Friends and readers ( Read more... )

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Friends and readers ( Read more... )

Dear friends and readers,

Global warming strikes your hardy crew once again. Our Jaunt for the day not as Jaunty as it sometimes has been.

Today was one of the two (twice yearly) point-to-point races that occur in Loudon county on two large ex-plantations, one in the spring (Oatlands) and one in the fall (Morven Park). It's said that the local ( Read more... )

Dear friends and readers,

Since I usually write shorter postings here, I thought I'd recommend going to the WSC's production of Camus's stunningly empathetic and insightful Les Justes on this blog rather than Ellen and Jim have a Blog, Two, where I usually write about the plays, movies, or operas we (me and Yvette or me and the Admiral or all three ( Read more... )

Dear friends,

I had no heart last night to watch the last instalment of last year's season of this year's favored costume drama, Downton Abbey, a conservative fantasy. Caroline's latest blog on DA includes a powerful clip from Oh What a Lovely War! David Attenborough's famous film exposing the horrors of WW1 and through song and music how the ( Read more... )

Dear friends and readers,

While I have put most of my weekly foremother poet blogs on Ellen and Jim have a blog, two, since I have put a few here (e.g., Caroline Norton) and make it my practice to write about women writers, their memoirs and their poetry and reading here as under the sign of Austen, I thought I'd put this week's foremother poet blog ( Read more... )

Dear friends and readers,

Do not miss the new Jane Eyre. Even if you've seen as many versions as I have (that's many, maybe all available on DVD -- see On Never Tiring of Jane Eyre).  And even if you've not seen that many -- Jane Eyre, 2011.  The director (Cary Fukunaga) knows how many times this film has been made.  And he manages surprises:  : it ( Read more... )

Dear friends and readers,

I've not made a poetry blog in a long while, as someone on one of my lists liked the poems of Caroline Norton (which I then put on all three) I thought I'd share these three plus one comic one here -- and retell her life and talk of her novels (with links to other fuller discussions).

What I'm doing is also adding to a ( Read more... )

Dear friends and readers,

Yesterday the Admiral, I, and Izzy went to the National Gallery for our annual "Boxing Day" visit. As on previous occasions, we found there were large exhibits there. These seem to be brought to the museum in December precisely to serve those happy to go to the museum as part of their Winter Solstice rituals. Also, as on ( Read more... )