Ahem The expression “making hay while the sun shines” was first recorded in English usage in the early 16th century. It was particularly meaningful this year, as the long-awaited improvement in the weather prompted the first cut of the long grass in the Wolfsloch field next to our garden. In medieval times, forecasting the weather […]
Author Archives: Lionel Stanbrook
2026 Ahem
PEAGE PINTXOS BANISTER: May 2026
Ahem, I travelled down to La Hune with Jurrat and Jessie in a well-loaded car [...]
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01
Jun
Jun
2026 Ahem
MUSKETS SHRIFT RAPT: April 2026
Ahem Alli and I were up and early on Good Friday to be driven with [...]
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30
Apr
Apr
Professional Writing Writing
They awoke…
The hidden past of the bisexual pronoun Those of all political and cultural persuasions [...]
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2026 Ahem
BABY FAIRYLAND TWITTEN: March 2026
Ahem I was about to open a pile of birthday cards when I was encouraged [...]
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30
Mar
Mar
2026 Ahem
QUOTIDIAN HAMMERHEAD HIPPO: February 2026
Ahem Rain and colder weather in southern England dominated the first few days of the [...]
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Mar
Mar
08
Jul
Jul
Today, most people are literate. They can and do read, whether the texts they read are glanced at on a phone or are from grand literature in bound volumes from hallowed libraries. And reading is also predominantly taken for granted, especially in those regions and places of the earth where access to reading has the […]
Ahem When Alli and Gwen were enjoying Venice for a few days together earlier in the month, and again most recently when Alli went to Belgium to see her old friends for the weekend, I was content to stay behind. I had plenty of writing commissions and I was looking after Bonnie and Max, who […]
Ahem Taking advantage of Jessie’s European stay following her London Marathon efforts last month, Alli and I flew to Porto for a short holiday and to leave the dank Alsatian spring mists. Jessie and Ella arrived separately, and we met up at a well-equipped apartment in the Avenida dos Aliados. Gwen couldn’t come because she […]
Ahem, Gwen arrived back in Basel after spending a few days in Brighton with her friend Heather and stayed a week with us. She and Alli tipped the scales of influence on TV viewing options so I retreated upstairs to the office most evenings, although we saw some good films together on Netflix. My TV […]
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Apr
Apr
An EU report has confirmed that English is the most popular foreign language in all but five European countries, and all of those are small nations that use the language of their larger neighbours. Two out of three people across the continent have at least a fair working knowledge of English, and not one country […]
Ahem, With driving rain, padding fog, feathery snow drifts and hard bouncing hail just in the first few days of the month, I did not stray far from my home office. I tip-tapped away precisely in my corner on a revived and repointed lap top like a short-sighted stub-fingered stonemason. In the second week there […]
Words – much more than their subjects – are almost immortal. Since words survive the chops and changes of time far longer than any other substance, they are, effectively, permanent. Buildings fall; businesses wither, promises are broken, trees die, water dries, even the earth perishes. But words, if properly used, live for ever. Words are […]
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Mar
Mar
1. Identify the Stakeholder Concentrate on the stakeholders who can influence your reputation. This ensures a close focus and avoids wasted effort and resources. Lobbyists use this approach when they target influential stakeholders such as retailers, customers, investors, institutions or interest groups to force companies to change their products, processes or policies. The way to […]
Ahem The first of my Get Writing “MeetUps” in Basel, intended to inspire local writers in English, was attended by a dozen people, which wasn’t bad for a dark and stormy night in Kleinbasel. Some of them read out their work and others discussed it. We talked about grammar and certain writing techniques. Once again […]