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The Wool-gatherer is the pseudonym of Hugh Parry. I have taught literature courses in adult education for around 30 years. A few of my victims have been with me for much, or even all, of that time. Leaving aside the personal pleasure of this, a professional advantage is that I have always needed to look …

THE TRIATHLETE’S TALE

[Peter Newsome’s friend, Paul Buckley, initiates Peter into the delights of a triathlon:]On arrival, we saw a lot of fit-looking young people with expensive time-trial bikes. There were very few people who, like Paul and myself, were simply having a go. I propped up my bike and bag of kit where I was directed and …

SHYLOCK, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF BEDROOM DECOR

Shylock treats an ungrateful, impatient Antonio to a Biblical anecdote which he manages to turn into a parable:‘When Jacob graz’d his uncle Laban’s sheep –This Jacob from our holy Abram was(As his wise mother wrought in his behalf)The third possessor: ay, he was the third –[Antonio: And what of him? did he take interest?]No, not …

HARPING ON

From William Chappell’s ‘Popular Music of the Olden Times, Vol. 1’:By the Laws of Wales (Leges Wallicae – the laws of Hywel Dda), a harp was one of the three things that were necessary to constitute a gentleman or a freeman, and none could pretend to that character who did not have one or could …

SHYLOCK’S FACES

I have often advanced the theory, which is bound not to be an original one, that the appearance of ‘roundedness’ in a Shakespearian character may be created by a compound of stereotypes. For example, I think it is possible to separate Shylock into ten strands, some of which may, I admit, be closely intertwined.1)  The …

SHYLOCK – GROUNDS FOR APPEAL

PORTIA:Therefore prepare thee to cut off the flesh.Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less nor more,But just a pound of flesh: if thou tak’st moreOr less than a just pound, be it but so muchAs makes it light or heavy in the substance,Or the division of the twentieth partOf one poor scruple, nay, if …

MR CLEAN AND THE BAD-LUCK STAR

They make you laugh, sometimes, don’t they. Kids. Upstairs by the squat, there’s always kids around, singing and shouting and saying funny things. But Lenny was the only one who talked to me. The others kept telling him to leave me alone, but he made me laugh. He called me Mr Clean – that’s my …

A TASTE OF THE EXOTIC ORIENT (EASTERN HALF)

We have now arrived in China – not the real one, so no Cultural Revolution, Tiananmen, Uighur concentration camps or toxic pangolins. I return to Fritz Kreisler to waft us into the mysterious atmosphere with one of his own little tunes, just right for a 78 rpm record side. Expect sharp tempo changes – normal …

NEXT STOP TOUR DE FRANCE

“Can I borrow the car, dad?” One of the undeniably good things about being a teacher is the long summer holiday. As soon as the schools broke up, my friend Peter and I usually headed for the North of Scotland, to some wild and beautiful place surrounded by big mountains. We would put up a …

A TASTE OF THE EXOTIC ORIENT (WESTERN HALF!)

One of the pleasures of having a collection of recordings distributed amongst many different genres is assembling a thematic programme, either for domestic entertainment or for a public gig by the Sheik of Shellac. This week and next, everything will have an Oriental tinge to it, though that might not be much more than a …

BEYOND DEAD, PART 2

‘The two individuals were sitting on stone seats under an olive tree in a square with exotic leanings. There was no sun. They were playing chess. And when I say stone seats, they weren’t made of stone exactly. More an illusion of stone. And when I tell you they were sitting under an olive tree, …