Monthly Archives: April 2014

Mud Huts

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Zoe Nightingale

If you think about it, our beautiful brick houses are only mud huts: elaborate mud huts, but still mud huts made out of bricks of clay, hardened and put together by a specialist on a kind of ‘production line’. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Neologism Corner

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Zoe Nightingale

Today’s word: IRSOTAISM. Pronounced: Ir-so-tay-ism. Also: irsotaised; irsotaic; etc. Paranoid fear and panicked preparation for an unforeseeable disaster for which, by definition, no one CAN prepare. I could concoct an exotic etymology for this, but it is, in fact, an acronym, deriving … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What would it take for me to like the Royal family? Surprisingly little, actually.

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Zoe Nightingale

You know, I was watching Bargain Hunt, and there was this pair of Staffordshire pot zebras. And the auctioneer said what they all say about Staffordshire porcelain: “Ten years or so ago, this would have fetched a good price, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Story World — The Social Class Hypothesis.

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Zoe Nightingale

In our society, that is England of the Twentieth Century, people are generally inclined to one or the other of two hypothetical ‘comfort zones’. These might be regarded as ‘default positions’. Most of the time, we probably do not think … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment