tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post7029738884787480310..comments2024-03-27T12:08:02.812+00:00Comments on THE SMALL THINGS: More random thoughts on Twitter, the young people of today, and the rumour that we are all going to the dogsTania Kindersleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-3683916152410001682009-05-01T16:55:00.000+01:002009-05-01T16:55:00.000+01:00http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/a...http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6149248.ece<br /><br />Sorry - am posting far too often but suddenly remembered this utterly inspiring and tragic story from the Sunday times last weekend and thought that it would be of interest to everyone, if you didn't see it.Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14002322976940013176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-44491155720838638422009-05-01T16:16:00.000+01:002009-05-01T16:16:00.000+01:00Oh and PS - am going to Cecil Beaton exhibition in...Oh and PS - am going to Cecil Beaton exhibition in Piccadilly on Monday - am frantically re-reading Bright Young Things for context meantime - will let you know how it is, but looks utterly delicious - will be buying postcards aplenty for a montage for my bedroom wall. or as bookmarks - cannot decide.Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14002322976940013176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-31401630375606735292009-05-01T15:02:00.000+01:002009-05-01T15:02:00.000+01:00and now i am blushing. Have a lovely bank holiday ...and now i am blushing. Have a lovely bank holiday weekend with the dogs!!!Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14002322976940013176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-40474203882690348822009-05-01T14:55:00.000+01:002009-05-01T14:55:00.000+01:00Jo - oh, the goodness and kindness of you. So man...Jo - oh, the goodness and kindness of you. So many lovely compliments, I am slightly overcome. Just found your own blog - I adore the title - and saw that you have given a huge shout out there for Backwards. I am so pleased you liked it and that you really got what Sarah and I were trying to do. I can't tell you how happy it makes me. Interestingly, in my latest post I thanked LLG for a similar kindness on her blog, and now I add you in huge capital letters to my gratitude list. I am constantly amazed and overjoyed by the absolute kindness and generosity I find in the blogosphere. <br /><br />And - yr Out to Lunch comments are fascinating. I had not thought of it in quite those terms, but think you might be right. Of course it makes me feel less shy about how amateurish it was, so thank you for that too.<br /><br />TxxTania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-32091100514453913762009-05-01T14:46:00.000+01:002009-05-01T14:46:00.000+01:00Well actually - having read out to lunch and other...Well actually - having read out to lunch and other one post everything else - i rather loved them because i could see the essence of Virge in them, which made me love them for that and i could see what you were working up to. It's rather nice to see an author's work in progress for a character and situations and how willa and davey were culminations - for eg - of alabama etc. )If i've got that wrong, sorry, but i think it's fascinating.) Thus my fascination with the blog, and as many have said more eloquently than me, your superb, elegant, thought-inducing prose.Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14002322976940013176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-62796546283470435122009-05-01T13:06:00.000+01:002009-05-01T13:06:00.000+01:00Jo - that is such a lovely thing to say. I AM blu...Jo - that is such a lovely thing to say. I AM blushing. Slightly terrified though to think of you reading Out to Lunch, I was 21 when I wrote it, knew nothing, and wanted to write a cross between Vile Bodies and Love in a Cold Climate. Result was the most affected silly book in the world. It took me several years to calm down and learn to carry a tune. But I do still have a fondness for Don't Ask Me Why and am so glad you liked it. You will be glad to hear that my obsession with Hemingway is still going like gangbusters.<br /><br />Cassandra - can't believe you read it too. Is it quite an amazing coincidence that we should end up being friends in the blogosphere all these years later? It is making me smile.Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-59949115946519552542009-05-01T12:14:00.000+01:002009-05-01T12:14:00.000+01:00'Don't ask me why' is in my top three books of all...'Don't ask me why' is in my top three books of all time and has influenced a number of things in my life, from calling my parents Ma and Pa to an eternal and lifelong dream to move to dorset, which is now in planning stages, and a proper respect of beautifully cut suits, hemingway, working in bookshops and pink hair.... and then i went back and bought every other single book T wrote and even sought Out to lunch and the other one whose name right now escapes me. I scoured Amazon for years waiting for the next TK title... (can't wait for the next one. (sorry if this is blush-inducing but it just goes to show that publishers can get it so wrong, so I wish Hodmandod all the best and I shall look out for his book too).Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14002322976940013176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-82250012229083803532009-05-01T09:54:00.000+01:002009-05-01T09:54:00.000+01:00I bought "Don't Ask Me Why"! I had to go to Waters...I bought "Don't Ask Me Why"! I had to go to Waterstone's in Picadilly for it - no amazon in those days. And I liked it A LOT. <br /><br />Re this post - I've just been listening to The Reunion on Radio 4. Thalidomide victims, their parents, doctors. Absolutely heartbreaking and I thank God that I wasn't pregnant during the "good old days" when women were prescribed insufficiently tested drugs for nausea.Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02314685034290160800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-45319034263298673302009-04-30T08:40:00.000+01:002009-04-30T08:40:00.000+01:00Inspired by your words (and somewhat contrary to t...Inspired by your words (and somewhat contrary to the Gentleman description) I have initiated a Stalinist purge of dullards. Or would Stalin have kept the dullards?Charlie McVeighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07967002032615534706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-89588493912580818712009-04-29T22:22:00.000+01:002009-04-29T22:22:00.000+01:00Mystery - I worship Bill Bailey. I am going to hun...Mystery - I worship Bill Bailey. I am going to hunt him down at once. And you are right, funniness is not to be sniffed at, in these Troubled Times.Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-43904585683504998042009-04-29T22:21:00.000+01:002009-04-29T22:21:00.000+01:00Hodmandod - how incredibly funny. Ah, yes, those ...Hodmandod - how incredibly funny. Ah, yes, those were my wilderness years. Fairly nice reviews, NO SALES. Was sacked by publisher. Had to fall back on inner resources, all stoicism and humility. The joy is, Backwards ended up on the Sunday Times bestseller list, mostly thanks to the lovely India Knight, who championed it.<br /><br />Huge luck with your novel. Don't fear, Mary Wesley was first published when she was seventy. Middle age is nothing.Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-49216410339140202642009-04-29T20:51:00.000+01:002009-04-29T20:51:00.000+01:00My favourite person from a completely narcissistic...My favourite person from a completely narcissistic point of view on twitter? Bill Bailey, he's hilarious! I find him funny, but am so glad Twitter isn't just that. <br /><br />It's funniness and it's more. Couldn't ask for better!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-12946349273867330762009-04-29T19:36:00.000+01:002009-04-29T19:36:00.000+01:00By the way, my name is Josa Young.By the way, my name is Josa Young.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08536884736928320856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-86378320938795066812009-04-29T19:35:00.000+01:002009-04-29T19:35:00.000+01:00I have an interesting connection to you Tania, alt...I have an interesting connection to you Tania, although we have never met. One day we should discuss. It involves a novel I wrote years ago that was rejected on the grounds they had taken yours but it hadn't been successful for them (I understand now you are very successful!). The novel is now being published, in a very new version, and is called One Apple Tasted. I am in a fear and trembling about it of course being a first novel in middle age. Anyway, love the way you write!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08536884736928320856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-76985868373721519072009-04-29T19:18:00.000+01:002009-04-29T19:18:00.000+01:00People just like to express themselves, don't they...People just like to express themselves, don't they and blogging, tweeting and facebooking is tool.<br />Not everyone likes speaking.<br /><br />P.S. Are you the lady that wrote 'Goodbye Johnny Thunders'? If so, I did like that book very much, read it years ago.Babycakeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01482153985874112267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-91705810779069675452009-04-29T16:39:00.000+01:002009-04-29T16:39:00.000+01:00Mr Christopher - thank you so very much. The Twit...Mr Christopher - thank you so very much. The Twitter novelist is at http://twitter.com/novelsin3lines. I think he is a genius.Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-72547710395988882502009-04-29T16:35:00.000+01:002009-04-29T16:35:00.000+01:00Hi - great article, flagged up by @indiaknight. W...Hi - great article, flagged up by @indiaknight. Who's the French Tweeter posting a daily novel?Mr Christopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16504034672433912220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-66442023505396809052009-04-29T16:14:00.000+01:002009-04-29T16:14:00.000+01:00Exromana - now it is you making me think. I realis...Exromana - now it is you making me think. I realise that when I speak of optimism and progress, especially for women, I do see it through a Western prism. The absolute tragedy of Pakistan is that barriers that had been stormed are now crashing back down. (I think something similar happened in Iran, too.) It is an incredibly important subject, and, as an unreconstructed old feminist, I want to investigate more. I am flying to the Google as we speak.<br /><br />Also, it does make me think more than ever that the Britons who rant on about how we live in a moral swamp should try surviving for a day in the Swat valley now the Taliban hold sway there. I don't think they would like it so much.<br /><br />On a more happy note - I do completely love the picture of your grandparents winning the foxtrot competition. Let us hope against hope that those days can come again.Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-64979648357867411812009-04-29T16:06:00.000+01:002009-04-29T16:06:00.000+01:00i agree tania, opportunities in the 50s were limit...i agree tania, opportunities in the 50s were limited and women were (are?) straitjacketed (depending on where one lives). however, it depends on the optic you are using-in a country like pakistan my grandmum pursued an MA in Economics and my mum also got her MA in 1970. My grandparents won the foxtrot competition at one of the fancy hotels in Lahore- that was back in the 50's. They were breaking barriers- however, we have now reverted to the Barbarians' era in pakistan. the only glimmer of hope i see is escapism. we expats have done an about turn and just taken off. dont want to hijack this "conversation" and make it about rights (or lack thereof) in pakistan, sorry about that! it's just that your post has made me think of certain events of the past, in my history, which are encouraging me to want to answer the germane questions/issues you have raised. thanks so much for it. shall forward to friends and fam.exromanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16977229146981593827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-56829862654298396642009-04-29T15:38:00.000+01:002009-04-29T15:38:00.000+01:00Charlie - You are kind. Also brave - I think you ...Charlie - You are kind. Also brave - I think you are the first gentleman to have ventured onto my blog. A hundred welcomes.<br />I do admit freely that you have a point about the banality. I grow ruthless at cutting the duds. Is that too mean? But I refuse to speak to bores in life.<br /><br />Asitis - erudite is the best compliment, thank you.<br /><br />Titian - you always say the most lovely things. I don't forget you have been here since the very beginning, when I had NO idea what I was doing.<br /><br />Anigalla - such a very generous thing to say. I do warn you though that I feel a dog post coming on, which is likely not to provoke thought but accusations of shameless anthropomorphism.Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-75676942908295459842009-04-29T15:29:00.000+01:002009-04-29T15:29:00.000+01:00Exromana - such interesting commments, thank you. ...Exromana - such interesting commments, thank you. So sad about no hope in Pakistan - not even a tiny glimmer? I know things are atrocious there just now, and not enough is written about it, as if second class status for women is a given, not worth remarking on. <br /><br />As for your dad - idea of humility is fascinating, and there is no doubt that all eras had their high points. A sense of entitlement can be seen now which is not necessarily a lovely thing. But my mother was a young woman in the fifties, and there was no question for her of university or job; sometimes, even now, she looks a little wistful at all the chances I have had which she did not.<br /><br />Thank you so much for sending your thoughts. The conversation generated on blogs is for me the best part.Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-63840099852889501352009-04-29T15:24:00.000+01:002009-04-29T15:24:00.000+01:00great post. wonderful. read something nice which m...great post. wonderful. read something nice which makes us to think seriously.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-53514159518102546752009-04-29T15:21:00.000+01:002009-04-29T15:21:00.000+01:00just had a long chat with dad (re your post), who ...just had a long chat with dad (re your post), who thinks the 50's were the days of humility..."moral rectitude"? when his mum and dad would go about on a vespa and not feel ashamed of it...exromanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16977229146981593827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-33809673587724859332009-04-29T15:04:00.000+01:002009-04-29T15:04:00.000+01:00You write so coherantly it is always a joy to read...You write so coherantly it is always a joy to read, (and hopefully learn from). Each post, and the comments you receive give things I want to find out more about. Thank you for exercising the gray matter.Titian redhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17130121166864903946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-20707039249273819142009-04-29T14:59:00.000+01:002009-04-29T14:59:00.000+01:00Appositeness abounds. Only wish I was as erudite. ...Appositeness abounds. Only wish I was as erudite. Your posts are a joy.Asitishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07736266090447317012noreply@blogger.com