Sunday 4 December 2016

When characters have names like Mustafa bin Maden and Boorock Sobama, it's easy to see who they resemble. But for some characters that have no name, it's necessary for the reader to rely on his knowledge of recent history.

Sunday 16 October 2016

A Chinese lunch

This restaurant was a noisy place,
with tables crowded and not much space
for waiters to carry their trays well laden
with assorted dim-sums and bowls of ramen,
and the clatter of people busily eating
with friends with whom they had a meeting
and chopsticks clicking and glasses clinking,

and background music and singers singing.

Wednesday 7 September 2016

George meets the foxhounds' trainer -

"George then asked him where he came from,
and he replied the town of Northampton,
the centre where these dogs were bred,
and, to be honest, it could be said
that his life had been linked to the dog-breeding trade
since he had been of a very young age.
And his mother was happy with his vocation,
which was to give the dogs an education.
“My mother’s English and my father’s a man,”
he said, “who was born in Pakistan.”
And to show his power he shouted “Freeze,”
and George was amazed, he could hardly believe
that the dogs would stand quite motionless,
gazing up at their master’s face,
waiting for the next order which came right then
when he tossed a ball into the midst of them,
shouting “Kill,” at which the dogs all leapt,
and tore the leather ball to shreds!
“Impressive,” was all that George could say,

“I certainly wouldn’t want to be their prey.”
George is a Chef and this is one of his cooks -

"And among these fellows there was one
who in preparing fancy dishes some
might say this man a genius is,
as skills as precious and pure as his
in creating flavours of such power
are hard to find in this world of ours.
Tall he was with a face so narrow
his nose projected like an arrow,
and of his country he was so proud
that never a person was allowed
to make the slightest disparagement
without receiving an icy glance.
Disliked he was by all his fellows,
his manner haughty, hard, not mellow,
which caused all kinds of minor friction

with his colleagues in the kitchen."

Tuesday 6 September 2016

Monday 5 September 2016

Yes, The Maximum Leader gets attacked for eating pork and beans! But after the fight, he invites George to visit his country - it's not named - but the reader should be able to guess what country it is!

Thursday 25 August 2016

George's problems continue when he comes up against the anti-pork gang. Yes, these people disapprove of the eating of pork and want George to stop using it in his menus - but The Bearded One just loves his pork and beans! The Bearded One? Yes, or some might call him The Maximum Leader!

Sunday 7 August 2016

Have you guessed who the five cooks resemble? One comes from a latin land and talks about Orinoco Gold - surely that is a good hint!

Thursday 28 July 2016

How does the story start? Well, it starts in an exclusive New York club, frequented by the powerful, the rich and the celebrated, and where our hero George is the Chef. Thus, George is thrown into contact with national leaders, politicians and celebrities, many of whom become his friends.

Thursday 21 July 2016

The other characters have names such as The Maximum Leader, Mustafa bin Made, Didi Damin and Borrock Sobama - these will certainly give you a few hints as to which real-life people they might resemble!

Wednesday 13 July 2016

Who do the characters resemble?

The plot of the story is based on the President of a powerful country and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council so this gives you six different nationalities to think about. In the book, these people become a Chef and his five cooks. Read the descriptions and tell me which real-life people you think these six characters resemble.

Saturday 9 July 2016

How to understand The Adventures of George

Although it looks and sounds like a book for children, it's not - it's a book for adults. However, that is not to say that children wouldn't enjoy the story - I'm sure they would, not knowing or caring or understanding that there are hidden meanings. For instance, what child would know or care about the handover of Hong Kong to China - something that happened before they were born! In my next post, I'll talk about the basic plot of the book.

Friday 8 July 2016

They say that narrative poetry is boring stuff but, as you can see above, there's nothing boring about this rollicking tale. And the characters resemble real-life people, both past and present - see if you can identify them!