On the Other Hand...
Reasonable men agree that this is the first day of spring - if there was any sun, we'd note with delight or alarm, according to choice, that its light lasts exactly as long as the darkness (an illusion in fact, but never mind). Here's how one cheerful cove greeted this day in 1967:
'Long walk through Regent's Park. Sunshine and the first ghastliness of spring... Sat in the blazing light and noticed how hideous the bright sunshine made everyone (myself included) appear.'
Any guesses?
'Long walk through Regent's Park. Sunshine and the first ghastliness of spring... Sat in the blazing light and noticed how hideous the bright sunshine made everyone (myself included) appear.'
Any guesses?
# posted by Nige : 10:19 AM
33 Comments:
At March 20, 2008 10:41 AM,
philip walling said…
Kingsley Amis.
At March 20, 2008 10:50 AM,
CaptainB said…
Alan Clarke
At March 20, 2008 10:52 AM,
Bryan Appleyard said…
Well, I looked it up on Google and it seems to be some freakish misanthrope called Nige on a blog called Thought Experiments. But what do I know?
At March 20, 2008 10:59 AM,
The Welsh Jacobite said…
Reasonable men therefore are talking nonsense.
Seasons have nothing to do with dates. The first day of spring (if one can identify such a thing) comes when it chooses to come: it is not bound by kalendars.
At March 20, 2008 11:09 AM,
Nige said…
Kalendars! I like it.... Here's a clue: it's a playwright.
At March 20, 2008 11:11 AM,
Bryan Appleyard said…
Osborne
At March 20, 2008 11:22 AM,
Nige said…
Nope.
At March 20, 2008 11:26 AM,
Anonymous said…
Pinter?
At March 20, 2008 11:37 AM,
Nige said…
Fraid not.
At March 20, 2008 11:43 AM,
Bryan Appleyard said…
Tell me it's not Beckett. Noel Coward? Terence Ratigan?
At March 20, 2008 11:49 AM,
malty said…
Its that kraut twat Goethe, over here for a conference.
At March 20, 2008 12:00 PM,
Nige said…
None of the above.
At March 20, 2008 12:08 PM,
Johntyh said…
John Mortimer? Even as far back as '67, a bright sun would have played havoc with that 'characterful' face
At March 20, 2008 12:09 PM,
Mark said…
Yes, plenty of guesses. Mine is Alan Bennett.
If it was Pinter, I expect there would be nothing spoken, nothing to record, just a very angry man on a bench fixing passers-by with a spectral glare. This is difficult to communicate on a blog. Probably just as well.
At March 20, 2008 12:10 PM,
Nige said…
Not even him.
This could run and run...
At March 20, 2008 12:15 PM,
Nige said…
There's a fairly obvious candidate no one's come up with yet - but it's not him either. Or the other one...
On the other hand there can't be many English playwrights active in 1967 left to choose from.
At March 20, 2008 12:19 PM,
Anonymous said…
Tom Stoppard? I feel this is a QI moment...
At March 20, 2008 12:21 PM,
Anonymous said…
Simon Gray
At March 20, 2008 12:24 PM,
malty said…
Then it must be Ernie Wise
At March 20, 2008 12:33 PM,
Anonymous said…
by elimination, terence rattigan?
At March 20, 2008 12:36 PM,
Anonymous said…
joe orton
At March 20, 2008 12:37 PM,
Nige said…
Simon Gray was indeed the good guess I was expecting (and it's not Peter Nicholls either).
You'll kick yourselves when you know...
Here's a clue: He wasn't a Londoner by birth, tho his birthplace did begin with an L.
At March 20, 2008 12:37 PM,
Anonymous said…
Grumpy old man; 1967? J B Priestley
At March 20, 2008 12:40 PM,
Anonymous said…
Willie Russell
At March 20, 2008 12:41 PM,
malty said…
Will you shandy drinking southern twerps bog off and leave me to sob in peace (I bank at HBOS)
At March 20, 2008 12:42 PM,
Nige said…
No and no...
At March 20, 2008 12:43 PM,
Johntyh said…
Joe Orton (B. Leicester)
At March 20, 2008 12:55 PM,
Nige said…
Orton it is, taking a rare break from cottaging, and clearly regretting it. Well done, Johntyh and Anon. - half an easter egg is on its way to each of you.
At March 21, 2008 1:04 AM,
Michael Smith said…
Beckett?
At March 21, 2008 1:06 AM,
Michael Smith said…
Oops. Teach me not to read all the posts.
At March 22, 2008 11:01 AM,
Susan Balée said…
I was thinking Stoppard, but there wasn't enough wit in the quote. Totally forgot about Joe. That bright light is pretty gorgeous if you're in St. Chapelle watching it suffuse the stained glass.
Nige, you will know this: What is the best cathedral/church in the UK for stained glass? I'm guessing it's somewhere *not* in London.
At March 23, 2008 11:27 AM,
snakepit said…
Susan Balée: very much not in London! I'm not Nige but I recommend Cumbria's world ranker
At December 13, 2008 12:26 AM,
willpoy said…
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
back to blog home