At this time when the world seems to be in an even more deplorable state than usual, I will use my space to be grumpy about modern literature. I’ve been reading "Stone Blind", by Natalie Haynes, a retelling of the Greek legend of Medusa, the Gorgon...
I have recently attended safeguarding training, run by the Church of England, and it included homework before, between sessions and afterwards. So I have as required watched the harrowing 2-part documentary “Exposed: The Church’s Darkest Secret," dealing with the serial abuser Peter Ball, former Bishop...
It does seem a long time since I drafted a post, and I can only apologise. Life is being rather busy at the moment, and I can't think of anything particularly original to say about current events. Some progress (still slow) is however being made on...
It was interesting that the Coronation came two days after the local elections. Regular readers of this blog may not be surprised that I was pleased by Labour gains, hee hee gloat gloat. I did also watch the Coronation. I had various thoughts during this long...
I have promised to blog this year about Charlotte M Yonge. This is not that blog. But knowledgeable people sometimes call her the “novelist of the Oxford Movement.” Novelist of the what? The definitive 1930 history book “1066 and all that” by Sellars and Yeatman is comparatively...
Did I tell you about the Monthly Eco Baby-Steps Plan, by the way? Last month’s baby-step was “try to make sure I don’t overfill the kettle” which is indeed pretty baby. It’s also trickier than I’d realised, because a short person like myself doesn’t automatically...
Round about May and November each year, I notice that the pile of “To be read” books by my bed is beginning to shrink. Not for long, however. The birthday comes; Christmas comes – the tower leaps up again. Occasionally there’s some rearranging, when books that...
What have you been reading this year? Please feel free to tell us below! What have I been reading? Well, I’m continuing slowly to work my way through medieval British literature (Chaucer’s “Miller’s Tale” is really funny), and some 20th century poetry; and I’m also enjoying a...
The Fourth Tale from Ragaris is still not imminent, but progress is being made. I am approaching the first draft of the denouement. It’s been tricky; this fact and the lollipop are my excuses. When you last heard about it, the book was called "Naming People...
I was very flattered a little while ago when a local artist I knew slightly said he wanted to paint my portrait. His name is Matthew Lyons, and I think it was during the pandemic that he decided to paint a varied series of local people,...