Welcome to justthoughtsnstuff

I started posting to jtns on 20 February 2010 with just one word, 'Mosaic'. This seemed an appropriate introduction to a blog that would juxtapose fragments of memoir and life-writing. Since 1996, I'd been coming to terms with the consequences of emotional and economic abuse that had begun in childhood, and which, amongst other things, had sought to stifle self-expression. While I'd explored some aspects of my life through fiction and, to a lesser extent, journalism, it was only in 2010 that I felt confident enough to write openly about myself. I believed this was an important part of the healing process. Yet within weeks, the final scenes of my family's fifty-year nightmare started to play themselves out and the purpose of the blog became one of survival through writing. Although some posts are about my family's suffering - most explicitly, Life-Writing Talk, with Reference to Trust: A family story - the majority are about happier subjects (including, Bampton in rural west Oxfordshire, where I live, Oxford, where I work, the seasons and the countryside, walking and cycling) and I hope that these, together with their accompanying photos, are enjoyable and positive. Note: In February 2020, on jtns' tenth birthday, I stopped posting to this blog. It is now a contained work of life-writing about ten years of my life. Frank, 21 February 2020.

New blog: morethoughtsnstuff.com.

Saturday, 11 June 2016

new york public library, funding petition, bodleian tie, end of academic year but much to do, allotment tranquillity, facing the strange by sb sweeney











Loved seeing the New York Public Library. In many ways some reading rooms seemed more Oxford than Oxford - at least as seen through their glass doors. I was saddened to learn, though, that the library is having to petition City Hall for funding increases - current levels are below those of 2008, while demand for services is growing.  Why won't governments invest in libraries?

Nice to see a Bodleian tie on sale in the gift shop.

Although the Oxford academic year is ending - for undergraduates, at least - there is much to do at work.

Hooray for the tranquillity of the allotment!

Looking forward to publishing the excellent Facing the Strange by SB Sweeney!
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