I am utterly delighted that Tony Robinson is getting a knighthood. Not, I hasten to add, primarily because of his roles in "Blackadder", though that has been important to me. On reading Vegetius, I burst into uncontrollable giggles when I realised that the best translation of his repeated "Sollertia est" was "It is a cunning plan", which led me to ( Read more... )

All I wanted to do was find out how big Nerja was under Moslem rule. Now I've got a new chapter and a whole new character: Fatima the architect.

This entry was originally posted at http://sollers.dreamwidth.org/32754.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

My mother was born 100 years ago today. This gives me a very weird feeling.

This entry was originally posted at http://sollers.dreamwidth.org/32361.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

The Suez Canal, allowing ships bound for the East to bypass the Cape of Good Hope
The Panama Canal, allowing ships bound for the West to bypass Cape Horn
The Manchester Ship Canal, allowing ships bound for Manchester to bypass Liverpool.

This entry was originally posted at http://sollers.dreamwidth.org/32092.html. Please comment there using OpenID ( Read more... )

Sometimes television scheduling gets things more right than I could have thought possible. "Cat Ballou" AND "Support Your Local Gunfighter" on the same day

*reaches for chocolates*

This entry was originally posted at http://sollers.dreamwidth.org/31772.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Scene: A telephone booth at night. A woman is on the phone. Suddenly there is a rapping on the door. She tries to ignore it but the rapping becomes more insistent. She covers the mouthpiece ( Read more... )

If I couldn't, I wouldn't have been able to check out the details of the Cid's burial before his body was taken to Burgos; there is a very full entry for the monastery in Wikipedia in Spanish, but no English version ( Read more... )

It wasn't a problem with my daughters as a) they could have things explained to them and b) they didn't follow me round clutching toys that they then dropped on the stairs. The item in question was a short section of knotted rope that she is very fond of, particularly when I throw it for her, and she often brings toys up in the hopes that I will ( Read more... )

I've just got back from a week and a half camping trip. No, I am not a total masochist: it wasn't in a tent, it was in a vehicle that started off life as an ambulance-type minibus. It has good lighting and heating and a rear lift designed for wheelchairs but which often takes G's motor scooter, and so it is easy to load. All but three pairs of ( Read more... )

After three hours, significant frustration and a lot of text messages to miapatrick, I am now up and running with my new iPhone 4, I have my Kindle books and a considerable amount of music. I am happy.

This entry was originally posted at http://sollers.dreamwidth.org/30129.html. Please comment there using OpenID.