SimpleGal, Afternoon, fellow ‘prisoner of the past’! :) I had a late lie in this morning – the New Years Eve do finished around 3 (ish) this morning; the head is okay but I am still having to negotiate the worst of sleep-deprivation induced spells, as you can imagine. :) Goodness me – you seem to be a repository of English literary knowledge. Thanks for the post – it really made my day. Of course, that was 'as a cloud' as opposed to 'in the cloud', wasn't it? A case of bad grammar I am afraid – I might as well go back to school to learn some of it! The grammar I mean! But more to do with the brain cells I am sure – the dimaag is getting rusty, you know! I once used to know these poems by heart, and could recite them without effort. More pressing priorities (career/commitments) to take care of, and by extension, less time to devote to one's other pursuits in life, and it's rather disconcerting just how quickly you can end up loosening your grip on so many things. Mine is a classic case in point – ke garnay! :) I went to an impromptu gathering in London a few months ago, where they made me recite a few of my fav poems. Did one Neruda – survived the contact with this one but barely just, and the next?? It was a complete and utter disaster! I failed on the Wordsworth count so miserably that I ended up telling a joke instead! :) So unashamedly! I think, my early call on those gin&tonic glasses had a great deal to answer for it, but G&T or not, there is some work to be done on my otherwise fast-loosening 'literary' grip. Interaction in Sajha may well be a step closer to achieving that end state, especially now that I have someone in my midst with whom I can swap a line or two now and then. Sorted! :) Mr Darcy and the unruly horde of his insane inamoratas, always giving him the grief of his life! :) I for one, am happy to be the 'wicked' Wickham! All because I am: far more attractive physically than the 'abominable' Darcy; able to dupe just about everyone including the notoriously gullible Lizzy (who else!) with my crooked tricks; able to seduce the pretty Miss Darcy; and the one to have any gall to run away with Lizzy's own sister. And all this I can achieve at the expense of my dear ol' chum Darcy's humility and Lizzy Bennet's extraordinary prejudice against the former! :) How about that?? But yes, he is a charming character, and hey, the world is still left with a few genuine dashing Darcies out there, so don’t give up on your search just yet. :) Firth is marvellous – he's very English. And you can recite the whole sentence eh – the Darcy line above? Blimey. What will it feel if, say, Woody Allen were to do the same line as an American Mr Darcy. Here’s the American version of the Darcy line – this is Darcy (Woody Allen) to Miss Bennet: ""but.. but, you know, Lizzy, when I errm cast my.. my eyes on you the.. the first time, I kinda felt this .. this kinda deep pang in my heart,, you know, kinda like Geez, this gurrl is sure HOT and .. I just.. erm.. wanted to .. to hug you, and … and kiss you, you know, the French way,you know, so.. so you had rashes all over your tongue… oh, no, sorry, didn't mean to say that. Stop and rewind! So yes,.. kiss you, and … and squeeze you into ..erm.. a plastic bin bag.. so.. it's kinda easy for me .. to.. to carry you to the bedroom on.. on our first night of ..urm..HMS.. as in Hot Mad Sex.. Oh, sorry, didn't mean to say that.. I mean.. our.. our first night of pa.. passion. The ..the bottom line, Liz is: WILL YOU F***KIN' MARRY ME OR WHAT??"" :)))) Excuse my French there! Joking aside, have you seen Sense and Sensibility with the good ol’ Oxonian Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson? Worth a try if not already seen. Yes, Hardy is good, although I must admit that I find his work rather bland compared to that by, say, Dickens. This might be because I have read only two or three of his novels. I remember reading his Woodlanders many moons ago, and being very sad at the novel’s tragic conclusion. I love his poems though. Apart from English lit, you know quite a bit of other international writers? Lebanese and Kenyan and Chinese? Blimey. The nearest I have ever got is: two or maybe, three autobiography by Chinese writers (Jung Chang), Amy Tan is not exactly Chinese, is she?; one or two by Kawabata and Mishima, and yes, a few by Ishiguro but then, he's English again, not exactly Japanese. And that's about it. Oh, the other names I know a little are Achebe and Soyinka – both Nigerians. Pse do share whenever, because it'll be lovely to hear your multi-coloured reading experiences - yes, straight from the horse's mouth. Whenever, no hurry. I think, I am genuinely past my word limit for one post – long and boring one. So I'd better put a stop to my waffles. Oh on Samrat Upadhay – I like his writing. I'd again better not say anything more because it's been a long post. For next time perhaps. I did have something to say though about his books elsewhere in the Sajha forums. Finally, found the link – pse do take a quick browse if you've got time. Here it is: http://www.sajha.com/sajha/html/OpenThread.cfm?forum=2&ThreadID=27350 It's been good talking – take care. Carpe diem