Aint Code the Bees Knees?

Of course I should get out more and we did today, but (God that word again, I'm thinking of starting a but box in the new year. That should bring in a few coppers... Ed) Up to a point; but I digress! I  received an email on Xmas day from the library reminding me that books were due on the 27 Dec.

I finished off (and enjoyed) 3 books in fairly short order recently and I'm glad I did.
The Spark of Life, Frances Ashcroft.
One of the best descriptions of a lab discovery I have read :-

There is nothing - nothing at all - that compares to the exhilaration of discovery, of being the first person on the planet... Page 2 ff

Having been subject to a certain amount of  electrification recently it was interesting.

Just Six Numbers, Martin Rees.
In essence these numbers are a recipe for our universe. Why those numbers and what slack is there in the system provides a few, very worthwhile hours of mind bending. They also relate to the  Penrose question.

Dominion, C.J. Sansom
An everyday story of what if, smog, nuclear secrets, loyalty and betrayal.
Such simple pleasures!

On the Fiddle

Just finished Akenfield by Ronald Blythe.
Glad I read it as I have been meaning to for many years now. Thought we had a copy on our very disorganised shelves but if we do it remains burried in the mists of thrillers. SCL have an electronic copy and it proved so easy in my convalescence (and dotage... Ed) to download it. Nice contrast in a way.
Funny old place, Suffolk. Some funny old boys too!

Crooks and Nannies

John Naughton found a nice one which he duly reported at Nooks and Crannies in eBooks.

Not only did it produce the Spoonarian response which appears in the title to this blog but I also thought of the endless possibilities, a la Myles of the Little Horses, to seek gainful in the world of eBooks.
Now there are enough Flaneurs out there who have Kindles and Nooks and all manner of electronic devices with which to impress the ladies. On these devilish instruments there will be reams and reams of worthy literature whose electronic form will be as pristine and untarnished as a new born babe. They are likely to remain so for a very long time until the wife gets her hands on them. They may be referred to in the salons of Milton Keynes, with a languid disdain. Maybe flicked through in the coffee houses of Stevenage or perused under the porticoes of  Peterborough but never given the rigorous academic seeing to that your intellectual trencherman is capable of in this day and age! So why don't I offer my services to various suppliers of household goods, ladies foundation garments, and cosmetical preparations to find and replace keywords in such text with subtle and subliminal advertising matter.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

becomes

 It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife whose beauty has been enhanced by a dollop of Brady's Botox strong enough to floor a donkey.

 at the flick of a switch, and your man becomes a dollar millionaire overnight. I await the call.
(It may be some time...Ed)
Oh ye of little faith!

Frostwork

And in the night Jack weaves his way from web to flower,
And in the day the sun discloses where the diamonds are.

Is That a Mango in Your Pocket?

I've just finished A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif.
(I have told you about such fruity stuff before; it will play merry hell with the old bag... Ed)
I do enjoy a good paranoid surrealist history with walk on parts by OBL in a suit and the like.
Anyway, imagine my surprise to find a whole wall of mangoes in Lady BP's study the other day!
We have been seeing the odd mango  appear in the fruit bowl recently.
Must watch my step.