My Animals and Other Family

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Now I dont normally go for biogs, preferring fiction; but something about this book made me want to read it. I loved how each chapter was seperated into each different pet or horse Clare knew growing up. It had me laughing and crying in many places. She tells her story so well, which is easy to read and understand. I’m horsey but not that interested in Racing, but I understood what she was on about and could easily visualise the races or mishaps Clare got herself into growing up! She evoked fond memories I have, especially as I was a fearless tom boy growing up too who would get myself in lots of trouble sometimes involving a pony or friend. The way Gerald Durrell describes them is unbeatable. He casts a spell on you not only when he portrays quite spectacular species but also quite prosaic ones. Mother's dog. Dodo constantly challenges beauty standards. Affectionately called by Larry 'that canine Frankenstein'. Clare Balding is a well known sports presenter with a special interest in horse racing. I have no interest in sports and an out and out dislike of racing......but I adored this book, and could not put it down. George discovered that by seasoning a series of unpalatable facts with a sprig of zoology and a sprinkle of completely irrelevant detail, he could get me interested. Thus I became conversant with some historical data which, to the best of my knowledge, have never been recorded before. Breathlessly, history lesson by history lesson, I followed Hannibal’s progress over the Alps. His reason for attempting such a feat, and what he intended to do on the other side, were details that scarcely worried me. No, my interest in what I considered to be a very badly planned expedition lay in the fact that I knew the name of each and every elephant . I also knew that Hannibal had appointed a special man not only to feed and look after the elephants, but to give them hot-water bottles when the weather got cold . This interesting fact seems to have escaped most serious historians...The lectures were attended by Gerry, his dog Roger, Achilles the tortoise and Quasimodo the pigeon. The four musketeers doted on the juicy big grapes of Corfu. Achilles loved the wild strawberries the best though.

Spending so much of his time in the garden and fields watching one sort of the animal kingdom in their natural habitat allows Gerald to learn more incisively about the habits of an altogether different genus: his family. Mostly neurotic artists and writers. Invited spontaneously, in large amounts: 'Sometimes the fresh load of guests would turn up before we had got rid of the previous group, and the chaos was indescribable'. This book is the first in Gerald Durrell’s Corfu trilogy. It’s a memoir of his time as a youngster spent on that enchanting Greek island along with his mother and siblings. It highlights his love for wildlife, his affinity with the natural world. We get a glimpse of this conservationist and writer’s first encounters with the animals he grew to cherish and protect on a professional level. He tells his story with clarity and humor. His family gets mixed up in the stories along the way, and this just added to the charm of the book. I love the way he explains his intentions in the introduction: Scoring a huge plus is the fact that in a world of conservatively written memoirs, Balding's is overtly honest and open. We learn about her difficult boarding school education, teetering on the edge of expulsion and an obscenely strict and isolated upbringing. Whilst being shunned for being a girl and generally being left to fend for oneself from such a young age would have been a traumatic time for most children, it wasn't for Balding. Instead she discovered a prowess for horse riding, and discovered her inherent competitive streak which is a delight to read of.

Gerry discovers a small archipelago after the family invests in an outboard engine for their boat the Sea Cow, though they forbid him from taking it out himself. Gerry asks Leslie to build him a boat for his birthday. Two weeks later, Leslie unveils the boat. It's round and strange, but Gerry loves it. He names it the Bootle-Bumtrinket. Its launch is eventful when Peter gets dumped into the water. The party that night is amazing, and Gerry receives two puppies that Larry names Widdle and Puke. Not long after, the family decides that Margo and Peter have become too fond of each other, so Mother fires Peter. Margo cries and pouts dramatically for weeks. Leslie rigs up a complicated system of guns when he notices items missing from the Sea Cow but doesn't share this with the family. When he shoots at the thieves, Mother fears Margo committed suicide. Though this event causes Margo to stop pouting, she does take the Bootle-Bumtrinket out to a small island to pout in peace and receives a very painful sunburn on her eyelids. Fortunately not present at all! The hospitality of Corfiots was really moving. Kind and generous, they offered delicious food to Gerry and made his family feel at home.

Strawberry pink, to be exact. The colour of the first house the Durrells rented on Corfu. The villa had an air of pink-faced determination. Patient. Practical. Sane which seems to be quite an exception in this family. Adorable. You might try not to love her but you won't stand a ghost of a chance. Her hobbies are cooking and gardening.The statue park in Miskolc Zoo, created a bust of Gerald Durrell in 1998. Whipsnade Zoo also unveiled a new island for housing primates dedicated to **Durrell in 1998.[14] The Family, Mother, Lawrence, Larry and Margot knew that whatever they did, Gerry would always love animals, otherwise which crazy family would tolerate a matchbox exploding with baby scorpions at dinner. Durrell ci offre un bellissimo quadro dell'isola di Corfù attraverso la descrizione dei paesaggi e degli abitanti del luogo.