Out & About Winter 2019

BOOKS Looking for an entertaining and thought-provoking read? HELEN SHEEHAN recommends The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman, a tale of an egotistical artist and his legacy. Some local history came to life over the summer with the unveiling of the Boxford Mosaic and Newbury publishers Countryside Books have brought out a guide to the mosaic and the secrets that were unearthed – a perfect Christmas present for history buffs. Out&About leisure

to a new wife and yet another child. Natalie and Pinch are left in Rome, bereft and trying their best to survive. Pinch finds some solace in painting and Natalie encourages him, believing he has real talent. Eventually Bear allows a teenage Pinch to stay with him and his latest family. Pinch brings along one of his paintings to show Bear, desperate for his approval. After much procrastination from the ever self-absorbed Bear, he finally throws a glance at Pinch’s painting. What follows is an extraordinary and fascinating story of deception and revenge on a grand scale and ultimately a clever and fitting ending for both Bear and Pinch. Throughout this book Rachman imbues Pinch’s life with colourful characters, not least his quirky rescue dogs, Harold and Tony. This is a delightful, satisfying read and it’s hard to say goodbye to Pinch when you finish the book – a quiet, funny and self-deprecating hero in a loud, turbulent, modern world. the operation – chairwoman of the Boxford History Project Joy Appleton, leading archaeologist with Cotswold Archaeology Matt Nichol and one of the UK’s leading authorities on mosaics and Roman and Greek architecture, Anthony Beeson, who is also the archivist of the Association for Roman Archaeology. Filled with photographs of the mosaic and explanations about the various stories it tells, The Boxford Mosaic, A Unique Survivor from the Roman Age would make a great present for anyone interested in local and ancient history. The book is published by Countryside Books and is available from bookshops and online. RRP: £12 www.countrysidebooks.co.uk

Mother and son are delighted: “We waited all this time, Pinchy, and now he’s here!” Timid Natalie is a potter, but her talent pales into insignificance compared to Bear’s great works of art. At a party Natalie observes: “Nobody came to meet an unknown lady potter. They’re here for Bear Bavinsky, creator of expressionistic masterworks”. Bear destroys most of what he paints and he will not sell the few surviving canvasses that pass muster – they are only to be displayed in museums. The rarity of the paintings and his refusal to sell them to art dealers of course creates a huge demand for his work. Pinch must learn to navigate through his parents’ intense relationship and the egotistical artists that surround Bear. Bear’s work takes precedence over everything else. Natalie and Pinch are almost subsumed by him: “’I’m finished’, he reiterates yet is still working, with bare fingers now…’Don’t move. I’m finished. No, wait.’” And then Bear is gone, back to the US,

T his entertaining, funny, the 1950s. Five-year-old Pinch lives with his mother Natalie in an artist’s studio belonging to Pinch’s father, the world famous painter Bear Bavinsky. Bear is larger than life and utterly self- centered with a mercurial temper. He has left his wife and children in the US to live with Pinch and Natalie and to paint. O ver one weekend during the summer the public were able to view the Boxford Mosaic, which was fully uncovered from beneath a field near Newbury, where it had lain for some 1,600 years amid the ruins of its villa. Dating from around 350AD it has been described as the most spectacular and innovative Roman mosaic ever found in Britain. The mosaic depicts tales of some of the most famous heroes from Greek mythology – Hercules slays the half-man half-horse Centaur, Pelops wins the hand of a King’s daughter by sabotaging the wheel lynch pin of his racing chariot, the handsome Bellerophon kills the fire-breathing Chimera monster with the help of his flying horse Pegasus and a lance unbearably sad and beautifully written book begins in Rome in

tipped with lead. The legend of Pegasus has spread down the centuries into the folklore of many countries and in Britain it became St George and the Dragon. The full description of this artistic masterpiece and its excavation, by local enthusiasts working under professional supervision, is told here by the three who played key roles in

You can find book reviews on the Newbury Today website www.newburytoday.co.uk/out&about/books Leave your comments and tell us what you think of the books or email geraldine.gardner@newburynews.co.uk

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O&A WINTER 2019