Author: valleyreading

Rome Before Rome by Philip Matyszak

A very enjoyable read covering the early years of Rome and Roman civilisation. A look into the “history”, myth and legends.

Engaging and amusing and very readable. It is interesting to see how Rome came to be and how they saw their legends and history. You can’t take it at face value, but for every story surely there is an element of truth. Sure it is embellished in the telling of the tales and refined to be the myth handed down to us.

An interesting facet in the legends is how rape is the key point or trigger in three vital aspects of Roman legend. The rape of Romulus & Remus mother which gives us the founding myth of Rome. Secondly the Rape of the Sabines which caused the growth of Rome and kickstarted the expansion and development. Finally the Rape of Lucretia which caused the emergence of the Republic and brought down Tarquin Superbus, thankfully rape was seen as abhorrent then too given how the violence and uproar then ensued.

All in all I quite enjoyed this book, it is very accessible and from an author who’s work I quite enjoy. It is a book I will return to, and one that can lead on to other books for more depth. Highly recommended.

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Syndet AP+ Soothing Cream Wash & Lipikar Baume AP+M Moisturiser

I usually write reviews of books on here and I think well this is a review of a sorts as well.

All my life I have always had sensitive skin and issues with excema and psoriasis. To the point that in my childhood I would be having sunbed treatment at the local hospital to help treat it. As I have gotten older the psoriasis has cleared up but I do still get occasional flare ups of excema, mostly on my face around my nose, mouth and eye brows and on my chest. I have tried everything and both prescribed and over the counter solutions. Typically nowadays I use over the counter solutions like an excema friendly moisturiser called Child’s Farm Baby Moisturiser or Doublebase FlareRelief Emollient. Both are decent at treating a flare up but not a clear solution.

I did some browsing online and I was reading up on a brand called La Roche-Posay which has a lot of products for skin and treating various ailments like excema, signs of aging etc. It is quite expensive at £20+ per product considering the Moisturiser and FlareRelief were both under £10 each. So I was curious about it and as luck would have it the La Roche-Posay products went on sale last week during Amazon’s Prime Day sales. I purchased two products to use Lipikar Syndet AP+ Soothing Cream Wash and Lipikar Baume AP+M Moisturiser. I saved about £7 or 8 on each.

As timing would have it I had a flare up on my face and the purchase was perfectly timed but I had a beard too. So in the interests of science I sacrificed my beard to give the new products a proper try out.

Post shaving my face was very red and the excema very visible around my nose and around my mouth. I firstly used the face wash which stung a bit due to the alcohol in it and my bare freshly shaved skin. It is a very pleasant and nice product to use and subsequent uses have been perfect and no sting at all. The Baume is a very nice non-greasy balm and dries in nicely and leaves the skin feeling hydrated and looked after.

The results have been excellent and were clear to see the next morning where my mother noticed the difference instantly. Within 2 uses of each the redness and signs of excema were gone. I know I will never be free of it but it is nice to have something to combat it when it flares up. I will keep up using it daily as a cleanser and moisturiser. It is expensive yes but it works and you do get 400ml of product too.

I will include photos to show the difference.

RIP Diogo Jota & Andre Silva

As a sports fan and football (soccer) fan today is a very sad waking up to news of the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, a footballer as well. It is something that makes me feel sick to my stomach, and a reminder how fleeting life and that someone who was living his best life on top of the World both professionally and personally.

Diogo played for my team of Liverpool FC, he was our forward and a player who was not one for the headlines and a flashy player but he was a player who would give their all and make something of nothing. If you needed a goal he was the substitution you made, typified by a headed goal this season against Nottingham Forest 22 seconds after coming onto the pitch. His first touch, a goal.

I feel absolutely sick and emotional that he is completely gone, when you read the media how he was traveling to the port to catch a ferry to return to Liverpool for pre-season – being unable to fly due to recovery from surgery making the change in air pressure a risk. A season to look forward to and the best years ahead, all gone in an instant due to an accident with a burst tyre. How quickly life can change and a young wife and three children left without a husband, father and uncle. Parents mourning the loss of two sons under 30.

A Summer of his life coming off winning a 20th Premier League with Liverpool and winning the UEFA Nations League with Portugal, capped off with marrying his childhood sweetheart less than two weeks ago. Life is very unfair at times.

For now we as humans, fans and supporters shall mourn the loss of our Diogo but in time we will come to celebrate him and he will always be our number 20 who helped us lift our 20th league title. Forever etched into our club and a part of folklore. I cant wait to hear his name chanted every game and his memory live on, I hope the club retires his shirt. A poetic beauty in our #20 lifting #20.

In sporting terms it was shaping up to be a Summer to remember and an exciting season to come with the squad building on the success of last season, now sport is unimportant and rightly so. It is just a game after all and a sombre few weeks and months to come but you know his teammates are going to play with him in their hearts and play each game as he did alongside them. Gone but never forgotten, both Diogo and his family have our motto with them “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

His name was Diogo

Gun Honey : Collision Course & Heat Seeker: Combustion by Charles Ardai

Two in one for this post, both involving the Gun Honey comic/graphic novel. I am up to date with the series as of writing this.

Two very interesting reads and full of great plot and knowing the formula and what to expect it was a fun ride to see the stories develop. The main Gun Honey series seems to ended for now and I can’t see where that story goes from here with all the loose ends seemingly tied up.

The Heatseeker spin off has a bit more legs to it I think, with the whole little girl dynamic to the new character added to it with her healing properties.

These two series certainly have piqued my interest in comics/graphic novels and I look forward to reading more of them, certainly fun to use to Colorsoft with them and see them in all their glory.