So, it's summer, which means us school employed non-teacher types get time off. And, unexpectedly, this li'l stepdad found out yesterday that stepdaughter is at Dad's all next week so I have a completely free week with no plans (and very little money ( Read more... )

In actual terms, someone earning about £25K today is close to the average, and probably struggling to get by. But a hundred years ago, that would've been a very comfortable living. Two hundred years ago, that would've put you in the very wealthiest sector of society, with servants to do your bidding and every need catered for ( Read more... )

OK, testing again. Using the Dreamwidth poll wizard, then looking to see if/how polls crosspost to LJ. Odds are you'll need to login with OpenID to vote, etc, but it's about time you did that anyway.

View poll: Poll wizard testing

So, having been regularly getting books out from the local library[1], I was tempted to try the "classic" Heinlein that I'd never read. It's recommended in the Guardian's 1000 books list, the only one of his works, and as I've enjoyed[2] many of his other books, even those dated, I finally got around to taking it out and trying to read it ( Read more... )

Heh. The Honourable Lady Mark[1] mourns the death of Ricardo Montalbán, saying: [he] is probably best known in this country for his role as the proprietor of Fantasy Island
Which, quite frankly, is probably wrong. So I decided to solve the discussion by science. Well, an LJ poll[2]:
( Poll. With ticky boxes. We like ticky boxes. )

I have another poll. pickwick has more on the choice
Poll The new Doctor
And whouk has doe a different bio Matt Smith is Doctor Who

Still, in no way can he be described as a Pretty Boy, right?

The name of the actor who will replace David Tennant in Doctor Who will be announced on Saturday. There now follows a poll.
( Voting now closed, we were wrong. And robbed. )

Yesterday, I did finish reading autopopE's Jennifer Morgue. It's a damn fine James Bond pastiche with casinos, yachts, a submersible car and Great Old Ones-I commend it to the housereadership.

By random chance, It was revealed today that my good friend innerbrat, despite being a smart, educated Brit in her mid twenties, has never seen a Bond movie. Now, while I am ( Read more... )

Some people clearly have too much time on their hands. Would you do this:

( Read more... )

So, today, we did go to the Library. It was shut for renovations most of the summer so I couldn't register, but it's now reopened. It is a typical small English town library, gifted to the town by the effective founder, and has an attached art gallery. It's gorgeous ( Read more... )