I mentioned previously that although I have not managed much book reading since being furloughed I did reread the first three books in the City Watch series by Terry Pratchett. Those books are not really reading to me, I have read them so often I can quote parts of them now, but they provide huge amounts of mental soothing.

I don’t really need much in the way of physical creature comforts, as long as my feet are dry and my tummy isn’t too empty I can cope with most of what life throws at me, but mental creature comforts are how I manage to do that.

Books – The aforementioned Terry Pratchett series. The members of the Night Watch start out very much as underdogs and losers but they gain their successes with decency and grace. The riches and favours that come along with those successes are treated with suspicion, the relationships that develop and grow are valued far more. Also there are dragons, werewolves and missing trousers.

Rose Madder by Stephen King, it’s not a big fan favourite but I love it. Good triumphing over evil tends to be a theme with him and this one goes all out with it…sometimes all I want in life is for the baddies to get their arses kicked.

The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams, this was a huge influence on my teenage years and I even used it for the oral part of my English Lit exams (which I passed…phew). The humour is sometimes silly but anything with a fjord designer named Slartibartfast in it will always find favour with me.

Musical and film/telly comforts to follow…