Saturday, January 26, 2013


Well, that was grand. I knitted through most of the first three sets, and saw some of the see-saw fourth before deciding that time was running short and I had better go to the supermarket.  When I got back I sat down to log onto bbc.co.uk/news to find out what had happened – but I didn’t need to, because there was the answer in your comments. It was a glorious way to find out.

I haven’t much hope for tomorrow, but tennis can turn on so little. There’s always a chance. While I was lying awake that night, listening to Murray beat Djokovic in NY, one of the English commentators said that there is no sport which can turn so dramatically one way and then the other, within seconds.

One of the others present, an American, said, “Cricket”. There was then a delicious silence while the group assimilated the remark.

And meanwhile Rachel’s betting slip isn’t worthless yet. Ladbrokes were right to put Murray on shorter odds than Federer. Djokovic, however, was odds-on, even on Tuesday.

Amazon

This is interesting as well as confusing, about Kindle editions being available or not, in different jurisdictions.

Yesterday evening I tried to buy an arty book -- a real book, on paper -- for my husband from Amazon.fr. I’ve made such purchases before – they now send me emails in French from time to time, which makes me feel very grown-up. This one wasn’t outrageously expensive, as art books go. But they wrote, 20 minutes later, to say that, malheureusement, the payment had not gone through.

So now what’s wrong? I tried buying Cazalet (2) for the Kindle this morning – no problem there. Maybe I’ll just go back to France this evening and try ordering again.

Thanks for the information about Mrs Miniver. I will have a substantial use for EverNote, just keeping track of useful suggestions in all your comments. Stashdragon, I am a big Barbara Pym fan, but it’s been a long time since I read her. I think I’m ready to start again. And I had forgotten that there was knitting.

Mary Lou, I’m glad you mentioned “Went the Day Well”. It’s my absolute favourite of British wartime films – and perfect, as propaganda. Somehow or other – it’s been a while since I saw it – a German platoon establishes itself in disguise in an English village, with the connivance of a local toff. The morals are, be alert and don’t trust anybody.

Knitting & Life

I got more of that yoke than usual done yesterday, because of the tennis. It will not be so tomorrow, when Mass-going will have to take precedence.

Archie is coming to see us today. I’ll set him to work on the Surface. 

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:32 AM

    Jean,I tried to order my husband a book from an American academic website on my credit card,and the transaction was refused.I rang the bank and they said it was not my usual sort of transaction and therefore had stopped it! When I explained they Ok'd the payment-I had to make the order again and it all went through.Jenny

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  2. Anonymous3:05 PM

    Apparently foreign transactions are always suspect--we have to notify our credit card company every time we travel especially if one of us is at home and one away. I'm sure if you call and say you will be making a French purchase they will let it go through. Sister Helen

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  3. Also for some reason the book of Mrs Miniver is available free online here: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/struther/miniver/miniver.html

    Not sure if/how you'd get it onto a Kindle, but you might be able to read it on an ipad?

    The knitting in Barbara Pym is brilliant, I listened to "Some Tame Gazelle" recently and was tickled by the attention given to the knitting of the curate's socks.

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  4. You can email any pdf document to your kindle - handy for academics reading journal articles. If you can get a book in pdf format then you can do the same thing.... (the instructions are in the kindle handbook/on the kindle page in Amazon)

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  5. Anonymous5:35 PM

    Jean, I guess you are having a fabulous time with Archie today.

    I wanted to tell you that I took Franklin's lace edgings class at Vogue Knitting NYC last week, which I think is the one you took. It was great fun, and I learned a lot. Inspired by you, I got a photo of myself with Franklin. I hope this links to it:

    http://images4-b.ravelrycache.com/uploads/fleuramour/143236105/IMG_1349_medium2.JPG

    Thanks for the idea!

    Beverly in NJ

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