There is a quote that I like a lot, that has brought me comfort in many times of despair. It is usually attributed to the Talmud, which isn’t quite true, but a mixed provenance does not have to rob a piece of writing of its beauty: Do not be daunted…
Having created a haven of geekiness within our home, and spending as we do a fair amount of time on the internet – a place welcoming to geeks if ever there was one – it can be strange sometimes for Himself and I to venture into the real world. It…
…there were no books. I know, I know, it hardly bears thinking about. A world with no books sounds ghastly. So soon enough, someone invented books. Or writing, at any rate. The Sumerians used clay tablets, the Egyptians used papyrus. The Chinese were the first to crack the secret of…
At first glance, there is not much to the tiny ferry port of Tingwall in Orkney. It would be tempting to write the whole place off as nothing more than a farm, a part-time ticket office and a pier. The thing is, this is not entirely true. On first appearances,…
