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,...
Someone I know asked whether, or to what extent, we do or should blame the people of Russia for the actions of Vladimir Putin. I had already been wondering about a post on the disadvantages of democracy. The obvious quote here is Churchill: “it has been said...
Recently I had a fascinating discussion about feminism with a reader of this blog. He expressed the view that belief in feminism meant believing (doubtless among other things) that women should have the same opportunities as men. What are these opportunities, he wondered? Following the Lionesses’...