text: What you get a feel for here is not just the description but something of the tone of the trilogy. Because Gormenghast is dark. It's dark dark dark. In a way, I found myself reminded of Alice in Wonderland because there's a terrifying kind of insanity hanging behind everything that happens. This is not a fantasy story that contains magic; it's a fantasy story where everything, from the people to the animals to the buildings, is just a little bit wrong somehow.
  It's no surprise when you find out that Titus Groan and Gormenghast, the first two books in the trilogy, were written during and just after the Second World War. This is an author who has seen the horrors of war and knows what it is like when the whole world seems to lose its sanity around you. For some authors, the tumultuous first-half of the 20th Century led to fantasy stories that were based on faith, with epic good-vs-evil battles where good wins out in the end. Not so with Mervyn Peake. If there is any faith in these books, it's misplaced. If there are any battles between good and evil, there are no clear winners.
  So, what am I trying to say? Gormenghast might not be to everyone's tastes but I would heartily recommend it. For those months that I was reading the trilogy, I was actually there and I have to say, I feel like a slightly different person coming out of the other side of it.
  Read it. Read it. Go on. If the first half of Titus Groan catches your interest, you'll like the rest of it.
  - Can I admit to having a really confusing crush on Steerpike? (A quick Google search suggests I'm not the only one.) I remember feeling the same way (i.e. confused) when I watched the TV adaptation. I had put it down to me being 16 and hormonal at the time, but 12 years later and it's still the same! Oh Steerpike, you are a right, proper bastard. You're horrible. If only you'd stop having nice cheekbones and taking off all your clothes every five chapters, then it would be much easier to hate you.
  - Other characters I came to enjoy (in less confusing ways) were Doctor Prunesquallor, the Countess and Fuchsia (she's such an embodiment of teenage awkwardness. It's great.)
  - I kind of get the feeling that the books are maybe meant to be allegorical but I'm not sure about what. Anybody have any ideas?
  - The third book, Titus Alone, was really confusing. It almost didn't feel like part of the trilogy at all. Where were the characters and the setting that I was used to? Gone! Why was the plot even more confused than before? Thank God one of the new characters (Muzzlehatch!) was good enough to keep me reading.
  - Muzzlehatch! Muzzlehatch Muzzlehatch! My crush on Muzzlehatch is not confusing at all. He is possibly the most BAMF-y character that ever BAMF-ed. I mean, for crying out loud, one of the first scenes we see him in, he's riding a stag while entirely naked save for a fireman's helmet. What's not to love? I ask you.
  - Despite not covering Muzzlehatch the third book at all, I think I need to rewatch the BBC version again. Like right now.
  These tasted nice enough (I left the chilli out of mine because I'm not a huge fan, and I used dried basil because I couldn't find fresh). The peppers could have done with longer in the over though because they were very firm.
  I don't know why the recipe suggests making these two loaves together, because, as far as I can tell, they have nothing to do with each other. The pumpkin bread (which, to my uninitiated eyes, seems to be more of a pumpkin cake) is really yummy and great eaten slightly warm on a cold day. The olive bread was a little bland but every now and again you got a hit of olive, which was fairly nice, and it goes well eaten with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Also, the olive bread was quite dense, which I'd like to blame on the rye flour but was probably entirely my fault for not adding enough water and so finding it difficult to knead (throughout cooking I couldn't help a mild panic at the thought of what Paul and Mary might say if they were watching - a sign that I've been watching too much of The Great British Bake Off if ever there was one).
  These pies were hard to form because the warm mince left the puff pastry too floppy and my parcels didn't want to stay wrapped; I'm actually surprised they came out of the oven looking mostly ok! Taste-wise, I thought I wouldn't like the prunes as I'm not a fan of sweet in my savoury, but it turns out they're the best bit. The combination of the mince and the pastry is really really greasy, so you need a lot of prune in there for some sharpness. It's not a horrible taste though; it actually reminded me of Christmas.
  Once again, my photo-taking skills are foiled by stew, which always looks like a mess in the bowl. I didn't add the wine to this and I substituted yellow peppers for green ones. The taste was nice though; it tasted almost exactly like you'd imagine it to taste - tomato-y, olive-y and sausage-y but in a good way. Dipping fresh bread into the sauce was rather lovely. The crunchy bits of salami were also an unexpected bonus.
  Suddenly the weather has turned cold! The combination of Halloween, Bonfire Night and the clocks going back an hour can only mean that winter is almost here. I can't say I'm looking forward to the dark, the cold or the frantic Christmas shopping, but I do now get to see some amazing sunsets from my desk at work, so there is that.
  Most of what I've been doing post-Cornwall has involved wrapping myself in a blanket, foraging out some hot drinks, and listening to some Billie Holiday songs that I managed to download with a free voucher from Amazon.
  When I've not been doing that, I've been mourning the loss of The Great British Bake Off (which was a wonderful mix of baking, summer and funny moments), having nightmares after watching Downton Abbey (no, really), and reading Gormenghast (when I get to the end of the trilogy, I am deffo going to write a review about it here, guys).
  This is a great museum. We were going to sightsee around Oxford too, but there was no time left after giving the museum a good run for its money all afternoon.
  Here are some photos of random exhibits. And I can't remember what any of them are (aren't you lucky).