I slightly pity the colleague who asked me my opinion of Wordsworth earlier. (I do not like Wordsworth and find the drivelling sentimentality deeply irksome.) But at least he now has a reading list.

in a way, isn’t causing men to crash out before she’s even done anything just proof that Lupita is perfect for Helen of Troy

My fixed-rate mortgage deal is coming to an end and ahahahahaha yoikes is what I have to say to my mortgage provider's offers to me.

Actual routes to recycling electronics and bulky items for people who don't have access to vehicles that don't effectively mean paying twice. I don't drive so can't take a chair to the tip which means paying for bulky waste collection. If I could get it to the tip, disposal would be free.

I refuse to get into the smoking discourse, but ... it is actually possible to miss smoking not just being 21. If they invented cigarettes which weren't harmful & didn't smell vile, I'd take up smoking again in a heartbeat.

Accept that for the continuation of a vaguely functional welfare state, any *unused* portion of your pension will be taxed alongside your other assets if your estate reaches the IHT threshold?

I am home! Belfast was wonderful but it's good to be home! And, not only do the new floors (the reason for being away) look amazing, the lovely floor fitters even reattached my washing machine for me.

I say this as a cis lady who is pretty, funny, and owns so many dresses, lipsticks, and high heeled shoes, this broad needs to go fuck herself into the sea with that cockamamie shit. HOW DARE that gremlin say what a trans woman ought to be to make her stale cracker ass feel more comfortable.

If you are ever in Belfast, and are a fish eating sort, hasten thy self to Mourne Seafood Bar. Their pan roast fillet of cod grenobloise nearly made me see God and the bartender made a martini to die for.

Nothing brings a street together like watching fire engines. (I live on a very quiet street!)

Out of office is on! I am running a bath and making a list of what needs to be achieved before I abandon my house to the flooring people.

Thus far this process has revealed woodworm and a big chunk of missing and damaged plaster. I am gritting my teeth and telling myself it will all be okay in the end.

I will preface this with the fact that I am a big proponent of active travel. But, I am *not* a big fan of trying to write a travel plan for student accommodation which is within sight of the campus which makes reference to modes by which students will get here.

As I am in the midst of trying to line up removals companies and storage facilities for a large percentage of my house (getting floors redone), I am increasingly bored of doing my actual job but for my life.

Disruption is rather the point, no?

I have braved the Big Tesco and have reminded myself of just how much I loathe the Big Tesco.

I'm not agreeing with Marche, per se, but a lot of them are, to modern readers, bad. What is interesting is both *why* we think they are bad *and* what they tell us about the period they are from.

Yes, Mr Lycra on a Brompton, the traffic lights do actually also apply to you! I know it's a surprise but I'm sure you'll adjust.

"i have two Microsoft Outlooks, and neither one of those are working." The Astronauts truly representing us all up there.

Because I don't journal anymore and just outsource to microblogging platforms: the absolute weirdest thing about this whole experiment is phantom periods. Still want to eat the fridge/screech incoherently but no actual physical payoff. It is fucking weird.

I was having a discussion on similar lines this week, and my more considered thoughts on reflection: dramatic incidents are all very well, and have their place, but change is also brought about by the slow accumulation of quiet, apparently 'unhistoric acts'.

I gave up sweet things for Lent (excluding dried fruit because it's still porridge season and that requires dried fruit), and have spent the entire day feral at the thought of a ginger biscuit.

this is a country that didn’t even tolerate the globally largest sect of its own damn religion

You know, there's many things I've thought about doing in this great wide and beautiful world. Not one single one of those has been "review my bank on Trustpilot" and yet my bank remains ever hopeful that I will.

What with Blair on ‘getting involved in Middle East wars of choice’ and now this, I feel we’re just in need of George Osborne to chime in on ‘how public services feel underinvested in’ to get the full caboodle of unwanted advice.

It's SU election season at work and, as always, the staff are wishing there was a way for the candidates to run things past us so they aren't setting themselves up to fail with their promises. One is "all academics will reply to student emails within 24hrs".

One of the podcasts I listen to is sponsored by HP, and every single time I hear the advert begin I think "the sauce??" and then am reminded, no, the technology company. The sauce would be funnier.

It's time for another That Word Is Not The Word You're Looking For: "he was feeling particularly glutinous". Gluttonous, you mean gluttonous.

God I love Marina Hyde.

"It was good, but the Alhambra needs to do something about the stalls seating".

Anyway, off the back of this if anyone in the UK wants any of these books, let me know. They're yours for a charity donation - I'll pay the postage. (Title list in alt text)

I'm packing books up in preparation for getting my floor replaced and wow packing books up really makes you realise how many books you own.

And that's my work week done! Off to that there Bradford tomorrow for theatre darling! Not the usual destination, I admit, but I grew up near Bradford and am very fond of it (plus it's equidistant for me and a friend).

I famously hate a) being wrong and b) theatre facilitated workshops but today I went to a theatre facilitated workshop about embedding inclusive practices and am genuinely buoyed by it. People from all areas of my institution thinking deeply about how to do better and sharing good practice.

And one for all university staff.

Hello everyone! I am going to Belfast in April and haven't been since I was a teenager. Any recommendations?

My brain has found something worse to be earwormed with. Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Little Swans. An objectively beautiful piece of music but your brain should not be going "pa pa pa pa paaaa" at you incessantly.

[painfully millennial-y] Alexa play Oh Mandy by The Spinto Band

What I needed today was not, in fact, my washing machine deciding to break. That was not in the plan for the weekend.

I was out for dinner and drinks with a friend last night and I got to the bar we were meeting in before she did. Which meant that as I was standing waiting for our glasses of wine I got to hear the bartender say "you know, in some ways I'm always thinking about Jensen Ackles".

Instagram has, alas, learned who I am. And who I am is someone who grew up in rural Yorkshire and rode horses and who is now weak in the face of a fancy tweed skirt that you could plausibly ride a horse in. BRB, building my Capsule Wardrobe™️.

It's a February Miracle! C and I both have January birthdays so do Birthday Bonanza dinner and drinks in February. Home before midnight! Gently tipsy! Are we learning???

I think you should be able to choose your earworms. I would not, you see, have chosen 'American Pie' as mine for the past three days. Increasingly I do not believe in the existence of rock and roll and I think music might be damning my mortal soul.

I cannot begin to impress upon people who don't live in the UK the frequency with which "we went to Pizza Express" is responded to with "did you sweat?".

Leaving my quite negative feelings on the monarchy aside though I think it is very funny how much Charles /hates/ Andrew

The office today is like a Greek chorus of "and on his birthday!!" said in increasingly gleeful tones. It's not quite Piggate but it's not far off.

My employer is in no way perfect but it's always amusing doing the Branch Organising Framework plan and having our regional officer ask if we're going to push the uni to do something it already does/has a policy on. Most of our task is making them be fully implemented not creating them!

I'm doing my university's investigation training which includes a large section about consent. Now, consent is obviously crucial but if anyone tried to do a ten step consent questionnaire with me when having sex I would never have sex again.

This is emblematic of the consumer culture that fees have engendered. What the hell did the students expect? It was a ONCE IN A CENTURY PANDEMIC. There were LAWS against congregating in public. Staff worked themselves to the bone to get online delivery working. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Okay, people of Bluesky! I have a Mubi membership for the next month or so. Any recommendations for films to watch? Assume I've basically never seen a film.