The Beat That My Heart Skipped – A blog dedicated to daily design inspirations. By Rohini Wahi.

I am going skiing to Chamonix this week! Breaking out of the London grey skies for some of the white stuff. Not terribly excited about budget airline flying at the crack of dawn however. No doubt there will be the usual bumfight for seats and queues that you feel you should join just incase you are missing something.

I am looking forward to my afternoon tea and not getting up at some ridiculous hour for the next week and of course the fact that I can read without the nagging feeling I am supposed to be doing something like some housewife drudgery [I'm not saying I do it, I just have a nagging feeling that I should be doing it]. Actually, my major concern is that my suitcase is stuffed to the brim with totally useless things [like my new lime green bangle] rather than warm sensible things. Ho hum. I’ve got my toothbrush and clean pants haven’t I, so what else can I need?

Sadly I will be missing Valentines Day, what a shame! I do like peering through windows of restaurants watching people squashed together so much their elbows are in the air like bat wings. I will miss downing copious amounts of ‘vino collapso’ with friends and then listening to relationship woes on the kerb outside someones house at 3am whilst waiting for a taxi. That never happened – honest. So if you aren’t going out to be squished into a restaurant pull out a good book. It’s cheaper and it will last longer [well maybe not longer than listening to a friends relationship woes, but if you read whilst she is gabbling it could pass the time].

If you need cheering up you could always opt for Louis De Bernieres new book ‘Notwithstanding: Stories from an English Village’. This is a genuine and heartfelt book documenting the lives of a Surrey village’s inhabitants who’s tales would have vanished with them. It’s a hilarious and tear jerking read all in one, as it dedicates each of it’s chapters to the lives of the eccentric villagers.

As we all know, the British are insane, that is what makes us different to all other European countries. We love eccentrics – the bigger the better and everyone has a story of a nutty neighbour from their childhood.

Set in the 60’s before the village is invaded by yuppies seeking solace from the city and ruining country life the story includes all sorts of British stereotypes. There is the last village peasant with ‘teeth like Tombstones’, a hedging and ditching man that people think is aristocracy of some sort, the lonely, the sick, a woman that talks to her dead husband like he was still there and a bunch of crazy driving nuns.

This is quite a different tact from Louis De Bernieres other works such as the well known masterpiece of Captain Corellis Mandolin but it is a triumph nonetheless. Notwithstanding will have you laughing out loud at the debacle over the ‘gone off salmon’ with the Major, the General and ‘Troodos’ that cat and welling up when you learn the ends of some of the wonderful characters.

In my opinion this book is a masterpiece all of its own dedicated to a better time and those people that time has forgotten. It champions the joys of being unique and is a great piece of storytelling. So if you are going to fall in love with anything this Valentines Day let it be this book. – Lauren