Thursday, July 3rd, 2025 10:01 am
A deal to think on

Really, Heggleton was a deal more entertaining a place than Ollie – the Honble Mr Oliver Parry-Lloyd, second son of Lord Abertyldd – had anticipated! Had accompanied his grandfather and namesake, Sir Oliver Brumpage, out of a sense of duty, for Granda’s man Barnet was no longer young himself, and Ma and Pa had been fretting that some younger person should go with him, make sure he did not overdo &C&C&C. And had been very agreeable to see the admiration in Thea – Lady Theodora Saxorby’s – eyes when he made the offer. For sure he had been being somewhat of a frivolous young man about Town – not particularly wild, since that fright they had all had over that business of Rathe and his gambling-hell, but not, perchance, the like of young man to appeal to a serious and pious young woman.

So he had undertook the task in somewhat of a penitential spirit, and was discovering it much more agreeable than his suppositions. Here was Heggleton not just a fine bustling manufacturing town with its prosperity built largely on cotton, but there was a deal of life about the place! An Institute – Assembly Rooms – societies for getting up concerts and choral performances – one of Lady Ollifaunt’s fine theatres – as well as a great number of improvement schemes.

Also a good deal of local society that was very welcoming to Sir Oliver’s grandson, particularly one that was in Society, had a sister that was lately married, a father that was part of an active coterie in the Lords on the side of reform –

Even more welcoming when he was discovered musical, for besides playing the bassoon, that he considered his instrument, Ollie was capable of sustaining a reasonable performance on bass fiddle or pianoforte. So there were invitations to informal gatherings to make music, and he just happened to have brought with him copies of some several of Zipsie’s compositions, that were greeted with extreme enthusiasm.

Sure, he was no innocent, he perceived that there were a number of young ladies who looked upon him as an eligible parti. Granda indeed commented upon it, with remarks upon what they would bring to a match –

I hope I am not the kind of fellow that would make that a consideration!

So do I, but do you like any of 'em, is somewhat to be took into account.

But was not all frivolity and flirtation – was being made acquainted with the business of cotton, that was where their fortunes came from.

Granda sighed, and deplored that one could not yet get by without some American cotton, though he did what he could – and revealed that as some salve to his conscience, sent a considerable sum to the di Serrantes in Boston – what a fine woman is Mrs di Serrante, the Quakers breed a very exceptional type – to disburse in various ways for the abolitionist cause.

Indeed one saw that Granda was not the brutal industrialist at all – had been twitted at first about the conditions in his mills, but had proved that not working the hands to exhaustion – having a school for children – light and air &C&C– came about remunerative in the long run.

So there was that – and Ollie began to see the interest in it all – but there would be a deal to learn!

There were also meetings with the political set in the town, for Heggleton was now a Parliamentary borough, and there was very like an election impending. Ollie did not entirely see that there was any cause for anxiety in the matter – 'twas a very solid Radical Whig seat – but over the course of various dinners, meetings of local societies and clubs &C, he came about to apprehend that there was another matter under advizance.

Here was Mr Oliver Parry-Lloyd, grandson of Sir Oliver Brumpage, son of Lord Abertyldd, that gave him a sound political pedigree – might he not, in due course, consider standing for Parliament? Ollie realized that 'twas quite a reasonable expectation. Had never given it thought before, but, indeed, had been hearing political discussion for some several years – ever since he was of an age to join the gentlemen in brandy and cigars after dinner – had observed Bobbie Wallace take to the business of being an MP quite like a duck to water

So he attended to the conversations, and ventured an occasional question.

Granda clapped him on the shoulder and said he was glad to see that Ollie was not one of these young fellows that supposes he knows precisely how to set the world to rights, and will tell his foolish seniors in and out of season what they should be doing.

Why, said Ollie, have not give the whole matter the thought I should.

It also struck him that going into politics would manifest a seriousness that might, perchance, appeal to Thea? Or at least, impress her parents that he was no idle wastrel?

Oh, Thea.

Zipsie was a good sister that conveyed a certain amount of news in her occasional letters – well, one could not expect a new wife with all the burdens of that position upon her to indite lengthy epistles like one in a novel by Richardson! – even was that mostly about the music she and Thea were about. Certain songs by the late Miss Billston, that had been Lady Jane Knighton’s cousin, that Lady Jane greatly desired to hear once more –

But was Thea happy? Were her parents persecuting her for her religious inclinations? Were they advancing some suitable match?

It was during a ball in the Assembly Rooms for the benefit of the new hospital that he learnt intelligence that he hoped might be a good omen.

He had no idea how the conversation over the supper table had turned to that topic – had someone asked where he went to church o’Sundays? And that had got on to various parish squabbles – some matter of who would be appointed chaplain to the hospital – and a mention that this new vicar at St Oswald’s was said to have very High practices, positively Romish.

Ollie determined to go to at least one service at St Oswald’s to ascertain whether it might conform to Thea’s leanings.

But before the nearest Sunday he attended a performance at the local theatre. Was teazed by the resemblance of the actress playing Amanda in The Rivalrous Ladies to a young woman – well, had been a girl at the time – that had been wont to be among the merry throng at the Raxdell House parties for young people in the Ferraby days. But the name, he recollected – there had been a brother and a sister as well – had been Richardson and the name on the playbill was Miss Dalrymple.

One had never seen them elsewhere – but indeed, there was a considerable diversity to be found in the parties give at the Raxdell House Phalanstery! – Julius and Hannah Roberts were ever among the young guests, along with the Lowndes offspring – though sure one now saw Ferraby Lowndes received everywhere –

That had been a fine girl – not exactly pretty, but with a certain vivacity that made one overlook more obvious beauties – and had been some matters of boyish stolen kisses during Hide and Seek.

So here he was at St Oswald’s, that was to be found in one of the poorer parts of Heggleton – not that there were any actual slums – and being dutifully attentive to the service and the vicar’s practices, and observing that he had a decent congregation.

Was waylaid by the fellow on his way out, that was clearly a little surprized to see a fine gentleman – Ollie made it clear that he was only visiting – not sure how long his stay would be – felt disinclined to reveal his family connexions just yet –

When a hand came through his arm and a fine attractive female voice said, La, Mr Parry-Lloyd! What a pleasure to encounter you! Might I beg you to be so kind as to escort me to my lodgings?

He looked around and down, and seeing her closer he could not doubt that 'twas Rosalind Richardson – perchance had married? – though he saw no ring – and, blushing a little, said 'twould be an entire pleasure.

So they stepped away from the church porch, and once they had got a sufficient distance she gave a little ripple of laughter and said, had Mr Pringle been at him about work with the young men of the parish?

Ollie grinned. He had not yet quite got to that! Manly recreations to keep 'em out of places of low resort &C?

Quite so! But what do you in this place?

He explained the reasons for his presence. Mentioned that he had been to the play t’other night – praised her performance – had not been sure 'twas her, because of the name –

O, when I ran away to go on the stage, I determined to change my name so that there would be no odorous caparisons with Mama –

Lord, Richardson! that would be, Clara Richardson, only slightly less noted a thespian than Amelia Addington.

– so I took darling Papa’s name professionally, even am I not entitled to it in law.

Ollie came to a stock-still halt. Dalrymple – Danvers Dalrymple, his father’s old friend, that one had ever supposed a sad old bachelor that still dressed as if 'twere the days of the Regent – though still a fine hand on the cricket pitch – ?

I see, she said with an air of amuzement, that you are not apprized of their domestic establishment – are quite Darby and Joan – Mama would not marry and renounce the boards – they live most genteel and respectable with Grandmama and her pugs – a deal more genteel and respectable than many couples that have gone to church –

Do you not mind? Ollie enquired.

Why, Gods stand up for bastards! – I daresay there are stations I might aspire to where it might hurt me, but all I have ever wanted to do is tread the boards, just like my brother, that is now running a theatre in New South Wales.

They walked on a little way, coming to rather more respectable streets.

She said with somewhat of wistfulness that those had been wonderful parties at Raxdell House – but, she added, to his sympathetic expression, we did not go home to sleep in ashes! And here were her lodgings.

They shook hands and she went in.

He shook his head. The encounter had give him a deal to think on.


Thursday, July 3rd, 2025 12:20 am
I finished taking the laundry out of this basket & put it down on its side for Purrcy investigation. It was worth snooping in, but not really good for long-term use, he found.

What's that in the sky? he wondered, after several days of rain & thunder-growler attacks.

Purrcy the tuxedo tabby stands in a brown cloth laundry bin lying on its side. He peers out and up at the sunlight coming from the skylight above, his whiskers looking long but rather doubtful.

My back continues to be better, while not being anything like *all* better. Prednisone has the reputation of being Side Effects City, my biggest ones so far are dry mouth making my voice all scratchy, and a certain amount of ADHD/mania type behavior, trouble settling & sleeping. Only 3 more days of tapering to go, though.

Amid all The Horrors ramping up & up, here's something that's given me active joy in the past couple of days: Sir Ian McKellan joining Scissor Sisters onstage at Glastonbury Festival:



My god, he's still got that full Royal Shakespeare voice.

It makes me cry a bit with joy at the end there, seeing Sir Ian being able to lead his people in a public celebration of being out & proud. And to see an old man being *venerated*, for once, admired for achievements but in this case also as a symbol of what people like those in the audience can have with age: a *full* life, a *long* life, a life with everything in it, despite what they may have been told. You don't have to be young to be queer, it's not a phase, it's part of a complete human life.
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 06:17 pm
What I've recently finished reading:

Lamentation by C.J. Sansom, the 6th Shardlake novel. This is all about the heresy hunts in the last few years before Henry VIII's death - one faction wanted to go back towards Catholicism, one wanted a radical re-imagining of religion and social structures, and if you wanted to stay in the regime's good graces, you walked the narrow path of "the King is the divinely ordained leader of the Church, and whatever he says goes." Warning for historical burning of heretics, plus canon-typical violence; also for weird religion and contentious legal cases. Matthew Shardlake still has a crush on the queen (Katherine Parr).

What I'm reading now:

My hold on Katherine Addison's The Tomb of Dragons came in, so that. Just barely started.

What I recently finished watching:

American Primeval, which, huh, I've never before encountered media in which the Mormons are the bad guys. (This is not a spoiler. It's pretty clear from the get-go, but it gets more pointed and cartoon-villainy toward the end.) Definitely violent and gory, though also it felt very clearly written to Tug The Heart Strings (and then, often, deliberately kill the character it's just tried to make you care about) at which at least for me it failed to do. I liked Abish, Two Moons, and Captain Edwin Dellinger, and James Bridger amused the hell out of me, but - I mostly enjoyed it, but I don't feel it was superlative. I got tired of the filter to wash out colors so it looked almost old-photo sepia.

I did enjoy the historical setting of the Mormon War; as I mentioned last time, I researched it for my Yuletide story, and I think it's just an interesting time, the settlement/colonization of western North America.

What I'm about to start watching:

Murderbot! We always wait until enough episodes are out that we can watch ~every other day and not have to wait.

What I'm playing now:

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, which was recommended to me as a "spooky atmospheric puzzle game", and I'm enjoying it a lot. You play as a mysterious woman who has come to a mysterious hotel full of locked doors in what might be Germany in 1963, at the request of a mysterious man for reasons of ??? I told my brother about it because it's cheap in the summer sale at Steam, and he decided it sounded good so he is playing it now, a bit behind my progress but because of the nonlinearity he's ahead of me in some things. We're trying to give each other elliptical hints when needed.
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 06:02 pm
 
This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Wednesday, July 2, to midnight on Thursday, July 3. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #33319 Daily Check-in
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 21

How are you doing?

I am OK.
12 (57.1%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
9 (42.9%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
7 (33.3%)

One other person.
9 (42.9%)

More than one other person.
5 (23.8%)




Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
 
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 10:31 pm

It's been almost 30 years since Tony Blair's landslide victory. And I am still pissed off about the way he & his government dropped the issue of proportional representation as soon as they got into power.

Still pissed off about Tony Blair full-stop. Not sure what I expected - that he'd get elected and then nip into a handy phone booth & come out wearing his 'S for Socialist' t-shirt?

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 06:56 pm

For hedjog is going floppp.

Travel troubles today: being unable to see where the hell the alleged railway station near hotel was, and taking a taxi instead; railway out of order this evening, Ubers were summoned to take participants to hotel.

Yr hedjog was Living Bit of History in opening roundtable.

And in later sessions, there was a certain amount of That There Dr [personal profile] oursin going on in the questions/comments....

Some good conversation - even if hearing aids not too helpful in crowded rooms - but have noped out from evening meal, feeling too tired, will go for light meal here and early night (I hope).

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 05:24 pm
Finished since the last reading post
The Blunders of Our Governments, where the passing of time meant no very recent blunders were discussed, but also perhaps has changed the perspective on some of the things considered successes. The chapters discussing reasons for the blunders were perhaps even more interesting than the chapters on the blunders themselves.

How to Survive a Plague by David France, which covers some of the same ground as And the Band Played on by Randy Shilts, which I've read before, but more from a New York City and the ACT UP and related activist point of view. Very interesting, informative, and moving.

Currently reading
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, which has been a good bus read—my bus journey to work isn't really long enough to really get into a book, so anything with longer chapters tends to be a bit frustrating, but this one works really well.

Reading next
No idea—I've got a few books on the shelves I could pick up, some e-books as well, and I should have a library reservation coming my way at some point.
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 02:17 pm
Hmmm. And it's been a year since I posted, it seems. There *was* six months of chaos following the flood last year, of course. Mostly sorted (two new shelving units, lots of unpacking, packing, re-unpacking, lather-rinse-repeat) & I still have 3 tubs of what S & N packed for me stacked in the bedroom, & still haven't got rid of my archery equipment.

Various other things have happened - I went to stay with [personal profile] lexin in December, & had a reasonable holiday, as usual, though I seemed to have gone almost completely deaf in my right ear just beforehand, which was ... interesting ... and has led to me getting hearing aids this year!

I went to the filk con in February, a friend died in May & I went to her funeral in early June; and I've just (on Monday) got back from another lovely 2-week stay with [personal profile] lexin in Bangor, where we had numerous outings!

List of the out and abouts )

Week one, done!

Week Two )

I came home on Monday with a slight sense of dread, but nothing seems to have disastered this time. Tomorrow morning I have someone coming on behalf of the council to do a 'condition survey', which I do have a slight feeling of dread about, as they may be recommending a new bathroom, which I shall fight because if they do I'll probably lose my washing lines.
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 01:06 pm
I had a visit from my chiropodist today, and she spotted a problem with my right big toe. [personal profile] aunty_marion and I travelled hither and yon in North Wales during the last couple of weeks and it turned out I got a blister.

She wants me to take it either to the diabetic nurse, Scary Mary, or the local podiatrist service. So I’ve sent in an online request and await contact.
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 12:12 pm
There are at least a dozen bee-esque insects bobbing against the perspex roof of the verandah outside my craft room door. I'm not sure if they are confoozled honey bees or... not, but I have never seen such a collection of them in such a place before.

*

Sunshine Challenge Time!

Sunshine-Revival-Carnival-1.png

Challenge #1

Journaling Prompt: Light up your journal with activity this month. Talk about your goals for July or for the second half of 2025.

Goals for July

1 Complete UCAS application
2 Communicate with potential new Mosaic members
3 Work on Rainbows song
4 re-think the progress of Dragon in the Woods
5 finish the Gardens of Giverny scarf
6 block the big shawl
7 try to actually post to DW instead of composing things in my head and forgetting them

Creative Prompt: Shine a light on your own creativity. Create anything you want (an image, an icon, a story, a poem, or a craft) and share it with your community.. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


I have been going to a drawing class for the past three weeks—to my chagrin I won't be going today, because last night at about nine pm I was smitten with a vicious sore throat and a miserable nose. Having in consequence had far too little sleep, and being now obnoxious to be around, I won't inflict my woes on anyone else. (It's not Covid, at least not according to the test I took. But yuck.)

Anyway. I'm very pleased with this:




Excuse the dots at the bottom—I 'drew' a polar bear on the other side of the paper!
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 08:06 am
Worse than a shock

'Twould be hard to say what was the crowning experience of this visit! Mayhap not merely going see Miss Addington play Cleopatra from a fine comfortable box, but being invited to call on her in her dressing room after!

And had done exceeding well in making connexions for the chaps: there was Averdale, had been very gladly offered a post as secretary by Jimsie, and once had completed his term at Oxford, would proceed to join the Trembournes for the summer at Worblewood. Thornton was all enthusiasm about the prospect of tutoring the Yeomans orphans, and had already commenced upon certain commissions in reviewing. Wood had been invited to spend the summer assisting in the work of the parish at St Wilfrid’s, with the possibility of eventually being appointed a curate. And Smithers was going around quite in a daze having been offered a pupillage in Mr Geoffrey Merrett’s chambers.

Then, as they were contemplating their last few days, here came Mr Gordon Marshall, that was married to the governess at Yeomans, and a reporter for the Lowndes Press, and also, they discovered, the brother of that sensation, Clo Marshall, offering that he could arrange for 'em to attend her performance at the Beaufoyle Arms Song and Supper Rooms!

They were returning from this unanticipated treat in great spirits, to discover most unwonted Cretia and Mr Grigson waiting in the hall, looking very sombre, what looked like a telegram in Grigson’s hand.

His first thought was that Father had died.

Oh Lord – 'twas not somewhat had come to Myo? One understood her condition was delicate.

O Grinnie, cried Cretia, coming up and falling upon his neck, would you believe it? Here is Talshaw, gone fallen down a flight of stairs in a drunken fit and broke his neck.

The fellows all made sympathetic murmurs, and Wood said, quite saw that they should not intrude upon the family at this time, would be about their departure the morn, at which all nodded, and Mr Grigson went over doubtless to discuss the practicalities.

O God, thought Peregrine, patting Cretia’s shoulder. Sure they had none of 'em been particularly fond of their elder brother, but ‘twas a shock. And worse than a shock.

Now he was the heir.

Grigson came over from seeing the fellows off to their beds, laid a hand on the shoulder not occupied by Cretia, and said, Lord Peregrine was entire welcome to stay here while the formalities were put in hand – had no doubt the authorities at the college would be entirely understanding, would send one of his confidential clerks about the matter –

Excellent fellow!

That is above and beyond kind – am still in shock

Quite so. The best thing would be to go to bed and have a good night’s rest.

Cretia squeezed his hands, as he managed to detach himself and walk with not too much stumbling to the staircase.

These violent delights have violent ends, he thought, as he blew out the candle, and thought that surely, he felt so exhausted, he would sleep like the dead.

But did not. His thoughts were a clamorous agitation. Indeed there had been no particular fraternal affection 'twixt 'em. But he had not in the least been an envious younger brother, resentful of the eldest’s position. He had been exceedingly glad not to be the heir – to be able to pursue a different path –

He groaned. Doubtless his father was already plotting, making plans – one might hope that they would be checked somewhat by the conventions of mourning – surely it would look extremely vulgar to be displaying him about Society with Talshaw barely cold –

All he had desired was to have the quiet life of an Oxford fellow, pursuing scholarship, alleviated by a little recreation in Town made possible by the independence good old Brackley had provided him –

Grinnie sat up. Independence.

He had a modest competence of his own. His father could not flourish the power of the purse-strings over him. He did not have to knuckle down and comply with his demands. It would be – he gulped – uncomfortable perchance to point that out, but far less uncomfortable than being paraded about as a Marquess’s heir, ripe for marriage.

He had no great desire to live lavishly – but already came to an apprehension that Mr Brackley had left him comfortable, and that his enterprize with Roberts and Wilson was doing exceeding well, along with Mr Grigson’s sound advice on investments. He was no poor scholar of Oxenforde, but a gentleman of independent means.

His mouth went to a wry twist. From stray comments of Iffling’s and Grigson’s, very like his father would be touching him for assistance!

Feeling his mind a good deal more at rest, he lay down again, and was shortly asleep.

The following day saw off his friends, that clasped his hand and grasped his shoulder, and said, was there anything they might do, and expressed their gratitude to their host and hostess.

Assured 'em that he intended to be remet with 'em in college, in due course.

Then there was a deal of to-do over mourning-wear – and cards – and waiting upon hearing about the funeral –

And another telegram from Father to say would call the morrow to see Lord Peregrine –

He had already opened somewhat of his intentions to Grigson and Cretia. Grigson gave his small smile, and said, thought the best place for this interview would be the library – no, would not in the least be displacing Miss Jupp –

Not in the least, said Cretia with a sigh, sure there is a deal of correspondence upon my hands – apologies for occasions I must now decline to attend – replies to the condolences that have already started arriving – and you know, Grinnie, we must go call at Trembourne House this very day.

Quite so, he responded, we should certainly not delay going to Mama and Myo.

So here they were at Trembourne House, and receiving condolences from Lady Undersedge – her husband being in the Nuttenford mining districts – and Lady Eleanor. What an exemplary woman was Lady Undersedge – Averdale had taken her in great admiration, quoted A perfect woman, nobly planned, to warn, to comfort and command, one might imagine her the lady in some castle of the Middle Ages, ruling it and defending it whilst her lord was off crusading – it must be entirely the best thing for Mama and Myo to be here.

Mama sighed and said, it was the way of things that she had had so little to do with Talshaw after his infancy – much more so than with you and Lucie – being reared as the heir – but –

She appeared about to say more and then glanced over at Myo and seemed to think better of it.

Myo was looking in health – quite blooming, in fact – Jimsie very attentive –

They hoped that he would come to Worblewood in the summer? They would be very quiet there, and that splendid chap Chilfer was going to come about excavating the Roman villa. Surely there could be no objection?

A very attractive prospect!

It was entirely less heavy a rencontre than he had anticipated.

But he did not look forward to seeing his father.

It has been a most strategic notion of Grigson to suggest the library; putting the encounter as 'twere on Grinnie’s ground. Surrounded by his old friends arrayed upon the shelves.

He was already there, perusing Rasselas, when his father was shown in. He stood up and bowed. Did not expect any manifestations of emotion – no handclasp, no embrace – and was proved correct. His father nodded. Peregrine.

That chair is the most comfortable, he said, going to ring for a footman to fetch – what would his father desire at this time o’ day?

Ah. Brandy. That would account for that unhealthy flush – sure he was looking his years! – Grinnie nodded to the footman and desired coffee for himself.

His father looked around and commenced upon crying up the library at Roughton Arching, that had been writ up in The Speculum – Grinnie doubted his father often visited it but of course that was quite the accolade.

Once they were settled with brandy and coffee, and appropriate sentiments exchanged, he decided to take the Nelson line and sail straight ahead by declaring his intention to complete his final term at Oxford. Somewhat to his surprize, his father conceded this without too much grumbling – showed a very meritorious desire to finish what he had started, a proper seriousness.

No doubt that was a contrast to his late brother, everything by starts and nothing long.

He would, alas, have to decline the fellowship – but was coming about to perceive that one might pursue learning beyond college walls – from the corner of his eye he could see, piled on one of the small tables, the various classical works Vicky Jupp was at present studying. This chap Chilfer sounded entirely up to the mark in matters of archaeology – had not he and his set only lately quite basked in the erudition of Mr MacDonald and Sir Jacob Samuels? Was there not that quite shining example, Her Grace of Mulcaster? Offgrange was noted for his studies in botany - No, he need not renounce scholarship.

There was, of course, the proposition that he should spend the summer at Roughton Arching, a prospect that had filled Grinnie’s heart with positively Gothick gloom. Fortunately he was able to advance his invitation to Worblewood – will be living very quiet – Trembourne still in mourning for his father – Myo in a delicate condition – understand they have also invited Lucie –

His father slowly nodded. And you may ride over to Roughton Arching to meet with the stewards &C – there will fellows coming from Firkins over various matters –

Well, that could not be avoided, he supposed. Provided they did not arrive with a marriage contract ready drawn up! For while one saw that one would have to wed in due course, now that one was not going to live the life of a celibate scholar, one should like to look about a little first. Was it only so that one did not make some terrible mistake and be condemned to the cat and dog life that Rina had with Iffling.

These matters settled, his father did not linger.

It was only after his departure that Peregrine realized that his father had said naught about money and thus must still be in ignorance that he was a young man of means. Mayhap just as well.


Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 06:07 pm
 
This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Tuesday, July 1, to midnight on Wednesday, July 2. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #33314 Daily Check-in
This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 27

How are you doing?

I am OK.
12 (44.4%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
15 (55.6%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
10 (37.0%)

One other person.
13 (48.1%)

More than one other person.
4 (14.8%)




Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
 
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Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 10:09 pm

When you get married they ask you to write an inscription. Think of it as being like taking out a subscription.
You should sign it with a feeling of elation and hope it won’t end with a cancellation.

Michael Rosen

I wish I could remember where I found this piece of doggerel, it wasn't in a book. Guardian maybe? Past me did a copy-and-paste into commonplace notepad (but at least I noted the author's name)

And yeah, I still like the sentiment, good wedding poem.

Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 07:37 pm

Wot a saga, eh, wot a saga, first time I have ventured significantly forth these many years -

And to start with, MAJOR HEAT EVENT.

In anticipation, I had - or so I thought - prudently booked a taxi via taxiapp, with a certain amount of leeway, just in case -

- which turned out very prudent, as when I went to check the booking this morning the app was showing 'network error' and this was clearly on their end rather than mine, and a little looking about suggests that this is not their first rodeo server problem.

So when, at designated time, taxi cameth not, I set out towards the Tube, not without some hope that a black cab might pass me on my way, but that Was Not To Be -

And on reflection, I should perhaps have waited for a Bank train, because getting out on Charing X platforms at Euston involves rather too many stairs.

However, Avanti kindly texted me the approx time my train would be boarding, and this all seemed set - although my (1st class) seat was aisle, backwards, there was nobody in the other 3 seats so I switched -

HAH.

When we reached Coventry, choochoo sighed and gave up, and we had to debouch and take the next Birmingham bound train - which was delayed....

At Birmingham New Street had considerable faff trying to discover a Way Out that would take me to a taxi rank.

When I finally arrived at hotel booked by conference organisers there was an immense performance trying to find the right group booking, as it was not under any title that I might have thought of but that of some hireling booking agency.

However, I am now in nice cool room and have had tasty room service snack. Even if I have had to wrestle with getting my laptop to talk to the free wifi...

Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 03:57 pm

Posted by Caitlynne

Every month or so the OTW will be doing a Q&A with one of its volunteers about their experiences in the organization. The posts express each volunteer’s personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OTW or constitute OTW policy. Today’s post is with Rhine, who volunteers as a volunteer manager in the Translation Committee.

How does what you do as a volunteer fit into what the OTW does?

As a Translation volunteer manager I mostly deal with admin work that surrounds the work our translators do – be it talking to other committees about things that are to be translated, preparing English texts for translation, making sure our version of the text is up to date, or getting texts published once they are translated – along with more general personnel stuff like recruiting new translators, keeping a clear record of who is supposed to be working on what and who is on break, checking in with translators and how they feel about their work, that kind of thing. Having been in this role for some time now, I also help with mentoring newer volunteer managers in how to do what we do, at the scale we do it.

What is a typical week like for you as a volunteer?

There isn’t one singular stereotypical week in this role, but some different modes with different focuses that are more or less typical for me:

  • Going on-call for a week: Translation volunteer managers work from a shared inbox that serves as a first point of contact for all inquiries related to the Translation Committee. Each week, one or two volunteer managers go on-call as the ones primarily responsible for making sure everything gets actioned and squared away as needed. This usually means spending a couple hours each day working through everything in the shared inbox, including but not limited to assigning tasks to translators, checking on translators who were on hiatus, triaging translation requests from other committees, and responding to any questions translators may have in the course of their work.
  • Working on a bigger project, like a series of high-visibility posts (e.g. membership drive, OTW Board elections), opening recruitment, or internal surveys: When Translation does a committee-wide thing, it’ll by necessity involve most or even all of our forty-some language teams, each with 1–8 members. Coordinating all that takes some organisational overhead (and some love for checklists and spreadsheets, along with automations where feasible), which typically means sitting down for a few hours on three or four days of the week and chipping away at various related tasks to keep things moving, including but not limited to asking other people to double-check my work before moving on to the next step.
  • Working on smaller tasks: When I want to have a more relaxed week while still being active, I’ll sit down on one or two afternoons/evenings, and take care of a task that is fairly straightforward, like scheduling and leading chats to check in with translators or train people on our tools, creating a template document with English text for translation, drafting and updating our internal documentation, asking others to look over and give feedback on my drafts, and giving feedback on others’ tasks, drafts, and projects.
  • Weekly chair training/catch-up chats: We have a regular weekly meeting slot to sit down and talk about the few chair-exclusive things in the Translation Committee, as part of chair training.

What made you decide to volunteer?

I actually started volunteering at the OTW as an AO3 tag wrangler back in 2020, when lockdowns were on the horizon and I felt like I could pick up some extra stuff to do. Growing up bilingual and with some extra languages under my belt, I ended up hanging out in some of the spaces with lots of OTW translators. Then I found out that I could internally apply as a Translation volunteer manager, and the rest is pretty much history. At that point I was missing the feeling of doing some volunteer management and admin work anyway!

What has been your biggest challenge doing work for the OTW?

On a high level, I’d say it’s striking a balance between the expectations and the reality of the work the Translation Committee does, including the sheer scale. On a more concrete level, it’s like this: Being a translator in the Translation Committee is, by default, a relatively low commitment, with a number of optional tasks and rosters that we encourage people to take on, if they have the time and attention to spare. Part of how we ensure that is by dealing with as much of the overhead in advance as we can, as Translation volunteer managers.

This means that for instance, when the English version of a text is updated – which may take about two minutes in the original text – we go through each language team’s copy of the text, make the changes as needed in the English copy, highlight what was changed, and reset the status in our internal task tracker so that it can be reassigned to a translator. This way the changed part is clearly visible to the translator, so they can quickly pinpoint what they need to do and make the corresponding changes in the translated text.

For both the author of the original English text and the translator, this is a very quick task. On the admin side, on the other hand, it’s the same two-minute process of updating our documents repeated over and over, about 15 times on the low end for frequent news post series that we only assign to teams that consistently have some buffer to absorb the extra workload, and almost 50 times on the high end for some of our staple static pages that (almost) all teams have worked on, meaning it’s something that takes somewhere between 30 minutes to almost two hours even when it’s a tiny change and you’re familiar with the workflow.

(And that’s before getting to very last-minute changes and emergency news post translations with less than two days’ turnaround time, where we manually track everything across around thirty teams, usually. Each time that has happened, everyone’s dedication has blown me away. Thank you so much to everyone who answers those calls, you know who you are!)

What fannish things do you like to do?

I like to read, especially if it’s something that plays around with worldbuilding or other things that were left unsaid in canon. I wish there were more hours in the day so that I can pick up some of my creative projects again. I suppose some of my coding projects like my AO3 userscripts and my AO3 Saved Filters bookmarklet also count as fannish?


Now that our volunteer’s said five things about what they do, it’s your turn to ask one more thing! Feel free to ask about their work in the comments. Or if you’d like, you can check out earlier Five Things posts.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 08:53 am

A book has to really impress me to get a reaction before I've finished it, but Ada Palmer's Inventing the Renaissance has definitely done that. I had read some of Palmer's science fiction and been very impressed by it, and I knew before reading this that she is a historian, so when I first heard of this book, I immediately requested it from my local library.[^1] Not really knowing anything about it when I requested it, I thought it was a history of how the Renaissance came to be. Then I started reading it, and from the way she talked about historians creating the idea of the Renaissance, I thought it was a Renaissance equivalent of Norman Cantor's Inventing the Middle Ages.[^2]. Then I read on and saw that it's both of those things and more. It's also Palmer's academic biography, and an explanation of how academia works, and an exploration of the processes that created the Renaissance (and that created similar shifts in society at other times and places. It's the best history book I've read recently.[^3]

Besides the major historical themes of the book, Palmer has also included a number of interesting trivia and also Easter eggs for science fiction fans: - The genetic changes in Europeans that makes the Black Death no longer the huge plague that it was in the Middles Ages took several hundred years to come about, and also caused Europeans to be more susceptible to "autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, celiac, and (in [Palmer's] case) Crohn's disease."[^4] - She refers to Florence in the Renaissance as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy."[^5] - She uses the board game Siena as an illustration of how government worked in Renaissance Florence.[^6]

I particularly love this paragraph about the chronology of the Renaissance, and how it's exceedingly different depending on who you ask:

All agree that the Renaissance was the period of change that got us from medieval to modern, but people give it a different start date, because they start at the point that they see something definitively un-medieval. If we leave the History Lab a moment and visit my friends across the yard in the English Department, they consider Shakespeare (1564-1616) the core of Renaissance, while Petrarch's contemporary Chaucer (1340s-1400) is, for them, the pinnacle of medieval. When I cross the walk to visit the Italian lit scholars, they say Dante (1265-1321), despite being dead before Chaucer's birth, is definitely Renaissance, and often that Machiavelli is the start of modern, even though he died before Shakespeare's parents were born.

Reading this book makes me both sad and glad, in varying degrees at different times, that I never got my PhD and entered academia, depending on whether I feel at that particular moment that by having done so I would have been placing myself in cooperation or competition with Palmer. But leaving that aside, I'm exceedingly glad to be living in a time that I get to read this book, and I'm eagerly looking forward to getting to read more of Palmer's books.


[^1] Apparently a lot of other people had also heard of it, because I only got it about a week ago.

[^2] Although much more fun to read than Cantor.

[^3] I almost said "easily the best history book I've read recently," but I'm also currently reading Geoffrey Parker's Global Crisis: War, Climate Change & Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century, which gives Palmer some serious competition. But since I feel compelled to write a pre-completion reaction to Palmer's book and not to Parker's. . .

[^4] p. 116. All the MAGAts who keep yammering on about herd immunity with regard to COVID need to know that, but they probably wouldn't listen anyway.

[^5] p. 136.

[^6] pp. 65-8.

Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 09:13 am
I'm still marvelling at having a hobby that I'm willing to spend money on -- I went to a weaving conference last week (got a first-timer scholarship, which covered admission and room and board, but I splurged and got a single room, so paid a little extra) which meant buying extra yarn for the workshop, and then even though I'm well out of storage room and have said multiple times I need to make some things before I buy more stuff, I bought 7 more cones of yarn (some of it was on sale! the rest was just really pretty hand-dyed!). Some of it I can definitely think of things to do with it, the rest I'll just have to try and keep an eye out for ideas, because I don't want it to sit forever.

And I talked to people too, constantly, the whole weekend. My god. By day 2.5 I was wiped, I am not an extrovert by any means. But folks chatted throughout classes, in the hallways, just wherever. I walked out of the dinner hall and ended up talking with some random woman whose name I never caught for like 10 minutes. Plus, also, I ran into a friend from local fandom cons who I hadn't seen in like 10-ish years (MJ and Con.txt). Neither of us were doing fiber things back then, so it was really a (pleasant) surprise.

Anyway now I am back home and waiting for work to ramp back up -- it always slows down in the summer due to end-of-fiscal-year purchasing deadlines, but today starts the new FY, so I'm just waiting for the word that budgets are loaded into the system, and I can start doing work again. Things are also wonky because DC passed an energy savings bill recently, so in order to comply we're finally getting around to converting the building to LED lighting -- which means shuffling folks' offices and encasing the stacks in protective material. We don't have an end date and the last construction project went on and on and on, so folks are just crossing fingers that impact will be minimal on the full-term researchers starting in the fall. I'm planning to hide in my new office with a fucking door so I can avoid chatty opinionated elder coworker for once in my life. My god this would be an amazing time to finally get a new job and quit.

Oh! I almost forgot. I also managed to blitz through all of Elementary in the last month or so, after having had it on my 'to watch' list for years. There are some parts of it that left me kind of 'meh,' and for someone who's great at identifying prosthetic-forehead Star Trek actors in other roles by only their eyes, I could not for the life of me identify Johnny Lee Miller in 3/4 profile shots on multiple occasions. My brain also kept replacing him in my memory with Darren Nichols. I think it was something about the overly upright posture (and also the dramatics). These things mostly resolved themselves by probably midway through season 2, by which point I could focus on things like how unsexy Mycroft was. It's a shame but unsurprising that there isn't more fic. I need to find something to watch that does have a lot of fic, but I haven't come up with anything yet. Though I think the latest season of Leverage: Redemption just finished, or is about to, and that sounds like it should give me something to sink my teeth into.