vivdunstan

With potentially a £40m bailout almost signed off, but still to go through more checks, and be approved by the university court, and it's still not clear what conditions have been placed on the bailout. Mass redundancies remain a threat.

Meanwhile tonight BBC Scotland have published an investigative report exploring how the prolonged crisis is already drastically affecting existing students.

Got through two films the last couple of nights while Martin is away on a work trip.

The Mummy was a rewatch, and I’m amused how many of the lines I could remember. It is extremely derivative of the 1932 Universal version, but has pizzazz and charm galore, and I love it. In the last few days news came out of a possible new Mummy film starring Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser. Yes please.

Death on the Nile is the Kenneth Branagh version. Charming enough, but for me nowhere near as much fun as the 1978 Peter Ustinov version. But it kept me amused, I liked some of the reworked bits, and was impressed by the English accents of the American cast. Rose Leslie also put a lot of effort vocally into her role as the French-speaking maid. I watched this on Disney+ and had access to loads of extra behind the scenes features, which was nice. I was agog that they built replicas of the SS Karnak and the temple at Abu Simbel.

Reading Jason Dyer's recent blog posts playing interactive fiction text adventure game Fairytale (1982). And my mind is blown at the start, learning that this game is based on Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree series of books. Which I adored when I was very young.

I say "based on", but Enid Blyton's books are only part of the inspiration for the game. But the game *does* have her Faraway Tree, and Moonface, Saucepan Man and the Slippery Slip. No Silky though, or Dame Slap.

Watching last night’s Susan Calman’s Grand Day Out, and she’s exploring south Somerset. Has just got to only a couple of miles from Martin’s childhood home 🙂 He is watching this episode very intently!

Today’s arrival, a new book by JRR Tolkien. A satirical fantasy from the future looking back at the fragmentary remains of somewhere rather heavily inspired by Oxford.

I got me a signed copy (normal RRP) from Blackwells in Oxford. Signed by the head of the Bodleian, who wrote the accompanying essay in the book.

Today's second arrival (very good day!): new paperback copy of the Kickstarter-funded "Shakespeare vs Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come" interactive fiction gamebook from Jonathan Green. Looks fantastic! Very happy to have this in my hands at last, and very much looking forward to playing it.

Very sad to hear that Prunella Scales has died. A wonderful actress, but most of all Martin and I enjoyed her charming canal trip programmes with husband Timothy West. I'm downloading (on demand in the UK) some of her past canal trips to rewatch, including the Leeds & Liverpool canal and Venice.

Pleased managed more accordion practice despite my worsening neuro illness. Not too light headed just now, though my usually automatic bellows control was a bit challenged! Focused on 5 tunes (*), including Windmills of Your Mind. Which on my 72 bass box required jumping from the top of the bass side to the bottom and back! Though, amazingly, that wasn't as tricky as expected. Here is a recording of Windmills of Your Mind.

* The other tunes were Pirates of the Caribbean "He's a Pirate" music (so piratey!), Speechless from live-action Disney Aladdin, Thank You For The Music by ABBA and a My Fair Lady medley.

Oh and Martin had a teleconference going on in the next door study while I played in the lounge. I tried to play a bit quieter than I might have. He said afterwards it was fine 😜

Just finished my 50th book of 2025, Liz Duffy Adams's Born With Teeth, the two-hander play featuring Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. I wish I'd seen the current RSC production with Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel. But reading the play script was great fun.

It does help enormously knowing both actors from past TV productions. So I can visualise them really well performing the roles. And as a two-hander it's also more approachable as a play script to read than a play with a much larger cast. Very readable anyway, and I enjoyed it immensely.