tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post2449322067397832339..comments2024-03-25T22:59:30.053+00:00Comments on Desperate Reader: The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary with Madeira Desperate Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-77580872374110717942016-12-19T19:53:33.443+00:002016-12-19T19:53:33.443+00:00I'd like a whole set too, but not at all pract...I'd like a whole set too, but not at all practical, and not very space efficient either, but somehow there's a magic to dictionary's. Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-12418919427393188912016-12-18T01:26:00.382+00:002016-12-18T01:26:00.382+00:00I have the Shorter OED - such a delight to dip int...I have the Shorter OED - such a delight to dip into. Although it's not wildly practical, I crave the whole set. A while back one could buy it in one (?) volume with every page miniaturized -- it came with a magnifying glass! I am still hoping to find one secondhand one day. skiourophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08200877834536477400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-75833203417530761282016-12-13T18:26:23.836+00:002016-12-13T18:26:23.836+00:00Your father clearly had a discerning palate. Like ...Your father clearly had a discerning palate. Like great books, and art, good drink should be for everyone who cares to explore them. There's great pleasure to be had from the quiet contemplation of something like a good Madeira or single malt - or any well made drink. Desperate Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708411387912078122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011557877105021955.post-76739417774820084222016-12-12T15:46:08.587+00:002016-12-12T15:46:08.587+00:00My father who lived to the age of 84 came to Madei...My father who lived to the age of 84 came to Madeira late in life.<br />He enjoyed a couple of single malt whiskies before a good dinner. Always Macallan's.<br />But he told me that after eating he lost all interest in strong drink.<br />Even beer held no attraction for him then.<br />He had renounced tobacco before I was born so he only wanted a cup of tea after dinner.<br />My late brother-in-law liked to see everyone with a drink. So he 'tried out' a post-prandial Madeira on my father, who took to it like a duck to water.<br />My father was a working-class Glaswegian. He had only ever come across Madeira in novels written by toffs like Evelyn Waugh.<br />But he would say with a smile, 'I'm in the mood for a Madeira.'<br />The point of my story is that drink now transcends class.<br />I am sure Blandy's Duke of Clarence is drunk by all manner of people.<br />Incidentally my mother who lived to the age of 97 never drank or smoked.<br />Her idea of luxury was a glass of orangeade with ice cream. She loved chocolate.<br />She kept my father on the straight and narrow.<br />J Haggerty<br /> <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com