Friday, July 05, 2019


There is very little to report to you today, beyond what you already know. I am recovering from what may well be the most exciting tennis match I have ever seen. Coco Gauff was losing. She lost the first set, and was 5-2 (I think) down in the second. But she won.

We have been slightly worried about the plans for the wedding day next Saturday, in that there is rather a gap between the ceremony and the food-and-speeches. But, hey! Perhaps all we’ll need is a television set. Which final do they play on the final Saturday?

I had the additional pleasure, earlier in the afternoon, of watching Mr Anderson (for whom, see yesterday) being defeated in straight sets by a lower-ranked player, a dashing Argentinian with an Italian name and a preposterously glamourous girlfriend.

So nothing much has been accomplished. My Personal Trainer was here, and I always feel the better for her visits. No knitting. A few more pages of Castle Richmond –- I strongly suspect you are right, Mary Lou, that a lot of the difference of the effect of potato blight, between Ireland and Scotland, is that far more people were involved in Ireland. Is there a good even-handed book on the subject? And on the Corn Laws and the Reform Bill? There were a lot of extremely interesting and important things going on in the 19th century about which I don’t know nearly enough.

And while I’m asking for information, can anyone help me with internet stalking? I am interested in Annie Modesitt’s recovery, but she doesn’t blog much these days – May 30 was the most recent post. I’ve been around for a while, took a class from her here in Edinburgh once (Gerry was there too); contributed when she was appealing for help with his treatment at the Mayo Clinic.

But she’s still active on-line, and often comments on Franklin’s almost daily Facebook posts (which for some reason are notified to me by email). I’m not very expert in Social Media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/whatever). Annie’s page, or feed, or whatever the term might be, on one of those is clogged up with astrology. But if there’s any way of keeping in touch with her reports of how she is and what’s going on, I would be glad to hear of it.

5 comments:

  1. My husband, who did history as a first degree, suggests "The Great Hunger" by Cecil Woodham-Smith and Charles Woodham, first published 1962. Cecil is female, by the way. It seems to have very positive recent reviews so is obviously still read.

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    1. Anonymous4:30 PM

      I too have read and recommend "The Great Hunger".
      Gretchen (aka stashdragon)

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  2. re: Annie Modesitt. I believe her recovery is going reasonably well. She is on some pretty strong pain medication (Oxycontin) and also still not back to full strength, but only good news healthwise for quite awhile now. She's clearly as fiesty and political as ever, even going so far as to email the person who was maintaining "Folks Who Support Ravelry" list and ask to be added since she wasn't there originally.

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  3. AM posts regularly on Facebook. Her energy is limited and an attempt on a garden project laid her low for a couple of days. Her last scan showed her cancer free and she's found an e-cigarette form of CBD marijuana that helps her with her pain. Cheers!

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  4. I don't know Annie personally, but took a class from her some time ago. Franklin noted on FB that she passed away yesterday. It is so sad. What a great, creative spirit. But she will be with Gerry now and I know she missed him so. She once commented on the FB page that she couldn't imagine never hugging him again, and now she is.

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