Small gratifying memories are fun.

Dec. 4th, 2025 01:04 pm
feng_shui_house: me at my computer (Default)
[personal profile] feng_shui_house
I went to the grocery store a few days ago and celebrated the presence of milk by making waffles. A little batter dripped out, and I immediately flashed back to many years ago.

My brother bitched at me because ‘the waffle batter you put in the fridge was no good’. He pointed to the waffle maker surrounded by a puddle of *goop*.

I was??? ‘I didn’t put any waffle batter in the fridge’

“Yes you did! I got the Tupperware right here.”

‘Um, I put leftover chicken GRAVY in the fridge.’

“YOU should have marked it!”

I took the Tupperware lid out of the sink. Showed him ’CHICKEN GRAVY’ written on it.

***SILENCE***

Misc boring bits then... news!

Dec. 4th, 2025 09:16 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
When I lie on my side in the bed, my eyes look out on Barbara's terrace. Barbara lives in Assisted Living. She's a lovely lady with very little vision left. Someone has hung a VERY bright set of icicle lights on her terrace rail. I can practically read by the damn things in bed. I thought about asking her to turn them off at night but then decided, fuck it, I can wear the eye shades that I wear in Summer. They aren't uncomfortable and do the job so problem solved.

Laundry day. I have the process started. I forgot to turn on the lotion warmer before I left for volleyball so it's warming now. The paint roller enables me to apply a layer of lotion all over my back and then get dressed without oiling up my clothes.

There are a lot of seasonal activities planned around here and 99%, maybe even 100%, make me want to lock the door of my apartment with me inside. I have never been a fan of holidays but this year, I am really not. Don't know why and don't particularly care. Happily, I don't even have to explain myself to people. I can be what I want to be.

I got a really interesting email this morning from a French artist asking permission to use me in an AI art piece - specifically in an upcoming exhibit in a French High School. I cannot even believe that sentence. What a wonderful time we live in.

His name is Matéo Picard and his note was delightful. He was, oh so very respectfully, asking my permission to use my data. Of course, all of the stuff is out there for the world to see, no permission needed. He gave me a wide runway for landing a response of 'oh no, that's too creepy' which I really appreciate but do not need. I think it's fascinating. I have more than 25 years of daily journal entries, and photos back to the beginning of Flickr and Tweets and Bluesky posts and that autobiography I wrote and of course my now very old website. I mean there's a shit load to scrape from. It would be fodder for an artificial dummy but artificial intelligence could really go to town.

What amazing fun. And I love his website.

Ok the lotion is warm. Time to get greased up and dressed.

20251203_195114-COLLAGE

[admin post] Admin Post: Choosing Your GYWO 2026 Pledge

Dec. 4th, 2025 01:01 pm
gywomod: (Default)
[personal profile] gywomod posting in [community profile] getyourwordsout
With GYWO 2026 Pledges opening next week, which pledge to choose is hopefully on your mind. Instead of letting everyone stew in their personal hells, we’re running down a few of the common things the mods tell panicked participants, and then offering up a pledge calculator to help you make this somewhat difficult decision.

If you have any questions about GYWO or what it's like to aim for a specific pledge, the comments are open for all your concerns. Sometimes talking to a writer currently working on a pledge can help you come to a pledging decision!


If you're new to GYWO and have a question related to our membership requirements, general guidelines, monthly check-ins, or what words or activities count, please visit our website. More information about pledging for 2026 will be released around Dec 12.


Word Count Pledge Vs Habit Pledge
Deciding between a Word Count Pledge or Habit Pledge can be a difficult decision. Here are some things to consider as you make your choice:
Choosing Between Word Count and Habit )

Habit Pledges
Choosing between Habit Pledges comes down to deciding how much you plan to write each month:
  • If you plan to write mostly on weekends, choose the 120 Day Pledge. That’s weekends + 16 days.
  • If you plan to write mostly on weekdays, choose the 240 Day Pledge. That’s weekdays – 20 days, giving you a few days off.
  • If you want to write every day, choose the 350 Day Pledge!
  • If you've participated previously and 120 Days was too easy, but 240 Days was too hard, try the 180 Day Pledge to land right in between!
  • If you've participated previously and 240 Days was too easy, but 350 Days was too hard, try the 300 Day Pledge to land in between!
  • If you haven’t tried writing daily before but want to, we recommend the 180 Day Pledge as a way to ease into a semi-daily writing habit before tackling a more challenging pledge.


Word Count Pledges
First Time with a Word Count Pledge?
If you’ve never tracked your word count for the year, take a moment to assess how many words you think you’ve written in the past year. Consider things like whether or not you participate in word-count based writing challenges, how much you’ve published in the last year (self or traditionally published, fanfic, blog, etc), and how much you tend to revise your work (writing it entirely over or just editing lines).
  • If meeting your goal is more motivating, choose a goal that matches a conservative estimate of how much you wrote in 2025.
  • If you think you’ll lose interest if you meet your goal early, choose a goal that matches a liberal estimate of how much you wrote in 2025.
  • There are no penalties for not meeting your pledge, so don’t be afraid to choose a pledge you may not be able to meet!


Pledge Calculator
Thinking about what projects you'll work on next year is another common way writers make decisions about their GYWO pledge. To aid that, we've created the Pledge Calculator. Click the link and download or make a copy to use the spreadsheet.

    To save it to your Google Drive, you can go to File > Make a Copy from the web. If you are on mobile from a phone or tablet, tap the 3 dots at the top right, and go to Share & export > Make a Copy

    To download in another format, go to File > Download from the web. On mobile, tap the 3 dots at the top right, and go to Share & export > Save as….

Fill in the title of your projects, estimated word counts, or estimated number of days you'll work on the project. The calculator will recommend a Word Count Pledge and a Habit Pledge based on the information you provide.


download or save the Pledge Calculator



Whether you've done GYWO before or used the calculator, you might have narrowed your choice to two goals. Here’s our advice for choosing between two word count goals…

Go Big on Word Counts )
Step Back on Word Counts )
Keep Your Word Count Consistent )

The best advice we have is to look at your schedule and figure out where writing fits into it. Use the pledge calculator (or pen and paper) to list the projects, ficathons, and stories you might write next year and consider the word tallies or time involved. Really think about what's motivating for you—knowing you'll hit a goal or chasing down the finish line.

And if all else fails, you can do what some of our current GYWO members have suggested and pick your pledge based on the associated pledge color. 😉

    Habit Pledges120 Days (Backpacker), 180 Days (Excursionist), 240 Days (Explorer), 300 Days (Adventurer), and 350 Days (Globetrotter)
    Word Count Pledges75K (Light), 150K (Modest), 200K (Basic), 250K (Moderate), 300K (Difficult), 350K (Herculean), 500K (Outrageous), and 1M (Ludicrous)


As a reminder, your GYWO pledge is locked in for the full year.
You cannot change pledges mid-year.
If you hit your goal early, you're still part of the same pledge group.
So choose a goal to sustain you ALL year.



In the comments, let us know your pledging woes! Wonder how difficult another pledge is? Still need clarity on the pledge types? This is your opportunity to ask. After some discussion, hopefully you'll come away with a confident decision.

Note: Commenting to this post does not constitute pledging for 2026. Come back next week and follow the instructions in the Pledges & Requirements post to make a pledge for 2026.
simplyn2deep: (Default)
[personal profile] simplyn2deep posting in [community profile] comment_fic
Hello, everyone. I’m [personal profile] simplyn2deep and today's theme is Found in Translation. This theme explores moments when characters misunderstand, reinterpret, or discover meaning in unexpected ways. Whether through language, body cues, mixed messages, or unspoken feelings, something gets “lost” or “found” in translation, and the story changes.

Just a few rules:
No more than five prompts in a row.
No more than three prompts in the same fandom.
Use the character's full name and fandom's full name for ease in adding to the Lonely Prompts spreadsheet.
No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing, or use the spoiler cut option found here.
If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the above-mentioned spoiler cut.

Prompts should be formatted as follows: [Use the character's full names and fandom's full name]
Fandom, Character +/ Character, Prompt

Some examples to get the ball rolling...
+ any, any, character finds a note meant for someone else and completely misinterprets its meaning.
+ any, any, two characters talk around the truth instead of saying it outright. Show how their indirect communication reveals more than the words themselves.
+ any, any, character learns that a phrase, symbol, or gesture they’ve always misunderstood actually means something entirely different. Let this revelation shift the scene.

We are now using AO3 to bookmark filled prompts. If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3 please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2025 collection. See further notes on this new option here.

Not feeling any of today’s prompts? You can use LJ’s advanced search options to limit keyword results to only comments in this community. Fret not, DW members; we are working on a way to search through old entries for prompts for you! As of right now, the best way to search for a lonely prompt on DW is to search the community’s archive, which can be found [[HERE]].

While the use of LJ's advanced search and DW’s archive are options, bookmarking the links of prompts you like might work better for searching in the future.

As a friendly reminder about our schedule, Lonely Prompts and sharing completed fills are encouraged on Sundays, while new themes and prompts are posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturdays are a Free for All day. We'll share our posts on DW and LJ for everyone's convenience. Keep an eye out for notifications!

If you have a Dreamwidth account and would feel more comfortable participating there, please feel free to do so…and spread the word! [community profile] comment_fic


tag=found in translation

Community Recs Post!

Dec. 4th, 2025 11:14 am
glitteryv: (Default)
[personal profile] glitteryv posting in [community profile] recthething
Every Thursday, we have a community post, just like this one, where you can drop a rec or five in the comments.

This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)

(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)

So what cool podfics/fancrafts/fanvids/fanart/other kinds of fanworks have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.

BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here

whiffletree

Dec. 4th, 2025 08:25 am
prettygoodword: text: words are sexy (Default)
[personal profile] prettygoodword
whiffletree (HWIF-uhl-tree, WIF-uhl-tree) - (NE US) a crossbar for a plow or carriage, pivoted in the middle, to which the two traces from a draft animal are fastened.


Better known as a singletree, leader bar, or whippletree, and as you might guess this is a variation on the latter. The purpose is to distribute the forces of the pulling animal(s) evenly. When there are multiple pullers, these can and typically are stacked to continue the distribution:

two whiffletrees attached in turn to a third
Thanks, WikiMedia!

---L.

Update and Links

Dec. 4th, 2025 09:15 am
moon_custafer: neon cat mask (Default)
[personal profile] moon_custafer
Temp agency got me three days last week—waiting out this week while they try out another candidate, then at some point they’ll pick one of us. A big thing I’ve noticed with job-hunting this time around is that there are so many people looking for work that employers can make you go through multiple rounds of interviews and tryouts even for the part-time or contract positions.

Anyway, have some relaxing links:

Join Me and My 15 POUND RED CABBAGE: An old man with interesting fashion sense and great enthusiasm for vegetable-gardening.

An old man with a very narrow garage and extreme parking skills. Also, from what I can see of the inside of his house, he lives in a Vermeer painting.

The Ministry of Information presents Hedging (1942).

1972 Irish vox pop interviews about whether Sunday pub hours should be extended from 10pm to 11pm.

ETA— School for bouncers in 1973 Glasgow

on campus

Dec. 4th, 2025 06:38 am
calimac: (Default)
[personal profile] calimac
So first I was listening to Rachel Maddow's podcast on the mysterious death of Senator Ernest Lundeen in 1940 and his connection to Nazi propagandists, and then I read Wikipedia's article on the America First Committee - which wasn't founded until just after Lundeen died - and saw a photo labeled "Students at the University of California (Berkeley) participate in a one-day peace strike opposing U.S. entrance into World War II, April 19, 1940."

I attended UC Berkeley myself 35 years later, so I was curious as to exactly where that photo was taken. I couldn't enlarge it more than this, but that was almost enough to read the signs on the shops at the far side of the photo. The sign on the corner building reads "Sather Gate Inn."

Aha. Sather Gate is a symbolic gateway on the bridge over Strawberry Creek. It's now well inside campus, but I knew that it was once the entrance to campus. Before 1960, Sproul Plaza, which leads from the edge of campus at Bancroft Way up to Sather Gate, was an additional street block of Telegraph Avenue, which now terminates at Bancroft. And the west side of that block, where the Student Union and Student Center which now stand there were built in 1960, had shops. This must have been the Sather Gate end of that block.

But wait! There's a street sign reading "Allston Way." Allston? Allston is a street in downtown Berkeley off to the west. It's that far north of Bancroft, but it didn't go up to Telegraph. Or did it?

With a little searching, I found a 1942 map of campus online (click on the image to enlarge it). And sure enough, what is now a pedestrian pathway tucked between the Student Center and the creek was then a street which bore Allston's name. The low-slung building behind the cars parked on the street must be the university YWCA shown on the map.

So this photo must have been taken from a perch up on Sather Gate (on the right side of the photo above), facing southwest (the map has east at the top). Here's a current photo taken from within where the crowd was in 1940, probably from about where the flag is, facing in the same direction. That's the Student Center cafeteria, The Golden Bear, in front, where Sather Gate Inn used to be, with the Student Union looming over to the left.

I find it fascinating to compare the 1942 map with a current map of campus. Many buildings built, some demolished (including the old Chemistry Building whose cupola is the only surviving relic). The chemists who were creating plutonium at about the time of the old map were working in the then-new chemistry building, Gilman Hall, which still stands: there's a plaque by the door of their lab.

The other thing I should note about the current map is the note "Closed for Construction" just below Bowditch Street near the right-side middle of the map. That's where People's Park used to be.
[syndicated profile] scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by John Scalzi

For the first three days of the Whatever Gift Guide this year, We’ve had authors and creators tell you about their work. Today is different: Today is Fan Favorites day, in which fans, admirers and satisfied customers share with you a few of their favorite things — and you can share some of your favorite things as well. This is a way to discover some cool stuff from folks like you, and to spread the word about some of the things you love.

Fans: Here’s how to post in this thread. Please follow these directions!

1. Fans only: That means that authors and creators may not post about their own work in this thread (they may post about other people’s work, if they are fans). There are already existing threads for traditionally-published authorsnon-traditionally published authors, and for other creators. Those are the places to post about your own work, not here.

2. Individually created and completed works only, please. Which is to say, don’t promote things like a piece of hardware you can find at Home Depot, shoes from Foot Locker, or a TV you got at Wal-Mart. Focus on things created by one person or a small group: Music, books, crafts and such. Things that you’ve discovered and think other people should know about, basically. Do not post about works in progress, even if they’re posted publicly elsewhere. Remember that this is supposed to be a gift guide, and that these are things meant to be given to other people. So focus on things that are completed and able to be sold or shared.

3. One post per fan. In that post, you can list whatever creations you like, from more than one person if you like, but allow me to suggest you focus on newer stuff. Note also that the majority of Whatever’s readership is in the US/Canada, so I suggest focusing on things available in North America. If they are from or available in other countries, please note that!

4. Keep your description of the work brief (there will be a lot of posts, I’m guessing) and entertaining. Imagine the person is in front of you as you tell them about the work and is interested but easily distracted.

5. You may include a link to a sales site if you like by using standard HTML link scripting. Be warned that if you include too many links (typically three or more) your post may get sent to the moderating queue. If this happens, don’t panic: I’ll be going in through the day to release moderated posts. Note that posts will occasionally go into the moderation queue semi-randomly; Don’t panic about that either.

6. Comment posts that are not about fans promoting work they like will be deleted, in order to keep the comment thread useful for people looking to find interesting gifts.

Got it? Excellent. Now: Geek out and tell us about cool stuff you love — and where we can get it too.

Tomorrow: Charities!

spikedluv: created by tarlan (misc: tv talk by tarlan)
[personal profile] spikedluv
TV Talk:

9-1-1: On hiatus until Jan 8.


Matlock: No new ep this week; new eps return Dec 4.


Tracker: Good ep. spoilers )



TV News:

Scarpetta: I just read that they’re making a tv series out of the Kay Scarpetta books! I didn’t keep up with the series, but I enjoyed I (for the most part). I’m looking forward to seeing this and hoping it’s worth watching! Nicole Kidman Suits Up as ‘Scarpetta’ in First Look at Amazon’s Crime Thriller Series (variety.com)
spikedluv: (winter: mittens by raynedanser)
[personal profile] spikedluv
I had a chiropractic appointment this morning. I hit Walmart while I was downtown and made a quick stop at Dollar General on the way home. This was not my usual Walmart trip; I needed to pick up a new vacuum cleaner and some cute outfits to send to Alaska!niece for Hazel. (I already bought Hazel a Green Bay Packer’s t-shirt, because that’s her mom’s favorite team. *g*)

I immediately put the vacuum cleaner together and used it in the living room. My old vacuum has not been able to do that rug in ages. Even raising it as high as it goes, it feels like it’s sucking the rug in and I need two hands to move it. This vacuum moved over that rug like a dream! I may actually start to enjoy vacuuming now! (Haha, no, not really!)

I visited mom, then stopped at Sunnycrest (to pick up the wreath I’d ordered) and Stewart’s (for milk) on the way to pick up the dogs at the garage.

I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered. I used the leftover chicken and broth to make chicken and gravy over rice for supper.

I napped and watched an HGTV program. I also ‘started’ my Christmas cards! (Since I got to it late in the day, and Pip came home early, I managed to get two written out, but it’s a start!!)

Temps started out at 22.1(F) (when I got up, but dropped to 15.8 before I left the house) and reached 36.7.


Mom Update:

Mom was not feeling well when I visited her. more back here )

Biggles ficlets from Tumblr part 2

Dec. 4th, 2025 02:49 am
sholio: aged sepia paper with printed text saying "If undelivered, return to Air Ministry, London" (Biggles-london air ministry)
[personal profile] sholio
Continuing with the latest batch; also see previous post in case you missed anything.

9. Biggles/EvS forced to maintain close proximity by mad science

Responding to the prompt call with a Biggles prompt- Biggles and EvS are cursed or exposed to a mysterious mad-science substance that makes them have to maintain physical contact or very close proximity or else suffer increasingly debilitating pain &/ illness the farther they are apart- and now must work together in these constraints to fix this situation

Originally posted on Tumblr

900 wds under the cut )

10. Scotland Yard ladies gossiping about EvS

Biggles prompt! The Scotland Yard ladies chatter about that tall, dark & handsome foreign gentleman Mr. Boelke who comes round to Raymond's office once a month. Biggles is Extremely Normal about this.

Originally posted on Tumblr

500 wds under the cut )

11. Tied to a bed

Biggles prompt! There was only one (piece of furniture sturdy enough to tie a prisoner to and it was a) bed

Originally posted here

100 wds under the cut )

MIXED VEGETABLE PAKORA BAKED

Dec. 4th, 2025 04:42 am
nverland: (Cooking)
[personal profile] nverland posting in [community profile] recipecommunity
image host

MIXED VEGETABLE PAKORA BAKED
PREP TIME 10 mins COOK TIME 25 mins TOTAL TIME 35 mins Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS
1 loaded cup cauliflower florets, raw
¾ to 1 cup chopped onion
½ to ¾ cup broccoli florets, raw or steamed
⅓ Cup carrots, baby or chopped
⅓ Cup chopped potato, raw or cooked
1 green chili
½ inch ginger
¼ cup packed chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp mint leaves (optional)
⅓ Tsp ajwain (carom seeds) or toasted cumin seeds
¼ tsp or more cayenne
½ tsp to ¾ tsp salt
1 tsp Chaat Masala or amchur (dry mango powder)
2 Tbsp semolina flour (use brown rice flour to make gluten-free)
⅔ Cup or more chickpea flour
¼ tsp baking soda
2 tsp oil
Water as needed

INSTRUCTIONS
Chop the veggies roughly into similarly sized chunks or florets (1 to 1.5 inch). Add all the chopped vegetables, green chili, ginger, cilantro and mint in a food processor and pulse a few times to make an evenly finely chopped or grated state. You can also add a ⅓ cup or more greens of choice at this step.
Transfer to a bowl. Mix in the spices, salt, ⅓ tsp chaat masala and semolina.
Add the chickpea flour to the bowl, sprinkle the baking soda all over and mix in (or mix the baking soda into the chickpea flour before adding). Add a Tbsp or so more chickpea flour if needed. You need just a light coating of flour on all the veggies. See pictures above.
Let the mixture sit for 2-3 minutes so the veggies can leak some moisture into the flour. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Add oil and a sprinkle of a water (1 -2 tsp) to the bowl and mix in. Depending on the vegetables, you might or might not need more water. The mixture should not be a batter, but should stick into balls with your hands. Add water a tsp at a time till the mixture just starts to stick.
Using your hands or a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, place scoops on parchment lined baking sheet. Keep the scoops small, around 1.5 inches, so the veggies can cook through. Spray oil (or brush) on the pakoras.
Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp on the outside. Cool for a minute. Sprinkle the remaining chaat masala and serve with mint chutney or tamarind date chutney or ketchup or sauces of choice.

NOTES
Mint Chutney:
Blend ½ cup mint, ½ cup cilantro, 1 garlic clove, ½ inch ginger, ½ green chili, ½ pear or apple, salt, cayenne, lemon juice, chaat masala to taste. Taste and adjust salt, lemon and chaat masala and add water if needed.

Variation: Add ¼ to ½ tsp turmeric with the spices.
Use other veggies like zucchini, sweet potato, seasonal squash.
sholio: airplane flying away from a tan colored castle (Biggles-castle airplane)
[personal profile] sholio
Unless I mistagged it, I don't think I posted ANY of these from the last half-year or so here; so if anything is familiar, I apologize; and otherwise, enjoy.

1. Biggles/EvS: Biggles's friends "subtly" attempting to be supportive

I don't know if you're currently accepting Biggles prompts, but if you are: Algy, Bertie, and Ginger all try to "subtly" feel each other out to make sure no one is going to cause problems for Biggles and Erich (if there were something going on) (which there clearly can't be) (obviously)

https://www.tumblr.com/sholiofic/786139943995064320/i-dont-know-if-youre-currently-accepting-bigglesPosted on Tumblr here.

700 wds under the cut )

2. Dramatic dying in Biggles's arms confession (contains no actual death)

Since you're officially soliciting prompts- A dramatic Dying-In-Biggles's-Arms confession on EvS's part turns out decidedly unlike his daydreams and in fact Rather Awkward when he does not, in fact, end up dying after all, having reckoned without certain Biggles-worthy levels of determination to save him.

Posted on Tumblr here

700 wds under the cut )

3. Only One (team cuddlepile) Bed

As seen in commentfic here

500 words under the cut )

4. Whatever it is that Algy does on the many occasions he's left behind to man the phones.

Originally posted at a bigglesevents commentfest.

700 wds under the cut )

5. Algy and EvS caretaking

Hey, if you're still open to prompts, please may I request some Biggles whump, someone beaten up and another taking care of them, maybe Algy and EVS but whoever you like really, thank you!

Posted on Tumblr here

400 wds under the cut )

6. Friendly fire with Algy and Ginger

Hi! If you're still taking prompts, how about a friendly fire incident with the Biggles gang? Thanks! :)

Originally posted on Tumblr here

600 wds under the cut )

7. Biggles left to die

A new prompt- in their noble adversaries era, EvS leaves Biggles in/places him in a situation he knows would ordinarily merely delay Biggles before an eventual escape- were Biggles not injured or incapacitated somehow, which, when EvS realises is the case, he rushes back from his own getaway to save Biggles. Not that this choice signifies anything regarding his feelings for him.

Originally posted here

700 wds under the cut )

8. Erich abandoned by his associates

Biggles/EvS. EvS has not yet defected and is working a job with other Soviet agents in London. Said agents abandon EvS in a sticky situation, leaving him cornered to fight his own way out through British police. Raymond gets word of what’s happened and calls Biggles at Mount Street, who arrives at the scene to talk EvS down and convince him to defect.

Originally posted on Tumblr

600 wds under the cut )

(I have another batch from tonight coming soon, but I figured I'd catch up on the older ones first.)
sovay: (Claude Rains)
[personal profile] sovay
Once again the Malden Public Library comes through with Kate Dunn's Exit Through the Fireplace: The Great Days of Rep (1998), a capacious, irreproducible oral history of repertory theatre in the UK. Its timeline of personal recollection runs from the 1920's into the decade of publication, documenting a diverse and vivid case for the professional and communal value of regional theatre without rose-glassing its historically shabbier or more exploitative aspects; its survey includes the subspecies of fit-up theatre which flourished primarily outside of England and devotes chapters to stage management, design, and directing as well as acting and the factors of the audience. It's a serious chunk of scholarship from a writer who is herself fourth-generation in the theater, which must have helped with assembling its roster of close to two hundred contributors. It's just impossible to read much of it without cracking up on a page-by-page basis. Despite the caution in the introduction not to view the heyday of rep as a perpetual goes wrong machine, the cumulative effect of thrills and tattiness and especially the relentless deep-end pace of getting a new play up every week writes its own Noises Off:

Howard Attfield was another actor who was caught on the hop. He remembers, 'I was playing an inspector, I forget the name of the murder thriller, and it was a matinée day and very hot and I remember standing in the dressing-room and I was having a shave, and I thought I had all the time in the world because my first entrance wasn't until the ending of the first act. The inspector comes in, says his lines and ends the first act. So I was standing there quite happily in my boxer shorts having a shave when I heard my call, which I could not believe, and I went absolutely wild. My costume was a suit, an inspector's suit, and a sort of a trench coat and a hat. Anyway, I thought I'd best put on something, the least possible, so I put on trousers and I remember putting on shoes without socks, then I put on the trench coat, did it all up as I'm flying out the door, grabbed the hat and went charging down the stairs, saying, "I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming," and I made it on to the stage just in time, but as I went on someone in the wings said, "Shaving foam, shaving foam!" and I realized that I'd got halfway through this shave and I hadn't wiped it off. Luckily it was on the upstage side, as I was coming on from stage right. So instead of looking at the audience, I did everything looking from stage right to stage left, and the upstage bit was foam in my ears and right round my face. I delivered the line and the curtains came down and I collapsed on the floor half naked and half shaven.'

Persons in this book set themselves on fire, fall out of their costumes, get flattened by scenery, fuck up lines, props, entrances, exits, sound cues, lighting cues, scene changes, the sprinkler system. The number of actors who started their careers as assistant stage managers appears to have been part of the apprenticeship quality of rep; the number of actors who were abruptly promoted because a lead had flanicked screaming into the night feels more telling. "It wasn't till many years later that I got into the truly creative side of acting. In those days it was a question of learn the lines and don't bump into the furniture." It is a tribute to the book's scope that so many of its names are unfamiliar to me when my knowledge of older British actors is not nil; it's not just a skim of national treasures. For every Rachel Kempson, Bernard Hepton, or Fiona Shaw, there's an actor like Attfield whose handful of small parts in film and television has barely impinged on me or even one like Jean Byam who was so strictly stage-based that it would never have been possible for me to see her in anything. At the same time, thanks to its compilation from personal histories, I have been left in possession of some truly random facts concerning actors of long or recent acquaintance during their repertory careers, e.g. Alec McCowen corpsed like anything and at one point became convinced that he could telepathically cause a fellow actor to forget their lines. Richard Pasco had such reliable stage fright that the manager of the Birmingham Rep would knock him up five minutes before curtain to check whether he'd been sick yet. Clive Francis had a stammer so bad it made him the bête noire of the prompt corner at Bexhill-on-Sea. (Robin Ellis did not have a stammer, but found it a lifeline during one particularly non-stop season to play a character with one because it gave him the extra time to reach for his next line.) Bernard Cribbins does not name the production for which he was required to transport a goat—an actual goat, from a farm on the moors—by bus to the theatre, leaving unexplained the reasons it had to be a real one. Of course it was medically possible in the '60's, but it is still n-v-t-s to me that Derek Jacobi got smallpox doing panto in Birmingham. That art was produced by this theatrical system as opposed to merely peerless anecdotes absolutely deserves celebration. As a resource for writers as well as theatre historians and actors, the book is a treasure. Details about interwar digs and mid-century tea matinées would not be out of place in Angela Carter. The less farcical side of all the blowups and breakdowns is the assertion by more than one interviewee that rep provided, if not exactly a safe, then at least a survivable space for a growing actor to fail in ways that were essential to their confidence and their craft: "If you didn't become a great actor in weekly rep, at least you learnt to control your nerves. Despite all the throwing up on a Monday, one seemed to be ice cool on stage, because you knew you mustn't give anything away and you mustn't make your fellow actors look bad." But also one night at the David Garrick Theatre in the late '40's Lionel Jeffries lost hold of a lettuce leaf that sailed out into the stalls and splatted itself dressing and all onto a member of the public and that Saturday a packed house came to see if he'd do it again. Opening the book at random is almost guaranteed to yield a story of this nature. Fortunately I was not onstage at the time, and nobody cared how much I laughed.

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Dec. 4th, 2025 09:45 am
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