Liz Williams's Blog, page 64

Thinking before engaging brain

fjm has put up a very good post about giving (or more to the point, not giving) people unsolicited advice, especially when they have been dealing with an issue for some time and might reasonably be considered to have thought about what you have to say already.

I am fortunate enough not to have a persistent medical condition, but we get a lot of unsolicited advice from people who come into the shop (NOT our regular customers, if any are reading this, and not, in general, our pagan customers, who

Cambridge

We went up via Luton, which was probably a mistake, but the road did take us near Aylesbury, where we kept seeing red kites. Wonderful birds! We got into Magdalene around 5 and after depositing the bags, went for a quick walk around a very cold and rainy city.

After drinks in the parlour (lots of scowling Jacobean portraits), we went into dinner*, which was a lot of fun - we were back in the old hall, which has had its huge mural (?) restored (a snarling lion and prancing unicorn around a shield

Ironic

Just realised that this evening, at switchoff hour (this is the 'Earth Hour' thing in which we are being encouraged to switch off the lights for one hour), we will be having dinner in Magdalene's hall, a place that has never had electricity since it was built in 1519 (it's candle lit).

End of the week

We have had a busy couple of days - I have been up to Bath for a job interview at one of its universities (Bath Spa), which was successful. More on the new job later.

Yesterday, Trevor and I drove down through a fearful combination of high wind and coastal fog to Boscastle and the Museum of Witchcraft - you can read T's own account on witchcraft_shop. Boscastle was blustery but we managed a walk along the headland, an awe-inspiring vista of rocky crags and boiling seas. Bear discovered lobster po

Happy birthday!

....to klwilliams. Have a lovely one!

Happy Spring Equinox

The weather here is still lovely. It's mild enough to walk around without a coat, although there was a sharp frost last night. We took the dog out first thing and found the rhines lined with hawthorn and pale flowering cherry.

We are working today, but meeting friends tonight and then planning to go on to a Spring Equinox party. Hope everyone who celebrates has a good time.

Just a little note...

If you are a person who is thinking of setting up a jewellery stall at the local market, without the overheads of a retail business, then asking your potential competitors to give you full details of their wholesale suppliers?

It isn't the best idea.

I have just been rather sharp with someone.

Eastercon membership available

I keep forgetting to do this, but does anyone need an Eastercon membership? We can't go and need to transfer ours.

Things we Do Not Want

A mouse's nest behind the stereo is currently top of the list. I think we (T and I: I have not yet adopted the Royal 'we') may go to the beach to recover our shattered nerves.

How can something so little make such a mess?

March

I am posting this from the orchard - seems the new router reaches that far. It is just glorious here at the moment. There is a coal tit bobbing about in the medlar tree and all the verges are full of celandines. I've been working on Milford and some writing mentoring this morning, productively. We had a Japanese student to dinner last night - she's doing research on British paganism for a thesis and needed to ask us some questions.

Here's wishing you all spring weather in time for the equinox.

On