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A Number Of Unrelated Paragraphs
Jan. 18th, 2022 12:23 pmWe understand that our buyers have "big plans" for the farm and mean to give it a radical makeover and build extensions- and for that reason are probably not going to bother with a survey. The survey we commissioned on the house in Eastbourne highlights a few "issues" but nothing structural- and, anyway, you don't expect a house that has been standing for 90 years to entirely conform to modern building specs.
Sheep have been moved into a field we can see from an upstairs window. Ailz pointed out one that was enjoying a symbiotic relationship with a crow. The sheep was lying down and the crow was strutting round it, perching on its back and plucking the wildlife out of its fleece.
Andrea Arnold has filmed the life of a cow. I'm not sure I could bear to watch it. We treat our farm animals with such cruelty and disrespect.
The Prime Minister has, reportedly, called his plan to stay in power "Operation Save Big Dog". His opponents in the party have called their plan to get rid of him "Operation Rinka". Those who watched the TV drama A Very British Scandal- about the Jeremy Thorpe affair- will know to what this refers. Rinka was the Great Dane belonging to Norman Scott whom Thorpe wanted deaded; The hitman he hired was incompetent/half-hearted/chicken and spared Scott but shot the dog...
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Australian government's decision- after much dicking around- to cancel Novak Djokovic's visa- the outcome is that the men's side of the Australian Open has been devalued- and whoever lifts the trophy will know that they've won it cheaply.
I was happy to see the statue of Edward Colston, the Bristol slaver and philanthropist- get tipped into Bristol harbour, but I'm conflicted about the bashing up of the statue of Prospero and Ariel that decorates the facade of Broadcasting House. Its sculptor, Eric Gill, was a sex-mad loon who raped his sisters and daughters but also the single most important British artist of the early 20th century. I'm glad I don't have to decide what to do next...
Is War and Peace the greatest novel? Silly Question. On the other hand I can't think of any other book- with the possible exception of Anna Karenina- about which the claim could possibly be made. Other novels may be deeper, funnier, more impassioned, better written, but Tolstoy's breadth of vision is unique. Likewise his breadth of sympathy. What Balzac attempted to do in a shelfful of connected fictions- that is, encapsulate the whole of human experience- Tolstoy managed in a single volume- or managed as far as anyone can or could.
Sheep have been moved into a field we can see from an upstairs window. Ailz pointed out one that was enjoying a symbiotic relationship with a crow. The sheep was lying down and the crow was strutting round it, perching on its back and plucking the wildlife out of its fleece.
Andrea Arnold has filmed the life of a cow. I'm not sure I could bear to watch it. We treat our farm animals with such cruelty and disrespect.
The Prime Minister has, reportedly, called his plan to stay in power "Operation Save Big Dog". His opponents in the party have called their plan to get rid of him "Operation Rinka". Those who watched the TV drama A Very British Scandal- about the Jeremy Thorpe affair- will know to what this refers. Rinka was the Great Dane belonging to Norman Scott whom Thorpe wanted deaded; The hitman he hired was incompetent/half-hearted/chicken and spared Scott but shot the dog...
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Australian government's decision- after much dicking around- to cancel Novak Djokovic's visa- the outcome is that the men's side of the Australian Open has been devalued- and whoever lifts the trophy will know that they've won it cheaply.
I was happy to see the statue of Edward Colston, the Bristol slaver and philanthropist- get tipped into Bristol harbour, but I'm conflicted about the bashing up of the statue of Prospero and Ariel that decorates the facade of Broadcasting House. Its sculptor, Eric Gill, was a sex-mad loon who raped his sisters and daughters but also the single most important British artist of the early 20th century. I'm glad I don't have to decide what to do next...
Is War and Peace the greatest novel? Silly Question. On the other hand I can't think of any other book- with the possible exception of Anna Karenina- about which the claim could possibly be made. Other novels may be deeper, funnier, more impassioned, better written, but Tolstoy's breadth of vision is unique. Likewise his breadth of sympathy. What Balzac attempted to do in a shelfful of connected fictions- that is, encapsulate the whole of human experience- Tolstoy managed in a single volume- or managed as far as anyone can or could.
