Monthly Archives: June 2019

Non-fiction: 1 (YTD 19) Robert Holmes: a Life in Words, by Richard Molesworth Fiction (non-sf): 3 (YTD 16) Five Women Who Loved Love, by Ihara Saikaku The Paying Guests, by Sarah Waters In Another Light, by Andrew Greig sf (non-Who): … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:56: RT @BenLowry2: A range of serious voices now think no deal is likely. Some unionists will be delighted with that,but everything that I see… Sat, 13:19: “The contest to replace Theresa May as prime minister next month has … Continue reading →

Fri, 12:56: RT @tconnellyRTE: So, officials from EU member states were briefed yesterday by the European Commission in Brussels on the Alternative Arra… Fri, 14:09: RT @tconnellyRTE: More on that hearing by EU officials on the Alternative Arrangements Commission report. … Continue reading →

I'm hoping to raise my Twitter profile to a bit better than my 2018 ranking of 39th of the 40 top EU influencers (or even 37th as I managed in 2017). These are my top 25 tweets so far in … Continue reading →

Thu, 12:56: RT @Nicole_Cliffe: I have pretended to be nice for so long, so that when the time came, you would share my first big piece (I have come to… Thu, 13:29: RT @davidallengreen: @KateEMcCann @AllieRenison @adamboultonSKY @harrydcarr Still think … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: ‘Pardon. Sorry.’ Ruth sniffed. Another short and digestible Bernice Summerfield novel, with two nicely intertwined timelines about a crashed spaceship and a randy corporate sponsor, it only becoming clear at the end of a short … Continue reading →

Wed, 12:11: RT @AndrewDuffEU: @DenisMacShane @stam_claire @enmarchefr @ManfredWeber @C_Demesmay Weber’s dignity would be better assured if he stopped h… Wed, 12:56: RT @jediknight1985: The British don’t get that the struggle for Irish independence wasn’t playacting. There’s a residual sentiment among … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: I had never even seen a photograph of him from before he met my mother, and she has none. Apparently he had never been young. My father was born in Penang, now in Malaysia, in … Continue reading →

Tue, 12:49: Agreed. https://t.co/gwg66P4hWo Tue, 12:56: Well worth reading. Tue, 13:09: RT @BBCTalkback: Advice from @WomensAidNI: ‘If you hear a row going on between your neighbours and you are concerned, you should ring the p… Tue, 13:36: Well worth reading! … Continue reading →

Current Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney, by Dennis O'Driscoll Becoming, by Michelle Obama Last books finished The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry The Paying Guests, by Sarah Waters The Secret Lives of Monsters, by Justin Richards The Dream-Quest … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:56: RT @Quibilah1: Does any rational person really believe the trope that, all over the English-speaking world, lesbians are being forced to ha… Mon, 13:43: RT @AndrewDuffEU: @nwbrux Well, the Spitz thing will be revived once – but not … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Stung by the criticism and scepticism of his colleagues and peers, Travers accepted Walters’ challenge. Together with John Mackay, he went in search of the Abominable Snowman – the fabled Yeti. And in the foothills … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:22: Just gonna add my own rather minor experience in this regard. Back in 1991, I moved back to Belfast, and lived in… https://t.co/kIaBQHxW3w Sun, 12:56: RT @violetimpudence: sparklywaistcoat: It’s been entirely too long since someone posted this picture … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: An hour or so later, Frances left the house herself: she went to the florist’s to fetch the wreath for her father’s grave. And as soon as she and her mother had had their lunch, … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:56: RT @bexin2d: Today I just want someone to comfort me the way the PM of Luxembourg comforts Juncker https://t.co/sAdzLAN25i Sat, 12:59: Astronomy and Rome https://t.co/Y1ROYAEx20 Sat, 13:10: RT @Jeremy_Hunt: Don’t bottle it @BorisJohnson https://t.co/j17JipWaIH Sat, 13:26: RT @AmberRuddHR: … Continue reading →

Anne and I were in Rome last weekend, and saw a lot of lovely things. Some of them were astronomical, and rather caught my eye as a lapsed historian of science. The first was in the Galleria Spada, which we … Continue reading →

Fri, 12:32: RT @davidallengreen: Our Lord High Chancellor. https://t.co/ZfKIuSL94S Fri, 12:34: Good! https://t.co/ailzSjpnJb Fri, 12:52: RT @tconnellyRTE: BREAKING: Chancellor Merkel: “We made it very clear we wish to cooperate with the newly elected [British] prime minister.… Fri, 12:56: Great, must-read … Continue reading →

Thu, 12:56: RT @BortolettoMD: No joke – in the 16th edition of Williams Obstetrics “Chauvinism, male, voluminous amounts pg 1 – 1102” Bravo to the f… Thu, 13:30: RT @astroehlein: Dear journalist friends: I’m doing some thinking (again) on media … Continue reading →

Retro Hugos have been awarded for earlier years, but this was the first film to win a Hugo – for Outstanding Movie (which ever since has been Best Dramatic Presentation). History doesn't seem to record which other films were in … Continue reading →

Wed, 12:15: Happy birthday to my daughter B, who is 22 today. Your brother and I took you out for a walk on Sunday to a favouri… https://t.co/dmZzfi8fQ5 Wed, 12:56: Another brilliant piece from @xtophercook. https://t.co/8G1xmEgawZ Wed, 16:05: RT @KeohaneDan: … Continue reading →

Happy birthday, B – you are 22 today. Your brother and I took you out for a walk on Sunday to one of your favourite places, the ruined Paterskerk in Tienen (named appropriately enough for Father’s Day). You love the … Continue reading →

Tue, 12:30: Just passed David Miliband in the street #BrusselsLife Tue, 12:56: RT @edwardlucas: Please read this if you would be in the least bothered by losing your Google drive, email etc. https://t.co/BlfRqOaUmh Tue, 13:40: RT @damonwake: The enlargement talks … Continue reading →

Current The Paying Guests, by Sarah Waters In Another Light, by Andrew Greig The Secret Lives of Monsters, by Justin Richards Last books finished Monstress, Volume 3: Haven, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda The Weapon Makers, by … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:56: The Empty Promise of Boris Johnson https://t.co/VIF8a7fECw Devastating from the New Yorker. Mon, 14:02: RT @SemproniusGrac: @zombiwombat @davidallengreen Never forget this from Fraser Nelson. The rot set in early. https://t.co/8J15uiw2os Mon, 15:19: RT @Peston: “Someone suggested to me … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:56: The closing of the conservative mind https://t.co/M9n4IEgC2S Great piece. Sun, 12:56: The collapse of effectiveness of the FCO, brought about by central government starving it of resources and ignoring… https://t.co/io7zp7VD1E Sun, 14:08: RT @Llyfrgell_Babel: One of the weirdest … Continue reading →

So, I did a thing last weekend that I've never done before: I went to the ballet. In Bratislava. Here's a short promotional video: What happened was that I had planned to be in town anyway over the previous few … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:56: RT @TheKateMulgrew: Roddenberry suspected, but Janeway will verify! Let’s put together an away team. @timruss2 @RobertPicardo @GarrettRWang… Sat, 14:48: What Florida Taught Me About Parenting https://t.co/OjRi7bWRA9 And the fate of the honeysuckle. Sat, 16:05: RT @davidallengreen: “You saw … Continue reading →

Fri, 12:56: In Moldovan Crisis, an Opportunity for EU to Act https://t.co/v78xIKL1Gs We can but hope. Fri, 13:00: RT @MercEurDialogue: Happening now! Opening lecture & debate on “National political systems and the process of Europeanisation: the history… Fri, 13:25: RT … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third story ("What the Seasons Brought the Almanac Maker"): 爰に大經師の美婦とて浮名の立つゞき。 都に情の山をうごかし祇薗會の月鉾かつらの眉をあらそひ。 姿は清水の初櫻いまだ咲かゝる風情。 口びるのうるはしきは高尾の木末色の盛と詠めし。 すみ所は室町通。 仕出し衣しやうの物好み當世女の只中廣京にも又有へからず。 In Kyoto lived a lady known as the Almanac-Maker’s Beautiful Spouse, who stirred up a mountain of passion in the capital and … Continue reading →