The other day I was at the Stupor-Parkit and in the Parkit-a-Lot was The Mobile Library ! That harbly ever happens, harply ever actually,so I did the citizenly thing and got a couple of books. They didn't, wrth gwrs *, have any Welsh books, and only one crap French book which told me I could learn it in three months, very bloody likely, so I went to the "nature" shelf. There were two bird books ... David Lindo's "The Urban Birder" and this ..... .. and here, in a nutshell, or rather, on the back, was this ... I liked the look of that, and the quirky drawings inside, so I took it out, + the Lindotome, secure in the knowledge that The Mobile Library* might just survive because my two books might just tip the numbers over the threshold of survival. Here's one of the drawings ...... a totally accurate depiction of the young Alex... ..but what that "thing" on the far left is, I've no idea. A young Jeremy Corbyn ? It also features extensive and interesting footnotes* as all good books should. I recommend it, especially as he starts his birdwatching " career" from a base of almost unbelievable ignorance, which is a great boost to the readers's ego. Another recommendation is that people like The Flat Controller* and The King of Bryher * would totally totally hate it. That's good enough for me !!! And .... unforeseen events allowing ... I'm going to write a bit more about it, perhaps as soon as next time ... but for now, the inevitable choice of song ..when you consider that throughout the whole book he refers to his dad as " Duncton." You'll find out why if/when you read it. On with the music, bird-lovers ! And this is a brilliant and unusual version of a brilliant and unusual song ... Here's another of those drawings from the book ... * I've never understood why they put footnotes at the bottom of the page ...surely they'd be much more noticeable up at the top. But hey, what do I know ?
* A miniature library in a dinky van that goes from one little neglected dump to another all day long ..a valued service which will, of course, soon be stopped due to fiscal decrepitude. Whenever you see one, take out as many books as they will let you. * An enemy ! * A deadly dastardly arch-enemy !! * Wrth gwrs is the ridiculous Welsh version of " of course".* * Wrth gwrs !
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AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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