I´ve only read her first two novels, The Benefactor and Death Kit, and didn´t enjoy either of them. Too wooden, in contrast with her essay writing which sparkled with wit and erudition. Notes on Camp and Fascinating Fascism both had a big influence on me, spinnng off other discoveries such as Max Beerbohm´s forgotten gem Zuleika
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Not sure when this word shift occurred, when a tidal wave became a tsunami. Watched The Jungle Book on Dutch telly last night, moustachioed sterling chappies hacking their way through the undergrowth, “Dem this jungle!” Where did the jungles go? Is rainforest a more context-sensitive term?
Semantics is always a bitch.Places once called underdevelopedAre now called mineral
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Just back from Bal-orig, a warehouse play centre, filled with a huge climbing frame, slides, bouncy cushions and so on. Great idea and one which would make a killing in Italy where there is surprisingly little for children to do. Another myth busted, together with Italian dress sense (for women at least) and interior design. Bal-orig
Continue reading Brass monkeys
It´s only when you get away from what you´re used to that you realize how it could be otherwise. Sure there are the obvious hand signs such as the reversed V for victory gesture in the UK that is equivalent to giving the finger. Other differences are more subtle, such as the Italian habit of not
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We left Rome in the brilliant sunshine and crisp air of a perfect winter´s day. Two hours later we were beginning our descent, sliding over the candy floss cloudscape and watching the shadow of our plane ringed with a rainbow aurora, down to another world of gloom and rain. Oh dear. I told the kids to
Continue reading To the Netherlands!
Say what?!