tree_and_leaf

Recently Read

The Cambridge Companion to St Paul, which is a useful introduction to the subject.

Currently Reading

Peter Ackroyd on Venice.

Also trying to teach myself some phrases of Spanish from Say it In Spanish, although I cannot concieve of ever needing to say "Can you recommend a good cook?", and I sincerely hope I won't need "I have typhoid fever"...

Reading Next
Heffers had a sale of fiction in translation, so I shall probably read Bulgakov, Diary of a Young Doctor next.

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/658644.html.

Books read recently
Finished the Civil War book, also The Line of Beauty, which I enjoyed, but found curiously unsatisfying. Maybe it was just that I didn't like most of the characters.

Currently reading

Peter Ackroyd, Venice.

The Cambridge Companion to St Paul.

Anything on the Camino, or Northern Spain, I can scare up.

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/658352.html.

The first gay TV drama, rediscovered?

It's an ITV television play, set in the South of the US, immediately before the Civil War. It's said to hold up well to a modern audience, though there is no word on whether the accents would cause American viewers to wince...

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/657693.html.

Read recently

Fred Secombe, How Green Was My Curate

Slender but amusing fictionalised memoir of life as a curate in the Valleys by the older brother of ex-Goon Harry Secombe. Ended rather abruptly on the incumbent's death - which of course meant all kinds of professional and emotional complications for the protagonist, so that was rather frustrating. Though apparently there is at least one sequel, so I suppose it's more of an unexpected cliff-hanger...

Reading
Have stalled a bit on The Line of Beauty.
Am enjoying Diane Purkiss' The English Civil War: A people's history, though it is rather grim reading.

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/657003.html.

Taking a leaf out of Oursin's book, I thought it would be interesting (for me, if not for you), to start keeping a log of this. At the moment, weekends are the only time I'm not eating institutional food anyway....

Friday dinner: cheated, as we were both feeling fairly grotty, and went to Yippee!, the sort-of-Pan-Asian (i.e. mostly Chinese, apart from the samosas) noodle bar round the corner. Less good for vegetarian/ pescetarian purposes than we had anticipated - all the noodle soups had chicken stock in them, which was a shame, but while the vegetable rolls were disappointing (mostly chunks of carrot in the filling), the prawn toast was enjoyable, and the fried noodles with prawns, beansprouts, pak choi and chilli slices was exactly what I wanted.

Saturday: For lunch, knocked together a spinach, tomato and feta fritatta, with a little bit of garlic added in. Probably used more spinach than was really good for the balance of flavours, but it was still very tasty. Baked fritattas are my new favourite vegetarian thing - so much easier than omlettes, but extremely satisfying! Stone Soup has a recipe for a chickpea, parmesan and rosemary one that I am keen to try soon.

For dinner, we had a change of plan. We had some fillets of wild Pacific salmon, and had been planning to do them with pak choi, but I had chopped up a pepper at lunch, thinking it might go in the fritatta, and then realised it wouldn't fit. So we spiced the salmon with chipotle, oregano, and coriander, blackened it, and served it with fried red pepper and onions, and a can of refried beans we had in the cupboard (slightly slackened with a little water, and supplemented with a chopped red chilli. I wouldn't normally use a whole chilli for these purposes, but the ones Sainsburys has at the moment are extremely mild).

Sunday: For lunch, bacon rolls with Frank's Hot Sauce, supplemented with the pak choi, so that it didn't go to waste.

For dinner, top rump of beef, which I had covered in mixed herbs and a little salt before browning it all over, and putting it in the slow cooker with a little water and cooking it on low for... a couple of hours. Ended up nearer medium than rare, but very tender and well-flavoured. On the side, roast potatoes, and stewed cherry tomatoes. This was a last minute improvisation. We had bought savoy cabbage, but when we cut it up, it was covered in little black spots, and while I suspect they were only a cosmetic problem, I wasn't sure, so we used up the tomatoes left over from the fritatta that were originally being kept for snacking. And very well they went with the roast too (probably better than the cabbage, actually).

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/654240.html.

Huh. I had vaguely heard of the author of this book, but only as 'that priest who is poet in residence at Manchester Cathedral.' I didn't know that she was trans (no reason I should), nor that she has a memoir coming out. Might be of interest to some of you.

I shall try and get hold of it, though looking at my TBR pile, goodness knows when I shall read it... (Meanwhile, if you enjoy the 'spiritual autobiography' genre, I would advise skipping Hauerwas', because although bits of it are interesting, he just comes off as a bit self-regarding, even by the standards of a genre based on navel-gazing, but despite its ridiculous name, Jesus, my Father, the CIA and me is really rather good, even though bits of it sound like Bill Bryson trying to rewrite Augustine...)

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/649433.html.

Very peculiar dream last night, where, unusually, I can remember quite a lot of plot. I have no idea why I was dreaming about surviving a sort of zombie apocalypse with a group consisting of the last Archbishop of Canterbury and a number of mediaeval re-enactors, though....

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/648931.html.

As the last Tolkien fan in the world to have seen "The Hobbit 1", I wish to report my impressions, which are:

1. Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage are excellent as Bilbo and Thorin.

2. The dwarves are mostly good and not taken too far in the direction of comic relief, though I was worried in the Bag End scenes before Thorin appeared. Honourable mention to Ken Stott as a very likable Balin.

3. The depiction of Barry Humpries' Great Goblin as a distinctly different kind of orc to Azog was surprisingly effective in resolving/ bridging the differences between The Hobbit's goblins, who owe a heavy debt to George MacDonald, and the darker orcs of Lord of the Rings. I wasn't entirely convinced by the jowly prosthetics/ CGI, but that's a relatively minor point.

4. Jackson is getting as bad as George Lucas for self-indulgent lingering shots of Cool Stuff and completely implausible fight sequences.

5. I've no objection to backstory about the White Council appearing in the film, and it was particularly nice to see Christopher Lee reprising Sauruman, but Radagast and his bunny-driven sledge? Really? He's supposed to be Franciscan, not a complete loon... (and see above re: 'completely unbelievable fight/ chase sequences').

6. Excellent soundtrack, with good use of the Lord of the Rings leitmotivs, and a haunting new tune for the dwarves - and I did love the scene where they sing "Far Over Misty Mountains Cold" in Bag End.

I feel I enjoyed the evening and got my money's worth, but it's far too uneven to be called a good film, though there were aspects I did enjoy a lot.

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/648235.html.

A good New Year to one and all, and many may you see!

Still, I'm very sad to hear of the death of CMJ, excellent cricket commentator, and one of the voices of summer, hushed far too soon. I hadn't even realised he was ill, though I was a little worried when he wasn't commentating this year... May he rest in peace.

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/647582.html.

My grandmother on my future employment by the diocese of Wakefield:

I've never been there myself, but my mother's uncle was drowned there, cutting a branch of palm* that was hanging over the river for his sweetheart. My mother would never have it in the house after that. [PAUSE]. So there's a definite family connection there.


* No idea. I think she said 'palm'; I'm guessing it's a dialect term I don't know, but I couldn't get a word in edgeways to ask - legionseagle?

*

Addenbrooks surgery department had knocked off for the day by the time I got hold of Lawyer. In other news, I am beginning to go into a complete panic about getting ready to move back to Cambridge - and the sermon I failed to finish this afternoon is just dire, what there is of it.

*sticks straws in hair*

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/646476.html.

So, it looks likely that we have a new Archbishop of Canterbury - Justin Welby of Durham.* Slightly surprising, inasmuch as he isn't very experienced, but I think on the whole he's a decent choice, and there's some hope he has some administrative talent, which would not go amiss. And he does give the impression of saying his prayers, which is a good thing in an Archbishop.

I've frequently heard him described as a conservative evangelical, but I can't quite work out why. He's certainly an evangelical - it is, after all, their turn - but the conservatism I've seen less evidence of, apart from the fact that he's opposed to gay marriage, but it's almost impossible to find bishops who are in favour, and that includes people who would normally be called liberals.** Of course, that may just be a function of him not having been high-profile for very long, and I may be missing something, but it equally may arise from the media not being very good (understandably enough) at reading the subtleties of things.


*Rotten luck for Durham; he's only been in post a year, and before that they had N.T. "Tom" Wright, who though a distinguished scholar, was never actually there....

** I believe that +Buckingham (the one with the interesting but poorly laid out blog) and +Salisbury have come out in favour, but they obviously won't go any further, +Salisbury because of his marital situation (married a divorcee), and +Buckingham because he says what he thinks too bluntly.

ETA: I left the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds off the list (thank you, bookwormsarah), but the point remains. Also, I am reminded that Welby lists the encyclical "Rerum Novarum" (the one in which Leo XIII sketched out Catholic social teaching on industrial relations and the like, endorsing unions, among other things) as the greatest influence on his moral thinking. Which probably won't please Conservative (as in party politics) Anglicans, but again is a count against him being all that much of a conservative evangelical, because regardless of political stance, endorsing Papal teaching is not something that that crowd tends to do.

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/643646.html.

Looks as if Hurricane Sandy is going to pass very close to my inlaws, though as they are on high ground, and it should have abated to a tropical storm, I'm not too concerned about them.

But stay safe if you're near it, eh?

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/642485.html.

I have not done many fandom related things lately, but this - seen all over - is a nice meme. So, pick a number, and I will discourse. Possibly at length, possibly tersely.

1 - Your current OTP
2 - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind
3 - A pairing you have never liked and probably never will
4 - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t
5 - Have you added anything stupid/cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what
6 - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom
7 - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it
8 - Do you prefer characters from real action series or anime series
9 - Has the internet caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why
10 - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr [let's substitute LJ here for a more meaningful question in my case]
11 - How do you feel about the other people in your current fandom
12 - Your favorite fanartist/author gives you one request, what do you ask for
13 - Your favorite fanart or fanartist
14 - Your favorite fanfiction or fanauthor
15 - Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of
16 - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)
17 - A ship you’ve abandoned and why
18 - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships
19 - Show us an example of your personal headcanon
20 - Do you remember what your first fanwork was?
21 - Self-rec: What's your favorite fanwork you've created?
22 - Are you one of those fans who can’t watch anything without shipping
23 - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms
24 - 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms
25 - A fandom you’re in but have no ships from
26 - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/636127.html.

Anyone have any tips on discouraging clothes moths? Unfortunately, mothballs make the inside of my throat swell up, but grateful for any other suggestions...

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/635076.html.

I think this (absolutely safe for work) fandom secret is my favourite ever....

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/634413.html.

TV Tropes now has a page for Rev.

This, of course, also includes a set of tropes for each character. They list the Archdeacon as straight gay: a homosexual character who has no camp mannerisms or obviously 'gay' affectations.</i>

I'm not sure about this, given that it's fairly obvious from early on to viewers who know anything about the C of E that he's gay. And the sauna scene early on in S2 was also a bit of a give-away...

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/633024.html.

The headcanon meme, swiped from dolorous_ett:


1. Pick a pairing or a character
2. Ask me my particular head!canon regarding something about them
3. Post to your journal to share your own head!canon!

You know my fandoms, Watson...

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/630702.html.

This article in the Daily Telegraph is, broadly speaking, a good overview of the politics surrounding the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury - with the caveat that I cannot imagine where the journalist has picked up the idea that Sentamu "is first preference for the liberal/Catholic/High wing." He's not, remotely. (The answer, incidentally, is probably Graham James of Norwich, though actually there is no obvious Catholic candidate, liberal or conservative, since the Bishop of Ely has only just got there, and the Bishop of Reading is only a diocesan).

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/629935.html.

Advice on using the London Underground this summer.

I would add, carry a bottle of water at all times, and remember that it can be very hot indeed in the deep tube stations at busy times (not unusual for temperatures to reach the thirties in summer at peak times).

Crossposted from http://tree-and-leaf.dreamwidth.org/629684.html.