Ersatz TLS discussion
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Weekly TLS
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What are we reading? 17 April 2023
scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "I always wonder how much these middle class, educated british traitors knew about what communism was doing to eastern europe ..."It was reported by Gareth Jones (and most likely, oth..."
i remember reading about this a decade ago, i think i had an old tattered paperback which contained his despatches.
my book on spain and the USSR in the 1930s is interesting on the spanish opinion of the USSR, the following things were observed:
1. the Russian "experts" on spain were totally clueless about the spanish situation, they used to berate the spanish communists who visited Moscow, as nothing in Spain conformed to the "moscow" world view. (The strong theme of Anarcho-Syndacalism was a major area the Russians had no concept of and also the strong and very diverse working class unity, which almost 90% non-communist confounded them too)
2. the spanish left wing and communist symptahizers found the USSR depressing and claustrophobic when visiting. they noted the lack of real worker unity, lack of expressing dissent and the way the trade unions were simply a part of the communist system, so basically put up or shut up
scarletnoir wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "⚽🎉🎉🎉🍾🍾🍾🏆🏆🏆 Burnley champions.Sorry had to do it!"...
I do my best to write reviews and saying whether I liked a book after being taken to task by Scarlet.
Congratulations! I..."
yes, we are both old enough for that. And no problem re the reviews.
Russell wrote: "Try again.Russell wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: ...
I do my best to write reviews and saying whether I liked a book after being taken to task by Scarlet.
Currently still reading A Spy Among Friend..."
Russell wrote: "Try again.
Russell wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: ...
I do my best to write reviews and saying whether I liked a book after being taken to task by Scarlet.
Currently still reading A Spy Among Friend..."
So thanks to you Russell for the recommendation. I find it difficult to understand how they functioned with that much alcohol in their systems. Except it sounds as if Burgess didn't really. The hypocrisy of Philby, the arch communist not only sending his kids to a public school but letting the best friend he betrayed pay their
fees. Rat is about the right word to describe him. It is difficult to believe he got away with things so long, but I guess the saying "there is none so blind as those who will not see" applied here.
Georg wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: a 'pre-owned'- copy (I love the absurdity of the euphemism)Ha! Pre-owned is only descriptive. What I really really hate is "pre-loved". Everybody who uses it should be sentence..."
Such a different connotation - pre-loved to me - says discarded, on to the trash heap with you.
I will rant about anything pre- though. Is it really necessary? I'm thinking especially of pre-order which I see often in connection with a book about to come out. Surely, one only needs to order it.
MK wrote: "Georg wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: a 'pre-owned'- copy (I love the absurdity of the euphemism)Ha! Pre-owned is only descriptive. What I really really hate is "pre-loved". Everybody who uses it shou..."
Pre-condition is the worst, you can't have post conditions can you?
Mod
True to Both My Selves by Katrin FitzHerbert.I greatly enjoyed this, the pleasure increased by it being one of Slightly Foxed's attractive little hardbacks.
The writer came from an Anglo-German family. Her maternal grandfather was German, settled in England for many years, married to an Englishwoman. After WWI, they were deported to Germany with their daughter. She married a German and FitzHerbert, the younger of their two children, was born in 1936. Her father was a Nazi and her memories of her childhood were happy ones. After the war, her mother took the 2 children back to England.
She set out to write her family history and to try to examine and reconcile her own feelings. I found this interesting and very attractively written.
Mod
I'm now on the last,
, The House of Lamentations, set in Bruges.
Gpfr wrote: "I'm also continuing with S.G. MacLean's Damian Seeker series, in the time of Cromwell. Quite thrilling!I'm now on the last,
, [book:The House of Lamen..."I'll put the first on my "Later" list at the library. Would you believe that I've filled up my hold list there? I was going to do a pick up today, but I see there are 2 more in transit, so I've postponed pickup 'til Monday - in hopes all will be ready.
For @clue - it's mowing day in Seattle - unfortunately also raking day do to owner's laziness.
MK wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "I'm also continuing with S.G. MacLean's Damian Seeker series, in the time of Cromwell. Quite thrilling!I'm now on the last,
, [book:The H..."Have you tried:
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/p/s-...
or
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/ro...
Mod
I haven't tried those.
SG MacLean's Alexander Seaton series is good, too.
scarletnoir wrote: "Andy wrote: "It’s actually hard to find critical reviews of books, cynically I add because a lot of the prolific reviewers here on GR are on ARCs or DRCs."Thanks for explaining those terms in res..."
Thanks SN.
I will order a used (or ‘pre-owned’) hard copy of the Gifford book on return home also. I read the ebook, but it will be good for reference at later stages also.
Gpfr wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "I'm also continuing with S.G. MacLean's Damian Seeker series, in the time of Cromwell. ..."I haven't tried those.
SG MacLean's Alexander Seaton series..."
I have one on my digital tbr pile.
I have now finished reading the book about Philby and am left with the thought that he was an unmitigated, arrogant, amoral man, not just as a spy but as a husband too. One has to hope that our MI5 and MI6 and a bit better at their jobs now.
Russell wrote: "Try again.Russell wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: ...
I do my best to write reviews and saying whether I liked a book after being taken to task by Scarlet.
Currently still reading A Spy Among Friend..."
Your friend might also benefit from Alan Weinstein's Perjury, which deals with Soviet military intelligence's spy network in the 1930s and 1940s US.
AB76 wrote: "Russell wrote: "Try again.Russell wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: ...
I do my best to write reviews and saying whether I liked a book after being taken to task by Scarlet.
Currently still reading A ..."
Alger Hiss was a star graduate of Harvard Law School, and rose high in the US State Department. Whitaker Chambers was a talented journalist who became a Soviet courier, servicing moles in the State Department and the Treasury. After the Nazi-Soviet pact, Chambers, who had defected from the Communist underground, told Adolf Berle, one of FDR's advisers, about the infiltration of the old, important departments. Berle did little to follow-up on Chambers' story. The FBI did even less, for years....
North of South by Shiva Naipaul(1978) is a brilliant work of travel non-fiction and obsveration.Naipaul was the younger brother of VS Naipaul, he died aged only 40, but this 1978 travelogue follows his journey through Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.
I am still in the section on Kenya, which offers a superb view of the nation only a decade or so into independence. Naipaul finds corruption and nationalism, mixed with a merry chaos and a marked aversion to Kenyas quite large Asian population. (Unlike with Uganda there is no expulsion but Naipaul talks to local asians who fear their time is now limited). The Kenyan Whites he meets seem to have done quite well in the decade, mostly prospering and fairly complimentary of Kenyatta and his leadership.
The humour is a real highlight as absurd situations present themselves at every turn, some of it also has a sadness, a few times Naipaul finds himself accused of being a "selfish asian" and at other times its almost tragi-comedy with the corruption and poverty.
Kenyan Asians were around 200,000 at most in the 1962-1978 period but i have known so many descendants in England during my working life. Naipaul observes that unlike the Trinidad Asians, of which he is descended from, the Kenyan Asians retained the world of India from the first days in Kenya, they preserved the mother country far more than West Indian Asians did. Though he wonders if that is a strength or a weakness in the face of African hostility
Just culled all the dubious "friends" i have acquired in last 18 months off my profileNone have ever contacted me, appeared in this forum or been of any help, really not sure why they wanted to befriend me
As i avoid all social media, i am not really au fait with what "friend" means in these places, sometimes i feel its just to make people look more popular
Robert wrote: "Russell wrote: "...Cambridge spies..." Your friend might also benefit from Alan Weinstein's Perjury, which deals with Soviet military intelligence's spy network in the 1930s and 1940s US."
Thanks. Didn't know about that one.
Thanks. Didn't know about that one.
AB76 wrote: "North of South by Shiva Naipaul(1978) is a brilliant work of travel non-fiction and obsveration.Naipaul was the younger brother of VS Naipaul..."
I read one book by Naipaul a long time ago, and enjoyed it very much - I'm almost certain it was this one, but not 100%. However, I never got into his better-known brother's writing - tried A House for Mr Biswas but don't believe I finished it. Both read too long ago to give reasons, I'm afraid, though VS does not sound like a very nice man (of course, many good novelists are arseholes!)
VS wrote this about his brother:
On the morning of 13 August 1985, at the age of 40, Naipaul had a fatal heart attack while working at his desk.[1]
In an essay V. S. Naipaul wrote for The New Yorker, published in 2019, his older brother reports that he wasn't surprised at the time to hear about Shiva's death, that Shiva was a drinker, and that a year prior to his death (at a funeral for their younger sister that both had attended) V. S. describes having already seen the look of death in his brother's face.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva_N...
scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "North of South by Shiva Naipaul(1978) is a brilliant work of travel non-fiction and obsveration.Naipaul was the younger brother of ..."
VS did seem like an arse but a great writer, Shiva shares some of his brothers comic talent. VS was very good with non-fiction writing, which i sometimes feel gets neglected, next to his literary work.
scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "North of South by Shiva Naipaul(1978) is a brilliant work of travel non-fiction and obsveration.Naipaul was the younger brother of ..."
VS was, by all accounts, a very nasty piece of work. That wouldn't neccessarily deter me from reading him. And I was oblivious to that when I tried to read "A Bend in the River" which sounded right up my street. Gave up after about 50 pages.
Le Séminaire des assassins by Petros Markaris (trans. Michel Volkovitch)As I have read the three books by Markaris featuring Inspector Costas Haritos of the Athens murder squad which have been translated into English, I've moved on to some in French.
As usual, we get the story from the Inspector's POV as he describes his thought processes during investigations. Here, the first victim is a university professor who has turned to politics and become a minister. As this is a police procedural, I won't say any more about the plot. We have the usual authentic feeling characters in the family and at work - though I feel that the colleagues are underdeveloped when compared to his wife and daughter. Markaris also includes road directions when the cops go from A to B - needlessly IMO - though happily these are shorter than in some of this other books.
The motives of the criminals are pretty far-fetched; you don't read these books for realism when it comes to the crimes, though they are realistic enough when dealing with the human relationships - and are also humorous - which is why I find them enjoyable. It's a pity that the author and editors haven't taken the trouble to put a section at the end to explain the many dishes enjoyed during mealtimes; that would be of interest to foodies! The books also give an impression of the social and political context in Greece, though without leaning too heavily in that direction.
Perhaps I didn't search long enough through amazon, but I grew frustrated. So I posted a picture of the book in photos. Here's the blurb -Meet Maurice: a gifted canine who was born to share his songs with the world. Whether selling out the Palais Garnier or delighting Parisian pedestrians, music is Maurice's love language. But time and things change, and when the world stops paying attention, those notes fall flat. . . .
This transcendent journey of one busking dog, who combines the power of inner strength and the gift of friendship to arrive at true self-discovery, is sure to inspire young dreamers and lift all souls in a stirring celebration of the world's inherent beauty, welcoming all who seek it.
As readers follow Maurice through good times and bad in this beautifully illustrated children's book, his story shows that there's light at the end of the tunnel and even when we feel like we're at our lowest, we still have the power to meaningfully contribute to the world.
*****
Soon to be published (aimed at 5-9s) it was featured on a local bookstore's newsletter. Of course I have put it on hold at the library - the cover is just precious - take a look.
giveusaclue wrote: "MK wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "I'm also continuing with S.G. MacLean's Damian Seeker series, in the time of Cromwell. Quite thrilling!I'm now on the last,
, ..."Well, surprise, surprise. Local library has the first of both of these. And in MP3 format. So, thank you, I have downloaded the first of each.
There's a 'lover's of British mysteries' group on FB. I checked and there are 35,000 'friends' attached to it. I mention this because there are times when I see a mystery series on the other side of the pond mentioned in The Guardian or some such, and they never get published in the States. I would think the US would be very fertile ground - but I haven't a clue of the logistics and costs involved.
Mod
Death of an Author by E.C.R. Lorac (British Library Crime Classics) A nicely twisty story dating from 1935 — a missing author, or is he?; an efficient secretary, is she what she seems?; the housekeeper ...? Not with Lorac's usual Inspector Macdonald, but Warner and Bond are satisfactory replacements.
Robert wrote: "Russell wrote: "Try again.Russell wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: ...
I do my best to write reviews and saying whether I liked a book after being taken to task by Scarlet.
Currently still reading A ..."
Powell's has a copy of The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America - The Stalin Era which I have added to my overflowing cart there. Headed to PDX (as we localish say (airport acronym)) next month, so I hope to have a 'look-see' before I buy.
Mod
Things I Don't Want to Know, the 1st volume of Deborah Levy's 'living autobiography'.
Manifesto on never giving up. I loved Bernadine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other and have enjoyed hearing her speak on various podcasts, radio programmes etc. so was keen to read her memoir.
The Amur River Between Russia and China by Colin Thubron.
Russell wrote: "Robert wrote: "Russell wrote: "...Cambridge spies..." Your friend might also benefit from Alan Weinstein's Perjury, which deals with Soviet military intelligence's spy network in the 1930s and 1940..."Please replace Alan with Allen - for best results.
Not sure if WaPo will share, as it's old, but worth a try - spy locations in the DC area - https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphi...
17c today in the Shires...felt very warm, hasnt been like that since November.Enjoying Shiva Naipauls travelogue of mid 1970s East Africa North of South(1978), he quietly and elegantly provides a commentary on the legacy of colonialism and empire, the anti-asian prejudice among the Kenyans and a renaissance almost for the Anglo-Kenyans. Witty and sharp, its a book i had never heard of but am enjoying throroughly
In A Difficult Young Man(1955), the second in Australian author Martin Boyds four semi-autobiographical novels, the action has moved from Melbourne to Somerset in the UK and the pre-WW1 world of the landed gentry. Anglo-Catholicism, snobbery and the relationship between Australia and England are all themes. When the narrator remarks with contempt about a landed family with only three generations of money, it reminded me how remote this world is now, landed families and their tawdry legacies from one King or another..
Dai Country(1974) a collection of short stories by the late welsh author Alun Richards, covers wartime Pontypridd in the early stories and i am very impressed with the style, language and content. Certain lazy cliches can be used to describe voluptuous attractive females, Richards in three paragraphs avoids them all, impressive.
Here's a gift link to Michael Dirda's latest, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the First Folio:https://wapo.st/3Llghw6
William Shakespeare, of Stratford-upon-Avon, died at the age of 52 on April 23, 1616. Seven years later, in 1623, two of his friends, the actors John Heminges and William Condell, oversaw the production of a large volume titled “Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies.” This year, 2023, thus marks the 400th anniversary of the First Folio, the nickname for that memorial collection of 36 plays. Roughly half of them, including “Macbeth,” “Antony and Cleopatra” and “Twelfth Night,” might have been lost to the world because their texts can be found nowhere else. The others, often differing in numerous details, first appeared in the 1590s and early 1600s as cheap pamphlets called quartos.
Unfortunately, he devotes the last part of the review to Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies: How Doubting the Bard Became the Biggest Taboo in Literature, which brings out the usual sampling of anti-Stratfordian sentiment (as well as ripostes to same) in the comments.
Bill wrote: "Here's a gift link to Michael Dirda's latest, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the First Folio:https://wapo.st/3Llghw6
William Shakespeare, of Stratford-upon-Avon, died at the age of 52 on A..."
i remember visiting his place of birth on a canal holiday as a child, wonderful old house..i forgot he was only 52 when he died but in 1616 i guess that wasnt a bad age to die
Georg wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "North of South by Shiva Naipaul(1978) is a brilliant work of travel non-fiction and obsveration.Naipaul was the..."
Shiva Naipul wrote a good book on Jim Jones and the doomed Jonestown camp.
MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Russell wrote: "Try again.Russell wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: ...
I do my best to write reviews and saying whether I liked a book after being taken to task by Scarlet.
Currently s..."
Ah, Allen Weinstein. I've read his Perjury, but not this one. Perjury's center is a sensational political/espionage case: in 1948, a senior editor of Time Magazine told a Congressional committee that a Communist cell existed in the Washington bureaucracy in the 1930s. The witness, Whitaker Chambers, stated that Alger Hiss, at that time a rising State Department man, and his brother Donald, were part of the cell. Questioning the witness? A young California Congressman named Richard Nixon.
Hiss, who had organized the San Francisco conference that set up the United Nations, demanded to appear before HUAC. At hearing, Hiss claimed not to know Chambers. Chambers stuck to his story, and Hiss stuck to his. Both were articulate, educated men. One of Nixon's colleagues pronounced that "Whichever of you is lying is the most extraordinary actor this country has produced."
Remarkable story, when I read it decades ago. The second edition of Perjury adds material on Soviet espionage that he learned on the work you cite above.
Robert wrote: "MK wrote: "Robert wrote: "Russell wrote: "Try again.Russell wrote: "giveusaclue wrote: ...
I do my best to write reviews and saying whether I liked a book after being taken to task by Scarlet.
..."
Lionel Trilling in his brilliant and only novel The Middle of the Journey based one of the characters around the character of Whitaker Chambers.
I really enjoyed the novel and read it about 3 yrs ago, it introduced me to Chambers and his life, though the novel isnt specifically about Chambers, the idea of a true believer who saw the light about communism is part of the themes of the novel
Bill wrote: "Here's a gift link to Michael Dirda's latest, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the First Folio:https://wapo.st/3Llghw6
William Shakespeare, of Stratford-upon-Avon, died at the age of 52 on A..."
You may want to take a look at
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/s...
I did this course a while ago. They are free to all, all over the world.
There are other courses about Shakespeare too.
AB76 wrote: "Just culled all the dubious "friends" i have acquired in last 18 months off my profileNone have ever contacted me, appeared in this forum or been of any help, really not sure why they wanted to b..."
I’ve a good set of friends on GR, I think..
They do need an eye kept on them though.
Some that I’ve had contact with before at the G, like Tom and Alwynne. Some prolific reviewers with similar tastes. Others who used to write blogs I followed, and a few that overlap the Mookse and Gripes group.
Also, some readers with less experience, who I think genuinely are after some recommendations.
Once in a while I’ll look through what they’re reading in detail and make some comments.
I get a daily email from GR that tells me what they are reading if it’s changed from the day before. I usually read that also, and find it interesting.
But, I do see your view AB. I also don’t do any social media apart from this, and Strava - which could be argued, are also social media..
There is some spam around, but quite rare.
Gpfr wrote: "Visiting Smith & Sons (ex-WH Smith) to buy gift cards for my grandsons' birthdays, I took advantage of a 3-for-2 non-fiction deal. I bought: [book:..."I also have The Amur River on tbr.
It was abridged on BBC a while ago. I listened to about 15 minutes of it, then added it.
I’m not a big fan of abridged adaptations.
Reporting in from 1750 metres up in Palencia in the cloud on my reading from the last few days, while watching some European rugby semi finals. Very humid with thunder storms due. Quite a relief really, it’s been very warm. But nothing like further south, a mere late twenties..
Serenade by James M. Cain
Life isn't going well from John Howard Sharp at the start of this novel. It comes as some surprise that he was an ex-opera singer, but as the book opens, he has hit rock bottom.
He is in Mexico when a local woman catches his eye, but he soon finds out she is a prostitute. Their first night therefore goes bad pretty quickly, and they don't meet again for a few months.
When they do, it is because she contacts him with a proposition, that he could be a teacher / bartender / bouncer / secretary / accountant, a 'jack of all trades' at an establishment she wants to open in Acapulco. He gives it a go, and they make their way to Acapulco by way of an adventurous roadtrip.
It doesn't go as well as they hoped, but it enables Sharp to get a passage on a boat up to LA, with his partner in tow. His luck changes, and Hollywood takes an interest.
The roller coaster ride is wild and unbelievable, but it is non-stop action, there really is a lot crammed into the 200 pages, and it certainly in entertaining.
Retracing the Iron Curtain: A 3,000-Mile Journey Through the End and Afterlife of the Cold War by Timothy Phillips
Phillips’s travels take him from Norway’s northernmost tip, where locals on both sides of the border share amiable commercial relations despite the political tensions, to a haunting Azerbaijani city that is filled with tributes to the nation’s ruling family but practically empty of people.
At each stop, he catalogues more of the continent’s turbulent history, from the various wars and annexations to daring stories of escape and cultural obliteration. He relates conversations with ordinary people who lived in the vast shadow of the Iron Curtain. Their recollections make it plain that Cold War battle lines were not as clear-cut as each side’s propaganda implied.
Phillips is a historian, and the book is heavily biased in that area, too much so. I was keen to know more about how the people affected, and their descendants, live today, and that makes up just a thin part of the book.
Owlish by Dorothy Tse translated from the Cantonese (Hong Kong) by
Natascha Bruce
.
This is a strange and deliciously unsettling dystopian story that can be enjoyed on different levels.
As a satire on the political situation in Hong Kong it is clever, though perhaps sets the reader off on a search for hidden meanings which might distract from the humour and sheer outrageousness of the various goings-on.
Professor Q is a lecturer in literature at the Lone Boat University in the city of Nevers, in a mountain valley south of Ksana and previously occupied by the Valerian Empire for a hundred years before being handed over to the Vanguard Republic.
Professor Q is a very private man. He has just had his 50th birthday, and has yet again been overlooked for promotion. Any passion in the relationship with his wife Maria has long gone, though they remain amicable. His only source of pleasure in his drab existence is his secret collection of dolls, for which he trawls the antique markets of the town. In one, he unearths a porcelain music box ballerina named Aliss.
To his delight, his love for Aliss is reciprocated when the doll comes to life. With the help of his friend Mr Owlish, he creates a love nest on a concealed island where he and Aliss can conduct a passionate affair. Unbeknown to Q though, he has become a target for suspicion, and is being watched by government forces.
There comes a stage in the second part of the book where without the reader realising it, the story has evolved from a bizarre character study to a harrowing portrayal of life under a repressive regime.
There’s more than a hint of Angela Carter about this, when she is at her most devious, as in Doctor Hoffman for example.
The contrast between artistic charm and nightmarish horror is Tse’s greatest skill. The story is completely addictive. Its conclusion was unexpected, and even distressing. It wasn’t the way I hoped it would end, and is in some ways the novel’s weakest part. But that doesn’t take anything away from a very different and enjoyable reading experience.
Here’s a clip..
Lately, he seemed to have been sleeping for increasingly extended periods. He would fall silent during meals, his head bowed as though intently contemplating the cauliflower florets in his soup, and she would know that he was sound asleep. In those moments he looked meek an innocent, and she clung to the sad yet at the same time consoling thought that andropause had come for him. Old age was nigh.
and Linghun by Ai Jiang.
The community of Home has much sought after properties, so much so that families hoping to purchase a residence there wait around for one to turn up on its edges.
The town is crime free, safe and secure, but the most enticing reason to live there is that the dead dwell there as restless spirits. Families who have lost loved ones live there in order to be with the ghost of their relative again.
The family of the main narrator, Wenqi, have moved there as their son, Wenqi’s brother died.
The second perspective is that of Liam, the son of a family of ‘lingerers’, who have also lost someone, but wait for a property to come available, or in some cases, such as Liam’s family, cannot afford the high prices.
The last perspective is that of ‘Mrs’, who is of the lowest social class, the only way she can make contact with her dead husband to the take the position of gardener at one of the properties.
This is a cleverly written novel about dealing with grief, and moving on from it. Rather than cause terror, the ghosts represent the pain they have caused by the demise.
The protagonist, Wenqi, is of Chinese descent, as indeed is Jiang herself. Some of Wenqi’s experience of finding ‘home’ is I suspect, Jiang’s also.
This is an alternative ghost story, both speculative and seminal. It may not all work, but most of it does, and it is to be greatly admired.
Andy wrote: "Reporting in from 1750 metres up in Palencia in the cloud on my reading from the last few days, while watching some European rugby semi finals. Very humid with thunder storms due. Quite a relief r..."
looks like you escaped the brutal heat further south, more warning signs of global warming. i would imagine the southern UK will hit 100F again this summer
AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: "Reporting in from 1750 metres up in Palencia in the cloud on my reading from the last few days, while watching some European rugby semi finals. Very humid with thunder storms due. Qui..."
I wasn't aware that UK temp are expressed in Fahrenheit nowadays. Always so "American" for me. I know 100 F is about the temperature my milk should have when I make yoghurt. Fahrenheit - 32 (x5 divideded by 9)=Celsius. But I am glad that most of the civilised parts of the world have agreed to use Celsius.
Almost finished A Difficult Young Man(1955) by Martin Boyd and it continues a wonderful run of classic novels in 2023, where is the inevitable dud going to come from?Melbourne and Somerset are the settings, of a large Australian family of english heritage and the travails of the children, of which the narrator is one. There is a vivid picture of emerging Victorian society(the Australian state not an era), as well as the last years of Edwardian idyll in Somerset before WW1 changed the old country for ever.
Boyd has a light, conversational style but witha lot of considered thought, musing on being neither fully Australian nor English and railing against the snobbery that is carelessly cast by the english on his heritage.
Blazing 100F skies and soggy 45F english days are one area where he feels the difference of the two nations, fahrenheit defining the two peoples.
I recommend this novel but suggest reading the first of the quartet The Cardboard Crown first
Georg wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: "Reporting in from 1750 metres up in Palencia in the cloud on my reading from the last few days, while watching some European rugby semi finals. Very humid with thunder st..."
Hands up American here! I know we are way behind the times temperature-wise. 75° here today, but back to the 60s tomorrow. Guess I should be glad of the 60s as even that temp. has been a no show since October.
I also just printed out a Google map for a future trip. Someone has to keep up with the old ways.
Be prepared for 'eye-rolls' as I am listening to Diamonds Are Forever after reading the first Charlie Bradshaw mystery Saratoga Longshot which was engendered by listening to Andrew Lycett's biography of Ian Fleming.
Saratoga, NY, was once a fashionable watering hole in the era of the Gilded Age. Neither the Charlie Bradshaw mysteries nor Diamonds Are Forever take place during that heyday as its prime is long past.
Andy wrote: "Reporting in from 1750 metres up in Palencia in the cloud on my reading from the last few days, while watching some European rugby semi finals..."I was at one of them, to see my beloved Scarlets lose to Glasgow - the first game I've seen since before COVID. I wore a mask in enclosed areas - no-one else did. A pity about the result - Glasgow played better, but Scarlets lost two players to injury within 8 minutes and two more in the second half, including key star man Fifita minutes after the restart, when they were leading. So... but for the injuries, it may have played out differently. We'll never know.
As for the book - I know Cain's name but don't remember reading any. This could be of interest, though I might try one of the better known ones such as 'Double Indemnity' or 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', to compare with the films.
Georg wrote: "I wasn't aware that UK temp are expressed in Fahrenheit nowadays."They aren't, usually - AFAIK Fahrenheit is no longer taught in schools, though it was the usual scale back in the 50s and 60s... Scientists always used Celsius; we were taught the conversion.
Older people still find it easier to think in terms of F - one simple conversion worth remembering is that 10C = 50F, as a starting point for some estimate or other.
The weather forecast on BBC (and, I assume, other channels) always uses Celsius - I just checked this morning's, given by Tomasz Schafernaker - who sounds suspiciously foreign, so maybe it's a plot... ;-)
I don't believe AB is all that ancient - certainly much younger than myself - so his use of F may be a family tradition, or perhaps derives from his work with older people. He can let us know!
scarletnoir wrote: "Georg wrote: "I wasn't aware that UK temp are expressed in Fahrenheit nowadays."They aren't, usually - AFAIK Fahrenheit is no longer taught in schools, though it was the usual scale back in the 5..."
i like using both but i think on here i will use fahrenheit from now on
as a kid i remember the Uk papers all used fahrenheit, i have always used celsius until a few days ago lol
MK wrote: "Georg wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Andy wrote: "Reporting in from 1750 metres up in Palencia in the cloud on my reading from the last few days, while watching some European rugby semi finals. Very humid w..."
its 60F here MK, very pleasent, the first mild weather since November. rivers are flowing and deep, lush grass, could be 63F even by Monday
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It was reported by Gareth Jones (and most likely, others):
The most famous article edited by Jones is entitled: “I walked through villages and kolkhoz. Everywhere, I heard the same yelling: ‘We don’t have bread. We are dying.’”...
The several articles and reportages he wrote – published by the Manchester Guardian and the New York Evening Post-, are in fact the firsts to reveal the Holodomor. However, his work doesn’t find the interest of the West community, that has no intention to look after communism problems....
(In) March 1933 Gareth Jones decides that is time to tell the World what is happening. The courageous journalist summons a press conference in Berlin to denounce the brutal consequences of Stalin’s policy in Ukraine and nearby, starving to death millions of people (estimated nowadays between 4.5 and 6 or 7 million)...
His statements are published by some British and American newspapers and he is accused of being a liar by some distinguished colleagues...
The most distinguished refutation arrives from journalist Walter Duranty – Pulizer winner for his Moscow correspondences, published for the New York Times, where he expresses ‘the noble principles’ of collectivisation- who contests Jones’ writings, and defines him “a resourceful man who jumped to conclusions’.
I think that the correspondents who stayed in Moscow, or who travelled in well marshalled groups, would have done better to 'go rogue' and take a look at those areas Stalin didn't want them to see, as Jones did.
https://en.gariwo.net/righteous/holod...