The very idea of a book in chains. The very idea. Chains hail from a time when books were outrageously expensive. If you believe this mediaeval price list at Luminarium, one book was the price of four cows. It was the cost of ink, and labour, and paper, all luxuries in a world where a … Continue reading »
They sound like a poem written by one of Tolkein’s dwarves: tump, tumulus, mound, twt, castle, bury, garn, tomen, low, barrow, knoll, knap, moat and camp. Whilst apart they are a curiosity, together they lead us a merry dance. They began in 1921, or alternatively, they began just before history. But let us go with … Continue reading »
I had better tread carefully today. For I tiptoe gingerly around the hallowed subject of Essex. Do you even know where I mean? How far does this county’s reputation travel? Essex. Most ancient county: older than England, even. It used once to be known as Ēastseaxe, the Eastern land of the Saxons: sitting on the north bank … Continue reading »
There comes a moment in every council meeting or concert or symposium when you look at your watch and calculate when you are going to be able to get up and walk out of there. Like a miles-per-hour calculation, our minds start a feverish computation of how much material there is still to cover, to … Continue reading »
