Hollyhock progress

 A short break from blogging was enforced on me by the happy chaos of family fun in the summer.  Meanwhile, my hollyhock continued to grow, and flower, and occasionally blow sideways in the wind and need boosting back up again.    



Hollyhock success!

Understanding Norwegian terrorism

I had a feeling of déjà vu as I watched the news coverage of the attack on the Norwegian government buildings and Labour Youth Group camp on the island of Utoeya.  The scenes reminded me of recent Scandinavian crime fiction:  the novels by Swedish author Stieg Larsson or the Danish TV series, The Killing.  This was not just because I wish there were the comforting screen of fiction between me and the dreadful tragedies for so many in Norway.  Scandinavian crime fiction has consistently returned to themes and story-lines considering intolerance and prejudice.  Stieg Larsson's day job was that of a left-wing journalist fighting prejudice and intolerance, a sub-plot in The Killing revolved around the failure to understand what motivated suspicious behaviour on the part of Rama, the Iranian-born teacher. 

Lawn meditation

From Asterix in Britain

Cambridge Life

Et in arcardia ego;  I went to King's College, Cambridge from a rural comprehensive school and former secondary modern (the first Oxbridge entrant from the school) and a state tertiary college.  

Domesticity - Democracy or Dictatorship?

Housework is hard work - not just because it can be quite difficult to keep going with the boring work of cleaning the bathtub till it really gleams (I have never quite reached this Nirvanic state).  Along with the dusting and the constant round of preparing delicious nutritious food (this bit of the job can be quite fun), I found an invisible yet ever-present element of the workload was the management of human resources. 

The Return of the Slut

Yummy and slummy mummies move over.  Tiger mothers retract your claws.  It's time for the return of the slut.