The things they leave behind

I've just been through the hardback children's books, which means to a large extent the girls' school stories - of which I am only taking the Chalet School (obviously) and Joanna Lloyd. Of those I'm leaving, some will inevitably be rare and hence valuable, but I don't have time to sort that out or do anything about it; some will be an unalloyed joy I do not know about because I never got around to reading them; and most will contain abandoned treasures. Like f'rexample the Angela Brazil - Captain Peggie, I think - which I opened it entirely at random and read in it entirely at random, and read:

"A meerkat ... is always an anxiety in one's bedroom."

Which I offer entirely without comment, entirely.

In other news, tonight's supper will be lamb shanks stewed with onions and leeks and fennel, with potatoes which they would be dauphinoise if I were cooking them in cream but in fact I'm just using stock and I don't know what to call that, but it's going to be lovely.