Sunday, March 23, 2025

The 3rd most important book of the century.

Sunday morning. The BBC morning news bulletin tells us that Heathrow is operating 'normally' again after Fridays fire. Meanwhile, the government has begun an investigation into what went wrong amid fears we have a 'resiliency' problem. The airport may be operating normally again but it seems that flight schedules will be disrupted for a few more days. We also learn about a Mr. Witkoff who was until recently a New York real estate developer.

Angus finds his energy levels back to where they were before the 'savage wee bug' hit. 'The Font' will go to tonights performance of the St Matthews Passion alone. A residual cough is not something that melds well with musical performances. We had to cancel our planned trip to meet the print maker in Glasgow but have rearranged for this coming week. We've also been able to snag a late minute 'cancellation' at our favourite ( and always booked out ) restaurant there. Miracles happen.


We're still not sure if the new student only cafe is open yet. Through a glass door it looks as if boxes are still being unpacked. There are a lot of pot plants for sale. Must be a Gen Alpha thing. What does a student only policy entail ? How will they police it ? We - and the towns genteel retirees - want to know. 


Large street umbrellas have been restored to the cafes on the street facing the biochemistry labs. The locals are big fans of street umbrellas. They're a sure fire sign that one day, soon, the sun and quite possibly some semblance of warmth will return. In this mornings chill wind dreams of continental style pavement dining seem optimistic.


We stop to marvel at the university flower beds. They are designed to maintain their cheerfulness through the graduation ceremonies in early June.

The souvenir shop owned by the gentleman with the turban has a picture of the Swilken Bridge and a flock of sheep. I'll bet copies of  this will sell like hot cakes and appear in many an Australian kitchen. As we pass the golf course we note that the water board is at last starting to take down the high wooden fence around the drainage works. Visiting golfers will soon be able to enjoy a pristine experience.

A quick detour to the bookstore to pick up a copy of Second-hand time. At the till  the young lady in a green knitted cardigan congratulates me on my choice of reading matter. " It's the third most important book of this century " I'm told. This leaves me non-plussed. Why did I not know this ? Who decides what books are, and aren't,  important ? Should I return this to the shelves and ask for the first and second most important books instead ?  


What did Dodos look like ? :https://jonn.substack.com/p/some-notes-on-the-dodo?

WASP Americans : https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-wasps-are-gone

Medieval medicine :https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1540/medieval-cures-for-the-black-death/






10 comments:

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
As Gen Alpha would, at most, be 15 years, I might suggest it is more a Gen Z thing, plants and coffee... and they will have student/uni ID cards which no doubt will be required for 'policing'. Glad to hear you are properly on the mend and do hope that cough doesn't linger. YAM xx

Marie said...

The first thing I thought on viewing the sheep print was how much I liked it. Then read your Australian comment. Marie, Melbourne,Australia

Angus said...

For what it's worth I also think copies of the fun print will be popular in the kitchens of a large number American and Spanish visitors. Maybe less so with the Chinese ?

Lisa in France said...

That really doesn't look like a student cafe to me - I wonder how they will do. Maybe they are targeting a WASPy subculture that no longer exists according to your linked article? I had no idea we were not sure what a dodo looked like,

waterdog said...

I am looking forward to reading Second-hand Time. I’ll need a quiet afternoon.
I have note cards with the same flock of sheep. They seem to be well traveled.

Travel said...

My first thought was I wonder if I can find a copy of the sheep art, when I am there in May.

Fay said...

I also wondered about the ranking. Apparently, pundits differ :). The Guardian named it the third best book of the 21st century. The New York Times ranked it #72 in its list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. Britain vs. U.S.? Marvelous photos, as always, even though Puppy did not make an appearance.

Sharon said...

Have you and the Font kept your student IDs or a copy. They might give you access to the Café.

jabblog said...

The student-only cafe looks very swish. Anyone can be a student, at any age, formally or informally. Surely the proprietors are not going to be ageist??

Anonymous said...

The flowers are gorgeous and very cheering