Hugh's take on 2017, part 2

The old one was about to get uncomfortably long and was at a natural break-point, so welcome to the continuation!

Bad Ideas? by Robert Winston. The idea of a history of science (including medicine) sorted first by theme (fire, agriculture, writing etc.) rather than first by date is sensible rather than new. The novelty of Dr Winston's book is that he points out that every advance comes with new problems, which he then discusses. For example, agriculture allows many more people to live on a given area of land than hunting-and-gathering, but that allows diseases -- common cold upwards to cholera -- to breed and spread happily, and individuals in farming communities are often measurably worse off than their hunter-gatherer predecessors, working much harder for less food. Did you know that modern Greeks and Turks are still smaller in build than their hunter-gatherer predecessors? Neither did I. I can think of Dragoneers apart from myself who would enjoy reading this one.

Hi, Hugh. I am just pulling up a seat to watch the fun and the photographs.

Only watch? I was hoping you'd join in!

>2 hfglen: That one has been sitting on my TBR shelf long enough that I was wondering whether to rehome it. Based on your recommendation, I'll keep it.

In the Footsteps of Adam, which is Thor Heyerdahl's autobiography -- he of Kon-Tiki fame. He certainly led a most interesting life, of which the famous balsa-wood raft is only one part among many. With all due respect to @SylviaC at the end of part 1, I suspect there's an influence here on the "love of the great outdoors" she sees. Because Kon-Tiki was on the parental bookshelf as long ago as I can remember, at a level where a small person couldn't miss it. I'm sure it was one of the first "grown-up" books I ever read, though sadly it hasn't survived into my LT collection. Another connection is with the discussion we were having a moment ago in @jillmwo's thread about (effectively) literary snobs; I cannot help feeling that part of Heyerdahl's difficulty with academia was that unlike the Great and the Good, he was a first-rate communicator. And that brings me to a link with Bad Ideas? the previous book noted in this thread: in his last chapter Dr Winston makes the point that it is essential to 21st-century scientists that they should communicate their work and ideas to the public who, ultimately, pay them, and that needs to be well done to be visible and audible in competition with Hollywood.

>6 hfglen: I have enjoyed at least two of Heyerdahl's books, as much for his sense of curiosity and open mind to possibilities as for anything. I love his hands on approach to theory. :) There are one or two more of his books lurking on the TBR, but not this autobiography. Perhaps one day.

>I read an account of the Kon-Tiki expedition as a child and was bowled over by it. It was one of the prime world stories I carried with me. I even did a school project on it at one stage.

Question for you, Pete: I've started on Baudolino, a BB from your good self. Would I be fair to the eponymous hero if I think of him as being somewhere between Sir John Mandeville and Baron von Munchhausen, at least in his author's eyes? Certainly I recongmise some of Mandeville's wilder stories (on the cover, of nowhere else).

>10 pgmcc: I would suggest you are not one million miles from the truth of the matter.

Thank you! I'm taking it that means that sometimes I'm not totally stupid.

I suspect you are far from stupid all of the time.

This week's picture is from Durban Botanic Garden (the oldest surviving botanic garden in Africa). The structure serves, if memory serves me well, as a war memorial, though clearly the inside bit was once part of a fountain.

Dancing with the Devil. Well written biography of a thoroughly sordid and unpleasant individual. Jimmy Donahue was a grandson of F.W. Woolworth -- yes, that Woolworth -- which, it seems, was in no way a desirable thing to be;the whole family seems to have been terminally dysfunctional. And nobody less functional than the in many ways unfortunate Jimmy's ma. He and she for some years bankrolled the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (the former Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson), probably to the detriment of all concerned. A depressing book, due to the general sordidness of the subjects and not to any fault of the writing (which is good and meticulously researched).

>14 hfglen: Well, that might take the shine off of some folks memories of Woolworth's stores. I'm a smidgen too young to remember one. Or perhaps there simply weren't any in my little corner of the world. We did have what was called a "Dime Store." No wonderful luncheon counters or soda fountains though.

>15 MrsLee: Innerestinng... Here there's a chain called Woolworths, but I think it is or was owned by the British Marks & Spencers chain. On luncheon counters or soda fountains here either, but Woolies' foodstuffs tend to be better quality than the competition.

Woolies was a big part of my life growing up in Belfast. My parents used to refer to it as the sixpenny shop as in their day most things in Woolies were no more than sixpence.

The Woolworths stores in both the UK and Ireland have now ceased to exist.

Looks like the last Woolworths in the USA closed in 1997.

We had Woolworths with lunch counters in Canada when I was young. Apparently the chain didn't close until 1994, but I don't think there were many left by then. One of our newer local restaurants has the old Woolworths lunch counter and stools in their dining room.

I look back on Woolworths here with fondness - where else could you buy everything? (Not quite but those familiar with the UK stores will know what I mean). I used to save my pocket money to buy LPs and pick 'n' mix, when I first set up my own home, I bought bedding and cookware.

>20 Peace2: I remember Woolworths introducing "pick 'n' mix". It was really novel then.

where else could you buy everything?

Agreed. Sweets; records; books; saucepans; tea towels; frying pans; cups; saucers; plates; knives; forks; spoons;...

I used to save my pocket money

I used to take my pocket money to Woolworths and do my Christmas shopping there. If it wasn't in Woolies, then no one was getting it as a present from me. I used to love those trips to Woolies.

>20 Peace2: >21 pgmcc: You both remind me of a "housewarming" we had shortly after moving into our present home (was it really 13 years ago?). One of our guests was Donal McCracken, historian extraordinaire, and the life and soul of the local Irish community (half of me thinks he'd get on well with Pete, the other half remembers that he describes himself as a "dorrrty Norrrthern Protestant!"). Anyway he was standing on the lawn admiring the view, and turned to me to say "It's all very well being so far out in the beautiful countryside, but where's the nearest Woolies?" I was able to point out the cellphone tower on top of the Woolies building, just visible on the horizon. He turned to his wife and in tones of mock-amazement called out "Patricia?! Did you hear that? They're civiloised! They've got a Woolies!" That one's now gone, but the current model, in almost the same place, has everything, as you both recall. Some may even recognise the St. Michael tag on some of the merchandise.

Went back to the structure in #13 this morning. The present plantings there are a magnet for attracting butterflies. These caught my eye and stayed put long enough for a picture.





Sorry pardon, I'm not a butterfly fundi and so don't know their names.

The second one looks like a Painted lady. They are both beautiful. Well done on getting such good pictures; I find they move too much for my camera to be able to capture them.

The first is Herman, and the second is Patricia.

>23 hfglen: Beautiful butterflies - I love the colours.

>22 hfglen: I remember St Michael's tags being on M&S bought things here (Marks and Spencers) until fairly recently (a little google search tells me the year 2000 which seems longer ago than I thought).

Today's visit to the library yielded a butterfly identification book. >24 Sakerfalcon: Quite right, the book says Painted Ladies are cosmopolitan. >25 suitable1: Herman is actually a male Blue Pansy.

>26 Peace2: Thank you! there was also a yellow jobbie that wouldn't hold still for a decent picture; apparently there's a whole group of butterflies called Yellows, which helps identification amazingly. Not.

Good heavens! was it so long ago that St. Michael's tags died out? If you came here, I think you'd still recognise the M&S house labelling style.

Finished Baudolino after what seems an unconscionably long time. Sir John Mandeville rides again, with a group of 12-13th century Italians; interspersed with the sack of Byzantium in 1204 by the Fourth Crusade. Brilliantly written, as expected, but in many ways a "Cecil B. de Mille" epic with a cast of thousands. Loved that the Grasal they were all fighting and/or getting mystical over was, in truth, Baudolino's (natural) father's old drinking cup and not what they thought it was.

The Cat Who covered the World feel-good biography of the feline overlord (overlady?) of a foreign correspondent of the New York Times. Cat and human served in Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, Ottawa and Johannesburg, with home spells in between. Henrietta (the Cat) lived to the age of 18, which is remarkable considering the adventures she had. A delightful story well told by Henrietta's pet human.

>13 hfglen: & >23 hfglen: Thank you for these. It's been snowing on and off here for two days so your pictures cheered me greatly. :o)

>29 hfglen: That sounds like one I would enjoy. On to the wish list it goes.

>30 clamairy: In that case you may enjoy this midwinter picture of Mantimahle Dam, which Google Earth doesn't know but which is about 20 km north-east of Skukuza, just off the main road to the north of the Kruger Park.



In summer this area verges on the unpleasantly hot, with temperatures often topping 40°C / 104°F. When I took this it was a much more liveable low 20s C / low 70s F. (Snow, naturally, unheard of here!)

>32 hfglen: It looks lovely! Can one swim there or are there beasties looking for human snacks lurking about?

>33 clamairy: No, Clam. Like nearly everywhere in the Kruger Park, it's strictly Stay In Your Car (mainly because foreign tourists getting eaten is bad for business). Even if one could get out and walk around, there are crocodiles and hippos (which kill more humans each year than any other wildlife, mostly unintentionally), and the water is almost certainly popping with schistostomiasis flukes (which kill more humans than pretty well all other wildlife combined except malaria parasites -- which are probably there too).

>34 hfglen: That's pretty much what I expected. :o/

>34 hfglen: The bit about hippos killing humans unintentionally. How does that happen? Hippos aren't carnivorous, are they? (She asked, thereby disclosing her personal and somewhat inexcusable ignorance of the wonders of nature....)

>36 jillmwo: Or displaying that there aren't that many hippos wandering around wild in Pennsylvania. Hippos are herbivores, but weigh 2--3 tons each, fully grown (which I take to be about 20 times the heaviest Dragoneer, or more). So in any kind of an accidental encounter with small-fry like us you can guess which party is going to come off second-best, even when all the hippo wants is to get out of the way. During the day, that's what's most likely to happen, and so most accidents involving hippos also involve one or more guys in a boat, not looking hard enough where they're going. At night, hippos come out to graze and things can get much nastier, as they object to dangerous small-fry getting between them and the safety of their home patch of water; mothers with babies are especially tetchy. And so, to the amazement of many, hippos do indeed kill more humans than lions or crocodiles each year. And those who share their home province with them know to back off first and ask questions afterwards. (If it makes you feel any better, I got and appreciated a similar lecture about wild bears when I visited the Smithsonian too-many years ago -- bears being rather scarce in Africa -- and so I'd suggest that 'natural' would be a better adjective than 'inexcusable' in your post.)

Can't remember whose thread it was on, that we were discussing labels on packaging with, er, strange messages, but I saw a memorable one at lunch today. The place had salt in cellars that you could evidently buy at the supermarket next door. And so the label on the cellar stated that it contained "naturally cultivated sea salt". Further inspection revealed that it came from the salt pans in Port Elizabeth, not far from where Better Half did the fieldwork for her M.Sc. That place worried both of us at the time because the next-door industrial site was home to the carbon-black factory (which I believe has subsequently closed down).

>38 hfglen: *gag* Did you use it?

>39 clamairy: No, the curry was already over-salted. On the other hand, one wonders what they use for salt in the kitchen ...

Wouldn't it be fun if money were no object and we could have an international GD rally at this establishment? I can hardly think of a better place, except possibly this one. It seems from the websites that coming and going at the former might be much easier than at the latter.

>41 hfglen: Hey, they do an Ale, Cider and Music Festival there at your first choice pub. I'm in.

>42 jillmwo: And they have a preserved steam railway nearby!

>41 hfglen: My son and his wife visited the second one. They loved it. Brought me a mug very like one of those in the photo.

If we could all convince the entities which provide travel that money is an artificial construct and of no real value, maybe they would just let us go where we want, right? ;)

>41 hfglen: I'm starting in the right country but it's still a bit of a trek. I wasn't that far away last weekend - 7hours each way on the train. Rural england can be very slow going. I've just checked, not so bad about 5 hours. Let me know when the rest of your are coming and I'll join in!

>41 hfglen: I'm pretty sure we used a photo of the one in Wymondham for our main page here for quite some time. It would love to be within walking distance of an establishment like that.

Stars beneath the Sea. Brief biographies of key figures in submarine exploration and why they're important. Some expected names, such as William Beebe and Hans Hass, but why did the author choose Frédéric Dumas rather than Jacques-Yves Cousteau, his frequent diving partner? As the star ratings on LT suggest, this is neither the greatest book ever written nor a complete disaster. On the whole, I'm glad I read it, but equally glad that I can return it to the library, and don't need to house it.

The Prague Cemetery; a BB from @pgmcc. The fictional diary of the author of the equally fictional Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and so a character study in rabid anti-Semitism. Much as one might have hoped that the 20th century might have persuaded us to grow out of attitudes like this, there is more than enough evidence that this is far from the case. Eco does an excellent job of showing just how revolting the actions taken by people with this cast of mind are, and indeed this book came close to being a DNF for that reason.

Both those places look wonderful! Ah, if traveling was free....

The Chase. One good thing about Janet Evanovich: you know exactly what to expect when you pick the book up. This is a Fox and O'Hare, so there's less comic absurdity than in the Stephanie Plum stories. That said, there are some vintage one-liners, such as: "Florentiny was not a well-liked man, except by the owners of the world's finest auction houses ...". But the plot is no more credible -- which is sometimes exactly what one wants, especially after the heavy going and rarefied atmosphere of the Umberto Ecos that Pete's been having me read. So, lots of absurdly violent action, and short enough (364 pages) to finish in a day.

This week's picture is one of the Classic Views: Table Mountain from Bloubergstrand.



Bloubergstrand had its moment of glory as long ago as 1806. That was when the British moved in for the second time in the course of the Napoleonic Wars. The Batavian (Dutch-under-Napoleon) government in the shape of the Governor, Lt.-Gen. Janssens, decided to resist, and so there was fought the mighty Battle of Blaauwberg, on 8 January 1806. Which lasted about half a morning before he decided to retreat. The peace was signed on 16 January 1806.

>48 hfglen: I am sorry The Prague Cemetery proved difficult to take. I thought Eco did a great job of showing how, "fake news", can be touted and used to spread hatred against people innocent of the accusations.

Which reminds me that I was trying to comfort my son about some medication he has been prescribed. He told me he was finding it hard to administer and I informed him that I too found suppositories hard to swallow.

>51 hfglen: Awesome photo. And just how did you manage to finish off three books in 36 hours? Did you forego all sleep?

>52 pgmcc: *groan*

>52 pgmcc: True. And we have a lot of that right here and now.

>53 clamairy: By starting them up to a week earlier, one as a bedside book and one as a living-room book; the third was so quick that it allowed for a nap in the middle.

And just to discombombulate Clam further, another one that's been cluttering the bedside table for weeks but can now go back to the library:
The Quantum Age by one Brian Clegg, of whom I haven't previously heard. The first sentence may just tell you what you need to know: I put it to one side to read Stars beneath the Sea, and only resumed reading in order to clear it from the "system". One of those books where, if there's nothing actively wrong with the style, there's nothing spectacularly right either, other than a blessed absence of equations. An eminently forgettable introduction to the weird and wonderful world of quantum phenomena.

>55 hfglen: I read one book by Mr. Clegg a few years ago, and my opinion matches yours. The book was Armageddon Science: The Science of Mass Destruction and my comment: "Pretty light on the science. A couple of interesting bits, but overall unimpressive."

Finished The Private Lives of the Tudors yesterday; it's been a while. For all those lassies out there who had visions of being a Tudor Princess when they were little: forget it. The Tudor monarchs and their families lived life very much in the public gaze at all times. Indeed, one of Elizabeth I's complaints was to the effect that "a thousand eyes watch all that I do" -- which was hardly an exaggeration. The food might have been edible -- apparently a recipe book survives -- but almost every other facet of daily life was pretty revolting. With far too much formality and petty rules, and if you got it wrong in any particular, life was apt to be "nasty, brutish and short". I'm glad I wasn't part of the Tudor court, and if offered a trip in a time machine, this is one I wouldn't recommend. That said, the book was, fairly obviously, meticulously researched and well written and illustrated. Probably among the best, if not the best, book around if you're interested in the period and personalities.

I think in high school that I was taken by the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey. Queen for nine days. Other than that, I don't think I ever wanted to live in that particular historical period.

And a most unwilling queen at that! She could see, as her "backers" could not or would not, that the exercise could only end badly, not least for her.

And so to today's picture, an almost-yellow flower for Easter.



And so I offer you Protea nitida, the waboom or wagon-tree of the Cederberg, Western Cape. It's said to be the only protea to yield usable timber, which may be so where it grows, and was used in the past (among more than a few other trees) for wagon-making.

Do you think you're clever? A selection of off-the-wall entrance interview questions from Oxford and Cambridge, with possible answers. Possible, as one reviewer indicates, if you have time and resources to research them. And as another says, not without some fairly obvious logic holes. And yet, I can think of Dragoneers who might enjoy this as bathroom reading.

Has anybody else in this esteemed pub ever read Transcendental by James Gunn? Just finished here, and I certainly would keep an eye peeled for the sequel. The first few chapters reminded me of all the dreadful pulp sf I used to read in my teens, but it's not far into the book when things start to improve. The blurb claims a similarity with the Canterbury Tales, which is rather pushing the blurb-writers' luck. Less than half a dozen of the key characters have a chapter each of back-story, which on the face of it is autobiographical, though they are later claimed to be mostly made-up. But if I'm told "it's like the Canterbury Tales", I would expect a large number of short stories with minimal connective material between. And we certainly don't get than here.

Freedom's Challenge is vintage Anne McCaffrey; I read Freedom's Landing yonks ago, but didn't pursue the series further.

In this one the human residents of Botany (marvellous name!) have come to trust the one Catteni they know, and with help from a cast of thousands, manage to overthrow the Eosi dictatorship that was destroying all it touched. Much enjoyed, but any details would be spoilerific.

And today the library produced The Name of the Rose! The first few pages suggest that this is what a Brother Cadfael story would look like if written by Umberto Eco -- can't wait to test this hypothesis by reading further. Especially as the library categorises it as "suspense".

>63 hfglen: While the first Brother Cadfael book was written in 1977, three years before The Name of the Rose was published, it was the meteoric success of the Umberto Eco book that boosted the interest in medieval murder mysteries.

In my opinion, and that of others, The Name of the Rose is his best book.

>63 hfglen: I've read a lot of McCaffrey, but not any of the Freedom books yet. I did buy Freedom's Landing recently when it was on sale for Kindle. She had so many series that it was hard to follow all of them.

>63 hfglen: >64 pgmcc: I really need to make time for The Name of the Rose this year. I have a few other Eco titles on my TBR shelf but Focault's Pendulum, (which I loved), is the only one I have actually read.

>66 ScoLgo: me too. If I don't get to it sooner I will take it on in October for the Reading Through Time groups October challenge - it is on their list of "Gothic Reads".

>67 Darth-Heather: Have you read any other Eco, D-H?

>68 ScoLgo: I haven't, but this one has been so highly recommended around these here parts, and it's been in my TBR stack for at least a year. Hopefully it's turn will come soon, and then I will have to decide if I want to add Focault's Pendulum to my wishlist...

I would have read it long ago if not for the fact that I keep setting up reading lists/challenges over on WWE. While they have Focault's Pendulum, The Name of the Rose is not in their database and so does not qualify for inclusion in any challenges. Can't argue with that since WWE is focused exclusively on Fantasy, Science-Fiction, and Horror, (I'm not sure why Focault's Pendulum fits while his other titles don't but that's a whole 'nother conversation). Anyway, if I didn't set myself up to read 67 books on 4 separate lists this year, I'd have plenty of time for TNotR! ;)

I also have Baudolino, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, Numero Zero, and The Prague Cemetery waiting on the shelf.

>63 hfglen: It's been ages since I read that. As I remember, I love-hated it, but it has stuck in my head all this time,which makes me think it was good!

I have dusty memories of swathes of boredom, interspersed with rapt "DO NOT BOTHER ME WHILE I'M READING!" sections.

Knowing your inclinations in reading, I predict a winner for you.

>70 ScoLgo: So far I've read (in order) The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, Baudolino and The Prague Cemetery. And one non-fiction, This is not the end of the Book. The only one I wouldn't try to bump up Mt. TBR is The Prague Cemetery.

>72 hfglen: Thanks! The Name of the Rose will be up first. After that... probably Baudolino.

This week I'm inspired by Clam's picture of an unusual bird in a tree. This is a not infrequent sight at home.



ETA: Does being owned by a Feline Overlord of this colouration qualify one for belonging to the Chat Noir Society?

Skived out of cataloguing the Railway Society's books to read one of them. After all, one has to inspect the material one is working with, not so?
Watt's Perfect Engine is a quick read, and by no means a bad biography. You may even learn something about how steam engines work. If so, be warned that James Watt's engine was far from being perfect; but at 3% efficiency, it was still a great improvement on Mr Newcomen's 1%, and pointed the way to the steam revolution of the 19th century. Recommended.

>74 hfglen: But of course, Monsieur!

>74 hfglen: Pretty kitty! I love the fierce, concentrated look on its face. :)

>74 hfglen: What a beauty!

>74 hfglen: He is clearly on a mission.

>79 Sakerfalcon: Do you think he has instructions from La Societé du Chat Noir?

>80 hfglen: Almost certainly, though @pgmcc is probably forbidden to confirm or deny it.

>81 Sakerfalcon: I have a suspicion, arising from Cat's performance, that today's instructions concerned the liberation of the ham from the human serfs' sandwiches and its application to maintaining the rotundity and sleekness of the said chat noir.

And on that Bombshell is an absolute must-read if you've ever enjoyed an episode of Top Gear. The author was the script editor for the whole series, and writes with the delicious sense of humour that characterised the whole series. Here's an example:
"When Hammond made a programme about germs for the BBC science department and got some experts to swab one of our desks, the lab came back with a list of several unappetising elements including actual poo and a note observing that, technically, our office was less hygienic than the lavatories at a music festival. We were very happy there." Much enjoyed, even more because it was bought with a gift token.

>83 hfglen: Book bullet!! I loved that show. It's not the same without those guys. The Amazon series isn't bad, but it's missing the Stig.

>84 Narilka: In that case you'll love the chapter titled Stigmacher, about the time they got Michael Schumacher to play the part of the Stig for one episode.

>80 hfglen: & >81 Sakerfalcon:
What Claire said.

Globe: life in Shakespeare's London. Interesting. Part biography, part history of the plays, part "what did it feel like to live in late-16th-century London". And, as a bonus, a thumbnail history of the current-model Globe complex. Well worth reading if you're interested in Shakespeare, the theatre or the 16th century.

I've been dipping into Bundu Food for the African Bush, which has some good recipes, but in other ways is totally weird given its premise, which is cooking for macho 4x4-nuts who would regard having a set of wheel-tracks to follow in the wild blue yonder as being far too close to civilization for comfort. And so we start with the packing list. Which is three pages long, and that's only the kitchen kit (tools and portable food). No doubt one should carry about as much car-stuff in case of problems, as well. And cameras, guide books, reading books, e-readers and so on end even so fifth. Truly, only @Majkia's RV would be big enough to carry all that stuff. But would it get through Botswana's sand without getting stuck? But let me repeat that I intend to try more than a few of these recipes -- at home! If you're keen on cooking and can find a copy (shouldn't be too difficult; it's published by Struik Lifestyle, which is part of the Penguin stable), it's certainly worth a look.

Finished The Name of the Rose, a BB from @pgmcc. Found the pace of the first 2/3 somewhere slow and glacial, and we seemed to take every byway and rabbit-hole on offer. But after that things picked up and it became an enjoyable read. In that first stretch, my mind wandered to thinking of a comparison between Abso of Melk on the one hand and both Brother Cadfael and Sister Fidelma on the other. With Abso, we are made painfully aware of every switch of language; he evidently spoke German and Latin well, Italian badly and Greek not at all. Cadfael could not have spoken fewer than five languages decently at least: Welsh, Old English, Norman French, Latin and probably Arabic. And yet changes of language changes are hardly noticeable. Similarly, Fidelma could not have functioned with under three languages: Irish, Anglo-Saxon and Latin; she, likewise, slips easily between languages. So I start to question: What is Eco doing by quoting Latin and mediaeval German in the original? Is there anything more (else?) to it than showing off how learned he is? I was inclined to ask the same question of his interminable lists that slowed the action so badly. In summary then: worth reading, but not my favourite Eco -- sorry, Pete.

>89 hfglen: No need to apologise, Hugh. We all differ in our tastes and we get different amounts of enjoyment or otherwise from books depending on our interests, experiences, mood, etc...

In relation to Eco showing off in his novels I have a particular view. Eco never considered himself a novelist. His academia came first. He said that he was not a novels but a philosopher and lecturer who wrote novels at the weekend. His novels were his hobby and enjoyment. He put different allusions and literary jokes in his books and was delighted when people spotted them. I contrast his approach to his literary jokes to that of Joyce. I am convinced Joyce wrote simply to show how clever he was, especially with Finigans Wake, with even the title being a puzzle as the absence of an aprostrophe in Finigans was deliberate.

As a respite from Prof. Eco's somewhat constipated prose, I'm halfway through A Drink of Dry Land by Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit. "Breathes there a man (or woman) with soul so dead" that they could fail to explore the possibility of a trip to Namibia after reading this? One sincerely hopes not: the land lives in their writing, and the humour is positively Green-Dragonish. And so for this week I offer you a Gemsbok:

>91 hfglen: "As a respite from Prof. Eco's somewhat constipated prose,"

So, would those be good for my "bathroom classics" shelf then? ;)

Pretty critter.

If you mean the Chris Marais book, only if you immediately start saving for your air ticket to Windhoek ;)

Finished A Drink of Dry Land. In the second half we exorcise some of the ghosts the author acquired while doing his military service on the "border". The darkness provides a good contrast to the light of the rest of the book. Not than the Ovamboland and Caprivi sections are all doom and gloom, by any means.

>91 hfglen: Lovely elegant looking beastie.

Thank you, Clam and Lee.

It's taken a while to finish something and get to post here; RL(TM) has supervened. However, it's happened at last, and I can report on:

The Story of Egypt: 25 000 years of history compressed into 400 pages. So naturally the early parts are rushed, and the commonalty hardly get a look in at all. But there are Ptolemies and Kleopatras galore in the later chapters, and the author does her best to untangle their histories and genealogies. Indeed the latter form not so much a family tree as a confused network. Decently written, worth reading if you find the subject interesting, but it says something that less than a week later I can hardly remember a thing I read in the book.

I suspect that the last bit may also turn out to be true of A Tug on the Thread, Diana Quick's autobiography and family history. Now here we hardly see the upper classes at all; Anglo-Indians like her great-grandparents didn't get anywhere near such people. What she does tell us in great and harrowing detail is how these people fared (or failed) during the Indian Mutiny of 1857--1858. In places, a tad too close for comfort to this reader (detail would contravene the sign in the doorway).

Spaceflight -- not the first but only the tenth title that the touchstone system chose with a title somewhat resembling what I wrote. It's exactly what one might expect a Dorling Kindersley production to be: not quite enough text in small to bite-size chunks, supported lavishly with excellent illustrations. It could be an Eyewitness guide but for the inordinately large page size (significantly wider and a tad bit taller than A4), which makes it a pain to hold up and read. It gives accounts of everybody's successes and failures, which is a plus. So all in all, a great cofee-table book, but I'm glad it's the library's problem to house and not mine.

>97 hfglen: Spaceflight (Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology being the first Touchstone that showed) sounds like an interesting book. I would not call it a Book Bullet but I would browse it if I found it on someone's coffee table.

The Aye-aye and I. Vintage Gerald Durrell, published only three years before he died. But he was just as adventurous, with just as delicious a sense of humour, as in his first books. Here he goes to Madagascar in search of some very rare animals, and of course finds enough to start breeding colonies in his zoo in Jersey. Recommended to anybody who cares about nature, enjoys good writing, or has ever enjoyed one of Mr Durrell's books.

>99 hfglen: I just purchased one of his books as an ebook. He seems a good author to hold in store for when you need a reliably good read. :) The only book of his I've read is when he went to Argentina (I think) to collect animals. His methods seemed pretty primitive and crazy. I wonder if they changed as time passed. I believe the one I read was in the 1950s.

Yes, they were primitive, but only questionably crazy, and didn't change too much as he aged and prospered. Why should they, when the animals he caught not only survived but throve better than anybody else's collections?

Went to a Railway Society meeting last night, where the main presentation was on a train journey through Zambia and Zimbabwe. Which reminded me that it's some time since we had a picture. So here is a general view of the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, from the Acropolis. The Elliptical Temple is more-or-less top centre. (Photo taken 1971, in case it looks elderly.)

>102 hfglen: Great picture. Had it been taken more recently one would have assumed it was taken from a drone.

Would there have been a covering on the temple or was it open air?

When do the ruins date from?

Whenever I visit this thread, I find I have to go look things up. The Great Zimbabwe Ruins?

Nice picture! I've been fascinated by Great Zimbabwe for years. When I come across books about early civilizations or about ruins, I'll only buy them if Great Zimbabwe is included.

Thank you, all.

>103 pgmcc: Peter, it's hee-youge, so definitely open air. Those trees in the corner are the size of full-grown oaks. A tele lens (135mm) hides the climb up to the Acropolis -- a slight cheat, but only a small one. They are apparently 14th-15th century.

>104 jillmwo: Yes indeedle. Google Earth gives me a satellite image:

(deleted)

Evidently the names of the parts have changed since I wur a lad. It's about 23 km from Masvingo in southern Zimbabwe, or just over 300 km from the border at Beit Bridge and a tad more from Harare International Airport, or somewhat over 800 km from Johannesburg. The ruins were evidently once part of a large city, that flourished sort-of-about the same time the Portuguese were starting to explore the coast of Africa. It may thus be the source of the legends about the empire of Monomotapa. Hope that helps.

>106 hfglen: Fascinating. I learned something new today. Thank you, Hugh! Your post prompted me to use Google to find out about the Great Zimbabwe.

Acorna's Rebels. Space opera, cats, telepathy, what's not to like? Feminists will love that three leading characters are female; of the others, the most likeable (IMHO) is a tom-cat. No spoilers, but I shall certainly look out other books in this series when I get back to the library.

I am about to develop an hypothesis that our grandparents' (great-grandparents or 2-great-grandparents as appropriate) generation were in at least some ways a great deal more adventurous than we are. This comes from taking time out to read two booklets I've catalogued for the @Railwaysoc library. Today's is a Thomas Cook offering on The Trans-Siberian Route (no touchstone yet), making out that the roughly two-week journey from Shanghai via Manchukuo (!) to London was quite luxurious in 1934. And about this time last year I was introduced to a South African Railways production from 1926, describing how to go from Cape to Cairo by public transport. We are assured that this is no problem, despite a sector of some 90 miles from northern Uganda to South Sudan that could at the time only be done on foot because of horse-sickness, sleeping-sickness and malaria. By 1956 (Trans-African Highways) there was evidently a motorable road, though we might now describe it as a 4x4 track.

Acorna's Children: First Warning, a continuation of the Acorna series by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Anne Scarborough. Nearly all the good guys are female, which will please the feminists in the pub, as may well the idea that the worst villain is male. However I have to say that the best-drawn characters by far, are both male: namely Khiindi and RK, the cats. Could it be that I'm drawn to these two because the family is owned by their soulmates? For the rest, an interesting premise: a bioterror weapon that takes out adults but leaves children and the elderly. In Africa, we call it AIDS.

In the days when Zimbabwe still had a currency of its own, the unifying feature of the notes was a group of the balancing rocks to be seen a short distance to the south-east of the capital, Harare. Here is a different, and to my mind, more noteworthy pile. It's called the Flying Boat, and I saw it in 2001. (For Pete's benefit, they're granite.)

>111 hfglen: I suppose a lot of people take them for granite.

;-)

>112 pgmcc: Oh schist, we're back on the pun-train again.

>111 hfglen: So cool, but I would not walk under it!

>113 MrsLee: That, of course, is the basalt on which all the humour in this pub rests.

They've been stacked like that for centuries, and are unlikely to go anywhere soon (though there are other reasons to be wary in the area).

>111 hfglen: Very gneiss!

It reminds me of Brimham Rocks in Yorkshire, which are amazing natural formations of Millstone grit that eroded over time into weird and wonderful shapes. It was one of my favourite places as a child.

Architects of the information age. Thumbnail sketches of who did what in making the computers we use daily, from Jacquard and his loom to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. Not a lot you can say in about three pages per inventor, but this book makes the biographies an easy read. Half of me wants a meatier text, but doing these geniuses justice would take several metres of bookshelf, as opposed to the 156 pages here. Something we all probably should have read some time ago.

The Martian War by Gabriel Mesta aka Kevin J. Anderson -- I gather the book has been released under both attributions, the former being a pseudonym of the latter. Take two well-known Victorians (T.H. Huxley and H.G. Wells), a handful of plot elements from the latter and Jules Verne, season with references to Victorian and modern issues (imperial competition between Britain and Germany, feminism and an at least mildly entertaining riff on the first moon landing), stir vigorously, and this book is the result. In view of the privately-funded project to send a handful of colonists to Mars on one-way tickets (one of the takers still in the race is a most interesting young lady from Pietermaritzburg, which brings this one close to home) Mr Mesta/Anderson's reasons for leaving the elderly Prof. Huxley behind there are interesting. A fun but mostly unmemorable read. Has anybody else in the pub read anything else by this author?

This week we're at the top of the Swartberg Pass, between Oudtshoorn and Prince Albert; the kloof in the middle of the picture leads down to the latter. Oudtshoorn is known for ostriches and wine, Prince Albert for CHEESE and wine. The Cango Caves, a noted tourist attraction, are halfway up the pass on the Oudtshoorn side. Can the picture really be 42 years old? Indeed; it is.

Now I know what a kloof is! (Googled it!) But I find the connection between ostriches and wine a bit disconcerting. Does ostrich go well with wine? Or should that be re-phrased in terms of asking what wine goes well with ostrich? Are ostriches even edible, outside of the egg? Seems to me they'd be tough birds.

>118 hfglen: It's lovely. How was the CHEESE? (If I may be so bold as to inquire...)

Ooh, a kloof! How did I get this far in life without knowing about kloofs? That is an impressive looking kloof, Hugh. Thank you for sharing it with us.

>119 jillmwo: I have eaten ostrich, it is very like beef, oddly enough, but with less fat. Not tough. At least the piece I cooked was not. It would go well with a deep red wine, but in my opinion, everything goes well with a deep red wine.

Ooh, I love the word kloof! I might have to add that to my vocabulary. And the picture is beautiful, too!

>119 jillmwo: You can use almost all of an ostrich for something: feathers mostly for dusters these days, hide for very expensive premium leather (would look good as a top-quality book binding, but you'd need to be a multi-millionaire to afford it), meat, eggs ... even the bones find use as fertilizer. The co-op in Oudtshoorn packages ostrich steaks, stewing ostrich and so on, and distributes them far and wide; we even see the packages from time to time in Durban. The price makes it a luxury meat, generally costing somewhere between beef and lamb. It's said to be cholesterol-free, and as Lee says, tender and tasty, so any beef recipe will work.

Though I have to admit I was once so intrigued by the following unrealised recipe in one of my favourite translations of Apicius that I bought a pack of stewing-ostrich to try it, and would do so again given the opportunity:
\Mix\ pepper, mint, roasted cumin, celery seed, dates, honey, vinegar, raisin wine, stock and a little olive oil. Blen these ingredients in a saucepan and boil. Then thicken the sauce with starch. Arrange the boiled ostrich parts on a platter and pour the sauce over them. Sprinkle pepper on top. If, however, you wish to cook \the ostrich\ in the spices themselves, add spelt.

The Little Karoo around Oudtshoorn is noted for the sweet wine we're no longer allowed to call "port", which ideal for use in the recipe above. They now also use Iberian cultivars (Tinta Barocca, Touriga Nacional, Temperanillo) to make hearty deep-red dry wines that reach astounding alcohol levels (15% or more) without fortification. Curiously or maybe not, these go very well with the ostrich.

>120 clamairy: The cheese is made on a farm on the southern fringe of the town, and IMHO is definitely worth a long detour to stock up on. Interestingly, on other large plots in the town residents grow olives and make sweet wine, so with bread rolls from the deli you have all you need for a good picnic (picnic areas at the foot of Swartberg Pass on the Prince Albert side, or about 40 miles away in Meiringspoort).

>119 jillmwo:->123 catzteach:. Thank you all for the kind words.

>118 hfglen: yay, another photo! I love these peeks into this exotic world.

>126 Darth-Heather: Thank you, Heather! Of course, the concept of "exotic" is relative; I'd find New Hampshire at least as exotic as the "holiday happy snaps" I post here.

Only in Naples -- indeed, the touchstone came up with the right book first try! American girl straight out of college gets an internship at the US consulate in Naples. Meets an Italian guy, and is informally adopted into la famiglia, eventually marrying him. If you like fee-good stories you'll love this one. Though I defy anybody to actually try the recipes in the back (while admitting that Raffaela's asides in the method sections are hilarious).

>127 hfglen: NH is exotic, if you define exotic to mean "rampant with mosquitos, and terrible drivers" (summertime is here)

As a NH native and resident for over 40 years, I am here to tell you Wisconsin is worse on both counts.

>128 Darth-Heather: We also have mozzies (including malarial ones) and the world's worst drivers. I was thinking of things like fall colors, covered bridges and clapboard buildings, all of which are unknown here. Also much of the beautiful scenery @Bookmarque has favoured us with over the years.

In honour of Heather's kind words about "this exotic world", may I present a view of the Nuweveld Mountains behind Beaufort West, in the Great Karoo of the Western Cape. Beaufort West has one claim to fame: it's where Chris Barnard of heart transplant fame was born and grew up. Oh, and a travel advisory: don't trust the gravel roads due north of here: the stones are slate, and eat tyres.

Beautiful.

>131 hfglen: how wonderful! What season is this? What kinds of animals live on such terrain?

I have always lived in NH, so everywhere else is exotic to me :) I guess that is why we read, yes? So we can visit all these other places in our imaginations.

I posted a few photos of my world on my thread, if anyone wants to look.

>133 Darth-Heather: It was 17 May 2013, so late autumn -- early winter. Possibly the most famous recent resident of the Karoo National Park, where I was standing when I took the picture, was Sylvester the Lion, who distinguished himself by escaping twice in search of the stock on surrounding farms. There was a public outcry when SANParks said they would destroy him if they ever caught him, and so he now lives in Addo National Park -- evidently they reckon that elephants are big enough to look after themselves.

Others: if you'd used any word other than "live" in your question, I'd have started with Diictodon, a fossil of which is on display in the rest camp. Living animals, include at least 100 kinds of birds from LBJs to ostriches, various mammals including Sylvester's family, leopards, a semi-tame caracal (and some properly wild ones) jackals, antelope from klipspringers to Gemsbok (oryx), assorted rodents including a porcupine that makes a living stealing food from campers; also a good range of reptiles including lizards one might just see and snakes one almost never sees.

Reading -- ah yes, this is indeed why one reads travel books :-)

ETA: stock on the farms means mostly sheep, with a few goats. It's too dry for cattle.

>131 hfglen: That is stunning. And what a great range of wildlife the land supports.

>131 hfglen: Lovely. I like the titbit of information on Christian Barnard. I remember the announcements of his achievements as they happened.

Bernstein: a biography by Joan Peyser. Beautifully readable, and I'm sure I now understand more about Leonard Bernstein's achievements in particular and 20th-century American music in general. But on the other hand, I get the distinct impression that being at the far end of the world is just about a safe distance from the protagonists of this story. Which shouldn't put anybody off reading the book, not even for one millisecond.

In response to Heather's and Claire's interest, here is a scene at a waterhole in Karoo National Park. From left to right, there are ostriches, red hartebeest and gemsbok. (If the truth be known there are probably LBJs and lizards hiding in there somewhere, too.) The solar panels supply power for a pump that supplies water to the reservoir just visible on the left.



Do I need to explain that LBJs are Little Brown Jobs (birds)?

>138 hfglen: Thank you for the photo! I guess the need for water brings all the different species together. And yes, I bet there are all kinds of smaller creatures lurking in the bushes as well!

This isn't quite the area I first thought of when I saw Heather's picture over in the weekend thread, but isn't it amazing how similar two places at opposite ends of the earth can be? This is in the Karoo National Park by Beaufort West.



ETA: Heather's picture is at #5 in this thread; sorry pardon, I don't know the trick of getting someone else's post no. to anchor to.

>133 Darth-Heather: Once you've lived in NH, you simply don't need to go anywhere else ;-)

>140 hfglen: That also looks amazingly like the country around my sister's house. :) Also referring back to the comment I made in the other thread.

To link directly to a specific post, click on "More" at the bottom of that post, then select "Link". It will do a little jump, then you can copy the address from your browser's address bar.

>143 SylviaC: I had no idea that's how it worked. You've helped me as well as @hfglen. *applause*

>143 SylviaC: Many thanks! I must try that soon.

Sapiens: a brief history of humankind. More philosophy than history, 416 pages of heavy going and unrelievedly depressing. Who said anything about brief? The wonder is that I made it to the end and didn't give up before half way.

Hmm. This is the second review of Sapiens that has suggested to me that maybe I don't need to rush out and read it. The subject interests me very much, but it doesn't sound like I would appreciate the execution.

I suspect you probably wouldn't. And "execution" is an unfortunately apposite term. I'd suggest only picking it up if the library hasn't got anything else readable.

>140 hfglen: I've often thought your pictures remind me of Oregon.

>145 hfglen: & >146 SylviaC: I'm not sure how a history of humans could be anything but depressing...
:o/

Water in the Wilderness by Bartle Logie. Almost self-published, but nevertheless decently done. Still as rare as hen's teeth, not only outside South Africa, though. A good read if you want to know what it feels like to ride the minor roads of the Eastern Cape and meet the people. I see the author has written three others, which I would certainly look into in the unlikely event of my seeing one.

The Talking Parcel by Gerald Durrell. Durrell for children; probably best for ages about 8 to 12. A cute story told in the great Durrell manner. The first chapter is very much from the same world as My Family and other animals, and none the worse for it. Later on there's a page that is strongly reminiscent of Piers Anthony's puns in the Xanth stories. All wrapped in a story that is probably meant as an introduction to how conservation should work, but is better as an introduction to the wonderful worlds of fantasy.

ETA with regard to the latter book: Inspired by the foreword, I googled Greek railways. Sure enough, there is a 750-mm gauge track from Diakofto to Kalavryta. At Diakofto there is, according to Wikipedia, a preserved steam locomotive, made in France, and now standing on a plinth at the station. The second stop on this line rejoices in the name of Megalo Spilaio (big cave). Now go and read the book to see why this is important to the verisimilitude of the story.

>150 hfglen: I first read The talking parcel at about the age you suggest, and loved it. I still have my copy but have been a bit afraid to reread it. I should give it a go. I always loved the little railway.

An unexplained 24-hour breakdown of the internet connection gave an opportunity to do some reading, if nothing else. And so I finished two books:

Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose (8) by Sandy Balfour. The author is, like me, a Johannesburger by birth. But he emigrated, I have only "semi-grated" (as we say of those who change cities within the same country). The book is mainly about how the author learned to do and love cryptic crosswords. Maybe, having read it, I'll do a bit better with the Mercury's, which he indicates in an aside, is bought in from UK. Recommended to pun, anagram and crossword lovers. The clue in the title, incidentally, points to rebelled; to find out how it gets there, read the book.

The Giles Family by Peter Troy and (of course) Carl Giles. An in-depth study of England's most chaotic and arguably most typical (fictional, mercifully) family, liberally illustrated with many Giles cartoons and a sufficient number of photos. For many years the essential feature in my family, like many others, was the Giles annual: this book reproduces many of these favourites, with additional commentary. Highly recommended -- I believe Giles would have been very much at home in our pub, and just maybe we should keep an eye open in odd corners to see if we can spot Father, Grandma, Vera and the rest (We have many Georges in our midst).

After all the dry country I've shown you in recent weeks, isn't it about time we went somewhere better watered? Here are Magwa Falls in the Eastern Cape (due east of Mthatha as the crow flies), seen in the middle of the rainy season -- January 1986.

Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose looks interesting. Used copies are readily available at good prices, so I've already ordered it!

I love the Giles cartoons, both for the look at current events from World War II onwards, and for the humour. The drawings can be amazingly complex, and I always search for the havoc being caused by the children. I'm especially intrigued by Larry (or Stinker). Where does he come from? Where is his family? Why doesn't he speak? Does he have even the tiniest speck of compassion? And Grandma, of course, is a force of nature. I have about 40 of the annuals, and four of Peter Tory's commentary books. When I go to book sales, I always carry a list of which numbers I still need. They're getting pretty scarce anymore, though, especially since it is mostly the early ones I need.

>156 hfglen: - I love Giles, too, and have a copy of the Giles Family book as well as a fair number of the annuals. Pretty sure Grandma Giles would get on with Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax - I think they come from the same mold :)

I used to have a distant cousin who managed to find a few of the first 10 that I lacked, but justifiably jibbed when he discovered the astronomical price wanted for No. 1. Nonetheless, I am grateful for the ones he did manage to acquire.

Edited to fix typo.

Acorna's World. This is the part of the multi-volume (9 at the last count) where we watch how the Khleevi destroy Acorna's home planet, and how Acorna and her allies destroy the Khleevi. Fortunately, it seems that much damage is repaired offstage in later volumes. For the rest, well-written as always, lots of action as always, and a good set-up for later volumes.

The miraculous Fever Tree by Fiammetta Rocco. Interesting history of how it was found that the bark of a certain South American tree was a cure for malaria, and how the mechanisms by which malaria spreads and attacks humans were found, and how quinine helps as a cure. Did you know, for example, that in the 17th century Rome was the most malaria-ridden city on the planet? I didn't. The insights are helped by the fact that the author grew up in Kenya, where she was subjected to regular doses of quinine. She tells us that she is the descendant of someone who was close to the action relating to diseases during the French attempt to build the Panama Canal. A good read, even though it has some gruesome patches (no more than necessary). Recommended to anyone interested in medical history and anyone else in the tropics, or planning to visit a malarial area.

>158 hfglen: I know I prefer my tonic syrup to have real quinine in it. I wonder, can one dose oneself by drinking gin and tonics? That does sound like an interesting book.

>159 MrsLee: I flew to Ghana in the 1980s. I was sitting beside a retired UN official who was going to live in Ghana, a country he loved from having worked there for a long time. We started talking about the quinine tablets I had to take to prevent malaria invection. I told him I planned to leave my malaria protection to drinking gin & tonics. He said I would have to drink gallons of g&t to get the appropriate dose. I asked him what his point was.

>160 pgmcc:

Did you have a malaria invection?

>161 suitable1: Hic! What? Hic!

>159 MrsLee: Pete's fellow passenger notwithstanding, she does tell the story of the descendants of a certain German jeweller in Geneva, who found a way of carbonating water and used it to make a concoction involving oranges, sugar and quinine. The jeweller was called Johann Jakob Schweppe. Guess what the brew (still available today) is called.

>160 pgmcc: Hahaha! Exactly.

>163 hfglen: Good to know! Only Schweppes, in America, uses high fructose corn syrup, which leaves a bad flavor in my mouth, so I avoid it and use Jack Rudy tonic syrup instead. I recently found out that they make and "extra bitter" tonic for our friends across the pond. I purchased a bottle and it was divine, just one more way the British have one over on us (I refer to the mostly better book titles they get, while we get dumbed-down versions). This bottle was smaller, and more expensive, so I'm getting my own back by adding Angostura bitters to my regular tonic syrup which gives the same delicious kick. :)

>163 hfglen: Shshshshsh! You know who uses you know what!

Robert Louis Stevenson and his world. Meh. At least now I know why I have no wish to read this man's works.

This week's picture is a flowering Cape Chestnut, seen at Nagle Dam yesterday. (Pictures from that outing will keep me going for quite a while.)

Very pretty!

>167 hfglen: will it make leaves too? are other things flowering in July? I'm all confused by the seasons there...

>169 Darth-Heather: It actually still had a few leaves, and will grow a new flush in spring (September-ish). Yes, right now is peak flowering time for aloes. I also saw a pepperbark tree flowering in the Bot. Garden this afternoon. Seasons here are simple: six months out-of-phase with yours. So midsummer at Christmas (which makes the idea of ham, turkey, Christmas Pud and snow-out-of-a-can on the hottest day of the year unacceptably bizarre, at least to me), midwinter now, spring in September and fall in April. Easy, hey?

>169 Darth-Heather: >170 hfglen: I have to admit, I'm confused by the chestnut flowering now, too. Ours flower in spring just after they come in leaf. The nuts fall in the fall, and my kids used to love to collect piles of them while they waited for the bus in the mornings. So do the Cape Chestnuts produce nuts twice a year?

>171 SylviaC: Sorry, Sylvia, Cape Chestnuts aren't edible. No, they flower once a year only.

>172 hfglen: I don't think ours are edible either. They have a softer, redder shell than the edible ones that are sometimes sold in stores. The kids just liked to play with them. Sadly, the county cut down our three big chestnut trees a couple of years ago when they decided to cut down all trees within a certain distance of all the roads that are under their jurisdiction (there are three levels of government responsible for the different roads in our region). They were afraid they might get sued if someone happened to drive into one.

By the way, all of your pictures have disappeared and been replaced by a message saying, "Please update your account to enable 3rd party hosting."

>173 SylviaC: Thanks. I've checked, and Photobucket have evidently decided that users who only use them as a step on the way to posting pictures elsewhere can pay a truly extortionate fee for the privilege. They can go hopping, but I need a new picture-library place to upload to.

>174 hfglen: I've been grabbing my photos off of Facebook. Have also grabbed them from Flickr, but not in a long time.

And I haven't stopped reading, but mostly it's been material I can't see other Dragoneers being interested in.

Human Beginnings in South Africa. Interesting if you live here, but very academic.

Lords of the Last Frontier. The thing about Lawrence G. Green is that he started writing so long ago that his books are now part of the history he describes. I count this one as a ROOT, in that I inherited it from my partents and have only just read it for the first time. It's a geography / history / traveller's tales volume about Namibia, published in 1952. And the first half of the book is an account of an expedition he was part of, to the Kaokoveld in 1937. At which time and for decades after, the place was essentially unknown and inaccessible to the outside world. Which is as good an excuse as any for writing it up at such length.

Stellenbosch: place of gables, oaks and wine Much the same applies here: the book is 25 years old. The pictures are still beautiful, and as I was able to verify last weekend, the place itself still is. But the wine industry has changed beyond all recognition, and the chapter on the wines of the area, accurate as it was when written, is now a distant memory.

>176 hfglen: I upload any pictures I'm going to post on LT into the Junk Drawer of my LT Member Gallery. Mine aren't works of art like yours, though.

>174 hfglen: I too use the junk drawer feature here on LT when I want to post photos. It's pretty easy and I'm not worried that it's going to suddenly change or go away.

>177 SylviaC:, >178 Narilka: Many thanks. Let's try this.



*adds picture to junk drawer, takes 2 tries to get it here*

Yay! It works. Here's the Cape Dutch farmhouse at Laborie, Paarl, from the B&B where I stayed Friday night.

>179 hfglen: Success! And pretty view.

Glad it worked! I would hate not to see your pictures!

What @SylviaC said.

Update: have now added all necessary pictures and repaired the damage done by Photobucket to this thread. many thanks to all who helped and commented. Normal service can now be resumed.

>179 hfglen: What a great view, thank you for persisting so we can all see it!

>183 hfglen: I'm sure it was kind of a pain to have to re-do it all, but I'm glad you did!

How does one find and use this junk drawer?

Go to Your Profile > Your Member Gallery. On the left column there will be a text link for Junk Drawer.

>180 Narilka: and following: Thank you, all. Your reward is a couple more pictures of the Winelands over the next week or 3. This is the farm dam at the guest place where we stayed, which is interesting as being both out in the country (a working farm) and in town (a hop, step and jump from the main street of Paarl). I was reminded, reading Beyond the City Lights last night, that there was probably no more appropriate place to converse with the management in Afrikaans than here -- the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners, first group to support the language, was founded in Paarl in 1875.

>187 Narilka: thanks. I found the drawer but my pics are uploading upside down.

>188 hfglen: yet another beautiful place.

>188 hfglen: Quite lovely.

>189 catzteach: - 190: Thank you, both. Catz, they're almost the same place, an hour or 2 apart. First is #188, then #179 is just after sunset. If you look straight above the post at the corner of the deck in #188 you'll see the top of a gable. This is the same building that appears on the far left of #179.

The Ancients in their own Words. Great idea. A beautiful big coffee-table book with first-rate illustration of documents from Sumerian clay tablets to Roman inscriptions, with translations and essays -- often with more illustrations -- on why they're important. Sadly, one cannot help wondering how many of the Middle Eastern documents have survived or been destroyed in the eight years since the book was published. Nonetheless, I can imagine some Dragoneers loving the book.

>191 hfglen: your pictures make me want to visit Africa even more! I've wanted to go there ever since I learned of Victoria Falls in my college geography classes.

>193 catzteach: Tell me more! Like how many lifetimes you plan to take visiting us. BTW, if you're planning to visit Vic Falls be advised that the best view is on the Zambian side, but most of the water goes on the Zimbabwean side. Also that the Zambian infrastructure works on the whole, but straying too far from the village on the Zim side is not recommended. Also, as I know to my cost, that the peak flood reaches the falls in May, when you won't see a thing through the spray, but will get soaked whatever you do.

>194 hfglen: Definitely a bucket list trip. I don't know if it will ever happen as it's rather expensive. As of now, I'll enjoy your pictures and keep dreaming. :)

>188 hfglen: Did someone say Winelands...? :o) Lovely photo!

>196 clamairy: *snork* And now you know why one of the main industries in the area is tourism :-)
My host, a Johannesburger down for the conference, and I were amused that most of the road signs between the B&B and the conference venue pointed to names we otherwise only see on expensive wine labels.

More to the point, it is possible to arrange tours of Wine Routes, with a courier / designated driver in someone else's vehicle. And some of the estates make CHEESE as well -- look forward to seeing you here!

>196 clamairy: Take me when you go!

There was talk at one time of a GD group trip to visit Hugh and explore SA. That would be my dream holiday!

>199 Sakerfalcon: yes it would be!

>199 Sakerfalcon:

I believe we had to wait until @hfglen obtained an additional vehicle. He didn't want us to mess up his good car.

>201 suitable1: Yes, the cheese crumbs and empty wine bottles could be an issue.

*just de-lurking briefly to wave*

>199 Sakerfalcon: I would sign up for that.

It would, indeed, be a pleasure to see you all!



Here's one of the older, Cape-Dutch inspired buildings at Elsenburg Agricultural College near Stellenbosch, with Simonsberg peeking out to the left. Elsenburg is where Prof. I.A. Perold bred the Pinotage grape (a hybrid between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut, the latter then called Hermitage in this country) in the 1920s. Pity it took our winemakers some 80 years to learn how to control the hybrid's tannic roughness, but the trick is now well known, and Pinotage is now one of our top 3 red cultivars.

The Great Karoo by Leon Nell, who is an expert photographer. I have long held that the very worst way to see this area in the middle of the country is the way most Johannesburgers do it -- hurtling down the N1 highway at, or if nobody's looking, over, the speed limit. Flying shortens the agony, but if you take the minor roads and get out to walk about from time to time, you'll love the stark beauty. Mr Nell clearly knows the minor roads, the towns and villages, and the stories. And he writes well. And so we meet the original Khoisan inhabitants, the 4th-oldest town in South Africa (Graaff Reinet), which has arguably the country's highest concentration of National Monuments, the South African Astronomical Observatory (on the coldest hill near South Africa's coldest town, Sutherland), a farmer who makes CHEESE out of mixed sheep and goat milk, and more. Much more. Makes me want to linger there next time I have the opportunity.

Beyond the City Lights. Another Lawrence G. Green from the 1950s, this one about the Western Cape (as far east as Swellendam). Again, old enough to be now part of the history the tells.

A re-read of The Cat who Talked Turkey. Just as much fun as last time, if you regard it as a story of small-town life rather than as a mystery. There is a mystery, but only ever as a sub-plot, and it is resolved rather unsatisfactorily IMHO by the murderer confessing just before he commits suicide.

The Fall of the Roman Empire: a reappraisal. Produced in honour of the bicentennial of Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall, so it's now nearly 40 years old. And in his drawing of conclusions for the modern world, that age shows. However, he's good and interesting on the ancient world of the 4th--5th centuries, even though his fears for the immediate future (read: last quarter of the 20th century) have mostly failed to materialise. I think there are at least a few Dragoneers who would find this one worth reading.

In other news, I see I now have a "tenner" medal (as of yesterday). Will have to support the reading habit by using libraries rather than newly bought books, as there isn't the ready to do otherwise. Any enforcers thinking of objecting will pay their own airfare and S&T to get here to argue the point.

>208 hfglen: Ooooo, thumbing your nose at enforcers! Well happy Thingaversary, however you celebrate!

> 208

The enforcers are like Air Marshalls; they don't have to pay travel expenses.

>210 suitable1: Sshh! Don't tell everybody about that. It's one of the hidden job perks.

Happy Thingaversary, @hfglen.

>213 jillmwo: Jaw-dropping view. Thank you for sharing it.

>213 jillmwo: That is an amazing view. And not at all the way I picture that part of the world. (Shows you what I know, right?)

>214 hfglen: >216 clamairy: >217 hfglen: Thank you, all. Jill, this is part of the Cape Fold Belt, which is the crumple zone from when what passed for Africa at the time rammed into South America as part of the formation of Pangaea some 400-million years ago. The Cape Fold Mountains are endlessly photogenic from ground level, too. (Thinks: just imagine what @bookmarque would make of them. And try not to drool on the keyboard while doing so!)

As I was saying.... Latest selection of Jeremy Clarkson's Sunday Times columns. In which he continues and indeed refines his capacity for getting up other people's noses. Though it must be said that some, at least, of his targets are legitimate IMHO.If you've watched him on Top Gear you'll know exactly what to expect; if you liked him there you won't be disappointed.

Cadfael Country. Beautiful pictures and interesting text showing how closely Ellis Peters's Brother Cadfael stories describe events and scenery around 12th-century Shrewsbury, with occasional expeditions to Wales and Leicester. Makes me want to go and see for myself (Wish!).

Happy Thingaversary, Hugh! I hope you celebrated heartily! Indeed, I hope you are still celebrating! :o)

Thank you, Clam! Celebration very low-key, but as you see, I'm still very much reading.

In a way, I had a weekend on Tuesday. The S.A. National Society went up to the Byrne Valley, one of the oldest settler areas in Kwazulu-Natal. the Byrne Scheme brought farmers out from England in about 1850. The settlers had an incredibly rough time -- see the stories in Dear Louisa if you can find a copy -- but some survived and even prospered. One of these was a certain Joseph Baynes, who assembled an immense farm in the late 19th century. He had his own water-mill and narrow-gauge railway line (cunningly arranged so that trucks packed at the dairy would run by gravity down to the mainline siding, from where they were ox-drawn back), the first electric light -- hydro-powered -- in KZN and and and. The place still produces some 60% of the pork eaten in our province. Many of the buildings are now museums, and the Natal Vintage Tractor Society keep their machines here; many of these still work. The main house is a Victorian house museum and supplies this week's picture.



I couldn't help thinking of the late great Sir pTerry, and wondering if the Nig, Yksihw and Ydnarb on the left were ever eked out with Eniru by the butler.

>222 hfglen: Snort. I wonder what that all vessel is. A soda water dispenser?

>223 pgmcc: That is indeed a late Victorian / early 20th century soda siphon. I spent some time staring at it trying to figure out how it works, as it lacks the screw-in valve that later models have to allow the use of compressed CO2. Presumably this one uses a dose of dry mumble-carbonate added somewhere. I wonder if Pete or somebody knows?

I have a somewhat later version in my own collection that I could take a picture of for you if you like. It uses a compressed-CO2 "bomb" that sits in a holder that screws into the back of the handle on top, and has straight sides. Later (in about the 1960s) they made a spherical model in technicolor anodised aluminium, using the same bomb. These, and the holder, turn up from time to time in thrift shops, and the bombs can sometimes be found (at a helluva price) in the local off-licence. But be warned: after a few decades the seals perish, and so mine leaks like a sieve.

PS. Sadly, most of the furniture in the house is not original. (It was abandoned for a long time, and they had a fire ...) And there's only one surviving picture of an interior from Joseph Baynes's days. But when Macrorie House museum in Pietermaritzburg closed, Baynesfield got most if not all of the contents. So you're looking at the property not of a prosperous farmer, but a Victorian Anglican bishop.

Turbo twenty-three Stephanie Plum is quite remarkable. She gets into endless life-threatening situations, and emerges with nary a mark (though in this one she breaks a leg). And never ages, nor learns anything. But the pluses keep me going: there is always some point that is laugh-out-loud ridiculous, or at least cackle-worthy; and you know already exactly what you'll get when you first see the book; and I know (or used to -- paths have diverged) someone who both looks and acts like Lula. And who, like Lula, only grows sideways. Fun, totally unbelievable fluff; if you like the series you'll read it without my recommendation; if you don't you'll miss very little by not reading it.

The Joburg Book. Yes, I can agree with the person who tagged it "coffee table". Essays on various aspects of Johannesburg's history. I didn't find this as compelling as its companion, The Cape Town Book, which I see I didn't mention above. Possibly this one suffers from my reading the stories and thinking "wasn't like that when I wur a lad there", alternating with "but they left out the best bits". And that Joburg only has 130 years' worth of history (Cape Town over 350) doesn't noticeably improve matters. Still, there are worse introductions to the town I grew up in.

>224 hfglen:
Hugh, I am sorry to say I have no idea how the vintage soda siphons were charged. I feel guilty about this as my father was a publican and as a child I played with soda siphons from the bar.

>227 hfglen: And you're not a star chef like Jamie Oliver? Anyway, please don't feel guilty.

>228 pgmcc: I was brought up as a Catholic in Ireland. Of course I feel guilty. It's in the genes.

;-)

>226 MrsLee: I'll bet our friend, Julian Ipsen, would know, but he doesn't come into the pub much any more.

Yesterday we saw a vintage trunk which had been converted by a craftsman into a liquor cabinet. Pretty cool, but they wanted $1500 for it. They had filled it with some vintage barware though.

For a long time I've vaguely wondered what the "U-Haul book box" mentioned in our library statistics actually looks like. This morning I went up to Inchanga to unpack a donation of periodicals (mostly old South African Railways Magazine) kindly given by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum to @Railwaysoc. And lo! the periodicals were packed in 11 of exactly these boxes! (The 12th was full of "archive"material such as old working timetables from Gold Coast (Ghana) Railways, etc.) I am now enlightened, even if my back is less than thrilled by the way this knowledge was gained.

>231 working timetables from Gold Coast (Ghana) Railways,

Ghana is the farthest south I have managed to travel. I was there for a week in November 1988 for work. I had a very enjoyable time in Accra. I believe I was only a few hundred miles from the equator.

Things I remember:
- The moon was directly over my head.
- At night the noise of insects was astoundingly loud.
- I shared my room with a wonderful gecko who helped me keep the mosquito count down.
- There was rampant inflation and my colleague from the local office brought a briefcase full of notes to pay for my hotel stay.
- As a geologist by training I was delighted to see laterite soil at the surface rather than as an inter-basaltic layer in a cliff face.
- Everyone had a relaxed, friendly approach to life which suited me just fine my being Irish.

>232 "to see laterite soil at the surface" Indeed. My 1956 Trans-African Highways makes frequent reference to "all-weather laterite roads", especially in Tanganyika (as was then) and the Congo, with the note that these can be freely used by even small cars. Unfortunately the 1960 AA Road Atlas and touring guide (I have only catalogued the 3rd and 4th editions, despite having the 1st and 2nd as well) rather spoils the effect by noting that roads in those countries were generally considerably rougher than their counterparts in South Africa and Rhodesia -- and Rhodesian minor roads were a pain, believe me!

For the rest, I can well believe every word.

And this week's picture, which is the exterior of the house where last week's soda siphon lives. Joseph Baynes built the tower as a place where he could watch all the activity on his farm; I'm told that on a very clear day you can see Durban Bay, every bit of 40 miles away. They allow visitors up there, but the ladder is so steep that many of us declined. Note for Pete: the foundations and basement are of local shale, the superstructure of Pietermaritzburg red brick (which is stable, unlike the Durban product, which spalls badly after about 100 years).