Sheryl’s review of Castles, Crime & Cake: A Policeman's Accidental Guide to History > Likes and Comments
2 likes · Like
After a year struggling with the biggest challenge of my life, I needed some therapy. John Donoghue always provides it. His writing that is! John is also facing a monumental challenge: The four stages of retirement, as in how to cope in your retirement psychologically. He has one third of his life left on this planet and needs to give his retirement purpose and soul, as advised by his former shift colleague from the police, which led John to ponder the different phases of Heaven. In the author’s opinion, ‘Paradise would be where all the dogs you’ve ever loved and lost are waiting for you.’ I think most dog lovers would echo that sentiment. John realises he’s been coasting in stage one of retirement, the holiday phase, quite happily, but, ‘there’s only a limited amount of time you can lounge around doing nothing before it all begins to lose its lustre’, his colleague sagely imparts. John is heading fast for stage two, the boredom stage, and has to take action and move swiftly on to stage three, the opportunity stage, in order to reap his rewards (stage four). Thus, his frantic search for the perfect opportunity, and breaking all the laws in the land isn’t it! Giving his police talks in front of audiences like the WI, where the cakes are possibly more exciting, isn’t it either. John takes a chance and emails the warden of the castle. And his CV impresses. No spoilers as to why. He’s going to give guided tours! Small problem, he knows nothing about medieval history. I have to say that for a man who knows nothing, he had me engrossed. I reckon this book should be recommended reading in schools. I could go on but suffice to say the book is stuffed full of facts plus a bit of artistic licence to entertain his audience. John finds his golden fleece! The book is stuffed full of anecdotes and, once again, got me laughing out loud. Good therapy! Whatever you do, don’t skip the Bonus Material at the end: The WI Files. It stuffed full of useful information and hilarious. If you need a pick me up, I would highly recommend you pick up this book!
back to top
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Sheryl
(new)
Feb 03, 2026 05:59AM
After a year struggling with the biggest challenge of my life, I needed some therapy. John Donoghue always provides it. His writing that is! John is also facing a monumental challenge: The four stages of retirement, as in how to cope in your retirement psychologically. He has one third of his life left on this planet and needs to give his retirement purpose and soul, as advised by his former shift colleague from the police, which led John to ponder the different phases of Heaven. In the author’s opinion, ‘Paradise would be where all the dogs you’ve ever loved and lost are waiting for you.’ I think most dog lovers would echo that sentiment. John realises he’s been coasting in stage one of retirement, the holiday phase, quite happily, but, ‘there’s only a limited amount of time you can lounge around doing nothing before it all begins to lose its lustre’, his colleague sagely imparts. John is heading fast for stage two, the boredom stage, and has to take action and move swiftly on to stage three, the opportunity stage, in order to reap his rewards (stage four). Thus, his frantic search for the perfect opportunity, and breaking all the laws in the land isn’t it! Giving his police talks in front of audiences like the WI, where the cakes are possibly more exciting, isn’t it either. John takes a chance and emails the warden of the castle. And his CV impresses. No spoilers as to why. He’s going to give guided tours! Small problem, he knows nothing about medieval history. I have to say that for a man who knows nothing, he had me engrossed. I reckon this book should be recommended reading in schools. I could go on but suffice to say the book is stuffed full of facts plus a bit of artistic licence to entertain his audience. John finds his golden fleece! The book is stuffed full of anecdotes and, once again, got me laughing out loud. Good therapy! Whatever you do, don’t skip the Bonus Material at the end: The WI Files. It stuffed full of useful information and hilarious. If you need a pick me up, I would highly recommend you pick up this book!
reply
|
flag
