a mysterious and imprecise word

an almost entirely written the day before blogpost 

a walk on the common 

horsemouth took his camera and was mainly trying to focus on the animals and the abandoned technology. round the outside and then up to the top of the hill and back.

abandoned greenhouse

could be brought back into use horsemouth thinks. he thinks it's at the far end of a garden. 

the field downhill from it has a poly-tunnel anyway. (now a poly tunnel would be a useful thing). horsemouth's mum has two greenhouses but one is now in the shade of a rather large tree and so not much use for actually growing anything.

a mysterious and imprecise word

the 'mysterious and imprecise word that no one could define but which was readily understood by those who experienced it...'  is ballardian. 

you may as well add kafkaesque to that list but you may as well reply 'almost all of them'. in general all words are more difficult to define than people imagine and their meanings seldom stay stable that long.

the narrow road to the deep north

basho entered the city of kanazawa on july the 15th. he met a merchant from osaka. he wrote a memorial poem in praise of the poet issho.

'how beautiful it is

the snow on the ground

and the cloud in the west

that brings more of it.' 

snow seems a bit unlikely at the moment. (horsemouth would settle for rain). 

horsemouth has succeeded in doing something obvious 

hopefully it is the right thing to do. he should probably refuel once he has checked that the air is clear.  it should bring him peace of mind (but of course it doesn't). 

today the eggs (in as sure as eggs is eggs) and the recycling bin down the drive also. horsemouth is up and he has his coffee. it's a cool grey morning (but this means little, yesterday heated up successfully and today is supposed to do that also). 

according to the forecast the weather is consistently sunny and dry through to the 24th (this doesn't bring horsemouth the pleasure he thought it would). 

at least from here on in

 1872 kilvert is in langley having left clyro yesterday. 

okay a mostly written in the morning blogpost (at least from here on in), 

a grey morning and positively cool. horsemouth is wearing two layers (this is unheard of he's spent the last month wandering around in as little as possible). cloud til midday (says the bbc weather).  then bryter later.

at night horsemouth read a little of ceasar's vast ghost (mostly about the campaigns of marius) and then a little of seeing england (antiquarians, travellers and naturalists) which ends with the naturalist gilbert white of selborne in hampshire - horsemouth had been looking for his the natural history of selborne in his dad's collection. it is almost certainly there and almost certainly in a folio edition. anyway there's a few pages at the end of charles lancaster's book. 

the chickens were there to greet horsemouth at the gate this morning (he'd forgotten to lock them up last night). they all seem to be there. a 7am start (not too shabby). 

he probably won't go to abergavenny today. if he's off to the wen in a few weeks he can get his book shopping in then. 

available in physical form it is nearly here

'elsewhere horsemouth's writing has been progressing. at some point the first part of it will be available in physical form...'  

it's NEARLY here.

in the spanish post today (rob says) and then god knows how long it will take to reach the mule in deepest darkest herefordshire. launched by the correos it will fly towards horsemouth and then decelerate enormously as it enters the field of action of the royal mail. 

this is in no way the fault of the final postie who will deliver it to horsemouth (him horsemouth will thank). 

having been posted it will therefore be a piece of mail art. 

of course once horsemouth has the physical thing he will be better able to tell what it is and perhaps get some more insight into why he did it. 

this morning a cool grey morning (uncharacteristic of recent weeks and something of a relief and a disappointment simultaneously). the weather forecast shows rain mid week. 

today that walk up the hill with the eggs. 

yesterday evening a phone conversation with david. horsemouth may be visiting the wen soon (he'll keep you posted). 

sheep are back

the sheep are back. horsemouth thought they had gone away but his mum claims not. that makes it easier.

horsemouth has been watching l'homme sans visage  a french mini-series first broadcast 17th july 1975. it's in that great fantomas/ dr.mabuse/ supervillain  mould. 

he's been reading ceasar's vast ghost. in a way it is useful reading for his post-apocalyptic, they are old men rattling around old houses and towns with unhealthy obsessions (haute magie, mumification, tauromachia). 

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yesterday a chat with howard (of the one and done variety). soon enough howard is done for the year. 

today a zoom call and probably wombling the eggs up the hill. possibly try some more writing of the post-apocalyptich (it seems to be writing itself at the minute). 

constrained by history

'constrained by history, now he shall not make

new friendships or attachments

for the circle of the old is closing in...'

- lawrence durrell, ceasar's vast ghost.

on this day in 1872 the children at the school are mourning the departure of kilvert. or rather on this day he is told about it and tells us.  he is secretly gratified. 

horsemouth picked some tomatoes in the greenhouse which his mum pronounced very tasty. 

horsemouth should finish off confessions of a book collector before he starts on ceasar's vast ghost (but that's not his way). ceasar's vast ghost is great so far. it suits the hot weather. horsemouth did a little reading of it sitting around outside. 

coming up the weekend. after that the weeks of july and then the summer holidays begin (for the people who work). 

a good and hopeful message about bookstores. nice picture of a bookshop too. this may be why horsemouth copied and shared the article. he just likes the picture.  carpet, natural wood shelves, books (lots of books). 

elsewhere horsemouth's writing has been progressing. at some point the first part of it will be available in physical form and then horsemouth can get on and share it digitally. maybe he is in a good position to expand the reach of the chapbook. 

horsemouth has his coffee and he has unleashed the chickens. what next?

horsemouth and his old life (none of the above)

nicholas royle confessions of a book collector goes well but it is horsemouth's old life. 

horsemouth's old life

go to this second hand book shop walk over to that second hand bookshop, visit this or that charity shop along the way. read this book in translation or that book in translation. earwig this or that conversation and write it down, or write a quotation down in the diary from a book found in a college library. 

work day - fit in the book shop visits before or after bookings. 

leisure day - do the bookshop visits when boredom strikes. 

alternatively go into a library to check out the book sale. 

(later check local book-boxes)

and still more recently none of the above (or at least very little). 

horsemouth's accessions diary for the year is pitiful - whole months go buy without him buying or collecting a single book. he visits town and returns with a mere handful. 

at least his collection is still there in the shed on the side of the garage. it has not succumbed to damp. all this collecting is why he has such a big collection (this is perhaps unsurprising).  

where is kilvert?

on the 10th of july 1872 kilvert has travelled to abergaveny by train (via hereford) and is currently walking back from there to hay-on-wye via the black mountains. at llanthony kilvert and his friends meet a trainee monk from the monastery. they then proceed up the gospel pass 'into wales' (as kilvert puts it). 

it's been a busy time for kilvert. he's been to see the solitary of llanbedr, there's been a flood, he's been up to liverpool. 

meanwhile

'the sun determines everything that grows, while water becomes an all important symbol...' 

- lawrence durrell,  ceasar's vast ghost. 

horsemouth has been back out in the garden. he's finished picking the gooseberries and even picked some more runner beans. (there will be lots of runner beans this year). 

today

up to 33C. gradually cooling off from there. possibly some rain in the evening. possibly some rain sunday evening. no real rain until thursday. 

horsemouth wants rain so it can fill up the water butts so he can feel less guilty about using commons water to water the garden/ greenhouses etc. 

hacking back the nettles (at the harvesting of the broad beans)

in the morning a go at hacking back the nettles where they had grown up through the gooseberry bushes. as those were cleared picking the few remaining gooseberries that the birds hadn't snaffled or knocked off and left to rot on the ground. then the bins and the egg delivery.  (waste bin horsemouth thinks this time)

in the evening more of the same. but first horsemouth did some watering and harvested the broad beans. 

in between the hiding indoors and more writing (that is good). 

the pulling up the nettles went well (much better than horsemouth expected). he going to be able to get on with the gooseberry picking much more easily than he thought. 

picking the gooseberries resulted in several spikings of his fingers (most annoying). 

the broad beans and the gooseberries have gone into the freezer. it looks like there's some tomatoes to be had in the green house (woo hoo). 

this morning it looks like it's going to be sunny and hot again.