There had been a day when you could reverse into things

Mma Ramotswe and her friends are back solving problems big and small in the latest visit to Botswana and the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.  The book begins with Mma Makutsi, partner in the firm, suddenly ordering stationery, name plates, and office upgrades which make it seem SHE is in charge of the first detective firm run by ladies in that country.  Mma Ramotswe, the founder and force behind the company, is alarmed but decides to see where all this is going before confronting her friend about the situation.

The orphan farm, run by the well-known and beloved Mma Potokwane, gets a new bookkeeper in the form of a young woman named Patience. It turns out that Patience, like Mma Makutsi, comes from the village of Bobonong.  Since everyone knows everyone there, the two ladies are acquainted with each other and happy to reconnect in the relatively cosmopolitan city of Gabarone.  While catching up, Patience reveals that she has moved to town with her 14-year-old son because she was escaping a bad relationship but has fortunately met a very nice man.  Her son, however, is making all of their lives difficult with his surly behavior.  Mma Ramotswe may just have a plan to solve the problem . . .

At the same time, Mma Makutsi's husband, Phuti Radiphuti, is also facing worrying times.  His furniture store is being undercut by a new, flashy furniture company in town.  While they don't sell the same type of furniture, exactly (the new store places more worth on style than comfort), Phuti's business is in serious decline.  It doesn't help matters when everyone's nemesis, the glamorous but evil Violet Sephotho is hired to be a model and CELEBRITY OPINION FORMER for the rival company.  But once again, Mma Ramotswe can outmaneuver dirty business tricks with her own brand of wholesome revenge.

It is a pleasure to revisit all the characters and to find them pretty much the same as always:  Mma Ramotswe enjoying red bush tea, Mma Makutsi and Charlie, the apprentice detective, sniping away at each other, Violet up to her old tricks, and Mma Potokwane baking and eating her fruitcake.  It is lovely to step into their gentle and kind world and to know that everything will work out in the end, and the reader will have an enjoyable journey getting there!

I received a copy of A Song of Comfortable Chairs from NetGalley 

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My tongue has some more things to say

Fans of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency will be happy to see there are new adventures for the hardworking sleuths in The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine.  The detective agency is pretty much in the same spot where we left it: co-managers Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi, and assistant Charlie are waiting in the office for clients to appear while drinking endless pots of red bush tea.

All this changes, however, when Mma Makutsi gets it into her head that Mma Ramotswe needs a vacation.  It's never easy to argue with her, and when Mr. JLB Matekoni, Mma Ramotswe's husband, endorses the plan, there seems to be no option but to take time off.  Luckily, Mr. Polopetsi, who teaches part-time at the local high school, is called upon to fill in during Mma Ramotswe's absence.

Soon this enforced leisure begins to take its toll on Mma Ramotswe.  Just why, she wonders, was Mma Makutsi so insistent that she remove herself from the office?  Is she planning a takeover of some sort?  This seems unlikely, as Mma Makutsi is already a partner and is married to the successful furniture store owner Phuti Radiphuti.  Still, the whole thing doesn't sit well . . .

The opportunity for dropping by to check on things crops up, and her visit to the office does nothing to calm Mma Ramotswe's fears.  Mma Makutsi seems to be acting in a rather strange and secretive manner, although she insists nothing is wrong and she has everything under control.  Luckily, Mr. Polopetsi contacts her with a plea for help, and that gives Mma Ramotswe the opening she needs to immerse herself in the current case, which involves trying to find out if there is any scandal attached to a Mr. Government Keboneng, who is recently late.  The case seems a little complicated, so why would Mma Makutsi pawn it off on the relatively inexperienced Mr. Polopetsi?

At the same time, the evil Violet Sephotho makes an appearance as she tries to steal some of Mma Ramotswe's thunder by opening the No. 1 Ladies' College of Secretarial and Business Studies -- a development that offends Mma Makutsi as well (as a proud graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College).  And the tiny white van is still going strong, although, as usual, it suffers some injuries in the course of the adventures of its driver.

As always, it's wonderful to take a step back and enjoy a visit with the beloved cast of characters in Zebra Drive and Tlokweng Road.  The people are friendly, their manners polite, and there's no problem so big that can't be solved over a cup of red bush tea and a slice of fruitcake.  I'm anxiously awaiting the next adventures of the No. 1 Detectives!

Final Verdict for The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine:  Four Gherkins, for being a pleasant trip to visit old friends

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A general air of having come from Bobonong

Mma Ramotswe and her friends are back in the 15th installment of the adventures of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. This time, people are branching out into new careers in The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe.

The detective agency is still attracting new clients.  In this book, Mma Ramotswe and her co-director, Mma Makutsi are approached by a man and his sister to help them get to the bottom of a mystery.  They are part of the Indian community in Gaborone, and an Indian lady they do not know has come to their house and claims to have amnesia.  They want to help her, but have no idea where to begin.  The immigration authorities are becoming impatient with this person who has no papers, and therefore, a somewhat dubious claim to be allowed to remain in the country.  How will they get to the bottom of this mystery?

Luckily, they have a new employee who can help them with surveillance.  Charlie, the apprentice mechanic who can never pass the exams to finish his apprenticeship, has been let go by Mr. JLB Matekone.  The garage isn't doing as much business as in the past, and so someone had to go.  Since the garage and the detective agency share a premises, Mma Ramotswe hears the commotion that occurs when Charlie is informed that he no longer has a job.  Feeling sorry for him, she offers him a position at the detective agency.  After all, Mma Makutsi is now a partner in the business, so perhaps she won't have time for all the mundane, day-to-day tasks that need to be done in the office.  Also, Charlie's position is so new that people won't recognize him if he needs to follow someone.  This is just what happens when he's given the assignment to follow the amnesiac lady.  Unfortunately, while waiting for her to emerge from the house and actually go somewhere, he gets a bit distracted when a pretty girl walks by . . .

At the same time, Mma Makutsi, fresh off her promotion at the detective agency, decides to branch out into the restaurant business.  She plans to leave the day-to-day running of the restaurant in the hands of others, but she will be the boss, make no mistake.  She feels that there needs to be a place for the "fashionable" people to gather, and her restaurant will be just that place.  There are plenty of people who need to be hired, though, and in her haste to get everything up and running, she takes some bad advice.  This wouldn't necessarily be a fatal mistake, but guess who is the new restaurant critic for the local newspaper?  None other than her mortal enemy, the evil 50% Violet Semphotho.  Apparently there weren't enough Handsome Men in the cafe at the time of her visit, because she was especially mean in her review.  Will the fashionable set be put off by her catty remarks?  And when will Mma Makutsi ever learn to listen when her shoes are speaking to her?  Not everyone has talking shoes, so you would think this alone would cause her to take note of their comments.

Once again, we have a very pleasant visit with our friends at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.  The only small quibble I have is that Mma Makutsi is starting to be a bit annoying with her ill-advised remarks and her judgemental ways.  Everyone has to tip-toe around her, and it's all starting to be a bit uncomfortable.  She was always my favorite character, and I hope she won't become more unlikeable in future books.

Final Verdict for The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe:  Four Gherkins, for being a welcome look into the lives of our favorite Batswana

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Traditionally built fun

One of my goals on my recent trip to London was to stock up on some books and DVDs that aren't available to us here in the U.S. (or else are extravagantly expensive). Top of my list was the DVD of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. I knew it had been shown on British TV around Easter in 2008, so I was sure it would be available on DVD over there. I know the series is currently being shown on the U.S. channel HBO, but unfortunately, I don't subscribe to that channel.

I was able to find the DVD, and it turns out to be the first episode of the series. It stars the wonderful Jill Scott as Mma Ramotswe, but the real scene stealer is Anika Noni Rose as the uptight secretary Mma Makutsi.

I was thrilled to see the beloved characters come to life on the screen, but as usual with film adaptations from books, there were some things which bothered me:

1. What was with the gay hairdresser whose shop was next door to the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency? He wasn't in the books, played a very minor role, and just seemed totally unnecessary.

2. I didn't like all the emphasis on Mma Ramotswe's former husband, Note Mokote. Although he did show up in a later book, he was mostly absent from the action and from Mma Ramotswe's thoughts in the rest of the books. He and his trumpet had too much screen time!

3. Mr. JBL Matekone is ALWAYS called "Mr. JLB Matekone" by EVERYONE -- so why was that changed to "Mr. Matekone" in the film? It's a minor thing, so why mess with it?

4. Why was the "tiny white van" a pickup truck???

Those were minor quibbles, but still seemed like unnecessary meddling with material that was fine to begin with! I really loved the character of Mma Makutsi, the secretary. She was just as hardworking and bewildered as she was in the books.



Final Verdict for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency film: Four Gherkins, for being a mostly accurate and endearing portrayal of the books

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Great new find

A few days ago I saw a reference to the website surfthechannel.com. This website shows entire episodes of various TV programs. I was afraid to hope there might actually be some British programs featured, but to my astonishment, there are a few. The best find so far has been the first episode of Eastenders, originally broadcast on Feb. 18, 1985. How funny to see how some of the characters changed over the years, particularly Pauline Fowler. As a fan of the show, I was amazed to see how young and happy Pauline originally was. She even managed a smile in the original episode . . . my, how times changed. The passage of a little over 20 years certainly did alter her appearance.

Pauline, in the early days

Pauline, just before the end

Another change that was apparent was poor old Ian Beale. Of course, he was just a child when he started on the show, so he would be expected to go through some changes as he grew up. Still, he does seem to have rather a bad case of the "curse of the Eastenders eye bags".



On the book front, I've been reading Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourne. It is a Victorian mystery set in London (is there any other kind?). It's early days yet, but it seems enjoyable so far.

I've nearly finished with the next to the last audio book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive. An upsetting event has occurred, but I'm sure it will be worked out before the end of the story. I can't see an event like this not being set right before the next book begins. Still, a bit of conflict is a good thing, as one or two of the books in the series were rather sparse on action (although still charming and enjoyable). It will seem strange when I've worked through all of the books in the series to start another audio book. Mma Ramotswe and co. have kept me entertained for so long that I won't know what to do without them!

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