October 2011 books
I note that we celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary in our nearest local restaurant at the start of the month. A couple of days later, I (or rather my poor Belarusian intern M) received one of the rudest replies I have ever seen, from the office of Nigel Farage.Dear [Belarusian M]
Thank you for your esteemed request.
However, it is not within Mr Farage's remit to represent the EU, or its pseudo-parliament, by engaging with any Mission accredited to the EU. He represents the UK Independence Party (independence, that is, from the EU) and the voters of the UK, who support the UKIP's anti-EU manifesto.
Moreover, if [your client] seeks only to persuade Mr Farage that the EU's proposed [thing] is illegitimate and undesirable, it need not trouble itself to meet him on that account. Mr Farage opposes all of the agreements the EU makes, over the head of the UK's democratically elected government, with any other party whatsoever.
On this account, Mr Farage - and all UKIP-members of the EU's pseudo-parliament - have voted, and will continue to vote, against the EU's [thing]. They voted also for [thing] to be examined by the ECJ, in the hope that the ECJ would strike it down.
His time is also very precious. He does not engage in diplomatic small-talk. Is there anything else to be discussed?
Yours sincerely
Andrew S. Reed
Office of Nigel Farage, Brussels
What an appalling way to say that they agreed with us!
I had two trips that month, one to London to participate in a panel on Serbia, the other to New York for a work meeting. I also read 24 books.
Non-fiction 3 (YTD 55)
A New History of Ireland, Volume III: Early Modern Ireland 1534-1691, ed. T.W. Moody, F.X. Martin and F.J. Byrne
Newman, Elgar and "The Dream of Gerontius", by Percy M. Young
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Fiction (Non-sf) 3 (YTD 41)
Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
Exit Music, by Ian Rankin
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
SF (non-Who) 9 (YTD 66)
Half A Crown, by Jo Walton
The Borribles, by Michael De Larrabeiti
The Borribles Go For Broke, by Michael De Larrabeiti
The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis, by Michael De Larrabeiti
Other Edens, ed. Christopher Evans and Robert Holdstock
White Queen, by Gwyneth Jones
Other Edens 2, ed. Christopher Evans and Robert Holdstock
Falling Free, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Other Edens III, ed. Christopher Evans and Robert Holdstock
Doctor Who etc 8 (YTD 67)
The Twilight Streets, by Gary Russell
The Good, the Bad and the Alien, by Colin Brake
System Wipe, by Oli Smith
The Devil Goblins From Neptune, by Martin Day and Keith Topping
Legacy, by Gary Russell
The Wonderful Book of Doctor Who 1965, by Paul Smith
Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood, by David Fisher
Doctor Who and the Stones of Blood, by Terrance Dicks
Comics 1 (YTD 22)
Fables: Rose Red, by Bill Willingham
~7,000 pages (YTD ~73,500)
3/24 (YTD 55/251) by women (Walton, Jones, Bujold)
1/24 (YTD 13/251) by PoC (Equiano)
The best of these by far were The Grapes of Wrath, which you can get here, and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, which you can get here, followed by Bujold's Falling Free, which you can get here, Rankin's Exit Music, which you can get here, and Walton's Half a Crown, which you can get here. Nothing particularly awful.
Thank you for your esteemed request.
However, it is not within Mr Farage's remit to represent the EU, or its pseudo-parliament, by engaging with any Mission accredited to the EU. He represents the UK Independence Party (independence, that is, from the EU) and the voters of the UK, who support the UKIP's anti-EU manifesto.
Moreover, if [your client] seeks only to persuade Mr Farage that the EU's proposed [thing] is illegitimate and undesirable, it need not trouble itself to meet him on that account. Mr Farage opposes all of the agreements the EU makes, over the head of the UK's democratically elected government, with any other party whatsoever.
On this account, Mr Farage - and all UKIP-members of the EU's pseudo-parliament - have voted, and will continue to vote, against the EU's [thing]. They voted also for [thing] to be examined by the ECJ, in the hope that the ECJ would strike it down.
His time is also very precious. He does not engage in diplomatic small-talk. Is there anything else to be discussed?
Yours sincerely
Andrew S. Reed
Office of Nigel Farage, Brussels
What an appalling way to say that they agreed with us!
I had two trips that month, one to London to participate in a panel on Serbia, the other to New York for a work meeting. I also read 24 books.
Non-fiction 3 (YTD 55)
A New History of Ireland, Volume III: Early Modern Ireland 1534-1691, ed. T.W. Moody, F.X. Martin and F.J. Byrne
Newman, Elgar and "The Dream of Gerontius", by Percy M. Young
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Fiction (Non-sf) 3 (YTD 41)
Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
Exit Music, by Ian Rankin
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
SF (non-Who) 9 (YTD 66)
Half A Crown, by Jo Walton
The Borribles, by Michael De Larrabeiti
The Borribles Go For Broke, by Michael De Larrabeiti
The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis, by Michael De Larrabeiti
Other Edens, ed. Christopher Evans and Robert Holdstock
White Queen, by Gwyneth Jones
Other Edens 2, ed. Christopher Evans and Robert Holdstock
Falling Free, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Other Edens III, ed. Christopher Evans and Robert Holdstock
Doctor Who etc 8 (YTD 67)
The Twilight Streets, by Gary Russell
The Good, the Bad and the Alien, by Colin Brake
System Wipe, by Oli Smith
The Devil Goblins From Neptune, by Martin Day and Keith Topping
Legacy, by Gary Russell
The Wonderful Book of Doctor Who 1965, by Paul Smith
Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood, by David Fisher
Doctor Who and the Stones of Blood, by Terrance Dicks
Comics 1 (YTD 22)
Fables: Rose Red, by Bill Willingham
~7,000 pages (YTD ~73,500)
3/24 (YTD 55/251) by women (Walton, Jones, Bujold)
1/24 (YTD 13/251) by PoC (Equiano)
The best of these by far were The Grapes of Wrath, which you can get here, and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, which you can get here, followed by Bujold's Falling Free, which you can get here, Rankin's Exit Music, which you can get here, and Walton's Half a Crown, which you can get here. Nothing particularly awful.