As well as events of note in his daily life, Groen also remarks on current affairs, including the antics of politicians, the salaries of executives, elections, corruption, the King, the Middle East, and news in the sphere of care facilities. Sometimes the anecdotes are probably funnier if the reader is familiar with Dutch personages, but often the commentary is applicable universally: just change the names. Hendrik and his friends are still keen to have as much fun as they can manage given their advanced years and infirmity, and I found their camaraderie and exploits endearing. “Stop spending so much time studying life’s instruction manual. Just do it!! Yes, you may fall down a few times, but so long as you get up again, you’ll be ahead of where you were.” Hendrik writes with humour, insight and charm about often painful subjects - quite an achievement - and hints that his next project is to be a novel, I can’t wait for its publication.

Bright Side by Kim Holden - AbeBooks Bright Side by Kim Holden - AbeBooks

This collection of memoirs is about as positive as anything can be. Idle got break after break, got swept along to bigger and better things and was continually invited to new ventures, where he succeeded to great acclaim his first time out, be it sketch writing, film, opera, records or Broadway. Oh. And everyone adores him. It's been a priviledge to share another year in Hendrik's life, and I've experienced a whole range of emotions with him, from the laugh out loud outrageous escapades, to the inevitable sad farewells along the way. Hendrik possesses a level of humility and dignity that brings a lump to my throat, and he makes the invisibility of old age a little less so. Bravo Hendrik!! Much of the book involves celebrity name-dropping and this gets tiresome, even as Idle admits to it. The book could have been quite a bit shorter, which would have increased its relative amount of interesting material, if Idle had worked with a collaborator to edit these name-drops. He says in the book that he’s a better rewriter than writer, and the book shows it. A few of said celebrities, notably George Harrison, were friends, and these parts of the book have real depth and show witty yet caring exchanges between the men. But, for example, who cares that Harrison introduced him to Eric Clapton once? Or a list of all the famous guys that he partied with? Interestingly, his relationship with his wife is rather glossed over, and it seems like he has more in common with his buddies. Though he mentions her several times, it’s mostly to say she’s a hot model.

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I was so impressed with this book’s ability to make me feel. It simultaneously owned me and destroyed me. There was a sense of honesty in every aspect of the book… from the character’s thoughts to the dialogue, from their quirky personalities to the heavy realities they all have had to face. “I can’t let the bad consume me or it would eat me whole. The bad stays in the bad corner of my mind, I don’t let it through the door to mingle with good, because the bad is a goddamn party pooper.” For years it was unknown who was hiding behind the pseudonym. This led to speculation about who it could be. Names from Sylvia Witteman to Arnon Grunberg were mentioned. Both De Volkskrant and NRC Handelsblad revealed almost simultaneously in 2016 that Peter de Smet was 62-year-old. De Smet responded with the words that 'he is not waiting for publicity' and 'has no sense in the fuss about fame'. As you can tell from the title, the main achievement of his was the song, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life that he wrote for Monty Pythons’ Life of Brian. It has become a part of life around the world. It is the number one piece played at funerals in the UK, for example. Sports fans sing it loud when their team is losing. What would Spamalot have been without it? It’s the Greensleeves of the 21st century. Cathrin Bradbury's life imploded in the space of a few months. Her beloved parents died, her marriage limped to an end after twenty-five years, her heavily mortgaged house turned against her, and a promising new romance ended in crushing disappointment. Most of all, in a year when so much is upside down for so many of us, I found her honest memoir so validating. We all live with uncertainty, are mired in periods of dread, deal with dead end relationships at one point or another- Bradbury lived through a year heaped and shaped by much all at once and survived.

bright side book pdf - Time Of BD - Education Blog bright side book pdf - Time Of BD - Education Blog

We also get to find out what the other loveable characters are up to, and whether life has changed for the residents of the care home. This goes from public schools to His mad days with David Jason, Peter Cooke his life long friendship with David Bowie & Robin Williams to ending up like his Grandfather in A circus to how Look on the bright side is played at funeralsThere are funny anecdotes galore; from pieces of fruit turning up in peculiar locations; a mysterious apple in the aquarium, a tangerine in the lift, a pineapple in the "gym", to Mrs Schansleh's creative proverbs. Her writing is wry, and had me laughing out loud in self recognition in places. In others, I found tears on my cheeks. I thoroughly enjoyed Hendrik’s first diary so I was incredibly excited to be asked to review the follow-up and it’s every bit as special.

Bright Side by Monica Parpal, Kim Holden | Waterstones

Book 2 in the Hendrik Groen Secret Diary series, and this octogenarian doesn't let age deter him from keeping his diary up to date - and making plans for the future, not to mention having great fun along the way. Plenty of names dropped - “"Germaine (Greer) had come through the Footlights door with Clive James, and we became friends. He introduced me to his poetry and Brett Whiteley drawings, and I observed his unceasing pursuit of the female. His father, too, had not returned from the war. I found I unconsciously bonded with several people like that, including Germaine and Harry Nilsson."

The book is also a little more nuanced in character than the first one. More is hinted at about the director, so she becomes something more than just a “no” party pooper. Hendrik himself finds a new friend that reveals new facets about his person as he shows the reader that it is possible to never stop growing as a person. Readers of the first book will be relieved to hear that a second book means the sweet and funny Hendrik is still around. As Idle explains early on, there is an unending shelf of books, documentaries and products keeping the Monty Python myth alive. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life is certainly one of them. I was 33 before I realized I couldn't shag every woman in the world. Some would have to remain disappointed." I got my copy of this at a book-signing in my hometown. It was a big event by local standards, billed as a conversation between Idle and Naperville’s own Bob Odenkirk (of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame). It was quite an enjoyable evening. Idle, who is now 75 years old, is still razor sharp and can still deliver the laughs. I’ll remember that next time I’m chewing on life’s gristle.