AS Byatt,

We well knew what possessed you. I shall attempt to finish the Frederica
Quartet this weekend in your honour.

john

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:52:48 +0000, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>AS Byatt,
>
>We well knew what possessed you. I shall attempt to finish the Frederica
>Quartet this weekend in your honour.
>
I have Angels and Insects which I read many years ago. It didn't make
a big enough impression on me to send me off in search of more of her
work but with all the current interest in her I notice that A&I didn't
seem to make a big enough impression on those who compile "best of"
lists either.

Should I put my earlier disappointment aside and try something else?

Nick

On 17/11/2023 21:12, Nick Odell wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:52:48 +0000, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
>> AS Byatt,
>>
>> We well knew what possessed you. I shall attempt to finish the Frederica
>> Quartet this weekend in your honour.
>>
> I have Angels and Insects which I read many years ago. It didn't make
> a big enough impression on me to send me off in search of more of her
> work but with all the current interest in her I notice that A&I didn't
> seem to make a big enough impression on those who compile "best of"
> lists either.
>
> Should I put my earlier disappointment aside and try something else?
>
> Nick

You could. What I would recommend depends on what you might like.

The shortest entry would be The Virgin in the Garden, 1950's verse
drama, erudite young women, religious crises.

If you're interested in fantasy literature Babel Tower has two parodies
of different aspects of the genre plus a pastiche of the Lady Chatterley
trial (it's two books on from TVitG in the Frederica quartet but is
comprehensible as a stand alone).

Possession is a brilliant (IMO) exposition of how the desire for
academic knowledge can be all-consuming.

If you are familiar with Victorian and Edwardian literature and art
(Nesbit, Blake, Eric Gill) and the V&A then The Children's Book is a
good choice.

john

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 09:36:57 +0000, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>On 17/11/2023 21:12, Nick Odell wrote:
>> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:52:48 +0000, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> AS Byatt,
>>>
>>> We well knew what possessed you. I shall attempt to finish the Frederica
>>> Quartet this weekend in your honour.
>>>
>> I have Angels and Insects which I read many years ago. It didn't make
>> a big enough impression on me to send me off in search of more of her
>> work but with all the current interest in her I notice that A&I didn't
>> seem to make a big enough impression on those who compile "best of"
>> lists either.
>>
>> Should I put my earlier disappointment aside and try something else?
>>
>> Nick
>
>You could. What I would recommend depends on what you might like.
>
>The shortest entry would be The Virgin in the Garden, 1950's verse
>drama, erudite young women, religious crises.
>
>If you're interested in fantasy literature Babel Tower has two parodies
>of different aspects of the genre plus a pastiche of the Lady Chatterley
>trial (it's two books on from TVitG in the Frederica quartet but is
>comprehensible as a stand alone).
>
>Possession is a brilliant (IMO) exposition of how the desire for
>academic knowledge can be all-consuming.
>
>If you are familiar with Victorian and Edwardian literature and art
>(Nesbit, Blake, Eric Gill) and the V&A then The Children's Book is a
>good choice.
>
Thanks John. Bookmarked for later.

Nick

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 21:12:28 +0000, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca>
scrawled in the dust...

>On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:52:48 +0000, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
>wrote:
>
>>AS Byatt,
>>
>>We well knew what possessed you. I shall attempt to finish the Frederica
>>Quartet this weekend in your honour.
>>
>I have Angels and Insects which I read many years ago. It didn't make
>a big enough impression on me to send me off in search of more of her
>work but with all the current interest in her I notice that A&I didn't
>seem to make a big enough impression on those who compile "best of"
>lists either.

I know nothing of A S Byatt, but I'm intrigued by the title Angels and
Insects. Is it actually about angels and insects?

When wandering a churchyard with Mr Bowden recently, I pondered upon angels
- there were several lurking around the graves, and considered they may be
insects, having six limbs. Mr B suggested they did not have to fit into any
classification existing on Earth. Since then it has occurred to me that
flying insects usually have eight or ten 'limbs' anyway, depending upon the
number of wings. I mentioned this to d1 who asked how many wings the tooth
fairy has. I suspect it is four, but I've never seen one.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 09:22:40 +0000, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
wrote:

>On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 21:12:28 +0000, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca>
>scrawled in the dust...
>
>>On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:52:48 +0000, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>AS Byatt,
>>>
>>>We well knew what possessed you. I shall attempt to finish the Frederica
>>>Quartet this weekend in your honour.
>>>
>>I have Angels and Insects which I read many years ago. It didn't make
>>a big enough impression on me to send me off in search of more of her
>>work but with all the current interest in her I notice that A&I didn't
>>seem to make a big enough impression on those who compile "best of"
>>lists either.
>
>I know nothing of A S Byatt, but I'm intrigued by the title Angels and
>Insects. Is it actually about angels and insects?
>
>When wandering a churchyard with Mr Bowden recently, I pondered upon angels
>- there were several lurking around the graves, and considered they may be
>insects, having six limbs. Mr B suggested they did not have to fit into any
>classification existing on Earth. Since then it has occurred to me that
>flying insects usually have eight or ten 'limbs' anyway, depending upon the
>number of wings. I mentioned this to d1 who asked how many wings the tooth
>fairy has. I suspect it is four, but I've never seen one.

It's actually two short novels bound together as one. As I said up
^^there^^ it didn't make much of an impression on me at the time - and
the time was about thirty years ago and now I can't really recall
anything about it. I still have the book and I have just thumbed
through, reading the odd random paragraph. My general reaction has
been along the lines of "Nope, I don't remember this. I don't recall
that." I can't actually recall why I bought it at the time either.
It's well handled and used so I'm confident that I actually did read
it and that I'm the only one who has read this volume since I bought
it new.

Sorry.

Nick

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 09:22:40 +0000, Penny wrote:

> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 21:12:28 +0000, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca>
> scrawled in the dust...
>
>>On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:52:48 +0000, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>AS Byatt,
>>>
>>>We well knew what possessed you. I shall attempt to finish the
>>>Frederica Quartet this weekend in your honour.
>>>
>>I have Angels and Insects which I read many years ago. It didn't make a
>>big enough impression on me to send me off in search of more of her work
>>but with all the current interest in her I notice that A&I didn't seem
>>to make a big enough impression on those who compile "best of" lists
>>either.
>
> I know nothing of A S Byatt, but I'm intrigued by the title Angels and
> Insects. Is it actually about angels and insects?
>
> When wandering a churchyard with Mr Bowden recently, I pondered upon
> angels - there were several lurking around the graves, and considered
> they may be insects, having six limbs. Mr B suggested they did not have
> to fit into any classification existing on Earth. Since then it has
> occurred to me that flying insects usually have eight or ten 'limbs'
> anyway, depending upon the number of wings. I mentioned this to d1 who
> asked how many wings the tooth fairy has. I suspect it is four, but I've
> never seen one.

OTOH, you might not really need the heavy-lifting squad for milk teeth.

What _is_ the word for insect limbs btw? I don't remember if it's appendage,
or process, or maybe (n)either.

--
iain

On 18-Nov-23 20:21, Nick Odell wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 09:22:40 +0000, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 21:12:28 +0000, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca>
>> scrawled in the dust...
>>
>>> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:52:48 +0000, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> AS Byatt,
>>>>
>>>> We well knew what possessed you. I shall attempt to finish the Frederica
>>>> Quartet this weekend in your honour.
>>>>
>>> I have Angels and Insects which I read many years ago. It didn't make
>>> a big enough impression on me to send me off in search of more of her
>>> work but with all the current interest in her I notice that A&I didn't
>>> seem to make a big enough impression on those who compile "best of"
>>> lists either.
>>
>> I know nothing of A S Byatt, but I'm intrigued by the title Angels and
>> Insects. Is it actually about angels and insects?
>>
>> When wandering a churchyard with Mr Bowden recently, I pondered upon angels
>> - there were several lurking around the graves, and considered they may be
>> insects, having six limbs. Mr B suggested they did not have to fit into any
>> classification existing on Earth. Since then it has occurred to me that
>> flying insects usually have eight or ten 'limbs' anyway, depending upon the
>> number of wings. I mentioned this to d1 who asked how many wings the tooth
>> fairy has. I suspect it is four, but I've never seen one.
>
>
> It's actually two short novels bound together as one.

Ah! I recall seeing Pauls Galico's "Ludmilla The Lonely" on the library
shelves for many years, before I learned it was two works bound together.

--
Sam Plusnet

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 20:58:09 -0000 (UTC), Iain Archer
<ianews@montaigne.me.uk> scrawled in the dust...

>On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 09:22:40 +0000, Penny wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 21:12:28 +0000, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca>
>> scrawled in the dust...
>>
>>>On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:52:48 +0000, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>AS Byatt,
>>>>
>>>>We well knew what possessed you. I shall attempt to finish the
>>>>Frederica Quartet this weekend in your honour.
>>>>
>>>I have Angels and Insects which I read many years ago. It didn't make a
>>>big enough impression on me to send me off in search of more of her work
>>>but with all the current interest in her I notice that A&I didn't seem
>>>to make a big enough impression on those who compile "best of" lists
>>>either.
>>
>> I know nothing of A S Byatt, but I'm intrigued by the title Angels and
>> Insects. Is it actually about angels and insects?
>>
>> When wandering a churchyard with Mr Bowden recently, I pondered upon
>> angels - there were several lurking around the graves, and considered
>> they may be insects, having six limbs. Mr B suggested they did not have
>> to fit into any classification existing on Earth. Since then it has
>> occurred to me that flying insects usually have eight or ten 'limbs'
>> anyway, depending upon the number of wings. I mentioned this to d1 who
>> asked how many wings the tooth fairy has. I suspect it is four, but I've
>> never seen one.
>
>OTOH, you might not really need the heavy-lifting squad for milk teeth.

True, but butterflies have four.

>What _is_ the word for insect limbs btw? I don't remember if it's appendage,
>or process, or maybe (n)either.

No idea, the conversation with d1 moved on to car-cricket, and my frequent
winning move on the Isle of Wight of driving us to the Crab & Lobster.
Crustaceans win on the arms and legs front, unless there are multiple
horses and hounds on the pub sign, or there's a Cricketers nearby.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On 18.11.23 03:49, Penny wrote:
> the conversation with d1 moved on to car-cricket, and my frequent
> winning move on the Isle of Wight of driving us to the Crab & Lobster.
> Crustaceans win on the arms and legs front, unless there are multiple
> horses and hounds on the pub sign, or there's a Cricketers nearby.

I always tried to sit on the "right" side driving through Midhurst as
there used to be a place called something like 24 Blackbirds Baked in a Pie.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

krw <krw@whitnet.uk> wrote:
> On 18.11.23 03:49, Penny wrote:
>> the conversation with d1 moved on to car-cricket, and my frequent
>> winning move on the Isle of Wight of driving us to the Crab & Lobster.
>> Crustaceans win on the arms and legs front, unless there are multiple
>> horses and hounds on the pub sign, or there's a Cricketers nearby.
>
> I always tried to sit on the "right" side driving through Midhurst as
> there used to be a place called something like 24 Blackbirds Baked in a Pie.
>

Is that 24 x 3.1416?

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 15:22:00 -0000 (UTC), Mike McMillan
<toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> scrawled in the dust...

>krw <krw@whitnet.uk> wrote:
>> On 18.11.23 03:49, Penny wrote:
>>> the conversation with d1 moved on to car-cricket, and my frequent
>>> winning move on the Isle of Wight of driving us to the Crab & Lobster.
>>> Crustaceans win on the arms and legs front, unless there are multiple
>>> horses and hounds on the pub sign, or there's a Cricketers nearby.
>>
>> I always tried to sit on the "right" side driving through Midhurst as
>> there used to be a place called something like 24 Blackbirds Baked in a Pie.
>>
>
>Is that 24 x 3.1416?

:))
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

In message <5bjilitqpou9fajlaom8ad4b5s7ja0ldeo@4ax.com> at Sat, 18 Nov
2023 23:49:21, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> writes
>On Sun, 19 Nov 2023 15:22:00 -0000 (UTC), Mike McMillan
><toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> scrawled in the dust...
>
>>krw <krw@whitnet.uk> wrote:
>>> On 18.11.23 03:49, Penny wrote:
>>>> the conversation with d1 moved on to car-cricket, and my frequent
>>>> winning move on the Isle of Wight of driving us to the Crab & Lobster.
>>>> Crustaceans win on the arms and legs front, unless there are multiple
>>>> horses and hounds on the pub sign, or there's a Cricketers nearby.
>>>
>>> I always tried to sit on the "right" side driving through Midhurst as
>>> there used to be a place called something like 24 Blackbirds Baked in a Pie.
>>>
>>
>>Is that 24 x 3.1416?
>
>:))

My favourite one on that subject that I've come across recently is: seen
as a cylinder, what is the volume of a pizza of radius z and thickness
a? (In your answer, assume you are using a typewriter that does _not_
have Greek letters or superscripts.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Anybody can garble quotations like that -- even with the Bible... Er... "And he
went and hanged himself (Matthew 27:5). Go, and do thou likewise (Luke 10:37)."