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https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2011/01/blackbird-singing-in-dead-of-night.html Nigeness: Blackbird singing in the dead of night... Birdsong at night is a haunting sound, at once beautiful and cheering, and faintly disturbing, wrong. Round my way, the birds seem more and ... in the blackbird singing dead night https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/11/one-more-for-remembrance.html Nigeness: One More for Remembrance Here's a brilliantly perceptive, and moving, essay by Robert Macfarlane on Edward Thomas and the South Country - it went out last week on Ra... one more remembrance https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/11/afterlife-again.html Nigeness: Afterlife Again Reading John Williams's novel Stoner (of which more later), I came across this passage, describing his hero William Stoner's reading as a st... afterlife https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-first-fear.html Nigeness: 'The first fear...' Coming across this poem by Kay Ryan, I couldn't help thinking that, although it contains wisdom of far wider application, it also has someth... the first fear https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/04/friend-of-my-youth.html Nigeness: Friend of My Youth I've read Alice Munro before - and written about her - so I know how good she is. But nothing of hers that I've read so far has hit me with... friend youth https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2008/12/another-spreader-of-happiness.html Nigeness: Another Spreader of Happiness Another notable English happiness-spreader died on this day in 1996 - Willie Rushton. He was one of those people who wear their talents - o... another spreader happiness https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2008/05/condition-of-muzak.html Nigeness: The Condition of Muzak Stepping into my local supermarket last night for a few necessities, I was startled to be greeted by an unmistakable Al Kooper organ riff an... the condition muzak https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/03/is-it-syndrome.html Nigeness: Is It a Syndrome? I hadn't realised Impostor Syndrome was such a big thing until I heard it being talked about on the radio yesterday, then came across this .... syndrome https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/08/perfect-gift.html Nigeness: The Perfect Gift On a bookstall at a local event yesterday, a publication by the National Trust For Scotland caught my eye. It was The Culloden Birthday Book... the perfect gift https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2008/10/hot-news.html Nigeness: Hot News Despite my earlier prediction that the Dems would manage to snatch another electoral defeat from the jaws of victory, I'm now pretty sure Ob... hot news https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2014/08/guest-post.html Nigeness: Guest Post And I see that my birthday post on Edgar Guest is on The Dabbler today... guest post https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-poet-pours-himself-drink.html Nigeness: The Poet Pours Himself a Drink the poet pours drink https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2008/12/birthday-boys.html Nigeness: Birthday Boy(s) It's my birthday today - me and old Tom Waits: same day, same year, somewhat divergent destinies... As is now traditional, I am spending t... birthday boy https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2008/12/death-again.html Nigeness: Death Again Here we go again - death's back , and causing an almighty fuss in some quarters. An obscure satellite pay channel no one had heard of scr... death https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2012/08/failing-to-fail.html Nigeness: Failing to Fail I must confess I'm feeling badly let down by the home nation's efforts in these Olympic Games. Those us who practise the national sport (gru... failing https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/04/linden-line-lime.html Nigeness: Linden, Line, Lime It's the time of year when the lime trees - like Browning's elms a couple of weeks ago - are 'in tiny leaf'. The tender young leaves - a d... linden line lime https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/09/country-rapidly-passed-through.html Nigeness: 'A country rapidly passed through...' 'Clear vision goes with the quick foot,' says Robert Louis Stevenson, condensing his previous sentence: 'A country rapidly passed through un... country rapidly passed https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2017/12/irene-dunne-healthy-perspective.html Nigeness: Irene Dunne: A Healthy Perspective 'No triumph of either my stage or screen career has ever rivalled the excitement of trips down the Mississippi on the riverboats with my f... irene dunne healthy perspective https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2012/08/last-swifts.html Nigeness: Last Swifts I might as well face it - I've probably seen my last swift of the year. Or swifts, to be precise - a pair of them circling lazily over Hackb... last swifts https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2020/12/be-more-cat.html Nigeness: Be More Cat Lately I've been reading too many books at once, with the result that (slow reader as I am) I haven't finished one in a while. However, I h... be more cat https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2019/06/joad-again-scrambling.html Nigeness: Joad Again: Scrambling I can't seem to escape the long (pot-bellied, pipe-smoking) shadow of the egregious Professor C.E.M. Joad, erstwhile celebrity intellectual ... joad scrambling https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-mistitled-book.html Nigeness: A Mistitled Book I think I mentioned recently that I was reading Rupert Sheldrake's The Science Delusion. I finished this misnamed book last week - it's not... book https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2016/01/one-weed-two-reads.html Nigeness: One Weed, Two Reads This pretty little plant, with its three-petalled flowers, caught my eye today in Wellington's spectacular and rather lovely Central Park (a... one weed two reads https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/10/best-time-of-year.html Nigeness: The Best Time of Year? Today being one of those perfect autumn days that seem almost too good to be true, I was out of the house like a shot to continue my Picture... the best time year https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2024/01/gratifying-ridiculous-sublime.html Nigeness: Gratifying, Ridiculous, Sublime 'You look like a local,' said the man who hailed me this morning as I strode along by Minster Pool. He wanted to ask me about the location ... ridiculous sublime https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2008/10/beauty-then.html Nigeness: Beauty, Then... My head is empty of new blogworthy ideas, but going round in it still is this poem . Yes, it's that man again - Edward Thomas. Did any poet ... beauty https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2021/06/jon-redmond.html Nigeness: Jon Redmond When this image turned up online, my first thought was something along the lines of 'Wow!' and my second was, Who painted this? An intense,... jon redmond https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/08/two-days-and-50-years-ago.html Nigeness: Two Days and 50 Years Ago The Wednesday just past was the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's great March on Washington. Blogwise I missed the date, but caught q... two days years ago https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2017/08/marble-motels-shorter-years.html Nigeness: Marble Motels, Shorter Years On this day in 1958, Lolita was finally published in the United States, by Putnam's, after four other publishers had nervously turned it do... marble motels shorter years https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/08/crows-and-herons.html Nigeness: Crows and Herons Yesterday evening, looking out of the train window as I travelled home, I saw a sight I'd never seen before. Two herons were perched high up... crows herons https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-election-that-matters.html Nigeness: The Election that Matters After an election marred by voter fraud, a clear winner has emerged. Yes, it's the Kakapo, the world's bulkiest parrot, which has just been... the election matters https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/06/richard-monckton-milnes.html Nigeness: Richard Monckton Milnes Here's a bicentenary worth noting. Richard Monckton Milnes (born on this day in 1809) was one of those giant figures of the Victorian age, w... richard monckton milnes https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2024/01/wisdom-must-come-on-foot.html Nigeness: 'Wisdom must come on foot' For Epiphany Sunday, a short one by R.S. Thomas... The First King The first king was on horseback. The second a pillion rider. The third ca... must come wisdom foot https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/10/radio-age.html Nigeness: The Radio Age More progress (ha!) on the retroprogressive front, with the latest radio listening figures showing that 45.7 million people listen every wee... the radio age https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2016/06/another-day-another-quest.html Nigeness: Another Day, Another Quest Yet another cool, grey, cloudy day, with the wind still in the North and no prospect of sun. No chance of seeing any butterflies either, so ... another day quest https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2023/06/ducks-revisited.html Nigeness: Ducks Revisited Walking by the river earlier today, I paused at a spot where the ducks (every one a Mallard usually) congregate to dabble, squabble and res... ducks revisited https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2008/10/westfield-and-scourings.html Nigeness: Westfield and the Scourings Yesterday, amid scenes of retail frenzy, a ghastly new shopping mall opened in Shepherd's Bush, of all places, as the splendidly named Harry... and the westfield https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/10/bbc-accepts-global-cooling.html Nigeness: BBC Accepts Global Cooling! Well, not quite - but this is not the kind of thing you expect to emanate from the mighty BBC News operation. Is it perhaps a sign that the... bbc accepts global cooling https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/12/enjoy.html Nigeness: Enjoy! Here is something rather wonderful - and seasonal - forwarded to me by my cousin in Derbyshire. They are so heart-lifting (or rather soul-l... enjoy https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2026/04/ Nigeness: April 2026 april https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2015/08/favourite-insect-first-frits.html Nigeness: Favourite Insect, First Frits I see there's a poll to find Britain's Favourite Insect - and it looks rather more interesting and unpredictable than the recent 'quest' fo... favourite insect first frits https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2021/12/happy-christmas.html Nigeness: Happy Christmas A happy Christmas and an altogether better new year to all who browse here. happy christmas https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/06/and-now-its-esther.html Nigeness: And now it's Esther... Another day, another death. This time it's aquabatic legend of the silver screen Esther Williams , plucked from us at the age of 91. Cheeta,... and now esther https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/03/irving-wallace-jeremy-beadle-sex-and.html Nigeness: Irving Wallace, Jeremy Beadle, Sex and Death Born on this day in 1916 was the megaselling American writer Irving Wallace. I don't think any of his novels ever crossed my path, even in ... irving wallace jeremy beadle sex death https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2008/07/back-to-future-2.html Nigeness: Back to the Future 2 And it's not only Broon who's gone retro. There are plans to rebuild the Skylon . And why not? I hope it happens. back to the future https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2012/04/larkin-about.html Nigeness: Larkin About Over on The Dabbler , I pass on a little Philip Larkin... larkin https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2020/09/a-masterpiece.html Nigeness: A Masterpiece I knew there must be a good reason why I recently became a Netflix subscriber (and no, it wasn't the prospect of Harry and Meghan's stimulat... masterpiece https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/11/storm-and-silence.html Nigeness: Storm and Silence Once again I'm in the thick of a NigeCorp workstorm - very tiresome, especially as it gets in the way of blogging, or indeed thinking, in an... storm silence https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2017/10/sapphira-and-slave-girl.html Nigeness: Sapphira and the Slave Girl I've been reading Willa Cather's last novel, Sapphira and the Slave Girl , published in 1940. Like her early tales of prairie life, it's a n... and the sapphira slave girl https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/02/centenary.html Nigeness: Centenary Today is the centenary of the birth of Peter De Vries. Having marked the anniversary of his death a while back , I could hardly let the dat... centenary https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-token-for-pound-of-best-steak.html Nigeness: 'a token for a pound of best steak' One morning in the early Seventies, the distinguished biographer Michael Holroyd was startled to receive in the post a copy of a novel, acco... token pound best steak https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/09/anthology-9.html Nigeness: Anthology 9 Talking of formal brilliance, here's a beautifully constructed sonnet by Auden. Breaking neatly (into tears) at the approved point (between ... anthology https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2012/08/modern-tess.html Nigeness: Modern Tess We live in strange times. When I came across a link on Frank Wilson's indispensable Books, Inq. blog labelled 'Thomas Browne, 17th-Century ... modern tess https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2012/11/reflections-on-book-trade.html Nigeness: Reflections on the Book Trade Will fewer books be sold this Christmas than last? I doubt it. Whatever inroads are made by electronic publishing, the book as gift will sur... on the reflections book trade https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/10/ms-munts-warning.html Nigeness: Ms Munt's Warning Life goes on, I see, in all its radiant absurdity - and what could be more radiantly absurd than an obscure Lib-Dem MP getting her name in t... ms munt warning https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2017/09/elizabeth-jenkins-and-jensen-owners-club.html Nigeness: Elizabeth Jenkins and the Jensen Owners' Club I have just finished another Elizabeth Jenkins novel - her last in fact - A Silent Joy , published in 1992 when she was 86 years old. Set in... elizabeth jenkins and the jensen owners club https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2008/06/day-out-in-fulham.html Nigeness: A Day Out in Fulham Why is it impossible for a jury trial to be conducted these days without the jurors getting a charabanc trip to the scene of the crime, and ... a day out fulham https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2017/06/donalds-dream.html Nigeness: Donald's Dream Here's Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, quoting John Lennon's Imagine today, a propos his dream of a repentant UK seeing the... donald dream https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/10/horrors.html Nigeness: Horrors In yesterday's Dabbler , Brit was recalling the grim experience of walking through the first 20th Century British gallery in the Tate. I too... horrors https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/06/big-thank-you-to-bob-crow.html Nigeness: A Big Thank You to Bob Crow Bob Crow, leader of the RMT gang, having gifted us another of his periodic Tube strikes, I set out this morning to walk from Victoria to Ni... a big thank you bob crow https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2015/03/fairy-doors.html Nigeness: Fairy Doors I feel I should alert my readers to the alarming situation developing in a Somerset woodland, where elfin construction has got out of hand. ... fairy doors https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2008/06/au-revoir-mes-amis.html Nigeness: Au Revoir, Mes Amis... I'm off to Dieppe in the morning, where I shall be offline, non-blogging and just, you know, Being There... Normal(?) service will resume ne... au revoir mes amis https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/08/dabbling-again.html Nigeness: Dabbling again Over on the super soaraway Dabbler , I write about the sorrows of August... https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2020/04/progress-report-betrothed.html Nigeness: Progress Report: The Betrothed Rather to my surprise, I am acting on my avowed intent to beguile the long hours of lockdown by reading a big, important novel I'd never rea... progress report betrothed https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2012/10/odd-fellows-and-foresters.html Nigeness: Odd Fellows and Foresters I've just read a short but illuminating new book about the suburban demi-paradise that I call home - Living in Carshalton, 1865-1880, by Che... odd fellows foresters https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2024/01/like-small-grey-coffee-pot.html Nigeness: 'Like a small grey coffee-pot...' The grey squirrels in the garden continue their relentless campaign to secure all the birds' food for themselves. They still haven't cracke... like a small grey coffee pot https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-bit-of-sunday-music-and-etymology.html Nigeness: A Bit of Sunday Music (and Etymology) Once upon a time, the fondly remembered Dabbler blog used to carry a regular feature called Lazy Sunday Afternoon , in which the great Mah... a bit of sunday music etymology https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2012/08/remembering-dickie-h.html Nigeness: Remembering Dickie H I see the Scarborough Cricket Festival takes place next week. Ah the memories... Back in my boyhood days, I'd often be there, with my bro... remembering dickie h https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2021/07/johnsons-physical-book.html Nigeness: Johnson's Physical Book 'I have just now read a physical book,' writes Samuel Johnson in 1758, in a letter to his mother. The phrase reads oddly now, as if Johnso... johnson physical book https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/09/ Nigeness: September 2009 september https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2011/10/plastic.html Nigeness: Plastic plastic https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2014/01/other-selves-other-souls.html Nigeness: Other Selves, Other Souls? 'The human body is the best picture of the human soul.' This sentence leapt out at me from this morning's (Radio 4) Thought for the Day, att... other selves souls https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2012/11/kenneth-koch-thank-you.html Nigeness: Kenneth Koch: Thank You Kenneth Koch's Thank You and Other Poems is - like the Rolling Stones - fifty years old this year. My increasingly battered copy of the Ever... kenneth koch thank https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-difficulties.html Nigeness: December: Difficulties Let us, as Nabokov says at the beginning of Transparent Things, illustrate our difficulties... I got up the other morning to discover that t... december difficulties https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2016/02/leap-day.html Nigeness: Leap Day I know it's been a topsy-turvy winter/spring, but I was still taken aback the other day to see a patch of Cow Parsley in full flower - in ... leap day https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/11/novel-use-for-stone-genitals.html Nigeness: A Novel Use for Stone Genitals On this day in 1900, Oscar Wilde died, in the Hotel d'Alscace in Paris, apparently from meningitis resulting from an ear infection (not, as... a novel for stone use genitals https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/10/derbyshire-to-surrey.html Nigeness: Derbyshire to Surrey Returning from a delightful day in Derbyshire, I see that my piece on the Surrey Style is in Dabbler Country . derbyshire surrey https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/05/quote-of-day.html Nigeness: Quote of the Day From Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard, born this day in 1813: 'Our age does not stop with faith, with its miracle of turning water in... of the quote day https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/07/ivy-again.html Nigeness: Ivy Again 'Is that fire smoking?' said Horace Lamb. 'Yes, it appears to be, my dear boy.' 'I am not asking what it appears to be doing. I asked if i... ivy https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/08/one-id-have-stolen.html Nigeness: The One I'd Have Stolen Last week I dropped in on the Sargent and the Sea exhibition at the Royal Academy. It's no surprise that it's doing good business - the dash... the one i d stolen https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2015/10/eleanor-glanville-butterfly-mad.html Nigeness: Eleanor Glanville: Butterfly Mad Good to hear that the National Trust is buying more land on the Isle of Wight by way of encouraging the rare and beautiful Glanville Fr... eleanor glanville butterfly mad https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/01/birthdays.html Nigeness: Birthdays Today is the birthday, the 204th, of the fitfully great painter and etcher Samuel Palmer - let him provide the picture. It is of ancient oak... birthdays https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2017/09/a-pickle.html Nigeness: A Pickle I see it's National Poetry Day again (how soon it comes around...). This year's theme is, er, Freedom. For myself, I'm with Donovan inasmuch... pickle https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2021/07/sublime-adjustment.html Nigeness: Sublime Adjustment And now a real poem, and very good one. Browsing in Peter Porter's Collected Poems last night, I came across this dense but elegant, perfec... sublime adjustment https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2017/10/douglass-end-zogs-smoking.html Nigeness: Douglas's End, Zog's Smoking Wandering around in Birmingham's botanical gardens yesterday, I came across a board carrying a little background information about the plant... douglas end zog smoking https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/10/scepticism-again.html Nigeness: Scepticism (again) I'm happy to say I haven't seen the piece of alarmist TV propaganda (paid for, presumably, with my money and yours) skewered here by the re... scepticism https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-meaning-of-existence.html Nigeness: The Meaning of Existence Who could resist a poem with that title? Not me, for sure - especially as it's so pleasingly compact. Indeed it's from a 2002 collection cal... the meaning existence https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2012/06/birthday-beau.html Nigeness: Birthday Beau Born on this day in 1778 was the great George Bryan Brummell - 'Beau' Brummell - the man who applied himself as none before to the reform an... birthday beau https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-great-and-wonderful-innocence.html Nigeness: 'a great and wonderful innocence' In one of the more serious moments (and there are some) in Michael Wharton's often funny, sometimes lyrical and always disarmingly honest a... great wonderful innocence https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/06/toughest-game.html Nigeness: The Toughest Game It's the time of year when the BBC sets about whipping up Wimbledon fever. In the latest overexcited trailer, a portentous voice (John McEnr... toughest game https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-blank-wall.html Nigeness: The Blank Wall And then I spotted a novel called The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. Neither title nor author's name rang any kind of bell, but as... blank wall https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-hand-that-plants-acorn.html Nigeness: 'the hand that plants an acorn...' Sad news about the ancient Pontfadog oak (pictured here in happier times) - 1,200 years old, and now brought down by Welsh weather at its ... the hand plants acorn https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/06/le-style-english-gentleman.html Nigeness: Le Style 'English Gentleman' I notice that whenever I'm in France these days, I tend to get taken for a Frenchman. This most definitely isn't down to my grasp of the lan... le style english gentleman https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2010/07/agasp.html Nigeness: Agasp Life being especially demanding at the moment, my outdoor world has for most of the time shrunk to one of streets, parks and gardens, and i... https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2016/10/sitrep.html Nigeness: Sitrep I am up in Derbyshire just now (what, again? Yes, again). But meanwhile a piece by me about Sir John Soane's Museum is up on the website of... sitrep https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/11/hood-chieftain-of-punning-clan.html Nigeness: Hood: Chieftain of the Punning Clan No sun--no moon! No morn--no noon! No dawn--no dusk--no proper time of day-- No sky--no earthly view-- No distance looking blue-- No ro... of the hood chieftain clan https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2011/11/knight-of-plastic-window.html Nigeness: The Knight of the Plastic Window The 'home improvement' company called Anglian - plastic windows and so very much more - occasionally telephone me at home. It's surprising h... the knight plastic window https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2013/05/kissing-frogs.html Nigeness: Kissing Frogs I've remarked before ( en passant ) on the woeful inadequacy of the French language in the verb department. They've got some fine nouns, the... kissing frogs https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2022/03/sickert-as-sickert.html Nigeness: Sickert as a Sickert This bearded old cove with the air of a retired tug-boat skipper, sporting jaunty red shoes and a jaunty red cravat, is none other than th... sickert https://nigeness.blogspot.com/2009/11/whats-not-to-like.html Nigeness: What's Not To Like? Edsel Ford, the curiously named only son of Henry, and President of Ford Motor Company from 1919 to 1943, was born on this day in 1893. His... like