Happy birthday Mr Dickens

Charles Dickens was born on 8th February 1812, which makes this the 200th anniversary of his birth.

You will of course know this due to attending all the Dickens Dinners and the general celebration of all things Dickens. What, you haven't?

I was reminded that it was the bicentenary - of the arrival of an infant Dickens - by an email from Lovereading. Why wasn't I bombarded with this? He was one of the greatest writers of all time, if not the greatest, and provided us with much of our view of Victorian England. What would have been his 200th birthday should be a cause for celebration, should it not? Google acknowledged it, as they do, but there was little said elsewhere.

Living in a country which goes potty over Burns, who wrote poetry, I fail to understand why the English/British don't remember their great writers, namely Dickens and Shakespeare. Admittedly they don't know for sure what Shakespeare's date of birth was, but they do know he was baptised on 26 April so that'd be a good day to celebrate him. And as for Dickens, they do know when he was born; today was the 200th anniversary. Significant, no? Just me?

I think it is maybe a measure of the Scots and our fiercely patriotic tendencies, but we dedicate a day (and gain yet another excuse to don a kilt and get drunk) to our most famous writer. Who wasn't as talented or prolific as either Dickens or Shakespeare. I categorically dismiss claims that Burns was Scotland's answer to Shakespeare.


28 April shall become Ian Rankin day sometime. Honestly it will. Maybe just in Fife, but it will.

Come on England, remember your famous sons!

I raise a cup of coffee to Mr Dickens, thank him for his legacy and renew my vow to get on with reading his works...

People there should be clones of

I'm feeling talkative. Or, look, I'm procrastinating again.

Anyway, I've been mentally compiling a list of people that I think are great, for various reasons, and I feel I want to write them down before that particular train of thought gets endless delays before cancellation. Obviously, each of these persons is unique, so cloning would be futile, but in a perfect world these people would all be my friends and we'd hang out together. Clones might be more willing...

Ian Rankin. He's incredibly nice, incredibly interesting, incredibly witty and really really grounded. And he supports Raith Rovers.

Jasper Fforde. A fellow sufferer of my birthday, this man is a genius and I LOOOOVE his books.

Marcus Brigstocke. The most attractive man on earth.

Richard Herring. Because he is Richard Herring.

Andrew Collins. This man is the only person who should ever be allowed to review films.

Jason Byrne, Bill Bailey, Russell Howard, Ross Noble, Jeremy Hardy and the above three. These people make me laugh and laugh and laugh.

Danny Wallace. You can't not love him.

Bernard Butler. Because he plays guitar like no other.


A little sexist, perhaps? I don't like women much. Men do most things better. Leave it at that.

CNPS 10, 11, 12 and 13 today!!