Hwīt Geōltīd

Swefn ic geseah snāwhwītes geōles,
Geōlam gelīce þe wē gēo cūðon —
Bēamas glysnodon, bearn hlosnodon
Hīeran on hrīme hrædwægnes bellan.

Swefn ic geseah snāwhwītes geōles,
Þā ic geōlcartan georne awrāt:
Blīðan ond beorhtan bēon þīne dagas,
Ēadige ēac ēalla þīne geōl!

Malicorne lay down the funky disco branle in 1979

The speaker notes from my talk last month are here.

Lightweight Markup Languages

I'm doing an introductory talk on lightweight markup languages for Write the Docs North in Manchester on 23rd Jan.

Lightweight Markup Languages

I heard John Dipper play his solo variations on Bacca Pipes, I don't know, about 10 years ago, and when he finished I went [h↓h↓h↓h↓h↓] (you have to imagine a huge intake of air) because I had literally forgotten to breathe for about 2 minutes. He was so good.

John Dipper: Musician, composer, teacher, instrument-maker

City Life

30 years to the day since I first moved to Manchester. (Astonishingly.) Here's the City Life Student Special that I picked up on my first day.

The Bicycle Doctor — still going strong.

A bit of linguistics. Loving the 80s typesetting in this.

Le  Jive Hive , qu'est-ce que c'est?

Decoy Records! Sadly gone. Vinyl Exchange is still there.

Vegetarian restaurants. That's yer lot in 1988. On the Eighth Day is still going. As is the current incarnation of Greens, but much more upmarket now.

Band on the Wall! Open again now.

Agraman, the Human Anagram! And I remember Buzz magazine too.

It was... the '80s. A strange and distant time, but perhaps not so different from today.

On my first night I went to the International 2. I decided pretty soon after that I wasn't into clubs. Let's look at the pub reviews.

Entering the Ducie is like entering the 33rd County.

Wander slightly further up Oxford Road and you'll come to the Salisbury. Wander a little further and you're past it.

Strangest pub in Hulme is definitely the Spinners, where little drinking takes place but a deep sense of inner calm and considerable human understanding prevails.

The Lass O' Gowrie [...] Treat LOG 42 with respect!

Ah man. Happy days. The pub is still there, but they don't brew their own beer any more.

Roses are red
Bananas are bent
I'm giving up Facebook
and Twitter for Lent