Hydrangea, caponata and books

This climbing hydrangea is over twenty years old. I had to cut it right back about fifteen years ago and move it temporarily to a flower bed for six months. I then replanted the trunk on a north-facing wall and it still survives brilliantly though, like the wisteria, it has to kept in check. Just the kind of healthy hearty shrub I approve of.

Gave a party last week. The caponata recipe I learnt in Sicily was popular with women and younger people, though older blokes were less keen, I suspect. There are plenty of versions of it on the net if you google. Main thing is it shouldn't be soggy. (Frying all those diced aubergines used up a lot of olive oil and time.)

Not much time for book blogging either. Here, briefly, are some I have enjoyed recently -
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Well-written, unusual and informative as I knew little about the Biafran War.
The Unfortunates by Laurie Graham. She's a witty writer and often chooses an unsympathetic main protagonist. Poppy Minkel, whose father dies on the Titanic at the beginning of the story, is snobbish, unmaternal, extremely rich and shallow but as she grows older you begin to respect her in a grudging sort of way.
The Eye of the Wind, autobiography of Peter Scott. More of a boys own book. He was a talented man but not a gifted writer
A Sensible Life by Mary Wesley. Interesting to re-read this in the light of the biography Wild Mary by Patrick Marnham. It struck me that she keeps her characters at a distance.
Diplomatic Baggage by Brigid Keenan. Again a re-read. I found this amusing, of course, and shall blog about it eventually.
Meanwhile back to the garden while this brilliant weather lasts.