Say, rather, that it is a toy theatre, much like the one above. We should picture a child making it, putting the various players on stage (or in the wings, ready to make their entrances), preparing backdrops for the changes of scene, so that all seems ready to begin– but there is a problem. The … Continue reading ‘All the world’s a stage –’
Category: MUSINGS ON . . .
occasional effusions on every subject under the sun
A picture of past and present
A man stands at the head of a pass looking back over the way he has come. In the plain spread out below him, he sees in sunlight the farm where he spent his childhood. Later, he descends the other side and looking back sees the hills mounting one behind another and outlined against the … Continue reading A picture of past and present
A picture of the world
Let us suppose two people, poring over a map spread on a table; make it an Ordnance Survey two-and-half-inch to the mile one. They are planning a cycle journey together that will traverse the area shown on the map, by one of several routes. Both are skilled in reading maps, so that in tracing a … Continue reading A picture of the world
A dead-end design and a template for the future
In 2009 the British Steam Car Challenge vehicle Inspiration set a new World Land Speed Record for a steam-powered car. The team behind it were awarded the Simms Medal by the Royal Automobile Club, named for its founder Frederick Simms, intended to recognise 'a genuine contribution to motoring innovation by individuals or small companies that also exemplify … Continue reading A dead-end design and a template for the future
A man deceiving himself in the hope of deceiving others
This curious speech by Alistair Darling bears listening to twice. If you wish to have the text in front of you, here it is: ‘I do not believe there will be another Scottish referendum in the foreseeable future, possibly not in my lifetime. I’ll tell you why not. Firstly, the public don’t want it. Most … Continue reading A man deceiving himself in the hope of deceiving others
Why Colin can’t remember – reflections on Alan Garner’s ‘Boneland’
Boneland must be one of the strangest sequels ever written. It is not Alan Garner’s best book, but for the questions it poses, it is of great interest to all of us who write for children. It purports to complete the trilogy begun fifty years ago with his earliest books, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and … Continue reading Why Colin can’t remember – reflections on Alan Garner’s ‘Boneland’
Ch. 28 – Past, present, future
105 years ago today it was Easter Sunday. My father was born. Half a year ago, the arrival of my grand-daughter, Miss Izzy Flaws, put paid to my chances of hitching a ride on the book event of the year, the launch of Shaun Bythell's Diary of a Bookseller. Instead of heading South-West to Wigtown, … Continue reading Ch. 28 – Past, present, future
Ch. 27 – Pushing it
There is a point in any long enterprise when you realise that the end is not in doubt: provided you continue, you will complete it. This point may come some way before the actual accomplishment of the task – there could be a fair bit of a work to do, another mile to run, but … Continue reading Ch. 27 – Pushing it
Ch. 26: Casing-in
With the covers made and stamped and the books sewn, all that remains is is to join the two. The key element in this is the endpaper, which forms the principle hinge, but this is first augmented by pasting a strip of mull, a species of muslin, to the spine, which has first been rounded … Continue reading Ch. 26: Casing-in
Ch. 25 : Stamping out
The finished covers, as they accumulated, left me in something of a quandary. With their brilliant pillar-box red, they looked splendid as they were - so should they be left like that? The cover of a book has more than one function. In practical terms, it is there to protect the book it contains, but … Continue reading Ch. 25 : Stamping out
COMPLEAT TROWZER 