Baby Bear and Owl fly past millions of stars. How many is a million? Can you write a million in digits? The writing style is personal and intimate, like you’re sitting with the author and learning these details. This one was more a re-hashing of that one. Maybe I was too eager and didn’t give enough time between both books. Look at the use of punctuation in the story. How many question marks, exclamation marks, commas, speech marks and full stops can you find? Can you explain why the author has used each one? Since I enjoyed Lady in Waiting I was very eager to read Whatever Next? It's a very chatty memoir - I felt the author was sitting across the table from me as we shared a cup of tea. Lady Glenconner expanded on life experiences that were hinted at in the Lady in Waiting. It as a fast read and at times a superficial one - I would of welcomed a more in-depth look at her life and adventures. The book is a fascinating portrayal of a world gone by.

Give children a large piece of paper and paints or crayons to paint a picture of their journey to the moon. From her childhood nanny (one of the good ones; she also had a horrendous one), she often heard, "Let's go and explore." Anne has continued to have a love of travel throughout her life. "The world is full of interesting things to see, but you have to go and look for them." Words for Life is created by the National Literacy Trust and supported by UK publishers with funding for its creation from the DfE and Kindred 2. Not long ago, I read and enjoyed "Lady in Waiting," by Anne Glenconner. You may remember that Anne was a maid of honor at Queen Elizabeth's coronation, and then served as a lady in waiting to Princess Margaret for several decades. She ended that book by looking with optimism toward the future, always wondering "Whatever next?" So, when I saw her new book, "Whatever Next?" up for review, I was happy to sign up. This was an easy and again, an interesting read; although I first thought it was going to be a rehash of ‘Lady in Waiting’; it just went into things in more depth and less in some others. I liked how the chapters were split into themes; not many photos though this time.On the one hand this was a much more honest and open book than the first. On the other hand it did not seem so much fun to read, although her courage and positive attitude in both accounts are inspiring. Watch this video which shows preparations for a play version of ‘Whatever Next’. Could you put on your own performance of the story? She still lives near Holkham, in Norfolk, where she grew up as the daughter of the Earl of Leicester. She was one of the maids of honour at the Queen’s coronation and soon afterwards married Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner. He took her to a brothel on their wedding night so she could learn what was required. That was only the first of his outrages – he expected her to carry his luggage through airports – but soon he was swept up in the excitement of creating his own island paradise, Mustique, and she saw less of him. In “Whatever Now” Anne’s tone is more serious. She explains why she never divorced her seriously abusive husband and discusses useful coping strategies and resources. She also explains why she had to let go of her anger and forgive her two older sons for life choices which led them to die young: otherwise she felt she could not have moved forward in her own life and helped her third son during the five years it took him to recover from a devastating motorcycle accident.

Anne wasn't the only one in her family to deal with marital woes; she mentions her beloved sister Carey, who had a husband "who would only talk to her through the dog for years on end." This is very sad, but I'll admit I had to laugh when I read it :) Who can believe the things some people do?! Anne seemed to have great common sense in dealing with things: "Sometimes I find that talking too much about life's problems can simply make one more agitated and prolong the misery. Friends mean well, but they tend to sympathize and tell you you're right to be so upset and egg you on to feel wronged. That can actually make things worse if you let it." I think this is a great observation! Princess Margaret was also a believer that "one didn't dwell." She also downplays crying. "It's absolutely no use." Generally I agree with this too.Bracing honesty, rare insight, and more revelations: the New York Times bestselling author of Lady in Waiting shares everything she's learned from her extraordinary and unexpected life. My mother whizzed around Norfolk on her beloved Harley Davidson until she was well into her sixties, in her motorcycle leathers. She was my great friend and champion when I was growing up, and encouraged me to be brave and adventurous, but she never fussed about what I was feeling or wanted to indulge my anxieties. We had to put others first, but not to the extent of becoming doormats in our dealings with the world. It was important to stand up for oneself when necessary. Otherwise her message was simple. Never complain. Life isn’t fair. You will have to do things you won’t want to do, so just get on with it. Putting a brave face on things was all we could do.” Whatever Next? covers some of the same ground as Lady in Waiting, but the tone is much darker, especially about her marriage to Colin Tennant. Before, she painted him as a highly-strung eccentric who was liable to throw tantrums, but now she calls him “an incredibly selfish, damaged and occasionally dangerous man” and says that “I lived with domestic violence and abuse for most of my marriage”. This book finds Lady Glenconner more confident; it feels as though she's writing about things that she didn't feel she could write about just a few years ago. She is more open about her marriage and her relationships.