Last month the BBC2 Quiz Show “Only Connect” featured a question about palimpsests. I had a vague idea of what a palimpsest was (some kind of document), intended to look it up, and then forgot. Earlier this month, while looking up information about Archimedes (trying to explain to my daughter what “Eureka” meant, and why… Continue reading Word of the week: palimpsest
It’s okay to give things up, as long as you can find at least two reasons for doing so, and can work out what you’re doing as a replacement. Last autumn, just after her 9th birthday, our daughter gave up piano lessons. There were many reasons for this, but the two main ones were: a… Continue reading Giving things up, and replacing them
Is there a secret code that works its way through award-winning literature, unknown to the judges of literary prizes, or maybe known and used as a checklist by those same judges? Or is it just a “coincidence”? Over the years I have noticed that at least two of the following words or phrases often appear… Continue reading Filigree, antimacassar, daguerreotype, lapis lazuli
This is the only recipe you’re likely to find on these pages. It’s a dish that, for me, is steeped in memories. For day-to-day simple meals I believe that the time spent preparing the food should be less than the time spent eating it. This dish fulfils that criterion. I learnt it at university. It… Continue reading Friday Night Dinner (a recipe)
Back in December I wrote that “What a coincidence” is one of our catchphrases, and why, and in January (“Porlock”) wrote that themes, stories or references will recur if you keep your eyes and ears open, and keep on reading, and watching, and listening. They’re not really coincidences. You won’t know what they are in… Continue reading February’s “Coincidence Corner”
You know that thing in Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”. Well, maybe you didn’t until just now, but that’s okay. You’ll come across it again sometime. It’s just about the only thing that anyone ever quotes from the book, and it appears right… Continue reading Quotes, and cheating
Many times in my life people have asked me a question and not waited long enough to listen to the answer, even when the answer was short and immediate. (I only use the option “Say the third thing that comes into your head” if I’m not sure which answer to give, or if the answer… Continue reading An answer for any question beginning “Why”
Most summers our children eat a lot of ice cream. It should probably be regarded as an occasional treat but for years it was a regular, unquestioned, daily part of our holidays. Two summers ago we decided to change this, or at least change our approach to buying it. We were on holiday in Wexford,… Continue reading “Would you like an ice cream?”
William Ewart Gladstone, British Prime Minister in the 19th century: what do you know about him? Well, “you gotta phone incha?”, so you could look him up, but before you do here’s what I know. Having studied 19th century British history I can dredge up a few facts about his career (initially Tory, then became… Continue reading What Gladstone did
For most practical skills there are three levels of competence: nothing, something, everything. (“Everything” is usually called expertise, or fluency.) Take, for example, playing a musical instrument, or speaking a foreign language. If you have never picked up a trombone or spoken a word of Mandarin you are at the first stage: nothing. That’s where… Continue reading Nothing, something, everything
The Compartments 