Never reading books

Finished tiling platform 2: one to go.

The hole in the centre of the platform is for an eventual lampost - see earlier blog.

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Not reading novels:

Me: "I don't know if you're much of a reader, Alec, but I came across this amusing quotation in an Evelyn Waugh novel the other day."

Esteemed colleague (not actually called 'Alec'): "Never read a book in my life, Tony. I wait till they get to celluloid."

This response never ceases to surprise me. But, actually, it occurs frequently. It amazes me how many highly intelligent, articulate and dare I say it, wise folk never read fiction.

My father was a case in point. I don't think he read a novel in his life. Yet, he was all those things: intelligent, articulate and wise and more so. My mother was different, she read poetry.

I read a hell of a lot (albeit slowly). I feel miserable if I don't have a novel at the ready - in case I need the escape.

Anyway, thoroughly enjoying the new Ian McEwan novel, "Sweet Tooth". Ian McEwan is pretty much the only contemporary writer whose prose I can tolerate.

My conclusion is that I can see little to be gained from reading novels other than pleasure.

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Last night's dinner:

A banana:

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Tango update:

Not very successful last night. But I did learn something whose significance I will try to explicate.

One reason that my feet repeatedly clatter against those of my opponent's (sorry, partner's - Freudian slip) is that there is not enough space between us at floor level.

To make that space the man slopes forward and the woman has to support him. This slope, as well as making that ground level space for the feet, also imparts the force which makes the man the propelling force in Tango.

PROBLEM:

In order to experience this phenomenon, we did an exercise where the woman held the man at arm's length and she was forced backwards around the dance floor by the force of him leaning forwards. That required a lot of faith from the man in the woman. But it was possible to do.

However, once one adopted the embrace position, as in the first picture above, it was not clear to me how the woman was to support the falling timber that was the man.