Well, it does seem more and more that it'd be good to be less rusty than I am. And I trust you not to be needlessly nasty in the teaching. (Besides, it might also be an additional amusement for Mr Marvolo if you need one later in the week.)
On your visit - I'd heard something of the engagement falling through, but nothing detailed, just what one picks up. (One odd side effect of the YPL business is people tend to keep dropping tidbits of information in conversation and assume I know what they're talking about, so I've started reading more of the gossip rags than I used to, just so I don't put my foot wrong in a meeting. You know, asking after the wife when there's been a big row or something.)
He's probably not up for it now, but perhaps sending along something amusing later this week might do it? There's a couple of new books about the Protectorate and a few older histories out this spring, actually, that he might find amusing or at least less tedious than a crossword. After we had that historian here last fall, publishers keep sending me things to suggest to Madame Pince, or to encourage students to read. (The History Club does sometimes, actually.)
There's a particularly good one about the Wars of the Roses - the author looks at what Muggles thought they knew about it, and how confusing and mismatched it was, and then slots in all the proper wizarding history bits to demonstrate how it was actually fairly straightforward if you know all the pieces. Rather nicely done, and a lot better than Binns' explanation was.
Anyway, it strikes me as more the sort of thing than a book of crosswords or a chess set or anything like that, but I'm sure you know him best.
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Date: 2011-04-06 01:32 am (UTC)On your visit - I'd heard something of the engagement falling through, but nothing detailed, just what one picks up. (One odd side effect of the YPL business is people tend to keep dropping tidbits of information in conversation and assume I know what they're talking about, so I've started reading more of the gossip rags than I used to, just so I don't put my foot wrong in a meeting. You know, asking after the wife when there's been a big row or something.)
He's probably not up for it now, but perhaps sending along something amusing later this week might do it? There's a couple of new books about the Protectorate and a few older histories out this spring, actually, that he might find amusing or at least less tedious than a crossword. After we had that historian here last fall, publishers keep sending me things to suggest to Madame Pince, or to encourage students to read. (The History Club does sometimes, actually.)
There's a particularly good one about the Wars of the Roses - the author looks at what Muggles thought they knew about it, and how confusing and mismatched it was, and then slots in all the proper wizarding history bits to demonstrate how it was actually fairly straightforward if you know all the pieces. Rather nicely done, and a lot better than Binns' explanation was.
Anyway, it strikes me as more the sort of thing than a book of crosswords or a chess set or anything like that, but I'm sure you know him best.