A: and how are your symptoms?

‘poetry is the clear expression of mixed feelings,’ auden  in a note to the double man.

oof horsemouth is cream-crackered. he has blocked nostrils. has been coughing a lot and thus has a sore throat. that said he thinks he is progressing through the symptoms  (towards being well again). he has less of a headache than he has had on previous days. 

yesterday he felt unenthusiastic about the internet and  so spent a lot of time reading fishing in utopia -  youngster moves to sweden, marries, gets a shit job, he survives the whole of the social democratic era (culminating in the murder of olof palme). years later, now a journalist living in london, he goes back and looks at the changes neo-liberalism has wrought. 

horsemouth always finds it an entertaining read. it's very good on the power of writing

similarly entertaining are the set-up chapters to lord macaulay's the history of england - here he tells you that the aristocracy and clergy of england are a doltish bunch (as if that is supposed  to endear them to you). 

tomorrow horsemouth will write about matsuo basho, robbie basho and steffen basho-junghans.