Fun facts about nuns: in both the Reformation and the French Revolution, nuns were a lot more resistant to having their convents closed down than monks were about their monasteries.

In other news, I joined a gym today. It's extortionately expensive, but only five minutes' walk from work, and there's a sauna, so it's pretty exciting.

One of the unexpected benefits of doing a happiness project is that I've realised how much I love pop psychology books - I got through The Happiness Project and 59 Seconds in about two days apiece, whereas other things that I either did a degree in and thus really ought to be interested in (like my old tutor's biography of Alexander the Great or ( Read more... )