Footnotes to a Conversation, September 25, 2023

“I think I love books even more than I love reading. Their company means there is always the possibility of something to be discovered, waiting for me between the covers, which hasn’t even entered my imagination yet. A small but pleasing change in my reality is waiting on every shelf.” – Bibliomaniac: An Obsessive’s Tour of the Bookshops of Britain, Robin Ince)

Feckful & Ruly

Susie Dent “is on a mission to revive English’s ‘lost positives’ – words such as ‘feckful’, ‘couth’, ‘ruly’ and ‘full of gorm’. In modern English, they survive only in their negative forms, but once, we aspired to be ruthful (full of compassion) or ept. ‘Our kids have been through so much recently,’ Dent says of the book. ‘Their normality has been taken away. And I just thought, ‘Let’s celebrate the beautiful’.’ Not just obviously appealing words such as ‘butterfly’ and ‘lovewende’ (meaning beloved) – but those that delight in everyday annoyances, such as ‘thunderplump: the sudden downpour of fat, heavy raindrops that leaves us drenched and dripping in minutes’.” [The Guardian]

A Pamflyt Compiled of Cheese

The University of Leeds has acquired the earliest surviving book about cheese. The 16th century vellum-bound, handwritten manuscript covers all aspects of cheesemaking from ancient to Tudor times. It also lists uses of cheese as a medicine. “Medical advice best left in the 16th century includes using the milk of a dog to ‘cause a woman to be delivered of her childe before tyme’ – although the author’s observation that ‘a surfyte of cheese dose bringe payne’ certainly holds true.” [The Guardian]

Jelly for Scrimpers

Corn on the cob is an end of summer highlight. Absolutely delicious, but there’s so much waste – not only the leaves and silk, but also the cob. Here’s one solution. Turn the cobs into a spread or jelly. [The Guardian]

Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.

If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.