In 1973, when I went to university as an undergraduate, there were no open days. You were invited for interview, and maybe someone would show you round. Or not. Certainly, no parents would go, and anyone of my generation would have been mortified to be accompanied by parents on this very adult enterprise. Not so… Continue reading End of civilisation as we know it
A little while ago, in a fit of new year uncluttering, I signed up via a facebook group to a campaign to stop junk mail. Their website is a treasure trove of advice on how to stop the deluge of unsolicited junk that arrives on a daily basis. I used their web widget to get… Continue reading Thomson Loco
Slack blogging around here since Christmas. Sorry about that- pressure of work, and a trip to a snowy Munich are to blame. You can see the view towards Odeonsplatz from the Englischer Garten in the new header – schön, oder?It seems that Topsyturvydom’s glorious victory against the mighty Writers Bureau was not the unalloyed success… Continue reading Writers Bureau revisited
At the top of this page, you’ll see a “next blog” button, and clicking it takes you to a random blog. In an idle moment, I clicked yesterday, and on the third click, was presented with a blog I didn’t know, but which was written by someone I do know, and featured pictures of many… Continue reading What are the chances?
To the Martin Harris Centre, for an event with Martin Amis, one of a series that exists largely to justify his salary, I expect. The attraction for me was not so much Amis fils, but Clive James, who, since he’s now three-score years and ten, was considered to be a suitable candidate for a debate… Continue reading Old Lags
Great snap of a foxy traveller.Credit: RadioKate
In my imagination, Hitchcock’s film was in black and white – probably because I saw it on TV in about 1968 in b&w. Seeing the Vistavision print in colour at the Cornerhouse today was a revelation. Why is it, that even when you know the story, the shocks are still, well, shocking?I don’t think my… Continue reading North by Northwest
Reading this obituary took me back thirty odd years to a lecture theatre in a brutalist concrete building in Leeds. The first year English students were being lectured about accent and dialect by the great Stanley Ellis. He asked one of our number, picked at random, to say a few words. He’d chosen Bob McNally,… Continue reading The real Henry Higgins
Too busy to blog much of late, but thought I would mention a gig by The Visitors. They were at The Studio in Manchester to launch their new CD, and a small but select band were there to see it. They are led by Karl Walsh, a Madchester scene veteran, and play power pop with… Continue reading Visitors
More music on this allegedly literary blog. People often claim to have very broad musical tastes, but this is frequently not borne out in fact. When some starlet or reality TV show participant says something like “Oh I love all kinds of music – anything from Rihanna to the Pussycat Dolls” you sense that their… Continue reading Ah, friends eclectic