Category Archives: personal

amusements, arts, personal

10 Books I’ve Loved: 7

Before Christmas I was nominated by Graham Page to post, over 10 days, the covers of 10 Books I’ve Loved, no explanation necessary – just the covers.

This is being spread over the five working days of each of two weeks. I don’t usually tag people on memes, and tagging someone every day (as requested) seems too big an imposition, so to compromise I’m nominating these five people to produce their own list: Alden O’Brien, Keeley Schell, Ivan Hutnik, John Monaghan, Ashley Herum. Of course anyone else is welcome to sing along!

Day 7 : Latham & Matthews; Diary of Samuel Pepys

Later in the year I hope to follow on with other similar themes. I already have Books I Hated / Can’t Read and Books I Found Influential / Formative lined up. There may be others.

amusements, arts, personal

10 Books I’ve Loved: 6

Before Christmas I was nominated by Graham Page to post, over 10 days, the covers of 10 Books I’ve Loved, no explanation necessary – just the covers.

This is being spread over the five working days of each of two weeks. I don’t usually tag people on memes, and tagging someone every day (as requested) seems too big an imposition, so to compromise I’m nominating these five people to produce their own list: Alden O’Brien, Keeley Schell, Ivan Hutnik, John Monaghan, Ashley Herum. Of course anyone else is welcome to sing along!

Day 6 : John Betjeman; High and Low

Later in the year I hope to follow on with other similar themes. I already have Books I Hated / Can’t Read and Books I Found Influential / Formative lined up. There may be others.

amusements, arts, personal

10 Books I’ve Loved: 5

Before Christmas I was nominated by Graham Page to post, over 10 days, the covers of 10 Books I’ve Loved, no explanation necessary – just the covers.

This is being spread over the five working days of each of two weeks. I don’t usually tag people on memes, and tagging someone every day (as requested) seems too big an imposition, so to compromise I’m nominating these five people to produce their own list: Alden O’Brien, Keeley Schell, Ivan Hutnik, John Monaghan, Ashley Herum. Of course anyone else is welcome to sing along!

Day 5 : Terry Pratchett; Thief of Time

Later in the year I hope to follow on with other similar themes. I already have Books I Hated / Can’t Read and Books I Found Influential / Formative lined up. There may be others.

amusements, arts, personal

10 Books I’ve Loved: 4

Before Christmas I was nominated by Graham Page to post, over 10 days, the covers of 10 Books I’ve Loved, no explanation necessary – just the covers.

This is being spread over the five working days of each of two weeks. I don’t usually tag people on memes, and tagging someone every day (as requested) seems too big an imposition, so to compromise I’m nominating these five people to produce their own list: Alden O’Brien, Keeley Schell, Ivan Hutnik, John Monaghan, Ashley Herum. Of course anyone else is welcome to sing along!

Day 4 : Evelyn Waugh; Black Mischief

Later in the year I hope to follow on with other similar themes. I already have Books I Hated / Can’t Read and Books I Found Influential / Formative lined up. There may be others.

amusements, arts, personal

10 Books I’ve Loved: 3

Before Christmas I was nominated by Graham Page to post, over 10 days, the covers of 10 Books I’ve Loved, no explanation necessary – just the covers.

This is being spread over the five working days of each of two weeks. I don’t usually tag people on memes, and tagging someone every day (as requested) seems too big an imposition, so to compromise I’m nominating these five people to produce their own list: Alden O’Brien, Keeley Schell, Ivan Hutnik, John Monaghan, Ashley Herum. Of course anyone else is welcome to sing along!

Day 3 : Mervyn Peake; Titus Groan

Later in the year I hope to follow on with other similar themes. I already have Books I Hated / Can’t Read and Books I Found Influential / Formative lined up. There may be others.

amusements, arts, personal

10 Books I’ve Loved: 2

Before Christmas I was nominated by Graham Page to post, over 10 days, the covers of 10 Books I’ve Loved, no explanation necessary – just the covers.

This is being spread over the five working days of each of two weeks. I don’t usually tag people on memes, and tagging someone every day (as requested) seems too big an imposition, so to compromise I’m nominating these five people to produce their own list: Alden O’Brien, Keeley Schell, Ivan Hutnik, John Monaghan, Ashley Herum. Of course anyone else is welcome to sing along!

Day 2 : Martin Gardner; The Annotated Alice

Later in the year I hope to follow on with other similar themes. I already have Books I Hated / Can’t Read and Books I Found Influential / Formative lined up. There may be others.

amusements, arts, personal

10 Books I’ve Loved: 1

Before Christmas I was nominated by Graham Page to post, over 10 days, the covers of 10 Books I’ve Loved, no explanation necessary – just the covers.

This is being spread over the five working days of each of two weeks. I don’t usually tag people on memes, and tagging someone every day (as requested) seems too big an imposition, so to compromise I’m nominating these five people to produce their own list: Alden O’Brien, Keeley Schell, Ivan Hutnik, John Monaghan, Ashley Herum. Of course anyone else is welcome to sing along!

Day 1 : Anthony Powell; The Military Philosophers

Later in the year I hope to follow on with other similar themes. I already have Books I Hated / Can’t Read and Books I Found Influential / Formative lined up. There may be others.

amusements, personal

Birthday Meme

This year’s birthday meme is one I made earlier.

  1. What day of the week were you born: Thursday
  2. Where were you born: Gower Street, London
  3. How old were you when you were born: 907
  4. How old are you now: 997½
  5. Age you get mistaken for: 21 + a bit (a large bit!)
  6. What famous persons share your birthday: Harry Gordon Selfridge (1858; founder of Selfridge’s department store in London), Mick McManus (1920; British wrestler), Arthur Scargill (1938; British miners leader), Ben Crenshaw (1952; US golfer), Bryan Robson (1957; England footballer), Brian Moore (1962; England rugby player)
  7. Who died on your birthday: Hans Sloane (1753; collector who provided the foundation collections of the British Museum, British Library and Natural History Museum, London), Thomas Hardy (1928; author), Barbara Pym (1980; author)
  8. List one notable event that took place on your birthday: In 1922, the first use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient
  9. Tell us about a holiday that falls on your birthday: Kagami biraki is a Japanese traditional ceremony which literally translates to “Opening the Mirror” (from an abstinence) or, also, “Breaking of the Mochi” (a sort of rice cake). It traditionally falls on 11 January. It refers to the opening of a Kagami mochi, or to the opening of a cask of sake at a party or ceremony.
  10. Do you like your name? Not especially, but I’m so used to it I can’t think of anything which would be better
  11. Three things you like about yourself: knee replacements, piercing, grey hair
  12. Three things you dislike about yourself: depression, diabetes, deafness
  13. What is it like to wake up every morning and pretend you’re not dying? Difficult; it’s often known as depression
  14. What is your superpower? Stupidity
  15. If you had three wishes, what would you wish for? (1) Brexit is cancelled, (2) a magic carpet, (3) three more wishes
  16. Do you wear anything special on your birthday? Nothing
  17. When did you last have a birthday party? Probably when I was about 7
  18. What birthday present would you especially like this year? Not to be overweight and have diabetes
  19. Do you do anything special on your birthday? No not usually; I’ve never made anything much of my birthday, it isn’t in my culture
  20. Three random facts: (1) spiders have 8 legs, (2) carp have teeth in their throat not their mouth, (3) while children of identical twins are legally first cousins, genetically they are actually half siblings

I’m not tagging people but permission is granted to anyone who wants to copy this and join in. The only rule is that you add a question to the list.

personal, ramblings

Ten Things, January

This year our Ten Things series is focusing on each month in turn. The Ten Things may include facts about the month, momentous events that happened, personal things, and any other idiocy I feel like – just because I can. So here are …

Ten Things about January

  1. Surprise, surprise! … It’s New Year
  2. Then there’s Twelfth Night
  3. And my birthday
  4. And Epiphany
  5. The month was originally dedicated to Roman god Janus
  6. Birthstone: Garnet
  7. January corresponds to the Anglo-Saxon Wolf Month
  8. Burns’ Night, when the Scots celebrate their national poet by eating haggis and drinking whisky, is on 25th
  9. First recorded lottery was held in England in 1569
  10. 31st is allegedly sacred to the Valkyries and the Norns
personal

Ten Things I want to do in 2019

Our monthly Ten Things feature is going to be slightly different this year, so my list of ten things I want to accomplish in 2019 year gets its own post. This is it.

So here are ten things I’d like to accomplish during the year. They are not necessarily the highest priority things I want to accomplish (some of those remain confidential), nor are they necessarily in any particular order. Some are repeats of items from last year – either because I failed and want to try again, or because I succeeded and I want to do it again. Some may turn out to be (relatively) easy; others are going to take a lot of work.

They may all be achievable, relevant and time-bound, but they aren’t all specific enough or properly measurable, so they are more “wish list” items rather than true objectives. But that’s OK; one can’t be too pedantic!

Ten Things I’m Trying to do in 2019:

  1. Reduce waste/rubbish/clutter and recycle as much as possible
  2. Do something not done before and go somewhere not been before
  3. Spend less money
  4. Have a monthly day out
  5. Regular meditation
  6. Do a bigger share of the cooking and shopping
  7. Get back to taking more photographs
  8. Be drawn/painted/photographed nude (by someone not family)
  9. Do more family history; unlock the mid-18th century block in Marshall line
  10. Increase/develop teamwork between our GP practice and the patient group

Notice that these are things I’m trying to do; they aren’t absolutes which must be achieved. So while I will be disappointed not to achieve any of them it will not be a matter for sacking the manager.

I will, of course, report back this time next year, should the Kindly Ones permit.