Karen writes:My Boxing Day read this year was the charming account of how Richard Glover, his wife, his best mate Phil and his partner built a mud brick house on a block of ground up Mittagong way. What I found astonishing, and I applaud Richard for not putting it in capital letters at the top of every page, is that they did it without power tools. Well, they had a chainsaw but I’m not sure that is the tool of choice when faced with the construction of a whole house. They did a remarkable job given that no one had much of an idea about building and that it seemed a case of ask a few questions , do some research and have a bash at it. There are pictures of the finished house to prove that it’s not a figment of Richard’s very amusing imagination. The strengths of the book, is of course Richard’s wit and that these stories have been honed over the years around the fireplace with a few good and not so good bottles of red. It’s a lovely portrait of men’s friendship. Richard, as author, allows very few of his best mate Phil’s ripostes to make it into print. The relationship between father and sons is also heart-warming. When Richard’s boys are older, they, with the help of power tools this time, are very much part of building a new addition called The Delphi Bar. The Mud House had everything I require of the Boxing Day read-many chuckles, a few belly laughs and wonderment. Imagine, no power tools.