Coffee Break

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Published by: AlanP on 25th Oct 2011 | View all blogs by AlanP

Taking a moment over coffee I wandered, not on the cloud, but to the BBC. There I noticed a brief article debunking historical myths that, on reading turned out to be nothing more or less than a plug for Sir Simon Jenkin's populist history book. That's pretty good publicity in my view.

How do you get to do that?

Comments

19 Comments

by Spangles 7 months ago

Yes, very good publicity. I imagine that the publisher's press officer sent a copy of the book to the BBC website, who liked it and have created the feature around it. Alternatively, Simon Jenkins might know the relevant BBC bod, but even so the publisher would be involved at some point.
by stephenterry 7 months ago

It's a case of who you know, not what you know...
by Gerilyn 7 months ago

First you have to receive a knight hood, then once you are a sir you can pretty much do whatever you want.
by AlanP 7 months ago

It's all probably true. Oh well, I'll get back to my trench.
by Wrathnar the Unreasonable 7 months ago

On the ten o'clock news:

Earlier today, a man - naked except for a coat of purple paint - was arrested by police after running around Trafalgar square hitting people over the head with an inflatable octopus whlie singing the Sex Pistols' 'Pretty Vacant' at the top of his voice, in Latin.
When asked why he did it, the man stated: "I've written this novel . . ."
by AlanP 7 months ago

Oddly I was drinking coffee when the email notifying me of this post landed. My willpower promptly failed and here I am.

That is not bad for publicity. In a short story of mine my MC was planning to walk to the north pole in carpet slippers with nothing but Kendall mint cake to eat until his friends pointed out that if he were dead he couldn't do the book signings. But this tops that by a long way.

I wonder if it's true .... I'd like it to be.
by Wrathnar the Unreasonable 7 months ago

As there's no comma after 'Oddly', I now have a mental image of you slurping coffee up your left nostril through a straw made from a pelican's femur. ("And this week's award for ludicrous pedantry goes to . . . WtheU!" *crowd goes wild*)
by AlanP 7 months ago

Now would that be a split infinitive, I wonder. Oddly drinking coffee or Drinking coffee oddly. Is there a pedant in the house?

Grammar is for wimps anyway :)
by Spangles 7 months ago

I heard the pedant call! No, it's not a split infinitive. That would be 'to oddly drink coffee'.

I'd recommend waiting for warmer weather before dashing around Trafalgar Square in a purple version of woad. :)
by AlanP 7 months ago

Whilst not wishing to extend the pedantry debate (I'm lying, of course) is the cold weather restriction applicable only to purple woad substitute, or would all woad based dashing be subject to the advisory.
by Spangles 7 months ago

I've contacted the Woad Application and Substitutes Panel (WASP), who say that for reasons connected with health and safety, not to mention an ancient London by-law about not frightening the horses, they cannot recommend the disporting of naked flesh while covered in woad or any woad substitute (of any colour or consistency) at any time of year. Apparently this stems from an unfortunate incident in August 1909 when a young man, who was smothered in woad (the original blue version), got so hot while dashing around Trafalgar Square that he jumped into the fountain to cool off. The woad came off too, causing the mass fainting of several elderly nannies who were taking their charges for their morning constitutional.
by AlanP 7 months ago

I'm glad that's cleared up. Not sure what I'm going to do now this lunchtime though.
by Kate7 7 months ago

You could always try it down my way. I doubt Norwich have such laws :) Plus we have the beer festivle going on at the moment so you wouldn't be the only one.
by Gerilyn 7 months ago

Sounds like a plan! Anyone else fancy a jaunt to Norwich?
by AlanP 7 months ago

I was on my way until I realised I was fresh out of woad.
by Spangles 7 months ago

It's so annoying when that happens. Have you tried Boots?
by Athelstone 7 months ago

I tried them, but they only covered my feet.
by Steve 7 months ago

'Oddly I was drinking coffee' would be a splendid start to a book.
by Wrathnar the Unreasonable 6 months ago

"The woad to hell is paved with those little scribbly things that go 'Plip!' and sort of wobble."