Rhyme does pay

I've just finished a 2 hour seminar on medieval literature: Beowulf to Chaucer. It's all the students get on this period in their time here, which saddens me very much, and inevitably there wasn't much chance to concentrate on anything, so we looked at a little Arthuriana (Layamon and Malory) and a short Anglo-Saxon piece ('The Wife's Lament') and that was it. I regret not putting a slapstick miracle/mystery play on there - that would have lightened the Friday-afternoon feeling.

Nevertheless, we managed, and I got my reward (like the Anglo-Saxons, it's here on earth and not in heaven): Ben (not Cynical Ben) and Hilary gave me a Twelfth Night present of what looks like an excellent book, Andrew Piper's Dreaming in Books: the Making of the Bibliographic Imagination in the Romantic Age (U of Chicago P, 2009). From a brief perusal of the chapter titles, it looks imaginative and wide-ranging.

Then onwards I trekked to the post room and found two parcels. In one was a cassette tape (!) of Decca [Mitford, agitator, aristocrat and muckraker] and the Dectones with Maya Angelou [famous poet], singing 'Right, Said Fred' and 'One Fish Ball'. Also included is a fluorescent orange 'Don't Forget Your Day Job Records' Kazoo, which will go in the kazoo rack alongside my Nightingales instrument.

In the other parcel was another free book via Librarything's Early Reviewer operation. It's an uncorrected proof copy of Frances Stonor Saunders' The Woman Who Shot Mussolini. The woman in question is the fascinating The Honourable Violet Gibson, Anglo-Irish aristocrat who first became a leftwing Catholic Irish nationalist then a lover of Italy. She shot Musso in the nose, and was confined in an asylum for the rest of her life, without trial or review.

Saunders wrote the rollicking history of knightly psychopaths by tracking the career of British thug Hawkwood, but the first book of hers I read was her brilliant examination of the CIA's cultural activities, Who Paid the Piper?. Highly recommended.

So - nicely set up for a good weekend. Have fun.

I've beaten Youtube (and some quality music)

I used to tell everyone that Youtube had everything, literally everything.

It hasn't. Having been alerted to a clip of Decca and the Dectones doing The Beatles' 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' and Decca (my heroine Jessica Mitford, the titled Communist who ran away to the Spanish Civil War with Churchill's nephew, then moved to the States where she spent her time agitating for socialism and Black Liberation (hence her friendships with Angelou and the Black Panthers' leadership)) duetting with Maya Angelou, played on Radio 4's The Write Stuff, I rushed to Youtube to post these cultural artefacts for your pleasure.

Defeated. No Decca and the Dectones. No Jessica Mitford. No Decca Mitford. What's wrong with this planet? I've had to download the album, and will post some for you. It's hard to describe but I'll try: drunk aging aristocrat (b. 1917) with no musical talent but a massive ability to cause mischief and have fun 'sings' hippy song. Bear in mind that is the polished studio version, and unfortunately the one without Angelou.

1. 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' by Decca and the Dectones:

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2. Grace Darling' by Decca and the Dectones:

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Snow joke

There's an interview with Jon Snow in today's Guardian. It's interesting if you care about television news and the fundamentals of reporting, but it's interesting even if you aren't because he's a cool guy - politically to the left, former student radical, friend of Decca Mitford, terrible taste in matching ties and socks.

Join the sisterhood

My dear sister Maura has sent me this article which claims that having a sister leads to better mental health, increased motivation, more friends and a richer social life. I have four sisters and a brother, yet the voices in my head are telling me not believe it.

All I ever wanted as a child was peace and quiet to read books. Come to think of it, that's all I want now. What's your experience? Certainly my sisters were often at war and some still have complicated relationships with each other.

I can't recall the verbatim quote, and I'm not at home, but Jessica Mitford was asked if having sisters helped with life's obstacles. Her reply was 'But sisters are life's obstacles', or something very similar.

Normal service is resumed

Ho hum, back in the office, with a PGCE day to look forward to tomorrow. Lots of work to do for that in this month. I need to go swimming today too - all that standing around eating delicious pierogi, and zupa gulaszka, and kabanos etc etc hasn't done my waistline any good at all.

At least I was greeted with two books in the post: Jessica Mitford's The Making of a Muckraker and The American Way of Death - wonderful, spiky books. I also bought a couple of books yesterday: Adam Roberts' alternative steampunk history Swiftly and John Burrow's magisterial A History of Histories. I only went out to buy birthday presents for other people!

More books

Jessica Mitford's The Trial of Dr Spock… - in which lots of old square guys realized that the Vietnam War was a bad idea and joined the long-hairs on the street, got themselves arrested then put on a great performance in court.

Also: Bonnie Prince Billy's Beware. Feels a bit weird to buy it on CD as I've got the previous twelve on lovely vinyl.