thread to the top. We have several new members and a reminder for those who didn't post. I have 25 so far, on the list Christina/Laura created.

It's so much fun, these Virago celebrations, you know?

Yes, we wouldn't want to miss any DECEMBER birthdays, would we Cate??!! Very clever of you :-)

Christina put the birthdays on a Google calendar. I'm not sure if this is public or if she needs to provide access based on email address. Will leave it to her to respond.

In any case, it would be great for newer members to post their birthdays because we love parties around here!

Now now, that wasn't my intention at all, Miss smarty pants! I was really hoping to expand my current list of Viragoites (with addresses) for future events and surprises. So there.

Happy Birthday, Talbin!

My birthday is September 16, 1950.

I'm glad we finally have a September birthday! Now we need some July birthdays. :)

VMC Birthday/Event Calendar

Well then, my birthday, which is a long way away, is May 25. And a little trivia (which doesn't really apply because he's not a member but which always makes my life exciting) - my husband's birthday is May 12 and our anniversay is May 18.

Hello everybody, I'm a Halloween baby, Oct 31, 1963. Nice job with the calendar, Christina.

I'm another September baby. My birthday is on the 27th.

hi there

I have just had a birthday - November 9. It was a good excuse to buy myself some more books, even though I was given quite a few a presents.

I was born in 1960 - so a couple of years until a big birthday.

Niki—
My birthday is a day before yours, November 8! I hope you had a great day!
—Rob

Hi Rob

Happy Birthday to you too.

We Scorpios are very nice people, really! We must be if we like books so much...

You are nice people, Niki!
I know because I have Scorpio rising....eh eh eh eh....

I'm not surprised we have so many Scorpios in the group. They are wonderful people -intelligent, charismatic, passionate, intense and fascinated with what is under the surface. They have a love, or at least, nostalgia for the past and also have the potential to get a bit, er...obsessive!

I'm not a Scorpio but am married to one!

So am I, soup. Oh my, I do so agree re "the potential to get a bit, er...obsessive!".

I'm a Scorpio born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon, so I've been hit with a zodiacal double-whammy of smoldering intensity. Combine that with the fiery character of a red-head, and it's a wonder I haven't spontaneously combusted!

Rob, my husband is a Scorpio dragon too AND a former redhead. It's never boring around you sparks a'flying types.

I'm a Scorpio born in the Chinese Year of the Rat. I suspect the combination is not a good one. Interestingly, my mother, whom I adored, was an Aquarius; my ex-husband is an Aquarius; and Robbie (my love) is an Aquarius. I clearly have a thing for Aquarians.

I think it has potential, urania. Step on me and I'll sting you but I'll be really organised and frugal about it.
A fellow rat (earth)

ETA: gosh, this is turning into a 70s party...hi there, what's your sign?

My wife is an Aquarius, too. Another Scorpio with a thing for Aquarians!

Ooh la la ... I'm an Aquarius. I feel the love ...

My daughter Julia is an Aquarius. Extremely intelligent but, at times, not that easy to deal with.

Yes, Laura, do feel the love.....it is right here!
:-))

>202 aluvalibri:: Well, your daughter Julia must be an unusual Aquarian. I know that I am always easy to deal with. And, yes, extremely intelligent. And short. :-)

Short and soooooo cute!

*blush*

I am a short Aquarian with a thing for Scorpios. My husband is a Scorpio and so were the two boyfriends before him!

We Aquarians are of course, always extremely easy to deal with. It's everyone else who's the problem!
:-))

Edited to admit that my father is also a Scorpio. Oh dear. Just call me Electra!

I am an Aquarian married to a Virgoan. I'm the intelligent one! And I would say I am easy to get on with.

>206 Soupdragon:, 207: and I'm sure you are both also "soooooo cute!"

Oh you cute Aquarians, so good for us contrarians :-)

No Aquarians in my life, but I have one son who is a Leo born in the year of the Tiger and one Scorpio born in the year of the Snake. Guess which is the (generally) "good" boy and which is the "bad?"

My husband and I are both straddlers -- I'm on the Taurus/Gemini cusp and he is Virgo/Libra.

Wow I am feeling quite left out. No other Gemini rabbits out there?

I'm a Gemini married to a Libra.

Same cusp here, Avid.

I am a Libra (with Scorpio rising), born in the year of the Monkey (a Fire Monkey to be exact), and my significant other is a Gemini born in the year of the Dragon. Incidentally, his birthday is the same as Laura's hubby (May 24).

I'm a Libra married to another Libra. We can never make decisions about anything!

Now that is funny tuppy I am married to a Libra as well and my sister is a libra married to a Gemini

Karen we seem to have the same decision making problem. I suppose I am of two minds about everything and he must weigh all decisions.

So here I am, one of the newest of the group and also the oldest??? My birthday is October 13 (1944!) (Yes, born on Friday - as was my father in July of '20.) (My mother is still going strong: reading, doing water aerobics 5 days a week, and playing way too much bridge.) Hmmm. Libra married to Capricorn: "a rare and wonderful combination," so I've been told. He was a beekeeper for many years until he was able to sell his healthy hives before they were wiped out by the mites.... He also says and means, "I have everything in the world I want right here. Why should I go anywhere else?" So I won't be visiting any of the lovely places that you all live. AND I took early retirement from teaching because I wasn't teaching anybdoy anything anymore. I think I fit here.

We are honored to have another lovely, learned lady amongst us, dear LizzieD!

Hi LizzieD! Welcome to our group from another Libra!!!!
I am sure you will like it here, everyone is so nice and friendly.
:-))

Welcome, LizzieD! I am also a Friday the 13th baby, btw.

Welcome LizzieD!

Welcome, LizzieD. You're only 4 years older than I am, so don't get feeling too hoary there. I love bees and grow my garden to appeal to them.

Welcome LizzieD - looking forward to getting to know you. BTW my husband used to keep bees but succumbed to anaphylactic reactions once too often!!

Thank you! 4 years at this stage of life is nothing, tiffin, so we'll just wow these young things with our energy.
I took my stings beside hubby for 20 years or so, but neither of us had anaphylactic problems although we kept our shock kit close by. Keep him safe, juliette.
Marise, are you as smug as I am on any Friday 13?
(Seeing all these Viragos is an eye-opening experience. I thought I had a few. HA!)

Hi LizzieD from LyzzyBee!

Hello, LizzieD. Like tiffin I am 4 years younger than you.

As am I -- ah well, these sixties are another adventure in themselves! Welcome, LizzieD.

LizzieD - hallo and welcome - you will enjoy it here!!

Hi LizzieD and welcome from one of the toddlers here (I only just realised that now)! My birthday's March 4, 1971.

Hi LizzieD,

I think this this is the most intelligent, cultured, warm and generous group of people that I've met in Cyberspace so you've come to the right place!

WOW!! That is a compliment indeed, Soup!!
Thanks!

If CMT is a toddler then I'm an infant! I'm August 7, 1977.

Oh!!! Not one, but TWO babies among us......how cute!!!!!!!
:-))

P.S. #232, lahoch, two very very dear friends of mine were born on August 7 (in 1953, though)!

*grin* I'm two years older than CMT, does that mean I've past the toddler stage yet?

Don't worry, lahochstetler, there are those younger than you here. . . Am I the youngest so far?

I didn't see your year! Yup, you're the baby!

Coochie coochie coo!

Thought I'd also pipe in to represent August -- my birthday is August 1, 1971.

The baby's (Eleanor) is August 9, 2008, but she's not technically a member, just mentioned in the threads, so I don't think that quite counts.....

She definitely is an honorary member!
:-))

#235 Apparently not any longer!

Mine is March 31st 1981

>240 bunnyb: a-HA! I knew there had to be others hiding here!

Edited to add: the calendar is updated. See message 186.

Thanks for the updated list, Christina!

Wow, as I scrolled through this thread, there is a wealth of information! #155 - mrspenny, I just ordered the Susanna Moodie Virago Traveler as I've just begun a reread of Atwood's Alias Grace who sites Moodie.

This makes me (copyright 1978) feel slightly young, slightly old, (more than) slightly delinquent! My apologies to everyone whose birthday thread I've missed. It's been worrying me, while so absent, and in returning. Truly: I hope all of you whose days I missed had marvelous birthdays!

(But with this group to celebrate them, I don't doubt any birthday would be improved.)

Cate, if you're interested in rather divergent points of view regarding the early days in Canada, Catharine Parr Traill (Susanna Moodie's sister) also wrote about pioneer life in her book, The Backwoods of Canada. I have a duplicate copy, if you're interested.

And from there you could move on to Charlotte Gray's book Sisters in the Wilderness : The Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill.

- your friendly neighbourhood book pusher ;)

atta girl, sq, push that Canadian lit!

Just posting one for the old broads cuz where would you be without us??? Hmmmm?//
I'm a November 7, 1947 baby boomer me own self.

nannybebette -- welcome to the silver 60s soiree!

WHY didn't I come back here sooner to warm myself with all the very lovely greetings? Thank you! I'm long in the tooth and apparently sort of short in the Viragos. So we seem to have one war model and a couple of boomers. That should be enough to let everybody know how it used to be.

Bernadette! Oh please pardon the folly of this jubileed brain of mine. I'm only just returning to the thread today and read your post. I have since moved on from Moodie and Atwood though I may tap you on the shoulder in future times for your generous offer of Catherine Traill's book - if it's still available!

In postscript, I've not moved entirely from Atwood, as a recent review has piqued my interest in reading The Blind Assassin.

I'm a bit late to this discussion!!

My birthday is 27th February 1982 :) and I just turned 27.

Just jumping on the Canadian bandwagon I've just read Sisters in the Wilderness and few months back and I've got Susannah Moodie's book to read on my tbr as well. Maybe I should get on with it!
I collect the Virago Travellers as well. Does anyone else?

Oh Charlotte!!!! You are a baby!!!!!!
Isn't it delightful that we have a wide spectrum of ages here?

I collect any kind of Virago, Charlotte...VMC, Travellers, Pantheon, you name it.

Charlotte - February is a great month to have a birthday:-)) I have collected several Virago Travellers - there are some really interesting stories from some very unconventional and adventurous women in this series -
If you haven't already seen it, there is a list of some of the titles on the discussion thread on Virago Travellers.

I'm May 12th 1988 (just a few weeks away). May should be a nice month to have a birthday, but it doesn't feel that way when you've had exams around that time for practically your entire life!

Oh dear! Not only are you my daughter's age, Julia, but you also have the same name!
:-))

And nearly mine, you are making me feel a little old. ;) (At just off a decade in difference.) Standardized tests used to fall on my birthday almost every year, and unlike exams tied to normal classes, I quite enjoyed that! They seemed a bit more like a game. Only good stress was involved.

To both of you, let me say: Julia is so much better a name than its variant, I must applaud its use! (And our other Julie has the grace to be named Juliette!) Just don't tell my mother, my wonderful mother, that there is anything I could have preferred! In fact, Julie sounds better against my unwieldy surname.

>249 bleuroses:
Cate that's okay, there are quite a lot of threads to keep up with around here. :)

Catherine Parr Traill's book is still available when/if you'd like it.

Glad to hear you're enjoying Atwood. I need to catch up on her more recent books.

#256 ..... blushes .... thanks to my Mum and Dad .... They chose Melinda as my middle name ....

#256- thanks for the compliment, Julie- for some reason, Julia was the only name my parents could agree on. I don't know what they would have done if they'd had another daughter.

Do you know why I named my daughter Julia?
When I saw the movie 'Julia', after the Lillian Hellman's story, I was so fascinated by the splendid character, wonderfully played by Vanessa Redgrave, that I decided that, if ever I had had a daughter, I would have chosen that name. And so it was.

Julie, I think yours is equally lovely, as well as Juliette!
:-))

I love both names, Julia and Juliette and Paola, I love the movie Julia! I saw it as a child and recently saw it again. It's still as good as I remembered only now I understood so much more. There's something about the atmosphere about that movie and of course the story and the acting were perfect.

My daughter Julia's name was inspired by Brideshead Revisited (hello julia_flyte in #259!), because when we found out she would be a girl, we had also recently seen the series on TV. I've not seen the movie, Julia ... will have to watch it sometime!

It is an excellent movie, Laura, and quite moving.

#262- I'm pretty sure Brideshead Revisited also inspired my parents to name me Julia as they were in love with in in the 80s and there's no history of it whatsoever in the family. I can't remember exactly why I chose it as my Librarything username- unlike my namesake, I haven't got a drop of aristocratic or Catholic blood in my body.

New to this group, but I've been hanging around on LT on other groups since January. My birthday's October 26, 1950--I've always liked having the exact middle of the century as my birth year.

Re names: my daughters are named Sonia and Mia, and when they were children they complained because they never knew anyone who had the same name. Now they like their names.
My sons, on the other hand, named Matthew, Brandon and Ben, always shared their names with plenty of their peers--somehow we seemed to pick the popular name for boys for the years they were born.

It's funny how names go in and out of style. Hey--how about a thread on names in Virago books?????

Yes, a thread on names sounds very interesting!
Why don't you start it? Come on, do it!
:-))

Hi and Welcome Arubabookwoman,

My (real) name is Deirdre and as far as I can tell it's never been in style, except for possibly in Ireland. One of the reasons I love the Virago Modern Classic The Brontes went to Woolworths is that it features a protagonist who is called Deirdre and not frumpy. Deirdres in fiction and popular culture are very rare and when they do appear they are invariably frumps so I was very happy that The Bronte's Deirdre wasn't...though she is a bit mad!

Does anybody recall any Virago characters named Claire?

Deborah is lucky to have a Virago title in her name!

267> Soupdragon -- I've always had wildly romantic associations with the name Deirdre from the Irish legend Exile of the Sons of Uisliu dramatized as Deirdre of the Sorrows by J.M. Synge, and I think by Yeats too.

I think Deirdre is a beautiful name. And yes, Jane, Deirdre and Naoise, that sad love story with the two of them being chased all over Ireland and Scotland by that miserable Conchobar!

Thank you, both! I'd sort of forgotten but apparently my dad was reading Deirdre of the Sorrows when my mum was pregnant...

Aha! Just found this thread - I'd wondered how you were all so clued-up on each other's birthdays :) Mine is coming up on the 29th (1987 - not *quite* as young as Julia!) and my mum is taking me to Hay-on-Wye on Monday to celebrate - 3 days of Virago-shopping ahoy!

Ha! You are a baby, not even one year older than my daughter (and I am VERY envious because you are going to Hay and I am not!)

I've just found this thread - I wondered how you knew to wish each other Happy Birthday! Mine is 18th May (1957) so a long wait to the next one. My real name is Kerry, which I hated when I was a child - I'd have much preferred Susan - but I'm glad to be a bit unusual now. I didn't personally meet another Kerry until I was well over 30, and he was a sixty year old man, however during my early to mid 20s I was often admonished in shops along the line of "Kerry! I told you not to touch" only to turn guiltily round and see a woman scolding her two-year old. Having been the only Kerry so far during my life whenever I heard the name I assumed it was me being addressed. My mother said my name would have been Kerry had I turned out to be a boy.

CD - are you NZ born because every third kid in New Zealand (when I was living there last) - male and female - is a Kerry. And these are people your age not littlies.

i always wondered how you knew each others birthdays too! mines november 24th (1983). This is a lovely group, iv always balked before when people tried to get me on facebook ect. but i love it here.

#275 - No, I'm British, but growing up, I did notice that Australia and NZ use the name more, and for males rather than females.

It really cheers me up to see such a bunch of lovely people in our group.
I am glad you like it here, Kerry and weaponxgirl!
:-))

I will join in the fun too so that you all can get to know a little bit about me. My birthday is July 26 (1984) and my real name is Danielle. I grew up (born and raised in North Carolina) knowing of 2 other Danielle's that were my same age and every now and then meet someone else of the same name...maybe it was slightly popular in the 80s?. Had a I been a boy I would have been Daniel.

#275 Barbara, you beat me to it! Kerry, I grew up surrounded by Kerrys at school here in NZ and was wondering whether you were a Kiwi. It's quite unusual now though. It's sometimes shortened to Kezza... just as Sharon gets shortened to Shazza - any Sharons out there?

It is nice to see new members. Welcome! 272 Hay on Wye sounds like a perfect birthday treat.

Kerry, my birthday is three days after yours, also 1957, and I know one other American Kerry (also female) of about our age. Welcome!

I recently learned that Christina Stead is my "birthday twin": July 17th.

I am new. I have only read about half of the birthdays here but I feel like I know a lot of you already.

August 22 is mine.

You will get to know all of us pretty soon, m' dear!
We are a talkative lot.
:-))

Hi virapol and welcome - when's your birthday?!

Geez, can you tell it's 6.09 am (I'm in New Zealand) and I haven't had my coffee? Just re-read your post. Happy birthday for last week!

Hello virapol.
Welcome to the Virago Group. This is a wonderful group of people. Besides reading and discussing great books, there is a lot of lively conversation as well. I see on your profile that this is the only group that you belong to as of yet. Well, if I could pick only one, it would be this one as well. I find that I spend more and more of my time here and that when on my challenge thread or reading the other threads, I often feel I must scurry back over here to see what I am missing. And usually I am missing something. I think you will be very happy here and we are glad to have you.
belva

>#286:
Cushla;
What is up with that? "and I haven't had my coffee?" I was up a little after 4:00 this morning due to the fact that it had begun to rain and it got so muggy in the bedroom that I couldn't sleep. So I was having coffee about 4:30. (de-caf, of course, but it's all in my head anyway) Dontcha know that the first thing in the A.M. is: coffee on, then pee.
Then we turn the computer on and sign on and by then coffee is done and we are good to go.
***big sigh*** love the quiet mornings with just the coffee, computer and me.

Welcome virapol! This is a great group to belong to. Belated Birthday Greetings to you too!

Thank you all.

Re 288, I see that I belong.

My order is 1) turn on computer and wait for it to warm up, then 2) put on coffee and only then 3) pee.

Coffee, computer and me. Isn't that a song? It should be, anyway.

You are so right virapol. It should be a song.
I am sure you are too young to remember when the ladies of my era (and we weren't ladies then), when flirting, often said: "Coffee, tea or me?"
belva

P.S. I am sure your bladder is much younger than mine.

My coffee is on a timer so it grinds & brews automagically, freeing me up to pee sooner ;-)

ROLF/LMAO!~!

I sincerely hope that Christina does not add the urinary habits of Viragoites to the birthday chart. *information overload*

>294 tiffin: LOL. For you, tiffin, I will refrain.

#295 Phew!!

ROLF!~!

glitter-graphics.com

I just recently joined here and posted in another thread. Now I've found this thread for posting birthdays.

Mine is May 28.

Welcome words3 - great birthday - the same as my dear Mummy's!!!

My nephew's birthday too! Love Geminis!! :-))

My birthday is July 31 (1954) -- I have the distinct honor of sharing that day with Harry Potter. I will try to remember to look at the lists now and then!

Nice day, July 31st!!!

My birthday is July 26, pretty close to yours sibyx

I don't know if I've ever posted my birthday - March 13.

My birthday is on 30 June.

I haven't either - 3rd April.

My mother's birthday! Happy belated!

I'm new here too (thanks to Marise for inviting me), this thread is a great way to get to know everyone. My birthday is July 19th, 1967. I read the discussion upthread - my own name is a trendy one for my year of birth, but my daughter (future Virago, Feb 5th) is named Elspeth, inspired by Elspeth Huxley. I saw the PBS adaptation of the Flame Trees of Thika as a girl and decided if I ever had a daughter I'd name her Elspeth.

So glad you've joined us! I think Elspeth is a beautiful name!

Me too! I was named after Barbara Stanwyck who is not one of my favorites. I did hear of a friend or a friend - an Irishman - who was named Hassan because his mother read The Sheik while she was pregnant with him. (I think that was the character's last name, right?). That probably went down big in County Mayo. I know that Demi Moore's eldest is called Rumer and I have always presumed she was a fan of Rumer Godden.

#308> aboucher, welcome to our group!! My daughter's birthday is February 5th as well. She is 22 and her name is Julia. I chose that name after watching the movie "Julia" with Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Fonda, and after reading the novella that inspired it, by Lillian Hellman. I was so impressed by the Julia character that I decided that if I ever had a daughter I would choose that name.
I quite enjoyed the book The Flame Trees of Thika, but I never saw the tv adaptation.

Welcome, aboucher!

Welcome, aboucher. Elspeth is a lovely name.