by beatriceotto | Apr 18, 2019 | a quote to note
More loving lines from George Herbert’s ‘Easter’ poem. Herbert was a cleric and his poem is religious, but even if you aren’t, this has a wholehearted generosity to it; one person bringing what feels like armfuls of gifts to another, only to...
by beatriceotto | Apr 18, 2019 | a quote to note
These lovely lines are from George Herbert’s poem ‘Easter’, and that is the day of which he says there is but one. Whether or not you celebrate Easter, it struck me as a reminder to treat each day as a unique bundle of time, life and, if we’re...
by beatriceotto | Mar 28, 2019 | a quote to note
What do you do when you’re lost? In this magical world, you can try paddling round and round until the fairytale magnet needle points you in the right direction. Listen or look out for those mysterious ‘attractions’. Another lovely book by the...
by beatriceotto | Mar 28, 2019 | a quote to note
Timothy and his siblings run away from their strict grandmother and land, unwittingly, at their uncle’s place. Ambrose is a dream uncle and a dream teacher, getting them educated by morning classwork and evening homework. But the afternoons are theirs to spend...
by beatriceotto | Mar 21, 2019 | a quote to note
Dante’s description of Anger is gloriously conveyed in Clive James’ translation by the delicious echo of ‘plots and plans’ in ‘pots and pans’. And reduced to but a clattering din in the house, you have to wonder if it’s worth...
by beatriceotto | Mar 21, 2019 | a quote to note
Know the sort? Enough confidence and you can get yourself obeyed even if you are ordering people in the wrong direction. This quality often passes for ‘leadership’, regardless of whether the organization ends up being led off a cliff. From a favourite...
by beatriceotto | Mar 14, 2019 | a quote to note
This imperious dismissal of short-cuts as immoral and inevitably causing confusion made me laugh. I have mixed feelings about them.Where it’s an innovative way to do something faster without any loss of quality, I’m all for them; the immorality lies in...
by beatriceotto | Mar 14, 2019 | a quote to note
A satisfying simile for mulling over an idea before implementing it. There is much playful language in the wisdom deftly embedded in Elizabeth Goudge’s writing.One of the best English children’s authors, and this is among my favourite of her books. See the...
by beatriceotto | Mar 7, 2019 | a quote to note
Hemingway’s protagonist goes recruiting and chooses quality over quantity. Trust is what sorts the good men from the ‘undependables’. ‘I could use twenty more men, to be sure,’ Robert Jordan said.‘Good ones do not exist. You want...
