I’ve noticed the same thing, toms. Could be all sorts of reasons. I’ve posted very little in the last week or so having been struck down by a humdinger of a cold and feeling very sorry for myself. Have not been properly fasting but as I can hardly bear the sight or smell of food, it’s probably amounted to the same thing.
Sod’s law. It’s happened when I’ve got quite a lot of translation work. I also had to miss my first MA dissertation supervision, but not before I had emailed my supervisor nearly 1,000 words of waffle before keeling over. It may well be there are other posters who are suffering one way or another
Also if there hasn’t been much activity on your regular threads, you don’t get the relevant emails.

Hi toms mantis

Quite off topic here but does your username actually mean Tom’s Mantis (as in the Latin for “prophet”)? If so, should we call you Tom or tom not toms?
Weird question, I know, but just curious 🙂

Cheers, Kim

PS How is the swimming going?

Thanks for goading me into action, piper. And hello again, toms.

The bug still hovers and during the day I’m able to work and generally function normally, but at night I cough like some old down-and-out. Funny, when I was a smoker I never coughed. Now, not having lit up for 12+ years I’m turning it into an art form.

I did manage to catch up with my dissertation supervisor and I’m glad I made the effort, it was a fun meeting and a lot of ideas were bounced around. I’m still not quite sure precisely which way I’m going to go with the dissertation, but 1930s French cinema will almost certainly figure. As for the question re what stage I’m at with the MA. I’m now in the home straight. No more regular classes no more essays, no more research projects, all that remains is the 15,000-word dissertation to be delivered at the end of September. But it carries more marks than any of the rest of the course and has to be good.

I endorse toms’s recommendation of Birdsong. It was the first book by Sebastian Faulkes I read and although it’s an early one I think it is almost certainly his best. If you enjoy it, which I’m sure you will, try to get hold of Charlotte Grey, which is about World War II and features some of the characters from Birdsong.

Hi toms,

Thought I’d track you down to let you know that I and now nearly-6ft and seriously hunky great-nephew finally got to see War Horse on Saturday. Wow! We both loved it. As I said to him after I’d been reduced to blubbing during the finale of Act 1 – the cavalry charge – “Art that leaves you feeling like you’ve been punched in the gut has got to be good!” I’m delighted to say he understood exactly what I meant. Despite occasional moments of sitting with hoodie up and scowling (“I’m 15 and I hate everybody!”) as teenagers go, he’s more than OK, incredibly wise for his age and great company.

It was a great day out with an extra bonus in the evening. OH met us at our local tapas bar where sitting at the next table was your actual Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi, who lives around here. Young Sir was totally gob-smacked and promptly texted his two best mates to tell them he was in the illustrious presence.

We were joined on Sunday by mum and the little fella, now 5 and at school, doing well and reading for himself. Still enjoyed me reading him Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny at bedtime, though. He’s getting to be quite a character, just like the little girl with a little curl in the middle of her forehead – when he’s good he’s very, very good but when he’s bad he’s horrid, or to paraphrase, a right little bugger!

Hope all is well with you. Are you still swimming? I’m in the final straight of the MA and now working on my dissertation, plus the day job has got rewardingly busy. Still doing the 5:2 and continuing to lose, albeit very slowly.

It would be great to hear from you. xx