Cross Country - James Patterson

==Synopsis==

Alex is called on to help the investigation of the deaths of an entire family, when he gets there he realises one of them is Eleanor Cox his ex girlfriend. Witnesses have mentioned that the perpetrators, although masked seemed to be very young, they could even children.

Soon there is another mass killing and once again Alex, Bree and John are called in to investigate, yet again it seems that children are involved.

All too quickly Alex discovers that the person they want for these murders has left the country, but Alex can't just leave it there, he wants to bring him to justice for Eleanor's sake, and to do so he must travel to Africa and put his own life in danger.

==My Thoughts==

I enjoyed this book, but there was something very sad about it. Throughout Alex's trials in Africa we hear of the horrendous atrocities which happen on a daily basis to real life residents of those countries, and it seems inappropriate to enjoy a reading book detailing the rape and murder of young children, knowing that there is probably a young child suffering at that moment in time. But I did enjoy it, because as dark as some of the scenes were, the book is about more than a few pages.

Again, even though I said I enjoyed the book there are an awful lot of plot holes in it, and I don't like the way Patterson is trying to turn Alex into some John McClane style action hero, he has always helped the police from the sideline, getting inside the mind of the killer, and occasionally coming up against bad guys during the course of the investigation. And throughout the entire series of books he has struggled with the dilemma of catching the bad guy, or spending time with his family. Yet here we're supposed to believe that he can set that quandary aside with a flick of a switch and rush off to one of the most violent and dangerous places on earth. And we're supposed to believe that his current girlfriend has absolutely no problem whatsoever with him rushing off half way around to world because of his feelings for a dead lover!

I've mentioned before in a James Patterson book review that I like the short chapters, because you're not waiting for ages to get to the next chapter if you find yourself dropping off whilst reading (as is the case with the book I'm reading at the moment, and it's very annoying), but I think he's taken it to the extreme in some cases with this book. A couple of chapters were only 2 pages long, and once you take away the large header and footer, the actual text only takes up one page. The book was paced quite nicely though, but there was one part of the storyline that I would have removed, but I can't say much as I don't want to spoil it, except to say I thought Alex had far more integrity.

I do think James Patterson should think hard before producing another Alex Cross book though, because he seems to be running out of ideas and taking Alex in a direction that is completely inappropriate considering everything we know about Alex.

Double Cross - James Patterson

Double Cross is part of the Alex Cross series of books by James Patterson which started off several years ago with Cat and Mouse.

== Synopsis ==

Alex has given up consulting for the FBI, and moved back into private practise. He hasn't cut all ties with the police though, because he's still dating Bree (Brianna Stone) who's a senior homicide detective, and of course his best friend is John Sampson, also a detective.

Whilst on a weekend camp with Bree, she receives a call to attend a murder scene. Rather than mess around swapping cars Alex travels to the scene with all intentions of waiting in the car, but curiosity gets the better of him, and he goes up to the scene. He soon finds himself being drawn into the investigation despite his reservations.

Unbeknownst to Alex, at the same time Kyle Craig, who was Alex's nemesis for so long is planning his escape from death row, but what does the so called Audience Killer who Alex is now trying to catch have to do with Kyle Craig?

==My Thoughts ==

If you haven't read any of the Alex Cross series you may find some aspects of this book a little confusing. Having said that, it's also a standalone story, there are a few references to previous books, but it shouldn't spoil your enjoyment too much.

The whole series is great though, so if you are going to pick one up, then I'd highly recommend reading them from the beginning.

Double Cross is written in Patterson's usual style; the book flows at a steady pace, and never becomes dull. He also writes in very short chapters, some of which are only a couple of pages long, and although it might seem that short chapters will break up the flow, they actually do the opposite, they help keep the tension going throughout the novel. I also prefer shorter chapters, as I generally read for pleasure (rather than to study) when I go to bed, and there's nothing worse than starting to drop off, but having another 20 pages to read before you get to the end of a chapter.

Unusually for Alex Cross novels, there is very little attention paid to his family, they are mentioned on occasion, and there's one incident involving Damon, but his normal angst regarding his family versus police work are played down in this novel.

There are two parts to the ending of this book, one part I thought was obvious from very early on in the book and wasn't a surprise at all, the second part however I was surprised at.

I would definitely recommend this book, but in order to get the best out of it, I would recommend reading the Alex Cross series from the beginning.

Hard News

Hard News is written by Jeffery Deaver, who is probably best known for his Lincoln Rhymes series, the most famous of which was The Bone Collector which was made into a film starring Denzel Washington.

The book is about a young woman who is working in the news room of Network News, when she receives a packet containing a video from an inmate found guilty of a murder for which he has constantly pleaded his innocence. After watching the video Rune cannot help but believe the man, his plea has hit a nerve and she wants to tell his story to the world. In order to do so, Rune must convince the anchor of the station's current affairs broadcast that it would be a worthy cause. The anchor (Piper Sutton) is unimpressed at first, until she discovers the man in question is the very man who was convicted of murdering her boss and Network News executive.

Rune is instructed by Piper to being investigating the man's claim, however, she wants to keep it close to their chests due to the nature of the investigation. But of course nothing goes to plan, and Rune finds her own life in danger after a hitman comes to town, determined to stop the story going ahead.

I've read a couple of Deaver books, but this is the first one that didn't centre around Lincoln Rhymes. I found the writing to be some what below the standard I was expecting. At no point did I find myself vesting any interest in any of the characters, in fact I found all of them quite irritating in one way or another.

The plot also seemed a tad unrealistic, and several times I found myself thinking, 'yeah, like that's gonna happen' or something similar. I would say it is an adult book, but it's almost written on the level of a teenage writer, as if Deaver is trying to bring in readers from another dymanic.

All in all I was very disappointed, it was an okay story, but far from good and definitely not of the standard the Deaver can write to.

TheReapers

John Connolly has to be one of the best authors around at the moment. From the first page of Every Death Thing, the Charlie Parker series has been superb reading.

The Reapers comes from a slightly different angle to the rest of the series, the emphasis isn't on Charlie, but on Louis and Angel.

The basic outline of the story is that years before Louis took a contract to kill a young man, which of course he managed with no problems. However, the man wasn't who he thought he was, and his father has spent years tracking down the man who arranged the hit, the killer and his driver. The driver was taken out in the bathroom of a bar, and now Louis is in the firing line.


The writing, as usual, is outstanding. John brings the characters to life and without being boring gives you enough detail so you feel like you really know them.

I've said in a previous review for another book, that you're not really supposed to admire people who kill for a living, but you can't help but admire Louis even in the earlier books. In this book you find out lot more about his past and it becomes far more apparent how past events shaped his life and his future.

There is also more to find out about Angel as well, although much of his past is well known from the previous novels, we find out more about what makes him tick and his inner thoughts and feelings. Angel is another man who's qualities you can't help but admire. He went through a terrible childhood, he's been subjected to some horrendous acts because of his association with Charlie, and was just a simple burglar (albeit not a very good one) before meeting Louis. Yet despite wanting a peaceful life, he has found love in Louis, and has stuck with him through thick and thin.

I normally don't like books that jump backwards and forwards throughout, but in this case it adds to the suspense of the book. We get to find out a little more about Louis' past, before jumping back to the present day.

The only thing I don't really like about the book is that Charlie very often is referred to as The Detective. Really Charlie deserves better treatment than to lose his identity and be referred to just as the Detective.

Because it doesn't centre around Charlie, the supernatural element is barely mentioned. This is shame, because it was one of the things that made John's books stand out amongst other crime based novels.

But that doesn't stop it being a real page turner. My hope is that John doesn't do a Scarpetta and take the characters any further. In my opinion one more book would complete the series, seeing the trio going out in a blaze of glory, rather than carry on until they became dull and boring.

Lost

I was very wary of this book, and I've had it on my shelf for ages. The reason why! Because it came as a freebie from Mills and Boon, so I immediately thought it would be a lovey dovey, soppy romance, and those books just aren't my thing. Then one day I was sorting out and I noticed on the front it said 'More Gripping Than Grisham', so I thought I'd give it a try.

~Synopsis~

The book begins with a short prologue, which describes Ricky Lang being somewhat vile toward his girlfriend, whilst at the same time having visions of his children, whom he can no longer see.

From there we skip to part one, which begins the story of Jane Hartley, who's a single mum, and a wedding dress designer. Jane has 16 year old daughter called Kelly, who as a child was in an out of hospital receiving treatment for cancer. Now on her way home from work Jane spies someone who looks distinctly like Kelly, riding on the back of a motorbike with no helmet on. Pulling alongside she realises it is Kelly and is horrified. when Kelly returns home that night, they discuss the risks Kelly was taking, and Kelly goes off to her room to think about what she did.

That is the last time Jane sees Kelly. The next day Kelly has gone out already, or so Jane thinks. Then she receives a call from Kelly, frightened and whispering that she needs help because she's made a big mistake. The line goes dead and Jane's nightmare begins.

The police put it down to Kelly being a runaway, and make all the right noises about how it'll turn out okay. But Jane is not convinced and hires ex FBI agent Randall Shane to help her find her daughter.

The search leads them to cross paths with Ricky Lang, and various other unsavoury characters.

~My Thoughts~

I have totally mixed feelings about this book. Some parts are very good, but some parts are clichéd and predictable. As with many books it is written from two perspectives. When Jane is at the forefront it is written in the first person, when Ricky is the main character it is written in the third person. That actually works well, until Jane occasionally starts 'talking' to the reader, rather than just tell her story. When she is talking to the reader, it makes it seem like the book is written by a 5 year old.

The characters are varied, and you can get a feel for them, enough to feel sorry for Jane, after all the heartache of having a child so ill, for them to disappear and the police not to care, you feel she deserves a bit of happiness.

Randall Shane is probably the least interesting character, he has some secrets he's keeping close to his chest (don't they all!), but I was never really that bothered, that I was rushing onward to find out what they were.

Ricky Lang, is the type of bad guy you don't even love to hate, you just hate. There are no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

As I said earlier the cover states that the book is 'More Gripping Than Grisham', now I would say it's more gripping than a entomology book by Gil Grissom (CSI-Vegas), but it's absolutely nowhere close to being in the same league as John Grisham. It's a bit like saying a local boys football club compares to Liverpool FC!

I have to say I'm a bit short on opinion here, but mainly because the book was just okay, nothing especially good, and nothing particularly bad.

Overall I would say it's a reasonable read, the type of thing you might take on holiday when you don't want anything that's going to tax your brain. But if you like depth, twist and turns, thought provoking novels, then give it a miss.

Gene

This book was outside of my normal crime fiction genre, but it was recommended to me so I thought I'd give it a try.

~Brief Synopsis~

The book starts on the day Cyclades dies, killed in battle on the day the Trojan horse brought destruction to Troy. After being injured during the fight Cyclades was tended to by a wild haired women. Cyclades dies at the moment he witnesses his own conception!

Fast forward a few hundred years, and the book begins proper in New York City. Detective James North has been called to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a young man has grabbed one of the ancient Trojan swords and already killed one man and injured others. North cannot understand why he has been assigned, until he is told that the man has asked for him by name.

Not sure if the man is high on drugs or just mentally unstable, North attempts to strike up a conversation with him. The man only identifies himself as Gene, or Satan's Oath. North asks Gene how he knew to ask for him by name, but he doesn't answer, just shouts at North that he is the only one who can make it go away. A struggle ensues and Gene escapes, injuring a mounted officer in the process, he takes the officers horse and escapes through the park.

North manages to keep up with Gene until he is close enough to tackle him. But during the scuffle Gene stabs North in the thigh, Gene has injected North with something. This is where North's nightmares begin and he begins to find out precisely who and what he is.

The book not only follows Gene and North, but also flashes back to Cyclades and his arch nemesis Athanatos. And also a man called Porter who has lived many years in the Lebanon and surrounding areas seeking out the meaning of life, and reincarnation.

~My Thoughts~

As I said earlier this is an unusual genre for me, and although I read many, many fantasy novels in my early 20's, its been some time since I've read one. So it took me a long time to get into the book.

I wasn't keen on the way the book jumped around so much. First we were in Trojan times, then modern day, then modern day but the other side of the world. Some of it was written in the first person, but most of it was written in the third person, and whilst I've read other books written from two view points before, it didn't make this book gel together very well. At some points I found the book totally confusing and quite baffling.

However, I don't like to be defeated and trudged on with the book, and from around about one third of the way through I really started to enjoy the read.

I really wanted to find out exactly how Gene and North were linked, and what on earth they had to do with Cyclades and Athanatos, but I didn't find it a great page turner. I was quite happy to read a bit and then put it to one side and read more another night, whereas other books I've said to myself 'just another chapter' until its either morning or I finished the book!

I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters because the book jumped around so much. North is the main character but even he didn't elicit any feelings of sympathy or admiration.

I found the ending a tad disappointing as well, however I won't say any more about it as I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

So overall I'd say its a reasonable book, not great, and I wouldn't rush out to buy another by this author.

Relentless

I bought this book after reading a great review on this site, and have now had chance to read it. So here is my review.

~The Book~

The main character in the book is Tom Meron, whilst happily going about his own business, looking after his children, the phone rings. On the other end of the phone is Jack Calley, his best friend although someone he hasn't heard from in 4 years. Its obvious immediately that Jack is in trouble and there are people after him. In the last few seconds before the call goes dead, Tom hears Jack give out his address.

This leads Tom down a dangerous path of violence, corruption, betrayal, and most serious of all his children might be in danger.

~The Characters~

Tom Meron - A down to earth office worker, who's general level of excitement appears to be deciding what to watch on the TV that night. The character of Tom just makes you ooze sympathy, everything about him is normal. Yet here he is drawn into a dangerous world, but he has no idea why he's been pulled into it. He goes from Joe Average to man on the run within minutes of picking up a phone, his life changes forever.

Kathy Meron - Tom's wife, now this character doesn't give the reader any cause to feel sorry for her, in fact her actions make Tom seem even more sympathetic. And whilst she's not a hateful character, she's certainly not likeable.

DI Mike Bolt - The senior police officer instructed to investigate the suicide of a senior judge, who's case overlaps with others leading him towards Tom. There are several mentions of pain and suffering which Bolt has been through, but these don't become apparent until very late in the book. The references don't give enough depth for the reader to connect with Bolt, and he just comes across as your average detective who's hell bent on solving the crime.

Mantani and Lench - The baddies of the book. Neither of which have any redeeming qualities. Lench is basically a mercenary for hire and Mantani is his side kick. I've read other novels where there's a hitman who's killed goodness knows how many people for the money, and occasionally, even though they're bad guys, you can't help but admire their skills. Lench on the other hand does not bring out any thoughts of admiration.

~My Thoughts~

I've never read a Simon Kernick book before and this one I really enjoyed, I will certainly be looking out for his books in the future.

At first I thought I wouldn't enjoy it, I can't remember if the review I read mentioned it or not, but if it did I'd forgotten that it was set in England. Now I do have a thing against watching or reading any crime dramas set in England. I don't know what it is, maybe I just like to believe that all horrible crime happens away from our shores.

So at first I was thinking 'oh no, I'm going to hate this', and I also didn't like the fact that the blurb on the back is basically the first two pages of the book. That seems a little lazy on the part of the publishers to me.

However, once I'd read the first few pages I was hooked. The book is written in the first person where Tom is the major character, and in the third person when Bolt takes over. I have to say when Bolt first appeared my thoughts were 'No, aghhh I need to know what Tom is doing' and I was very tempted to skim read the chapters where Bolt was investigating.

Luckily I resisted this urge because Bolt's investigations are a major part of why Tom's life has been turned upside down like it has.

I think the author invests well in the characters of Tom and Kathy, but could have done a little more to bring out some sympathies for Bolt. I liked the fact I didn't feel any admiration for Lench's skills, I really don't believe a hitman should be the cause of any admiration.

Normally I would read the likes of James Patterson, John Connolly, Karen Rose, Patricia Cornwell for my crime drama fixes, and whilst I thought this book was good. I think Simon Kernick has a little way to go to get to their standards. As I've said it was the first book of his that I've read, so I don't know how long he's been around, but I would imagine he's got plenty of time to grow and become very successful.

Perverting the Course of Justice

I read this book last year after first reading Wasting Police Time by David Copperfield. At first you'd think it was a work of fiction, but sadly it's not.

~The Book~

Written anonymously by Inspector Gadget, the book highlights the day to day trial and tribulations of an inspector of the 'Ruralshire' police force.

Although not actually named Gadget, he is an actual Inspector in the police service.

During the book he talks about not only the stupidity of police procedures, but also the idiocy of things like health and safety; that won't allow stations to have kettles any more in case someone burns themselves, nor allows anyone not qualified to change the time on a wall clock, yet is quite happy for those same people to tackle great hulking thugs, who are high as a kite and ready to kill.

Police reports also come in for huge criticism, the massive amounts of paperwork, most of which is duplicated, takes up so much time, its no wonder we never see officers out on the beat.

However, the main trend that runs throughout the book is the lack of common sense in dealing with incidents.

Within the first few chapters Gadget tells us what happens when someone rings the police. Firstly you don't get through to an officer, you get through to a civilian call centre. His first example is of a man who received a nasty text from his girlfriend. Instead of using common sense and talking to the guy about ignoring the texts, turning his phone off, changing his number etc. The call is logged as harassment, officers will be sent to interview him, the girlfriend will be arrested, her phone seized for a few months. Eventully she'll either get a caution, or the case will most likely be dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service. All this takes up between 10-20 hours of police time, taking officers of the beat. All because someone was upset about a text.

Throughout the book, there are many, many examples where a bit of common sense, and allowing the officers to use their own initiative would have meant a five minute chat and on your way. Instead absolutely rigid procedures are in place and that five minutes turns into hours upon hour of paper work and interviews, and results in large districts being un-policed or policed by a lone officer.

~My Thoughts~

As I said earlier this often reads as a work of fiction, 'You couldn't make it up' would have been a perfect tagline for this book.

Unfortunately I know that some of it is most certainly correct. My volunteer work takes me into the courts on many occasions, and one time I was chatting to two officers who mentioned that because they were stuck in the courts, and the horse fair was also on, their was only one police officer out in the town. This one officer had to patrol a town of 60,000 people and its surrounding area!

So I do believe a lot of what Gadget tells us is true. I'm not naive enough to think there is no bias in the book, I'm sure there is. But even if only half of what he says were actually true then it's an absolute disgrace.

I would say that anyone who have ever moaned about the time it takes for the police to turn up, or that the police should be out catching 'real' criminals, should read this book. It is certainly an eye opener into the world of the police, that is not shown on The Bill or A Touch of Frost.

~Extra Details~

The book is available from Amazon, or direct from mondaybooks.com. Gadget can also be found at his very informative blog http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/.

The Innocent Man

As a fan of John Grisham I bought this book without reading the blurb on the back, I hadn't realised it was actually a true story and not a work of fiction.

~The Story~

The book for the most part follows the lives of Ron Williamson and his family, although through association with Ron it also encompasses the life of Dennis Fritz. There are also substantial mentions for Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot.

The book is basically about the inadequacies and the injustices in the US justice system. The malicious prosecution of a man and his friend because he is different, because he doesn't fit in with societies ideals, because his physical appearance scares people and because his mental illnesses make his an ideal scapegoat.

~The Men and Women Involved~

Ron Williamson

Ron was a high school college star, destined for the big leagues, his temper and injuries combined to stop Ron making the most of the natural talent he had for sports. Ron is also blessed with a talent for the guitar, which leads him to spend hours and hours alone playing and drinking. Eventually he succumbs to alcoholism, and begins crawling the bars of his home town of Ada, Oklahoma. His temper continues to get him into trouble, eventually he has some psychological testing (over many years) and is found to suffer from bi-polar and schizophrenia. During his time drifting from bar to bar and drinking, he runs into Dennis Fritz.

Dennis Fritz

Dennis was a father and a teacher, separated from his wife he moved not far from the Williamson's. Eventually he met Ron, and through their love of the guitar and music they became friends and started to go out drinking together. Eventually Dennis found he couldn't cope with Ron's mood swings and stopped drinking with him. But the damage was done.

Debbie Carter

A young waitress at a local cocktail bar, who was brutally raped and murdered in December 1982.

Denice Haraway

A young woman who was abducted in April 1984.

Gary Gore

The last man to be seen talking to Debbie Carter, he had also asked her to dance earlier in the evening. But the dance was cut short as Debbie angrily stormed off to the bathroom.

Tommy Ward

A local boy who had the misfortune of having a few misdemeanours to his name, and bore a slight resemblance to a photofit of the suspected kidnappers of Denice Haraway.

Karl Fontenot

Another local boy, who had been fishing with Tommy when Denice disappeared, and was Tommy's alibi witness.

Terri Holland

A petty criminal and jailhouse snitch.

~Their Stories~

As I said before the book is about the mistakes in the criminal justice system which almost cost these men their lives. I don't want to go into a great deal of detail because that would defeat the object of reading the book. So the basic outline is; Ron and Dennis were arrested for the rape and murder of Debbie, many years after the crime had actually been committed, and after the death of Ron's mother who was able to say that Ron was home on the night of the murder.

Tommy and Karl were arrested for the kidnapping of Denice. Both sets of men were convicted on the flimsiest of evidence, mainly consisting of testimony from jail house snitches, particularly the evidence of Terri Holland. Even though it was shown that she could not have heard what she testified to.

The only other major pieces of evidence were so called confessions. After hours of police grilling and threats Tommy and Karl were coerced into giving confessions. The police gave them hypothetical scenarios telling them to imagine what might have happened if it was all a dream. After getting them to tell a reasonable sounding story they were told to repeat it into a video camera, but they were told not to mention dreams or anything similar.

The confessions were full of holes and contradicted each other. When the body of Denice was eventually found, it was shown that there was no resemblance to the crime and the confession. Despite this the prosecution went ahead and their fate was sealed when the jury saw the men on video confessing to killing Denice.

The police used the same tactics again years later with Ron, they also coerced a 'dream' confession, and again this was coupled with the testimony of Terri Holland, who again received a pass on her crimes once the testimony had been delivered.

Dennis was tried separately to Ron and found guilty, he was sentenced to life in prison. Ron was portrayed as the major protagonist and he too was convicted, his case wasn't helped by the incompetence of his attorney, and that the prison guards deliberately messed with the doses of his medication and whispered messages 'from beyond the grave' pretending to be Debbie. This meant Ron was in a terrible state in court and unable to control himself. Ron was sentenced to the death penalty.

Tommy and Karl were both convicted and received the death penalty. When further evidence came to light that proved their confessions to be false, they were retried and received life imprisonment.

The story then continues to tell the readers about the appeals process and how only one judge had the foresight to realise a terrible injustice had been done. It also tells of the horrendous treatment Ron received whilst on death row, and the blatant disregard by the prison service for his mental state.

~My Thoughts~

The description above really doesn't give justice to the complete and utter travesty that occurred in Ada and the criminal justice system. Its hard to believe that this could have happened in recent times, it reads like a tale from the 1800's.

I have never agreed with the death penalty, although sometimes when I hear vile acts against children, my immediate response is hang the b*stards. This is usually only fleeting and my true feelings about the death penalty come back to the fore.

This book strengthens those feelings, if it hadn't been for a few good men and women working tirelessly on appeals, three men would have been put to death. One of whom was so mentally disturbed at some points he could barely function.

I found myself sickened by the actions of the police, who completely disregarded any evidence and despite Miranda being introduced a couple of years early, they also disregarded the rights of their suspects.

But even more sickening was the attitude of the prosecutor, who even after the release of Ron and Dennis would not admit he had made a mistake. He relied on jail house snitches who he must have known would say anything to reduce their own sentence. If he didn't realise this then he is even more dangerous as he must have no sense at all.

At first I found the book a little hard reading, perhaps that was because I was expecting a fiction book, and factual books are written in a different manner. But by around the third chapter I was hooked, I kept having to turn the page, because I was convinced that the prosecutor couldn't be that stupid and the next chapter would show him admitting his mistake.

My heart absolutely went out to Ron's sisters, Annette and Renee. The heart break they went through watching their brother being convicted for a crime he didn't commit was bad enough. But then they had to watch his mental deterioration from afar, and had to fight every step of the way to get him medical help.

I also felt sorry for Debbie's mother, who actually gets only slight mentions in the book. But I can imagine how hard it was for her, not only to lose her daughter in such a vile way, but to think that her murder was solved, only for all the wounds to be reopened.

I would recommend this book to anyone, but I would especially recommend it to anyone who believes in the death penalty. These three men were almost killed by the state for just having the wrong look. Two men are still in jail 22 years later fighting for their freedom.

I now want to read The Dreams of Ada by Robert Mayer, which was published a few years after the convictions, and details the ludicrous confessions of these men.

York Dungeon

I can't say I was particularly impressed with the York Dungeon, I had heard really good things about the London Dungeon, and I thought it'd be very similar, but this turned out not to be the case.

==Finding the Dungeon==

Firstly it took us a while to find the place. The directions we had and the signposting around York weren't the best, and we almost gave up. It was only because we'd bought the tickets in advance that we persevered.

The dungeon address is York Dungeon, 12 Clifford Street, York, YO1 9RD, which is a little back street well away from the centre of York.

==Opening Times ==

The dungeon opens at 10.30 each day, and closes between 4 and 5.30 depending on the time of year, it closes earlier in low season, and later during the school holidays.

== Prices ==

Adult: £14.00/ Child: £10.00/ Student: £13.00 / OAP (60+ yrs): £13.00

Booking online makes it cheaper, for example booking one adult and 2 children online means you can save up to £10.20. It is 'up to' that amount because the prices vary during the day, and early morning and late afternoon prices are cheaper. The only problem booking this way is that you are limited to a 2 hour slot, I'm not sure what would happens if you miss this slot.

The price is for the tour, and it lasts about 1 hour.

== My Thoughts ==

As I said earlier we struggled to find it, because it was on the corner of a little back street, in fact we only really noticed it because we saw a bunch of people loitering on the pavement. When we got closer we realised that this was the queue for the dungeon. There was a member of staff dressed as some sort of ghoul trying to entertain the queue, but he wasn't being very successful.

The major drawback to this attraction is the party size, they allow far too many people in at one time, and whilst this helps to keep the queues down it also means that the rooms are packed, with people shoulder to shoulder. It also means that children can't really see what's going on, because there are too many adults in front of them and unfortunately in today's society adults won't move aside and let children to the front so they can see.

On the tour you move from room to room, and the staff are dressed in different costumes, and they tell the tales of Dick Turpin, Guy Fawkes, the Black Death amongst others. There's also a mirror room that is supposed to represent the Labyrinth of the Lost Roman Legion, where you wander around a mirror maze.

During the Dick Turpin talk you sit on benches whilst the story is being told, then when Dick is hanged the benches drop a whole inch or two, which I presume is meant to be the thrilling part of the tour, but it fell completely flat.

There's also a mock 17th Century court room, where one staff member dresses up as a judge, and randomly picks people out of the audience to humiliate in the dock. Whilst this was slightly amusing, you could see that the people who were selected were extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed by the situation.

Unlike the London Dungeon there's no ride at the end, so basically you're paying a lot of money for an hours walk whilst being squashed in with a lot of sweaty strangers.

I can't really recommend it, I found it mildly interesting, but the kids didn't really enjoy it, mainly because they couldn't see half of what was going on. And a lot of the time they couldn't understand what the staff were saying, because they were putting on strange cackling voices to try and create a more horrifying atmosphere. Because I knew the stories they were telling I could just about work out what they were talking about, but because the kids had never learned of the Black Plague or Dick Turpin at school they struggled to understand what they were saying.

Unusually for legal thrillers this book starts with the trial verdict, and as the name suggests the verdict is appealed.

~Short Synopsis~

The books begins at the end of a piece of civil litigation with the giant chemical company Krane defending their dumping of carcinogenic chemicals in a town's water supply and rejecting the claims of the townsfolk and particularly the plaintiff Jeanette Baker, who's son and husband died of cancer.
Krane Chemicals is part of the Trudeau Group owned by billionaire Carl Trudeau.

When the verdict finally comes in the jury have awarded a total of $41 million dollars in damages and punitive damages.

Trudeau insists his company will not be paying out anything, and so begins the appeal.

The story follows the lives of the lawyers who took Jeanette Baker's case and their struggle to overcome the costs of both the case and the appeal. It also follows the lives of Carl Trudeau and his companies, and his love of money over people.

But the majority of the story is about the corruption in the US Supreme Court system and the way in which good men can be manipulated by big business, and how money can buy anything including seats on the Supreme Court Judges panel. It shows that lawyer Ron Fisk, despite believing himself to be in charge, is just a pawn in the game.

As usual I would love to say more, particularly about the ending, but obviously that would be giving far too much away and would spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the book.

~Writing Style~

John Grisham has been a firm favourite of mine for many years, I have read just about every book he has written. Were some have disappointed me, The Appeal most certainly did not. The writing flows beautifully, Grisham doesn't waste valuable pages talking about the technicalities of the justice system, but he does subtly introduce the information you need to know, without it being preachy or seeming like you're reading a textbook.

On the front of the book there is a quote from the Daily Express, which states 'Nobody Does Legal Fiction Better', and its absolutely true. I've read a lot of legal fiction and Grisham is far and away the best in his field.

~My Thoughts~

If you haven't guessed, I thought this book was great. In parts I found it some what worrying however. Because I can truly imagine that in real life these big companies are just as ruthless and manipulative as they are in this book. And for them profits and the shareholders come before the rights of the 'little people', whether they be people living around the company or workers of the company.

It also made me think about the water we drink, how safe is it really? How do we know we aren't all being poisoned slowly but surely? Although I think that's just my over active imagination running away with me.

The book wasn't without its faults. I found the husband and wife team of Wes and Mary Grace Payton who took on the case to be a little too sickly sweet. Other people probably find it sweet and cute that a pair of lawyers would put their livelihoods, their home etc on the line for a client, but I found that just a little unrealistic.

The book certainly brought home how easy it is to manipulate individuals and society when there is enough money involved, and it made me glad that we don't have the same system of electing judges in this country.

After about a third of the book I thought to myself, 'I know how this is going to turn out'. But I was wrong, and I was even wrong about the second scenario I had after the first turned out to be wrong.

The latest in the Alphabet books by Sue Grafton.

~Background~

A bit of background for anyone who hasn't heard of them. The Alphabet books are of the crime/drama genre and A is for Alibi was first published in 1983. The main character is Kinsey Millhone, a ex police officer now turned private investigator. She lives in a flat attached to the house of her landlord and now good friend Henry. Other recurring characters include, Rosie the owner of the local tavern, who serves some of the vilest sounding Eastern European food! William, who is Henry's brother and now Rosie's partner and Lonnie Kingman, Kinsey's friend and legal advisor. Although these characters occur in all the books, and there are some other minor characters who pop up now and then, the books are all stand alone books. While knowing and investing in the characters adds to the enjoyment, it is quite possible to enjoy each book without reading the entire series.

~Short Synopsis~

Kinsey's neighbour Mr Gus Vronsky has a tumble at his home, leaving him requiring the services of a home help/nurse to assist his day to day living. His only relative (his great grand niece) lives too far away to help, so flies in to hire someone.

A shortage of applicants means she hurriedly hires Solana Rojas, and asks Kinsey to do a background check on her.

The background check shows Solana to be a efficient if rather strict and staid nurse. There's nothing to suggest that Solana will be any trouble at all. However, Solana is not all she seems and soon Kinsey has to re-evaluate her impresses of the nurse. And Gus steadily gets worse rather than better.

Kinsey is also hired to investigate the claims of a young woman accused of causing a road traffic accident. The young woman claims the couple suing her deliberately hit her, whilst the couple insist than she pulled out on them, causing a lot of pain and suffering.

~My Thoughts~

As usual Sue Grafton comes up trumps. The book is very easy reading, although i can lead to late nights and tiredness in the morning as you think 'I'll just read one more chapter', and that chapter turns into another and another, lol.
The characters all work really well together, and despite some of them appearing in every book they never get boring. In fact its good to know what it happening in their lives.

I like the way Sue has continued on from S is for Silence (where she first introduced 3rd party points of view) and writes from both Kinsey's and Solana's points of view. It means you can really get into Solana's mind and get an understanding of what makes her tick.

I also like the fact Sue has covered the little written about subject of elderly abuse, child abuse books are a dime a dozen, but elderly abuse is barely mentioned.

The only problem was the ending was a little weak, but not enough to take away from the fact it was a great book.

~Availability~

From all book sellers, currently priced at Amazon for £8.36 in paperback or £8.44 in hardback.

Book of the Dead - Patricia Cornwell

It has just taken me over 3 weeks to read this book, which is so unusual. The majority of the Scarpetta series I have read in a day or two, the one previous to this took a little longer at about a week. But this book was so awful I struggled to even get to the end.

It is such a shame because Patricia Cornwell has the ability to be such an excellent writer, but she has really let herself down badly with Book of the Dead, I haven't read a synopsis of the latest book Scarpetta, but I hope Patricia puts the series to rest in it, because judging by this one she's taken it a step too far.

Its hard to say why this book was so bad without giving too much away about the storyline (or lack thereof!), so beware if you are an absolute spoiler hater you'll probably want to stop reading here.

According to the synposis the book should be about Scarpetta and her newly opened private forensics lab, and the death of a tennis star, and the death of a young boy. All the things you'd except from a Scarpetta book. However the synopsis doesn't match the actual book itself.
What we actually get is two thirds of a book about Scarpetta's personal life and Benton's treatment of Dr Self in his clinic. Then we have a huge chunk of the book dedicated to Marino, his love life and his problems.
And as an after thought there are odd mentions of the deaths, a teeny bit of forensics thrown in, and finally in the last chapter or so the deaths are all wrapped up in a nice neat package.

But the package isnt that neat, because it leaves you wondering what on earth was all that about? There is nothing to really tell you why the bad guy or gal did what he or she did.

Its not that the Scarpetta series has avoided the personal lives of the characters, its just that they were always secondary to the main plots of the book.

I am so glad that I didnt pay for this book, that I actually just borrowed it from someone else, because if I'd bought it I think I'd be taking it back under the Sale of Goods Act - Not fit for the purpose. Because this book is certainly not a good read, or entertaining by any stretch of the imagination.

Scream for Me, Karen Rose

This was the first Karen Rose book I read, and I actually read them out of order because I should have read Die for Me first. However, even though the there were some references to Die For Me it didnt actually make any difference to reading this book, and it certainly didnt affect the enjoyment of it.

I didnt think I'd be able to find an author that could equal John Connolly but Karen Rose certainly does that. The book is perfectly paced and well written, it is one of those books were you think to yourself 'I'll just read one more chapter' and suddenly you find its 3am and you have work in four hours. The characters are believable and this allows the reader to invest in the character and sympathise/believe in them.

As succinctly as possible the plot revolves around Daniel Vartanian, a detective who tries to solve a murder from 13 yrs previous, which is somehow connected to his brother Simon.

Without giving too much away, his search leads him to connect up with Alex Fallon (female) who is also connected to the murder, but is also in danger.

To get the most out of this book I would suggest reading the books in order, because whilst it didnt spoil the enjoyment, when I eventually read the first book it did lead to a couple of 'now it makes sense' moments. But for anyone who likes crime/thiller novels then this is a great book, and Karen Rose is an excellent author.

Furness Abbey

Furness Abbey is a ruined abbey in South Cumbria, just outside Barrow in Furness. In its heyday it used to be the home of the Cistercian monks.

Location
**********

The abbey can be found on the A590, approximately 30 minutes drive from the M6 and there’s a small car park outside the visitors centre. There’s a regular bus service (6A) which passes within a 10 minute walk of the abbey entrance, and this bus can be caught from the nearest bus stop to the railway station in Barrow. There’s a less frequent service from Dalton in Furness and other towns along the A590.

Opening Times
******************

Easter to Summer 10am-5pm 5 Days a Week (closed Tuesday and Wednesday).
Summer to Autumn 10am-5pm 7 Days a Week.
Late Autumn 10am-5pm 5 Days a Week (closed Tuesday and Wednesday).
Autumn to Easter 10am-4pm Sat, & Sun.

Admission Costs
********************

Adult: £3.50
Children: £1.80
Concession: £3.00
English Heritage Members: Free.

The Abbey
*************

The Abbey was built in 1123. It was given to the Cistercian monks in 1147, and was once the second richest Cistercian abbey in England, after Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire.

It was built entirely from sandstone which was sourced from the local area, and many parts of the abbey are well persevered and stand majestically in place. It’s not hard to imagine how the site would have looked when it was complete.

The monks of the abbey were highly influential in the area, and their influence spread as far as the Isle of Man, which can be found off the coast of Barrow in Furness, in the Irish Sea. One of the Kings of Man is buried within the grounds of the abbey.

The abbey stood proud until Henry VIII took umbrage with the Pope and decided to destroy the Catholic Church and all its followers. The local story tells of how Henry’s soldiers missed the abbey because it is hidden from view in the Vale of Nightshade, but one poor monk rang the bell to sound the all clear far too early, and alerted the soldiers to its presence. The abbey and the monks were destroyed, and the ruins left for future generations to walk around.

Obviously being an abbey, there are no end of ghost stories, ranging from the sightings of mad monks, to white ladies. One of the tracks leading from the abbey is known locally as Lady’s Walk due to the sightings.


The abbey has had a few famous visitors; the most famous for locals is of course William Wordsworth, the Lakeland poet, famous for his Daffodils poem. He referred to the abbey in one of his later poems, The Prelude. The abbey was also visited by the Roosevelt family, where Teddy Roosevelt was seen running around the abbey grounds with his siblings.


You can use the audio guide when wandering around the grounds, which will give details of the various buildings which are still fairly whole (the chapel, the North and South Transept, the Chapter House and Dormitory). It also details where other buildings would have stood and how well developed the drainage and water ways were for the time.

Visitors Centre
*****************

The visitors centre is small, but has a lot of information dotted around. It doubles as the shop, but the selection of items available is very small and expensive.
In the visitors centre you’ll find sconces and pieces of architecture and grave slabs that originally came from the abbey, but have been brought inside to avoid damage.

Facilities and Accessibility
*******************************

Wheelchairs users have full access to the visitors centre and to the abbey grounds. However, there are lots of slopes and no pathways around the grounds, so some people may need assistance.

For visually impaired visitors the audio guide is included in the ticket price, and for audio impaired visitors an audio tour with hearing loop is included in the price, and they also have the audio tour scripted if required.

Dogs are allowed in the grounds, although they must be kept on a lead, and obviously any mess must be cleared up.

There is a small selection of snacks, and people are welcome to bring picnics into the abbey grounds. Within a couple of minutes walk, you’ll find the Abbey Tavern which is a local pub that sells beer and meals.

My Thoughts
***************

Furness Abbey is a lovely abbey to visit, and because is fairly well preserved in parts, it makes it much easier to imagine how the area would have looked back in the 12th Century, and how life might have been for the monks.

The way the abbey is situated you will be driving up and thinking ‘where on earth is it?’ Then suddenly it’s right in front of you, it’s not hard to imagine that the local story about the soldiers missing is first time around could be true. After all, way back then there would have been no clear roads and the abbey would have been completely surrounded by trees.

As it is, once you get close, you might wonder if it’s worth paying the entrance fee, because you can see all of the grounds from the road. But you can’t get a proper feel for the place from the roadside, nor can you find out which bits are which, and what would have been happening in different areas of the abbey.

Although there’s a road running around the outside of the grounds, it’s not a busy road, so the whole area feels very tranquil (until the kids start yelling !!). It’s a great place to have a picnic, because there are plenty of open areas, and having the abbey as a backdrop is beautiful. During the spring, the area is surrounded by daffodils, and they look absolutely wonderful.

Along the side of the abbey there are a few walks that are very popular with dog walkers, and you can see some of the remains of out buildings that the monks once used on these walks.

Straight across the road from the abbey there’s a natural amphitheatre, now I don’t have good memories of this amphitheatre because it used to be part of our school’s cross country run! But this is also a great area to walk your dog, depending on the time of year you might have to have the dog on a lead due to sheep or cows being loose.

If you’re not picnicking or walking dogs, it probably won’t take more than a morning or an afternoon to visit the abbey. In fact it’s more likely to take 2 hours at most (presuming you stop to look closely at things), but it’s well worth a visit.

South Lakes Wild Animal Park

South Lakes Wild Animal Park is about 10 minutes away from us, so we visit at least twice a year, and we are never bored. It’s not so much a zoo as an animal experience.

How to get there

The zoo is in Dalton in Furness, a small town in South Cumbria. It’s about 30 minutes from the M6 motorway along the A590, or you can get there by train or bus. If you’re using public transport you’ll have a 10-15 minute walk from the nearest bus stop and a 20-30 minute walk from the train station. There’s a free car park, unfortunately this isn’t the biggest car park in the world and gets full rather quickly. There is an overflow car park and staff will be out to direct traffic is necessary, the over flow car park is a couple of minutes walk from the zoo entrance.

Admission Information
Adult: £11.50
Child 3-15: £8.00
OAP: £8.00
Under3's: FREE
Friend of the Park: £1.50

Opening Times

4th April 2009 - 1st November 2009
10am - 5.00pm
Last admission 4.15pm



The park is fairly unique in that many of the animals are free roaming, or are allowed to roam within their own areas in amongst the visitors. The free roaming animals are found in the Australasia section of the park, with lemurs, kangaroos, emus, etc. Food can be purchased at 50p a bag to feed the emus and the ducks. The lemurs are the only animals in that section that cannot be fed or stroked by visitors. The lemurs are the funniest animals in the zoo, they pretty much go wherever they choose, and are not afraid of people at all but they can bite, which is the reason you’re not allowed to feed them. Being approached by an emu can be a little scary at first, but they are quite gentle when taking the food from your hand.

Also in that section there is a large walk in aviary, with parrot and vultures, visitors can watch the vultures being fed daily. This bit is only open to walkthrough when the keeper is there, if you go early in the morning you might find that the keepers are all busy elsewhere, in which case you can view the birds from outside the aviary.

Another great feature of the park is the high walk ways. These allow visitors to see the animals from above, and in the case of the tigers on their climbing frame, the visitors can see them on the same level with no bars to spoil the view.

The owner of the park also began the Sumatran Tiger Trust, so every day there is a talk on the work of the trust just before the tiger feeding. The zoo is quite proud of the way in which the tigers and lions are fed. It is unique in that the meat is attached to 6 metre poles and the cats have to climb for their food. This stops the cats becoming overweight because they actually have to work for their food. During the summer the walkways can get very crowded because everyone wants to see the cats climbing, so you’d be just as well to get to the walkway early and hang around for a while. It might seem a bit boring, but the wait is worth it, to see the power in the animals.

The park is great for kids, as well as being able to feed the emus, ducks etc, they are able to join in with the lemur feeding under the supervision of the park staff. They can also help to feed the penguins and giraffes. They also have a ‘Meet the Snake’ time, where visitors can see a snake close up, and have the opportunity to stroke one.

Food

There are indoor and outdoor tables for taking picnics, and there’s also a restaurant on the site. They serve a limited range of hot foods, but they’re all of good quality, and they have a selection of cold snacks.
Beware though, there are no lockers in the zoo, so you’ll either have to carry your picnic around, or you will have to leave it in the car until you are ready to eat.

Accessibility

The zoo is fully accessible for the disabled. There are very few steps on the walkways, and where there are a couple of steps they have a ramp beside them. The elevated walkways are all accessed by walking up ramps.

It might not be the biggest zoo in the world, but I think it is the best thought out and the owner is interested in the conservation of animals not just creating a tourist attraction.

Barrow in Furness

Barrow in Furness, as soon as I say those words 99 times out of 100 the reply will be 'where’s that?’ Except when you're speak to people from Barrow that is. I thought I'd write this little guide in case anyone was coming to the area, especially as we have cruise ships arriving at the docks now, so more and more tourists are finding us.

~Where is it?~

Barrow in Furness (or Barra as it's known) is in South Cumbria within the Furness peninsula. Still no idea? Well the easiest way to describe it is, just south of the Lake District or not too far north of Blackpool.

The A590 takes you from the M6 and straight to Barrow and is nicknamed the world's largest cul-de-sac, because it comes into Barrow then the only thing to do is turn around and go back out again.

~About the Town~

Barrow is an average sized town, with a population of around 60,000. Originally part of Lancashire, it’s now part of Cumbria.

The town was built up around the shipyard; most of the original housing was built to house the workers. The shipyard however is now past its heyday and most of the engineering work and factories have closed or down sized dramatically, so the main employers are now the local Health Authority and retailers.

~Local Points of Interest~

*Shops*

Barrow is not known for its shopping, most of the shops are confined to two streets, with the highlight being Debenhams. Other national retailers include, Gamestation, Jessops, M & S, and Body Shop. But the majority of the main shopping street is made up of charity shops or banks, with many of the shops at the present time being empty.

There is also a small out of town Retail Park, which houses the likes of Next, Comet, Currys and Tesco Extra.

As well as Tesco, other supermarkets include Asda, Morrisons and 6 branches of the Co-op.

*Pubs and Clubs*

Barrow has the same variety of pubs as the majority of towns in the country. There are the usual drinker’s pubs, and the food lover’s pubs, plus one pub with a 'Fuzzy Ed's' attached for children to play.

Along Cornwallis Street (also known as The Gaza Strip) are Barrow's nightclubs. There are 6 clubs which all open until the early hours of the morning. In addition to these clubs there is also the Princess Selandia, a floating nightclub and restaurant.

*Food*

There are cafes and restaurants a plenty in Barrow. There are Chinese, Indian, Italian, Thai and English restaurants. Take aways selling Chinese, Indian, Pizza, Kebabs, Baked Potatoes, Fish and Chips. Then of course there are McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, and plenty of small local cafes in the town centre.

*Tourist Attractions*

Barrow only has one real tourist attraction to call its own, Furness Abbey. A 12th century ruined abbey, once belonging to the Cistercian monks, now it’s part of English Heritage.

There is also the Dock Museum, a small museum dedicated to all things maritime, and celebrating Barrow's links with the sea, and telling the history of shipbuilding in Barrow.

Just outside of Barrow, in a town called Dalton in Furness there is the South Lakes Animal Park. In my opinion one of the best zoos in the country. Not only does it have a great selection of animals, but it offers people (and children in particular) the opportunity to interact with many of the animals; Lemurs, emus, penguins and giraffes.

~Other Things To Do In Barrow~

Barrow has a beautiful park at its centre. In the past few years the play area has undergone a transformation with the old roundabouts and swings being removed, and climbing frames, zip slides and an interactive Bop It style play frame installed.

In 2008 the second play area was bulldozed and a concrete skate park was built, which is extremely popular with the skate boarders and stunt bike riders.

Also in the park there's a mini golf course, bowling greens, a greenhouse and a lake with swans and geese. During the summer there is boat rental with rowing boats and pedal boats.

The Park Leisure Centre has also undergone a £1m refit, with improvements to the gym. At weekends it holds a roller disco (there's a blast from the past) and the hall can be booked for children's parties, badminton, table tennis etc. The swimming area has a training pool, and a leisure pool with a wave machine and water slide.

Barrow also boasts two different types of beach. On Walney Island you'll find a stony beach with a small play area for the children and generally an ice cream van in attendance.
At Roanhead there is a beautiful sandy beach with plenty of sand dunes to ensure you can find a nice quiet spot. There is a permanent shop, but it is very small and only sells the bare necessities for the beach. Parking is also at a premium at Roanhead, which means on a sunny day you really need to get there early to get a parking space.

When the weather is bad, and presuming you have children there is always the Custom House. This is split into two zones, the play zone for the very young, which has a soft brick play area, and the laser zone, where older children can have fun shooting at each other with laser guns. There is also a restaurant for the adults.

Of course Barrow is only 20 minutes or so away from the Lake District which offers countless attractions.

~My Thoughts~

I've lived in Barrow for years, interspersed with times away due to work commitments and I can only say, of all the placed I've live Barrow is by far the best.

Okay it’s not the most dynamic place; it's generally a few years behind the rest of the world when it comes to new innovations. But it’s also relatively quiet, there is some trouble on occasion, but what town doesn't? And compared to the big cities you could almost say it’s a trouble free zone.

I am not afraid to let my children play out, and that means more to me than being at the forefront of development.

I think at some points everyone thinks their home town is dull, the council are only in it for themselves, or they wish there was more. But I am happy with Barrow as it is, for me it has everything it needs, anymore and it would spoil the area.

~Anything Famous About Barrow?~


Chewits once described themselves on their advert as 'Even chewier than Barrow in Furness bus depot'.
Emlyn Hughes the England and Liverpool FC footballer was born in Barrow and now has an office block named after him.
Dave Myers, one of the Hairy Bikers is also from Barrow.

I hope that has given you a little insight into Barrow.

Wet and Wild Orlando

Wet and Wild is a water park in the Universal district of Orlando, it’s one that can be paid for at the gate or it comes as part and parcel of the Orlando Flexticket.

The slides are split into 5 different types, although they aren’t located in batches, they’re spread around the park.

Super Thrills

This section includes; The Storm, Bomb Bay, Der Stuka and Mach 5.

We all went on Mach 5, which is a slide where you take a mat up to the top and slide down facing forward on your stomach. There are three slides that all start in the same place, so we could all go down together, although getting onto the mat and launching yourself off is easier said than done, and is certainly not an elegant procedure. I found it uncomfortable because I had to hold myself to one side to avoid getting a friction burn on my leg, because I hadn’t quite managed to get on the mat in the centre. But the slide itself wasn’t too bad, plenty of dips and twists, so 6/10 from me.

We gave The Storm a miss because I’d been on either this one or a very similar one several years before, and when I splashed down into the water tank I panicked and felt like I was drowning, and even though both the kids are strong swimmers I didn’t want them to experience the same feeling.

I also gave Der Stuka a miss; it’s a long straight slide which is rather steep. Both the kids went on it and they liked it, when I asked my daughter said 8/10 and my son 7/10.

Next to Der Stuka is Bomb Bay, which is very similar except instead of starting from a sitting position and launching yourself off, you are standing and the floor falls away, the slide is also slightly steeper than Der Stuka.

Group Thrills

As the name suggests these rides are for groups of people. They include Black Hole, Disco H20, Bubba Tub, Brain Wash, The Flyer, The Surge and The Blast. Of these we went on; The Blast, Bubba Tub and The Surge.

The Blast: Here you have to carry your tube up to the top of the ride, either a single tube or a double. This is a bit of a pain for kids, as the tubes are quite big. Then you slide down through bursting tanks and pipelines. Not a bad ride except for dragging the tubes up, so 6/10.

Bubba Tub: There was a bit of a queue for this one; about 20 minutes. This one used round dingy style boats which took up to four people (I believe it had a minimum of 2 rule as well), which were ferried up to the top by machinery, so that was a bonus. It’s basically just a straight slide with four or five drops which you jump down in the boat. A long queue for a very short ride, so just 5/10 for this one.

The Surge used similar style boats, and again they were taken to the top by machinery rather than making the patrons carry them. Rather than being a straight slide, this one was a twisting slide with turns that caused water to splash into the boat. Better than Bubba Tub so 6/10.

Take it Easy

There are two attractions that come under this heading; Lazy River and Surf Lagoon.

Lazy River is exactly as it sounds; somewhere where you can float around in a tube and chillax. If you’ve hired tubes at the hire booth then you can use those, otherwise you can wait for a tube to come floating past. The only tricky bit is getting into them in the first place. 10/10

Surf Lagoon is in the centre of the park, and is a swimming area, which regularly has 4 foot waves rolling across. It’s also surrounded by sun beds so you can just lie back and soak up a few rays. I prefer the sun beds here to the ones at Aquatica because they’re on a solid floor rather than sand. 8/10

Just for Kids

Two attractions here as well, a kid’s park and Bubble Up.

The kid’s park is for children under 4ft, and it has a section of small rides for the kids. Obviously we didn’t use this as my kids were a bit too old.

Bubble Up. This is a large inflatable bubble that kids can climb up via the ropes and then slide of bounce down into the pool below. Some kids had a little trouble climbing up the ropes, and only a certain number are allowed in at any one time, they get about 5 minutes on the bubble before the next batch of kids are allowed in.

Exciting Extras

We never experienced any of the attractions that come under this heading, but for information they are; Knee Ski/Wake Skating, which is a cable operated tow rope around a half mile lake.
The Wild One: Which takes two riders around the lake in a bouncy tube (this costs extra)

Beach Club: A club with a DJ, beach games and prizes.

Shops and Cafes

There are a few place to eat; Surf Grill which serves burgers, hotdogs, salads, nachos and the like. Bubba’s BBQ n Chicken which sells smoked ribs and chicken, Manny’s Pizza which has pizza and subs. Then there are a couple of snack bars and drinks bars dotted around.

There are a couple of shops as well, selling beach wear, sunglasses, sun tan lotion as well as souvenirs.

Universal Islands of Adventure

Universal Studios Islands of Adventure is the second part of the Universal experience. The Islands of Adventure are accessed from the same car parks as Universal Studios, but after passing the bag check area you need to turn left at the city walk rather than right.

The party is split into six areas, Marvel Super Heroes, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, the Lost Continent and Seuss Landing.

Marvel Super Heroes

The first ride you come across in this section is the Incredible Hulk coaster; unfortunately my daughter was too small to ride on this ride so I can't tell you much about it, apart from to say it looks amazing.

Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall is the next to ride you come across, where we passed by this ride the wait time was only five minutes so we decided to give it a try without actually looking up to see what sort of ride it was. It was only when the doors opened to our seats that I realised it was the ride we'd seen from the other side of the park, and was one of those rides that shot you up into the air at high speeds. The initial experience of being catapulted into the air is quite fun, but that's it really and the next few seconds of the ride where it bounces up and down a few times is a bit dull. So on the whole I give this 6/10.

The next ride we went on was the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. This is a 3-D ride in which Spiderman is trying to save New York from Goblin and a few of the other comic book villains (I can’t remember their names because Marvel comics weren't something I used to read as a child). The 3-D effects are really good and you really feel like you are flying around even though you are sitting safely in your car. We went on this ride three times in all so I have to give it a 9/10.

Also in this area you will find Storm Force Acceleration, however I can't even remember seeing it so I can't say anything about it at all.

Toon Lagoon

The first ride we went on was Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges. This is a ride where you sit in a boat with seven other people, a clue to how wet you get on this ride is given when you get on the boat and notice that there is a section in the middle that is covered over so you can keep your bags and cameras dry, which is something I've never seen on a water ride before. On the ride you go over different rapids and bounce about from one side of the river to the other, as you go the rapids huge waves splosh into the boat, you might think at this point that if you're lucky you'll get the seat that manages to miss all the water, but then you go through a couple of waterfalls so there isn’t a single person who stays dry. Having said that the ride is a lot of fun and we actually went on it twice, I'm giving this ride and 8/10 purely because it's so horrible walking round soggy for the next couple of hours.

Whilst we were wet we decided to go on the other water ride in Toon Lagoon which is Dudley do Right’s Rip Saw Falls. This is a ride based on the TV series Dudley do Right which I've never watched so the characters meant nothing to me or to the kids. The ride is more of an old fashion log flume than the previous ride and just has a couple of big drops, the second of which is the steepest and the wettest. Not a bad ride 7/10.

The other attraction in this area is the Me ship, The Olive, which is a rather strange name. This isn't a ride it's a small playground area for children which has slides and water cannons to shoot at people on Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge barges, and a couple of other interactive things. At nine and 11 my kids were a little too old for this attraction.

Jurassic Park

The main ride in this area is the Jurassic Park River Adventure, this is yet another water ride where you travel along in a boat and entered Jurassic Park. There you get to see some of the different dinosaurs in the Park, a couple of which kindly spray you with water as you're going past. It's quite pleasant ride until you enter the raptor area when suddenly you start to go up and find yourself facing the T Rex, luckily just before the T Rex decides to eat you the ride drops away and you plummet to the river below, getting soaked in the process. I would have given this ride an 8.5/10, but two of the three times we went on the ride when it came to exiting the worker who was controlling the boats made it jolt quite badly and it really hurt my back, so because of that I can only give it 5/10.

Just opposite the River adventure you'll find Camp Jurassic, this is a huge playground with lots of slides, rope bridges and water cannons. My kids really enjoyed the water cannon flights with the other kids who were there, and it also gives parents time to have a rest. In this area you'll also find the Pteranadon Flyers, this is a ride just for children where they can fly around the area and see camp Jurassic from a bird’s eye view. I was sat near the entrance whilst waiting for my children to go the ride and really felt sorry for the young girl who was allowing people into the ride. The amount of adults that were arguing with her because they wanted to go on the ride was ridiculous. And when my kids came off the ride it turned out it wasn’t worth the effort anyway, they both came saying it was really boring.

The Lost Continent

We actually missed out this section both of the times we went to the Islands of adventure, there was nothing here that really gripped the children's imaginations, and none of the rides really interested them.

Seuss Landing

The only ride in the entire park that had a queue over 30 minutes on the two days we went was the high in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride, and after waiting 30 minutes to go on the ride I have to say I have absolutely no idea why the queue so long. The ride takes you over the top of Seuss Landing so you get to look down on everybody and get different view of the area, whilst at the same time you hear a Seuss style story of the alphabet being read out, but the ride is so slow you could almost fall asleep whilst riding on it. A very poor 2/10 for me.

The next ride is the Cat in the Hat, another ride for younger children. You ride on the couch through the story of the book, having never read the book I can't say how accurate it is but it's not an exciting ride, there are a couple of times when the couch spins around but that's about as wild as it gets. 5/10 for this.

There is a Caro-euss-el, which is basically a carousel with Seuss characters and is about as much fun as your average carousel. 5/10.

The final ride One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. This is an octopus style ride which goes round and the arms open down individually depending on whether person riding wants to steer up or down. The ride plays a little tune which tells the rider went to go up or down in order to avoid getting wet, however I'm sure everybody gets wet anyway. 7/10 for this ride.

Shops and cafes

As you'd expect there are shops at the exits of the majority of rides, each shop sells souvenirs which are based on the characters in that ride or in the area. There are also plenty of shops which sell a little bit of everything, including characters you'll find in the Universal Studios side of the parks.

There are also plenty of cafes around the Park, these mainly sell fast food, pizza, fried chicken, etc. But in Toon Lagoon you will also find Chinese, Italian and Mexican food, or in the Lost Continent you'll find some healthy salads.

Then all around the Park there are snack bars for you to top up your drinks and buy crisps or pretzels, etc.

Busch Gardens

Even though we were in Orlando we decided to visit Busch Gardens which is the other side of Florida in Tampa Bay, about an hour away. Busch gardens is separated into six different areas, these areas are Bird Gardens, Stanley Ville, Jungala, Timbuktu, Egypt, Morocco, Nairobi, Congo.

Bird Gardens


The main attraction in this area is the Land of the Dragons which is a children's area consisting of a playground and theatre, it's quite a small playground is probably only suitable for eight and under. As you would imagine also in this area there are plenty of birds a lake with flamingos and herons there's also a walk-through aviary which has carrots and although small but very colourful birds

Stanley Ville


The Stanley Ville area has a couple of rides. Firstly it's one of the stopping points for the Sky Ride, the Sky Ride is as the name suggests a ride which takes you around the Park so that you can see the entire park from bird's eye view. The Sky Ride has several points where you can get on and off. There's also the Stanley Falls flume ride this as you would imagine is a log flume ride. We found the queue for this ride extremely long and for the amount of time we waited the ride was quite disappointing it was just your basic log flume and with nothing particularly special it. Because it was so basic it's only a 6/10 from me.

Tanganyika Tidal Wave on the other hand was a water ride with a difference initially you set off in a boat around a meandering River taking in some of the culture of a young America, for example there were examples of Indian culture and the Wild West culture. As you turn the final corner you're suddenly greeted by an incline and of course what goes up must come down and you splash land near the entrance in the process getting absolutely soaking wet. Once you come off the ride you have to pass over the bridge near the splashdown, if you're unlucky you'll find that you cross just as the next boat is coming down and you'll get soaked all over again. This was a much better ride than the other one, and one we had to go on several times because the kids loved it so much, so from me this gets a 9/10.

Stanley Ville is also one of the stopping point for the railway as with this Sky Ride the railway goes around the entire park, not only does it save your legs walking from one area to the other and it also allows you to view the Park from a different perspective. Some of the animals can only be seen by using the railway particularly those around the Serengeti Plain.

Also in Stanley Ville is the Sheikra ride, this ride looks absolutely amazing but unfortunately my daughter was not big enough to go on it, It's a looping rollercoaster ride that also hits the water at one point soaking not only the people on board but anybody who happens to be walking close by.

Jungala


In this area there is the Jungle Flyers and wild surge Treetop trails, around this area you'll also find orang-utans but to be honest we didn't really give this area much notice so I can't comment further than that.

Congo


The Congo area also has a water ride, this time the Congo River Rapids. Rather than a log flume the River Rapids use a boat which takes eight people at a time, the boat winds its way along the Rapids making sure everybody gets soaking wet in the process, there are all so a couple of waterfalls to go through to ensure that nobody misses out. Not the most exciting ride even if it might be the wettest so only 7/10 from me.

Again in the Congo there is the Kumba ride, this is another one that looks great, but another one that we weren't able to do one because my daughter was too small for it but for anyone large enough it is a twisting rollercoaster that sends you up down and round and round several times.

Timbuktu


The Timbuktu area is smack bang in the middle of the pack. There are a couple of good rides in this area first of which is cheetah Chase, this ride similar to the Mouse in Blackpool where you ride in the car on the very top of the rollercoaster so it looks as if you are about to fly off the end of the railings. 7/10.

Next to the Cheetah Chase is the Phoenix, the Phoenix is a swinging boat ride which eventually turns completely upside down. To be honest I found the swinging that worse than going upside down that bit was easy whereas hanging in midair looking down was scarier. 9/10 for this one.

Scorpion ride is also in Timbuktu but as with the others my daughter was far too smart for this one and we weren't able to go on it.

In the centre it Timbuktu for those people who like sedate rides there is a carousel caravan. Like most carousels this ride just goes round nice and slowly with some of the animals going up and down in Mary Poppins style.

Nairobi


The first attraction in Nairobi is the Rhino Rally although this almost seems to be in Timbuktu as it's closer to Timbuktu then is to the rest of Nairobi. With the Rhino Rally you are taken around in jeep and if you're lucky you get a decent driver who will entertain you as you drive round. The Rhino Rally takes you past the rhinos obviously and also past some wildebeest type creatures. There are two parts to the rally, normally you will be able to take the dry road as well as the wet area, however the wet area is prone to breaking down as it did when we went on the rally, according to our driver this is a regular occurrence. However we still drove close enough to the water to see the crocodiles.

Nairobi is the main station for seeing the Serengeti Plain, in the Serengeti Plain you will find flamingos, giraffes, zebra, antelope, rhino, wildebeest, ostrich, lions, hyenas and hippopotamus. Just so you're not worried the Lions and the hyenas are kept well away from the other animals so there is no chance of witnessing a blood bath. Whilst we were on the train we noticed some people riding on the backs of trucks, we never did find out how to get on these trucks, I can only assume they went to the area known as Edge of Africa. The only problem with the train is that most of the animals seem to take great pleasure in hiding from it so your views of the animals are rather limited.

Slightly away from the rest of the animals in Nairobi you'll find some giant tortoise which I was find quite fascinating even though they don't do very much.

Egypt


The main ride in Egypt it is Montu, this is another ride that looks absolutely amazing but unfortunately as with many of the amazing looking rides my daughter was far too small to go on it.

Most of Egypt is taken up by this ride and the flagship restaurant the Crown Colony house. However you'll also find Clydesdale Hamlet which has a selection of Clydesdale horses, one of which is normally outside of the children to pet and for them to have their photograph taken with the horse.

Morocco


The main feature of Morocco is the Gwazi ride. This ride looks like it came out of the dark ages because it's completely wooden and I'm sure I saw a bit of woodworm on the way up. There are normally two coasters running but on the day we went they only had the lion side running and the Tiger side of it was closed. I can't say that I really enjoyed this ride at all, the dips and twists were nothing compared to the new style ride is with their 360° turns, however the clanking and the clumping as the coaster went along the track gave me terrible pains in my neck and back and by the time I got off the ride, the pains in my neck had gone up to my head and I came off with an incredible headache, my son wasn't keen on the either for the same reasons.

Also in the Morocco area you'll find chimpanzees and gorillas, on the day we went the chimpanzees were virtually impossible to see, they were all hidden away either in the hut or so far away it was too hard to see them. The gorillas on the other hand were right up by the front glass and so they could be seen clearly and easily. Next to the gorillas there is an alligator pond with several large alligators and quite a few turtles, I was quite surprised to see the turtles riding on the backs of the alligators yet the alligators didn't seem to mind.

Shops and cafes


There are plenty of shops all around the Park each selling items relevant to their particular areas for example in Egypt's area you would find souvenirs which suit an Egyptian theme.

There are also plenty of places to eat, there are lots of little snack bars around the Park where you can buy pretzels, crisps, etc and drinks. As previously mentioned in Egypt there is the flagship restaurant the Crown Colony this is a restaurant over two floors, downstairs you'll find family dining (in other words pizza, fried chicken or anything else that goes with fries), upstairs there is dining for the more sophisticated palate (in other words for posh people). As well as the Crown Colony there are plenty of other restaurants dotted around the Park.

Everything Else


Although I enjoyed the pack as with SeaWorld I found it little annoying that most of the rides were too large for my daughter to use and feel that they should cater for younger children a little more. Although we were there in the early morning which we've been told was the best time to go, we still saw very few of the animals as most of them were far too far away from the viewing areas to be able to see them properly, which was extremely disappointing as both of my children love animals and zoos sought to drive all the way from Orlando to Tampa and see next to no animals seemed like a big waste of time.

Aquatica - Orlando

Aquatica is Seaworld's water park, it's directly across the road from Seaworld and when you're on the higher rides there you can see the slides from the park.

== Attractions in Aquatica ==

===Dolphin Plunge ===

Here you slide down a tube without the help of any mats or tubes. The start of the ride is dark as the tunnel is fully covered, part way down you suddenly emerge into the light as the tunnel becomes transparent. At this point you actually go under the water and through a dolphin tank, which contains black and white Commerson's Dolphins. You are supposed to be able to view the dolphins as you're whizzing past, but we didn't find this to be the case. Firstly the dolphins have to be swimming near the tube to see them and very often they're not, and secondly you're going too fast and there's too much water hitting your face to see anything. 6/10 for this ride, because it's a decent slide but doesn't deliver what it promises.

=== Tassie's Twisters ===

On this ride you need a tube, either a double or a single tube which you collect at the bottom of the ride and carry up to the top. This can be a bit of a pain because they are unwieldy, especially for smaller children. The ride consists of a half tunnel (it's open at the top) which takes you to a large bowl, where you swish round a couple of times before dropping into another tunnel and splash landing in Loggerhead Lane. When I went down I found I had to push myself toward the opening for the finally splashdown because my tube had slowed down too much. I thought initially this was due to my excessive weight, but the children both said the same thing, and they certainly aren't fat, so just a 3/10 for this ride from me.

=== Loggerhead Lane ===

This is what I termed the lazy river, because basically you just float around on a tube (either single or double) and relax in the sun. Although it isn't quite as lazy as other examples of these rivers because there are waterfalls and sprays at various places. But you can also view the dolphin tank as you float by, and it's a much better way of seeing them than the Dolphin Plunge ride, you can also view a tank of tropical fish part way round as well. It's a very peaceful and relaxing ride and would have received an 8 at least, except that occasionally a group of awful louts descended on the river and the lifeguards did nothing to stop their dreadful behaviour and language. At one point my daughter got tipped out of her tube by one group and elbowed in the head by one of them at the same time, not a single apology as they raced off around the river annoying everyone else on their way. So from an 8 to a 5/10.

===Roa's Rapids ===

This is similar to Loggerhead Lane in that you float along a river going round and round. However there are no tubes, only life vests allowed. All the children and the majority of adults used them. I didn't because I found them too awkward, but the kids did and they loved being able to float along. The current if very strong in the rapids, and at certain points it gets extremely strong indeed and actually looks like rapids. If you miss the exit you've no chance of swimming back to it, my daughter missed it as we were getting out, and it took two people grabbing her hand to pull her back against the current. This ride is really fun, so it gets an 8/10.

===HooRoo Run ===

This is a wiggly slide where everyone comes down in dingy style rings. I never actually went on this one, but the kids did and they weren't overly impressed, they described it as 'meh', which says it all really.

=== Walkabout Waters ===

This is a big water playground. It's well designed and very colourful and the kids spent hours here. There are two buckets at the top of the structure which fill with water and eventually tip onto the poor unsuspecting people below. There are slides and water gun and buckets that people can fill up to tip on people below. It gave me a couple of hours peace to sunbathe so 9/10 from me (the kids loved it too).

===Taumata Racer ===

This is a slide that has a 360degree turn where the people using it slide down forwards on mats, and race against each other to the bottom. Getting on the mat in the first place is the hardest thing about this ride, and as so many of the adults I watched going on before me, I was left standing at the start trying to get going. So I came in last in the race, but really enjoyed the ride which has a really steep drop at the end . 8/10 for this one.

=== Kata's Loobaburra Cove ===

This was a play area for really small children (under 5's), so we only passed though here, but from what I saw there were a couple of slides and some stationary toys to climb on.

=== Cutback Cove and Big Surf Shores ===

I've put these together because I actually didn't realise they were two different areas whilst we were there, because they are very similar, just partly separated by a rock wall. It is a large swimming area that doubles as a wave pool every so often. I can only presume that the big surf shores side of the pool has stronger waves than the other. Not the most exciting and the wave were only as large as the ones in our local pool, so just 5/10 for this one.

=== Whanau Way ===

This is another slide where everyone uses a tube to slide down on. There are four different slides, each has a full 360 degree turn part way down. The tube stops you scrapping your back on the slide, so 7/10 from me.

== Shops and Food ==

There are several shops around the park, Sunnies n' Such, Kiwi Traders, Adaptations and Beachies. They all sell much of a muchness, but they're all worth a visit if only to cool down!


There are 3 main diners, Banana Beach Cookout, Mango Market and Waterstone Grill. You had to buy tickets for Banana Beach, and from the outside it looked to be some sort of all you can eat buffet. We ate at Waterstone Grill, which was fine, but a very limited choice and nothing particularly healthy, also very expensive, but par for the course in theme parks. There are also lots of stalls to purchase snacks and drinks around the park.

== Other Areas ==

The toilets were all kept very clean, which I imagine is made especially difficult by all the sand around, but they were spotless.

We had need of the first aiders because of my children's delicate skins (they had a reaction to the chlorine), they were very understanding and very efficient.

There are lockers around the park and as I was the only adult on our trip and I didn't want to leave bags on the loungers, I found being able to rent a locker close to where we were sitting invaluable.

There's a beach around Cutback Cove, which is lined with sunbeds. I can't say I was over keen on this idea, because sand gets absolutely everywhere. I prefer the loungers to be on a solid floor as they are in Wet 'n Wild.

=== Final Point ===

One thing that annoyed me during the day was an announcement that Aquatica valued everyone's safety, and for that reason no lifeguards were allowed to make direct eye contact whilst talking to customers. I found this very annoying because I hate it when someone doesn't look me in the eye when talking, and it did make me wonder if it was an excuse so the lifegaurds could ogle without being in trouble for not looking a person in the face.