Comeback Book Group

A bit of research leads me to conclude that this was a convolvulus hawk moth Agrius convolvuli) rather than a deaths head hawk moth. Impressive beast. It would be interesting to see whether there have been any further sightings in the area.

I came across this massive moth in my back garden this morning. I *believe* it's a deaths head hawk moth. Must have been around 2.5 inches from head to tail and the wingspan was around 3+ inches when I disturbed it and it took flight. Astonishing sight.

Always been helpful and polite in my experience.

CTN?

Yep. Often seen blackcaps in my back garden. Dunstans Road towards Dawson's Heights.

Clearing up behind my garden shed this morning, I lifted up a bin bag in which I've been storing a dismantled mini greenhouse. Underneath was a small smooth newt - around 5-6cm in length. It didn't appear to be discomfited by having been disturbed but I quickly replaced the bin bag and left it in peace. The clearing-up can wait until another day!

Over the course of the past few days I've noticed a high-pitched "electrical" (for want of a better description) hum when I've been in my garden. I live on Dunstans Road, close to the Dawsons Heights area. It's hard to pinpoint the direction of the source - lots of building surfaces which deflect and reflect noise - but it would appear to be somewhere in the Donkey Alley/Hillcourt Road/Overhill Road area. It's not massively loud but neither do I need to strain to hear it... Anyone else noticed it? Any idea as to the source?

This was an outstanding night of comedy... Brilliant!

Hi all An interesting discussion last night of Jim Crace's "Quarantine". I came away with some very different perspectives on the book following other members' input! When we meet again, on Tuesday 29th May, we'll be discussing Flann O'Brien's "The Third Policeman". We're still very keen to welcome new members, so please contact us at [email protected] if you'd like to join. Further information about the group available at http://www.comebackbookgroup.wordpress.com Many thanks.

Two weeks - give or take twenty four hours - until our next meeting, when we will be discussing Jim Crace's novel "Quarantine". If you would like to join the group (and we'd love to welcome new members!), please get in touch at [email protected] Further information available at http://www.comebackbookgroup.wordpress.com

We held our first meeting last night. Five of us were able to make it and we had a very lively discussion about Muriel Spark's "The Ballad Of Peckham Rye". We'd be very keen to welcome new members to our second meeting, scheduled for Tuesday 24th April, when we'll be discussing "Quarantine" by Jim Crace. If you'd like to sign up, please get in touch through email [email protected] or visit http://www.comebackbookgroup.wordpress.com for further information.

A quick update. We're now up to 12 members. Get in touch through email at [email protected] or visit http://www.comebackbookgroup.wordpress.com for further information.

Thanks to everyone who has got in touch to enquire about membership. Our numbers are now up to nine. As we mentioned in the post of 30th January, we'd ideally like to get into double figures before our first meeting. Please have a look at the website http://www.comebackbookgroup.wordpress.com and if the approach chimes with you, please get in touch for further details. Many thanks.

Many thanks to Village Books, Dulwich. A kind offer to support the group through reduced price admission to their upcoming talk by Elly Griffiths, crime writer. Very much appreciated!

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. Our numbers are now up to five and we'd ideally like to get into double figures before our first meeting. Please have a look at the website http://www.comebackbookgroup.wordpress.com and if the approach chimes with you, please get in touch for further details. Many thanks.

Many thanks to Alleyn's who have kindly made premises available for monthly meetings of the Comeback Book Group. Our first meeting will be held on Tuesday 27th March at 7:00pm. Our first novel will be Muriel Spark's "The Ballad Of Peckham Rye". For further details, please email [email protected] Many thanks.

Thanks to all who have taken the time to respond to this request for help. Much appreciated! We're now just about to finalise the detailed arrangements for our first run of meetings, thanks to a very generous helping hand from one of our local institutions. All will be revealed once we've crossed the final "t"s. In the meantime, more information about Comeback Book Group can be found at http://www.comebackbookgroup.wordpress.com Thanks again.

Hi all Comeback Book Group's motto is "towards better mental health through reading and talking about books". The Group aims to promote the therapeutic benefits of reading literary fiction for those who are experiencing/recovering from mental health issues, to encourage purposeful reading as a means of promoting discussion and sharing ideas and to give readers an opportunity to meet socially on a monthly basis to discuss the book of the month. Membership is aimed at SE London residents who are experiencing, are recovering from or are recovered from/in remission from mental health issues. We hope shortly to be able to confirm the venue (in SE22) for our monthly meetings. The first of these will be held towards the end of March. At that meeting we'll be discussing Muriel Spark's "The Ballad Of Peckham Rye". We've chosen this as our debut novel because it's set locally, because Spark would have been 100 in 2018 if she was still alive and - er - because it's a fine read which ought to give us plenty to discuss. If you'd like to become a member of the Group, please contact us via the private messaging feature here, through email at [email protected] or via our website http://www.comebackbookgroup.wordpress.com Thank you.

Thanks, Redjam. Really keen to avoid pubs (own experience of mental illness very much linked to/exacerbated by alcohol so tend to avoid where possible). Also really keen not to host in individual group members' homes; one of the aims of the meetings is to give members an opportunity to socialise outside of the domestic setting. But thanks again for the thoughts. Much appreciated.

Hi Jennys. Thanks for the suggestion. We've been sounding out a number of local indie cafes to see if they'd be prepared to open late to accommodate a monthly meeting of the Group but so far with nil success. I quite understand, to be honest; there's no way that the chance to sell a few extra coffees would offset the cost to the business of staying open for a few extra hours. However if any cafe owners are reading this and would be willing to help us out please let us know. Hi Alice. The Green Nunhead's ?6 per hour rate seems quite attractive at first sight, but unfortunately there's a ?40 additional charge for caretaking if the booking runs after 6pm. Thanks for flagging it, though. Hi Pugwash. Thanks for the detailed info. We'll get on to this straightaway. And thanks to all who have made helpful suggestions so far. Much appreciated.

Tnanks, Pete and Siouxsie... I'll try to track down the right people to contact about the former laundry. Dulwich Library Hall is no go, I'm afraid. ?25 per hour,

Not free unfortunately (?60 per hour in the evenings). But thanks for the heads-up.

Hi there Comeback Book Group is a new local initiative aimed at those experiencing, or recovering, from mental illness and seeking to promote better mental health through reading and talking about books. Once the group is up and running properly, we'd intend to have monthly meetings - either a midweek from say 6:30pm to 8:00pm or Saturday mornings from say 10:30pm to 12:00 noon. We'd appreciate suggestions for welcoming, quiet, easily-accessible venues in SE22 or SE21 who'd be prepared to host our monthly meetings free of charge (at least until we're a little more established). At this stage it's difficult to predict the turn-out; we expect numbers of between 6 and 12 each month. Any thoughts? We're in touch with local bookshops with a view to partnering and possibly hosting meetings, so we've covered those bases. However, we'd be very grateful for any other suggestions which we'll follow up in coming weeks. Very many thanks. Comeback Book Group