There’s something irresistible about a crime story set in a school or college. Like the classic snowbound country house setting, it offers the intrigue of a closed, insular community rife with underlying tensions, repressed emotions, and intellectual rivalries. There may be illicit liaisons, secret societies, cultist rituals, unrequited lust, and simmering passions. Academia promises a … Read more
The two-forty-five express — Paddington to Market Blandings, first stop Oxford—stood at its piatform with that air of well-bred reserve which is characteristic of Paddington trains, and Pongo Twistleton and Lord Ickenham stood beside it, waiting for Polly Pott. The clock over the bookstall pointed to thirty-eight minutes after the hour. Some train engines are … Read more
Changing your mind is perfectly normal—and often essential. After all, it’s what education is all about – updating your thoughts with new information, experiences, and perspectives. Growth and change are what life and learning are all about. But not all changes are created equal. Enter the reverse ferret: a dramatic, brazen, shameless backtrack, less about … Read more
One childhood ritual during the days between Christmas and the return to school was the day trip to London. The main purpose was the January sales and the destination: “the London shops”. Swindon had a department store – McIlroys on Regent Street (it even had those amazing overhead wire and pulley cash railway systems that … Read more
“That woman is pursued by demons,” Wally Brigley, the Board chair, declared as he settled into Tim Endibel’s office, plonked his Starbucks cup down on the desk, and eyed the package of mince pies on the coffee table. “Have one,” Tim said. Wally didn’t hesitate, unwrapping the cellophane and taking a bite. “So, what did … Read more
“You look about as festive as a radish sandwich,” Midge had said. And she wasn’t wrong—Tim Endibel, co-head of Wayward St. Etheldreda’s Academy, was in no kind of holiday mood. Three days before winter break, the sounds of the holiday concert rehearsal drifted up the stairwell, a cheery backdrop to his gloom. Tim sat at … Read more
“We were young and we were keen; Europe was in flames, and we were ready for whatever came.” “I used to think that war would make one braver, harder—but instead, it only makes one tired. The glamour of it wears off quickly when you’re pulling bodies from the wreckage.” Train to Nowhere by Anita Leslie … Read more
When I was in the emergency room last year having busted my elbow, a nurse asked whether I had ever broken anything else. I expect she was probing to see whether I had acquired that oldies’ habit of throwing yourself to available floors and sidewalks.. I had a ready and precise answer; “Yes. I broke … Read more
Most of us have done it at some point or another – accidentally locked ourselves out of the house. Raymond Carver’s poem tells a quite simple ordinary story but it becomes so much more. Read it to see what he does. He’s locked himself out and of course it’s raining and the people who have … Read more
Thanks to the #1970 Club, I’ve spent the spare moments of the past week immersed in The Female Eunuch and all things Germaine (rock groupie, celebrity, author, Shakespearian scholar, wrecking ball, rainforest protector, fearless truth-teller) Greer. I borrowed the book from the library, got stuck in, and then started on the videos of talks, interviews, … Read more
Thanks to the #1970 Club, I have a new mog in my life and a new literary best friend in Mog the Forgetful Cat. “Once there was a cat called Mog. She lived with a family called Thomas. Mog was nice but not very clever. She didn’t understand a lot of things. A lot of … Read more
The #1970 Club is starting tomorrow (October 14th) and I’m prepared with some reading and re-reading. 1970 offers a rich literary landscape, from Germaine Greer and Graham Greene to children’s classics like Mr. Gumpy. It ranges from Sexual Politics and Mog, the Forgetful Cat, to works by Susan Hill, Shel Silverstein, Iris Murdoch, and Toni … Read more
How Do They Live with Themselves? This was the question Roger Rosenblatt asked in The New York Times regarding the tobacco industry executives who lied to Congress about what they knew to be true. It is now a question we must ask of the leaders of major medical organizations, such as the AAP, AMA, and … Read more
“The pleasure [of motoring] is seeing Nature as I could in no other way see it; my car having ‘tops’, I get Nature framed —and picture after the other delights my artistic eye.” * Henri Matisse is famous for his paintings of views through the windows of hotel rooms, studios, and houses. This is a … Read more
We’ve been lucky with the weather in NYC this September. Many bright, warm days The aftermath of the powerful hurricane that has devastated areas of the South East is now giving us a little rain. Not so lucky there where hurricane Helene was deadly across five states after making landfall on Thursday. Some of the … Read more