Ring of Roses

Author: Lucilla Andrews
Genre: British Medical Romance
Grade: B/C range

Cathy Maitland has been in Canada for a year, visiting her mother, brother and step-father but is thrilled to return to England and get back to work at St. Martha's, London. She has only a brief stop to make in her home village to be bridesmaid for her childhood friend, Ruth. Ruth's brother Joss is bestman . There is a wonderful scene in The Godfather where Michael Corleone sees Appolina and is struck by the thunderbolt. That is what happens here when Joss and Cathy meet once again. They spend an enchanted evening, drinking, dancing and sipping chamapagne, parting only when they return to London. But when they meet up again the following morning at St. Martha's -- where Joss turns out to be Cathy's boss-- the thunder seems to have been silenced. What happens next is one of those big misunderstandings that can be solved by five minutes of conversation which never takes place. Joss and Cathy limp through the book, saving life after life and casting baleful eyes at each other. Finally, forced together on a journey where Joss must nurse Cathy back to health, they reach a truce. Then in a final climatic scene at the end all the truth spills out, the big mis is cleared and love conquers all once again.

I like childhood friends become sweetheart stories because that shared history can be a shortcut to real soul baring. Having a sense of where someone is from, sharing friends, family relationships and memories can help the couple fit together early in a way two strangers can not. But as Joss said three pages from the end "Twenty four years! Twenty four years you've had to add me up and that's what you figure? Thanks very much!" It was true. They each thought some rather nasty things about the other that made no sense in light of their shared history. Additionally, the big mis was so easily cleared with just a few light hearted sentences that it seemed silly for it to go on several hundred pages. Surely two people who had known each other for many years would have felt comfortable enough together to at least try to clarify things a bit? Not here.

In the end I did like the look at London in the late 60's, early 70's and Andrew's writing style makes for easy reading. You certainly learn a lot about nursing in England during this time period. But unless that is a subject you are dying to pursue, I wouldn't pick this one up. Short of that it just didn't have a lot to recommend it.

Tea: Did you know tea bags are a new phenomenon>?

Most of the tea you can buy in a grocery store now comes in bags. However, these bags are a recent development. They become popular after World War II, when tea was rationed in the UK. Tea giant Tetley introduced the bagged tea to the UK after rationing ended to great success. Consumers loved that each bag had the perfect amount of tea already included.
Information from:http://www.beyondgourmet.com/eight-little-known-tea-facts/