My 19th-century blogger, Frances Williams Wynn, is tonight back at the theatre, with Macready’s Coriolanus, comparing it to that of another 19th-century great, Kemble.
“I should say that Kemble was more Roman, more dignified, and Macready more true to universal nature,” is her conclusion.
Interesting to compare it to the recent Globe production of the same play – I suspect the bull-headed military glory-seeking might have made more sense to her era than our own.
Interesting piece in the Guardian today about the danger of claiming something as a first – in this case referring to disabled politicians.
The furthest back it goes is “Henry Fawcett, radical Liberal MP for Brighton from 1864 until 1874”, who was blind, and “Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh, an Irish aristocrat who represented Wexford from 1866 to 1868 and Carlow for 12 years afterwards. Born with vestigial arms and legs, he used to be carried into the Commons on the back of a servant.”
But it left me thinking that there must have been disabled early modern MPs – certainly you’d think after all that Civil War fighting. Anyone know any?
I’ve been unconnected at home for about 36 hours, apparently, it emerged eventually, because Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange/whatever they’re called this week has been been having “technical problems”.
But I only got that explanation from the Indian call centre after spending an hour or so getting directions to set up an entirely new connection on my machine (from a guy with an accent so strong that he had to spell out virtually every word), then on the suggestions of another “help” desk person buying a new £15 line filter, before someone finally admitted the problem was their’s not mine – all of course on national call rates that I was paying.
So anyone know of a fast, reasonably-priced broadband connection that is reliable AND has a decent help desk that doesn’t just mechanically read out long lists of directions wiithout having any idea what they are talking about? It will be a pain to change my main email address, but I might just have to do it.
Over on Comment is Free I posted a piece about the “raunch culture” debate, and the way that it has morphed into tutting from (generally) older women about what younger women are wearing, which reminds me uncomfortably of my youth.
If you want to show off your belly-button piercing, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be allowed to – and whatever your figure. (I’m astonished at how often people criticising this sort of attire suggest that it is OK on young and svelte figures, but not on anyone else.)
If you’re expecting me to contact you or do something, I will, I hope, be fully back on the air soon.
And it is gorgeously hot and sunny (at least in the UK it is), so you can get to enjoy it to the full. The Carnival of Feminists No XIX is up on Figure: Demystifying the Feminist Mystique. Alisha has done a spectacularly good job – it could hardly be more diverse, from the problems with male gynaecologists in Kenya (one with which I’m sure many parts of the world could concur) to a celebration of Frida Kahlo (regular readers of my blog will know I’m a fan). There’s a particular focus on “women and careers” – broadly defined: suggestions range from Nascar driver to Texas snitch, scientist to comic book character. Something for everyone – do check it out!
About