Today's book is Jill McGown - Murder at the Old Vicarage.
Another crime book that's been sitting on my shelves for a few years . Originally published in 1988 with the title 'Redemption' this was the second in a series of 13 by this author featuring Chief Inspector Lloyd and Sergeant Judy Hill.
Snow began to isolate the village as the locals settle down for the festive season when the peace is shattered by a murder at the vicarage. The victim is the vicars son-in-law and no one seems to be saddened by his death. A domestic
murder? - Chief Inspector Lloyd thought it would be an open and shut case
but it turned out to be much more complicated. Struggling to keep control of his personal relationship with Sergeant Judy Hill, Lloyd must work his way through the suspects, who all seem to be trying to upset the investigation.
Reprinted with a new jacket cover in the Pan Heritage Classics series in 2015.
I read and enjoyed this a couple of weeks ago and it will be a giveaway on here in few days. According to my 'Book of Books Read' I've read 7 out of the 13 in this series and as they were first published in the late 1990's the library don't have any in stock anymore. It seems some are available as Kindle books since 2014 and a few are still around on Amazon but expensive. Not an author I'll search out.
Did you have the same weather as here yesterday?....... blimey it was Horrible. Cold and damp first thing then turning to heavy rain mid morning. I had the lights on in the living room as soon as I got back from shopping in Diss just before noon.
I'd gone to Diss specially to get ID verification for selling the house. Normally this would be easy......just go into the solicitors with 3 pieces of ID and they would photocopy them, check the ID photo was accurate and that would be it. With Covid it wasn't Quite so straight forward. No solicitors are allowing people into their offices so she told me to take my 3 pieces of ID into a Post Office or my bank and they would do it for a "small" fee. So I duly trotted into local PO only to be told that I'd need to go to a main PO that hadn't shrunk to a corner of a local shop - as most have nowadays. Nearest Main PO is Diss so that's where I went " No" she said, "you have to fill in a form and bring photocopies of the ID and originals, we don't photo copy things HERE".
OK I thought, I'll just pop up the road and go into the Branch of my bank, they'll have a photocopier for sure. But apparently due to Covid the bank isn't open on a Thursday! So I go back to PO and ask for form and where I could get photocopies in Diss - "At the Library" she said. So round to library, by now it was raining steadily - give name and address for Covid contact and Thank goodness the library ladies were very helpful. They even let me stay out of the rain to fill in the form (lingering in libraries is no longer allowed due to Covid!). Back to Post Office " That will be £12.75" she said. SMALL FEE - I don't think so! especially as all she did was stamp and date the form and photocopies.
Hope this helps if ever YOU have to prove who you are during a pandemic!
Now, because of not being allowed into solicitors, I have to post all the forms, paperwork, deeds and ID to her by Registered Post. That's not going to be cheap either!
It's a bit more laid back here in Wales - if there's no-one downstairs at the Solicitor's, and can't be roused from "out back" when we tap on the window, we just put any forms through the letterbox (which is what they ask you to do).
ReplyDeleteWHAT a faff you went through to prove your ID - sounds like the PO are lining their pockets yet again. All that in the pouring rain too. We have a photocopier bit on our printer, which saves no end of hassle.
The photocopier bit of my printer doesn't work anymore and I thought just popping to a Post Office sounded so simple!
DeleteWhat a performance to have to go through, especially in ickky weather.
ReplyDeleteRain and mask wearing is no fun!
DeleteI can understand your frustration at proving0 your ID as we went through similar when we moved here a few years ago. Not quite as bad because there's the pandemic now, but still going round the houses twice and sometimes three times. A sign of the times unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware of any rain here until late at night and then it didn't really matter.
Floods everywhere today so a LOT of rain here.
DeleteI am glad you got it all sorted but what a muddle a good job you have a car. Well it looks like a nasty day again! I am going to order my wool for another crochet blanket that will keep me happy.
ReplyDeleteHazel c uk 🌈🌈🌈
It would have been impossible without a car - not sure what they would do then
DeleteThat was hard work. We just had to send copies of our ID to our solicitor then in a video call we had to show the originals, close up so she could match serial number/picture etc and then a close up of our faces. She then signed it off. Much easier! Well done for persevering.
ReplyDeleteI didn't want to come home without getting it sorted!
DeleteOh no! What a lot of running around. Glad you finally got it sorted. Sorry for the horrible weather. Mum said it wasn't too bad on Wednesday and she finally got to go for a much needed walk around the town.
ReplyDeleteIt's just been so dismal here in Suffolk - we need sunshine
DeleteGood grief, what a palaver! Seems bad enough having to prove who you are these days before selling your house but that was a nightmare for you. The horrible weather continues today in Lincs.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how someone who couldn't drive would manage
DeleteGood grief! What a carry on!
ReplyDeleteI got a letter from my private pension fund last week - basically asking me to verify that I was still alive.
Normally I would have had to have someone witness my signature or get it notarized but they are waiving this feature during the pandemic - thank goodness!
I do hope you were able to prove you were still alive!
DeletePeersonally speaking Sue, I would have sunk into a heap in the middle of the footpath long before the end of that saga so well done for sticking it out and seeing it through. x
ReplyDeleteIt felt like a saga at the time !
DeleteWhat a faff. We have done all our proof of IDs online for both the selling and buying of the houses. Simply scanned all the relevant documents onto our computers, me in England and Alan in Wales and attached them to emails.
ReplyDeleteDocuments needing signatures are printed out, signed, scanned back onto the computer and attached to emails. Some of the forms, for example the Covid employers forms are actually fillable on-screen which makes things easier and is what I did with most of the paperwork for renting my flat.
It seems they just wanted you running around in the rain and handing over your money, what a shame. If you're coping well with it all you have my full admiration, it's taking both of us to sort things out at the moment.
Hopefully it's sorted now and I wont need to do it again when I buy something - but you never know
DeleteOh, goodness, what a run around. Could they have made it any more complicated???
ReplyDeletexx
The rain and the mask wearing made it seem like hard work!
DeleteWhy not drive to the solicitors and pop them through the letterbox yourself? At least you know they've arrived. All a palaver and just as well to keep hold of certified copies. The PO charge has tripled since I used it several years ago.
ReplyDelete£12.75 isn't a small fee in my opinion. Cafe in Morrisons is open and greggs too which was a surprise
DeleteNor mine either. I checked out Morrisons cafe yesterday too ! I'll email you.
DeleteYou have my sympathy! Getting anything administrative/bureaucratic done theses days is a nightmare. I have to steel myself to go to the cash machine and hope to leave anything more complicated to the future!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure tings are more complicated than they need to be
DeleteIt seems like these days you have to go through so much just to prove who you are! Here in the U.S. we have to get what is called a "Real ID" type driver's license if we want to ever take a plane anywhere. I got all my required info together and went to get it and they said I had to have a copy of the marriage license to my ex-husband who I was divorced from over 40 years ago! What a mess!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, that's even worse than my saga!
DeleteI hope I never have to proof who I am after reading the rigmarole you went through.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Good grief Sue...what a blinkin palava. x
ReplyDelete