Monty Don Enough people mentioned them to me that I sat down and watched the two programmes on Japanese gardens by Monty Don. I try not the be the sort of scholar who sucks his teeth at all the inaccuracies and misrepresentations in popular media, so let’s just say that it was a mixed bag:ContinueContinue reading “Diary: March”
Tag Archives: History
Diary 4.0
On Naming There’s a lot of variety in the fluffy white sheep milling about the fields throughout Britain. There are distinct breeds, and then there are the mules – crosses developed to match the best qualities from two or more breeds. Their names often tell you something about their origins – Border Leicesters, LincolnContinueContinue reading “Diary 4.0”
Twin Cities
China Mieville is an interesting author – at times he infuriates me, but some of the ideas he has are really thought-provoking and he has a skill of exploring them through fiction in a compelling way. The City & The City is him playing with the genre of detective fiction, but the core idea isContinueContinue reading “Twin Cities”
Holidays
We have just come back from a week in Devon, in Ottery St. Mary. From the name, I was expecting a tiny hamlet, but it turns out to be a decent sized town. As it happens, I knew of Ottery St Mary before we went, not only from the signs on the A30, but asContinueContinue reading “Holidays”
Towards a Ranking of Rankings
Sumo wrestlers are ranked before every tournament on a chart known as a Banzuke. There are two sides, the east and the west, and each runs down from the top rank (Yokozuna) through a series of other gradings (Ozeki, Sekiwaki, Komusubi, and so on) depending on recent performance. In the twenty-first century, of course, itContinueContinue reading “Towards a Ranking of Rankings”
Fireflies 