Tuesday 16 April 2013

CAROL DRINKWATER IS ONE OF MY SUNDAY BEST

Carol has written several fiction books but these are not the ones that have drawn me to this author, the books that she has written and grabbed me by the throat are her non-fiction books. These are the ones that I have included  in my SUNDAY BEST books.



SUNDAY BEST


Now where do I start, first of all a lot of people know of Carol as an actress, she was best known for playing Helen Herriot in the television series All Creatures Great And Small. But that's not the Carol I want to tell you about today.

I want to tell you all about Carol and her Olive Farm books, there are seven altogether one of them is an illustrated companion to all the others. The books are THE OLIVE FARM, THE OLIVE SEASON, THE OLIVE HARVEST, THE OLIVE ROUTE, THE OLIVE TREE and RETURN TO THE OLIVE FARM.
THE OLIVE FARM


Carol's story begins when she and Michel a TV producer, (by the way their romance is woven into the story of the olive farm) buy the abandoned OLIVE FARM Appassionata, in the south of France. With very little money they begin to get the farm up and running, nothing is straight forward and along the way we find out all about the local people and food, the many animals that seem to just turn up, family and friends that come to stay, but most of all we learn all about the olives.


THE OLIVE SEASON


The olive story gets very exciting when it is discovered they are producing the finest extra-virgin oil. As we go through to THE OLIVE SEASON the water supply becomes a problem and Carol goes in search of a diviner who promises magical results, we also find out Carol is pregnant. Michel is away a lot working and this leaves Carol to manage things without him, as the harvest season approaches events cast a dark shadow over the farm.



THE OLIVE HARVEST


Eventually Carol and Michel look forward to spending the summer together, THE OLIVE HARVEST but it's not to be, Carol is alone on the farm with a very uncertain future. This is when we see Carol venture out from Appassionata and start to explore other aspects of Provencal life.



THE ILLUSTRATED OLIVE FARM 


 The books with Carol's wonderful writing all come together in THE ILLUSTRATED OLIVE FARM, we get to see Appassionata and all the people, animals, food and not forgetting the olives with beautiful photographs taken by Michel. 

There is no way I would have even tried to do anything like Carol and Michel, I don't normally envy people but they do seem to have a lovely life and outlook on to the world we all live in. This is why these books have become part of my SUNDAY BEST BOOKS.







9 comments:

  1. I didn't even know she had written any books. I would love that way of life but it must be very hard too. I must give them a try,thanks Ian.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Anne, I got quiet hooked on the story also the house and grounds look lovely. x

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  2. These sound like lovely books Ian. I'd never heard of them before, but you make them sound really interesting. I love being whisked off to somewhere hot and sunny to follow the adventures of those brave enough to make a new start. Great post - looking forward to the next one : ))

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    1. Thank you Amanda those two words which mean so much "Hot and Sunny" I really did get sucked in to the books over a few years, I think the south of France sounds a lovely place, good food and very glam. x

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  3. You have a thing about 'Carols' I'm glad to say!!!!

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  4. This could be the last for a while, next up is a J, M and a D. Thank you for commenting Carol without an E. X

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  5. I too have enjoyed Carol's books and loved her in 'All Creatures...' which is still one of my favourite TV shows. I think she is such a very talented author and actress. Her life in the olive groves of France sounds so interesting, doesn't it?

    Janice xx

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  6. I've never read these books before. I shall investigate. Thanks for sharing. And I couldn't help noticing that you call our mutual friend Carol without an e. so she shouted at you as we'll, eh?!

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  7. Carol with out an e would make a fab Carole with an e in a screen play. PRtP was a throughly good read. Many congrats on your debut book - hopefully more to follow...

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