THE VIEW FROM HERE
THE Island has been a little patchy as far as getting to grips with diversity is concerned. A certain reactionary intransigence still holds sway with some people, the very word "change" causing much harrumphing, with bosoms heaving and moustaches bristling (ever sensitive to gender equality, I naturally include men with bosoms and women with moustaches in these categories).
However, when we put our minds to it, we can be as diverse as any trendy London borough. Take the site adjacent to Ryde Canoe Lake, where an unremarkable cafe was built in 1920. During the 1960s, the building was thatched and given an English olde-worlde look, redolent of buttered scones, mob caps and minstrelsy.
Thatcher’s End cafe became the Beijing Palace restaurant in 2003 but kept its original structure. A couple of Chinese lions outside created a charmingly mix-and-match message of Sino-Cottage fusion, chintzy thatch on top, prawn cracker within.
This unusual display of diversity ended in 2006 when the Beijing Palace became crispier than any duck it had served in the past three years and was destroyed in a spectacular fire.
That was the end of the cottage look, although the new building, completed at the end of last year and incorporating a distinctly Chinese style of design, would surely please the diversity guys. Looking up at the roof, you could imagine yourself right in Tiananmen Square.
Back came the lions and we all prepared to wield our chopsticks once more. But then a sign went up, advertising the Bombay Palace Restaurant. Cancel the chopsticks and have a vindaloo instead.
Now, isn’t that nice? Whimsy thatch merges with soy sauce, then there’s a brief period of noodle domination, before we sashay into Biryani coated in Pagoda style architecture.
Perhaps they could hold one of those international conferences down at the Bombay Palace. Or maybe not.
Apparently, we still haven’t quite got over losing the empire or the fact Bombay changed its name 14 years ago. I fear the Mumbai Palace may be one step too far for the Island.
Self-help manuals and travel writing? No, surely not …
J. D. Salinger, who died last week, may have written only one really memorable book, but Catcher in the Rye was the envy of many far more prolific authors.
It stormed into the hearts of angst-ridden teenagers everywhere and has been loved by all generations since it was published in 1951.
Studies on the reading habits of convicts in America reveal those found guilty of murder are likely to have read two particular books more than any other. Once is the Bible, and the other is the Catcher in the Rye. Well, I’ve always suspected the Bible is not a suitable book for impressionable minds.
I am grateful to Christine Cairns, library co-ordinator at Parkhurst, for giving a most interesting insight into what goes down well with her customers.
Parkhurst’s library was refurbished in 2003 and Christine describes it as pleasant, light, and comfortable.
"We offer wide choices and advice. Charts of best sellers and prize winners are very popular and the BBC list of 100 most popular reads is well used.
"Some read classics — something they’ve never had time to do before. Word-of-mouth recommendations between prisoners are invaluable.
"Younger, shorter-term and remand prisoners like true crime but this seems to wear off as sentences progress.
"Best-selling thrillers are very popular. There is always a waiting list for the new James Patterson, Martina Cole and Stephen Leather.
"Some choices are quite surprising. Non-fiction is more popular than fiction, with subjects as diverse as cake making and tai chi."
Biographies and self-help books are also popular, says Christine. "And travel manuals are well read."
It all sounds excellent. Just so long as they don’t combine self-help with travel and decide to organise themselves a group outing to Brazil.