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As pubs have closed, so coffee shops have multiplied. This must surely be a progressive social trend, at a time when most social trends are depressing. Making a coffee at home, if you have the right equipment, has its advantages,…
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On bedsits
We’re having some work done in our bedroom, so I’m currently sleeping in the attic, my normal place of work during the day. In other words, the attic is now my bedsit. It’s a slightly strange experience, and it’s got…
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Two walk New York
I’ve been reading Teju Cole’s celebrated novel of 2011, Open city, set mainly in central New York. It’s an unusual piece of writing. The book captures the experience of Julius, a young Nigerian-American (Cole himself being one) who’s in training…
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Against zips
Technical innovation is a strange thing. We tend to think that the growth of new and improved technologies is a constant. Engineers, we imagine, are always searching for better ways of organising the way things work. And, beyond perfecting existing…
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Sioe Dicw a Jerry
Yn ei cholofn yn Barn yn ddiweddar tynnodd Catrin Evans ein sylw at y rhaglenni radio hynny sy’n trafod pynciau diwylliannol sylweddol trwy gyfrwng sgwrs neu ddialog. Ei hesiamplau yw In our time gyda Melvyn Bragg ar Radio 4 a…
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Vermeer regathered
We’re back in the Netherlands: the first time we’ve broken out of our bleak little island for over three years. It’s a relief to be in a country where most things seem to work, as they once did in Britain:…
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Cancel culture: Anton Bruckner’s Symphony no. 0
Great artists, we like to think, pursue their vision and practise their craft sustained by an inner self-belief. Beethoven, Picasso or George Eliot may feel moments of blockage or uncertainty, but their confidence carries them through to completion, and they’ll…
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On the writing of blogs
This month gwallter is ten years old, and this is his 598th blog. It seems a good time to look back and reflect on his progress so far. When I started in 2013, blogs were still quite fashionable, and I…
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Afon ar ei gwely angau
Y peth mwyaf trist am ein taith gerdded llynedd ar hyd Llwybr Afon Gwy, o Gas-gwent i Bumlumon, oedd Afon Gwy. Hynny yw, cyflwr amgylcheddol Afon Gwy. Y gwir blaen – gwir na allai neb ei wadu erbyn heddiw –…
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A Dada excursion
One of the pleasures of researching the history of the simple human act of walking is that, just like a good walk, it takes you in unexpected directions. Recently, while considering the prehistory of walking as an artistic activity, I…