Quote of the Post

The writer closely observed the western front during World War One. His observations here are timeless.

"The well-born, the clever, the haughty, and the greedy, in their fear, pride, and willfulness, and the perplexity of their scheming, make a general mess of the world. Forthwith in a panic they cry, 'Calamity cometh!'....
  Then from out of their obscurity, wherein they dwelt because of their low worth arise the Nobodies; because theirs is the historic job of restoring again the upset balance of affairs. They make no fuss about it. Theirs is always the hard and dirty work. They have always done it. If they don't do it, it will not be done. They fall with a will and without complaint upon the wreckage willfully made of generations of such labor as theirs, to get the world right again, to make it habitable again, though not for themselves; for them, they must spend the rest of their lives re-creating order out of chaos. A hopeless task; but they continue at it un-murmuring, giving their bodies without stint, as once they gave their labour, to the fields and the sea. And some day the planet will get back to its old place under the sun; but not for them, not for them."



H.M. Tomlinson Holly Ho, essay, from his collection: Old Junk

Should Auld Acquaintance...

  Last week, I ran into an old friend at the library. I hadn't seen, or even thought of him, for at least twenty years; but it was as if no time had passed since last we met.
My friend's name is Horace Rumpole, English barrister. He's the creation of John Mortimer, and the 'Rumpole of the Bailey' stories have given me hours of entertainment.
I'd been looking for Walter Mosely's Devil in a Blue Dress, which happened to be out. Mortimer was shelved just to the left, and I grabbed a handful of old Rumpole, instead.
  Rumpole.
  I've often said that no one writing in the English language is better at naming characters than Charles Dickens (yeah, I know, Shakespeare wasn't bad, either.) Just think of Pip, or Scrooge and you know who they are. Old Fezziwig is the very embodiment of yuletide cheer. But Rumpole, now. Rumpled, gruff, portly; certainly a major-league wiseass. It's all in the name.
If you haven't figured it out, he comes highly recommended. The stories are witty and sometimes hilarious.


John Mortimer's Rumpole stories are collected in some of the following:


Rumpole of the Bailey
The Trials of Rumpole
Rumpole for the Defense
Rumpole's Return
Rumpole and the Golden Thread
Rumpole's Last Case
Rumpole and the Age of Miracles


Non Rumpole books include:


Paradise Postponed
Summer's Lease
Titmuss Regained


There are many more than I've listed. Good Reading.