katherine gregor | katherine gregor
May.20.2012
English houses are an infuriating combination of the cosy and the absurd.
There are few pleasures comparable to walking home down a street lined with traditional-looking English houses. Diminutive in height, sloped roofs as observation decks for modulating blackbirds and...
|
May.13.2012
It was a book with a dark blue cover, with a ghostly picture of a Mediaeval ship, in a paler blue and grey, on the front. My mother had brought it for me from the local library, in Nice, as I sat up in bed, age twelve, my neck all swollen with mumps.
“Seigneurs, vous plaît-il d’...
|
|
May.06.2012
Join a library, apply for a job or submit a play for a competition. More often than not, you will have to fill one in. Apparently, their purpose is to guarantee an equal distribution of opportunities among ethnic backgrounds. Does it really work? I am fully aware that this policy...
|
Apr.29.2012
I am recovering from a drawn out case of laryngitis. During this time, there was one particular day when I could not speak. My throat hurt too much. Because I am currently between jobs, I was able to indulge the laryngitis, and allow it to take its time over its tantrum. ...
|
|
Apr.26.2012
English is a democratic language. Vox populi, vox linguae. As soon as 51% of people say something in a particular way, then it becomes correct.
Incorrect English usage. Now there is a minefield. Do not even venture there. "Incorrect" implies that there is...
|
Apr.22.2012
I love the rain. We had a few thunderstorms, last week. One afternoon, just as I lighting sparked into my room and I heard the thunder drumroll, I grabbed my mac, and rushed out into the street, towards the Thames. The drops were getting fatter and heavier, and I turned up my...
|
|
Apr.18.2012
Rule Number One to be truly English. Banish at once the following two words from your vocabulary: 'yes' and 'no'.
They are unsightly, un-English, and compromising. They state an absolute, and that is bad-mannered. After all, who gives you the right to...
|
Apr.15.2012
I am unwell, and beginning to enjoy it. For one thing, it is giving me time to think. No, I am not mad. It is like observing a student being taught a difficult but valuable lesson. The student throws a tantrum, sulks, tries distraction techniques but then returns to her...
|
|
Apr.08.2012
A friend and I were walking down the street and saw a woman sitting on a doorstep, crying her eyes out. “Don’t get involved,” said my friend, picking up the pace. A few steps further, I let my friend go on without me. I felt I had to turn back, or I could not have lived with...
|
Apr.01.2012
As a rule, I feel uncomfortable at church services. It is not that I have an issue with God, or with churches per se. I believe in God, and like most churches built at least 500 years ago. It is the congregation. Everybody looks so sorted. The serene smiles, the...
|