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.