Author of two London history books - Beautiful Idiots & Brilliant Lunatics, and High Buildings, Low Morals. Another book on its way …
Joined September 2009
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It must be the name because that sounds like me
Jun 10
I once traced the origin of the less/fewer ‘rule’. It was invented by a prescriptivist in late C18th called Robert Baker. He didn’t know much about grammar but he had strong views. There’s no need to adopt his. amazon.co.uk/Accidence-Will-…
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On the same theme I think this is the novel (or trilogy of novels) I've most thoroughly enjoyed reading this year. Completely gripping, full of atmosphere, funny, painfully sharp and realistic about people
Loved this. Reliable rule of reading fiction is that every time you pick up a book by a mid twentieth century British woman novelist it will turn out to be a banger. I think that era is of the under-appreciated peaks of the history of the novel.
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@robnitm sorry if I've asked you this before. My mum was a student at UCL around 56/7 and used to tell us a story about a coffee bar called cocaine which made us hoot. Until we realised it was spelt cockayne. Can't find any reference to this. Have you heard of it?
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May 26
This is so affecting, and one of the reasons Holyrood exists. A great addition to Parliament.
May 26
You can get watch it here:
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Roger Ebert: "It was a rainy day in Paris in 1962, and I was visiting Europe for the first time. A little cinema on the Left Bank was showing The Third Man, and I went, into the humid cave of Gauloise smoke and perspiration, and saw the movie for the first time. 1/2
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Rob Baker retweeted
May 6
I didn’t know this! Revelatory! The actual word derives from the (French) sound of the block of print clicking into place…
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