Viv Marsh
@vivmarsh.bsky.social
Scribe, hack, recovering academic, pianist, linguist, European, Blackpudlian. Was China media, now revisiting East/West Germany. My book in paperback https://tinyurl.com/2p8wv94n - new book coming...
Yes, I came here to say exactly that. I wonder if there will be another run on Enids and Ethels too.
December 3, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Yes, I came here to say exactly that. I wonder if there will be another run on Enids and Ethels too.
I just thought it would be newsworthy if it had !
December 2, 2025 at 9:21 PM
I just thought it would be newsworthy if it had !
I am officially sad then
December 2, 2025 at 8:12 PM
I am officially sad then
Eh - Antony Costa, from Blue ? He's the only one I know (also old)
December 2, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Eh - Antony Costa, from Blue ? He's the only one I know (also old)
'Not holding back on any weirdness' should be a mantra for life in general, not 'only' books.
December 2, 2025 at 7:29 PM
'Not holding back on any weirdness' should be a mantra for life in general, not 'only' books.
Agreed - it must be infuriating for the EU. It's also infuriating for those of us who qualify only for a UK passport to see thousands of UK nationals getting a workaround through parents or grandparents if they have no real links with the EU or EU language skills. What a lottery; what a cockup.
December 2, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Agreed - it must be infuriating for the EU. It's also infuriating for those of us who qualify only for a UK passport to see thousands of UK nationals getting a workaround through parents or grandparents if they have no real links with the EU or EU language skills. What a lottery; what a cockup.
Noodles, chilli and coriander ?
December 1, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Noodles, chilli and coriander ?
Academia second. As a 'visiting lecturer' on a zero-hours contract I was called on several times to lead large undergraduate modules because I was considered experienced enough to do so. When I answered an advert for a more secure job in the department, they didn't even give me an interview.
December 1, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Academia second. As a 'visiting lecturer' on a zero-hours contract I was called on several times to lead large undergraduate modules because I was considered experienced enough to do so. When I answered an advert for a more secure job in the department, they didn't even give me an interview.
The over-40s, of course, were early adopters of the shaky domestic tech of Windows 95/98, hit-and-miss external CD burners and dial-up modems. We built the first individual websites using HTML code and were adept at diving 'under the bonnet' of our processors to fix stuff. Trouble adapting? Please.
December 1, 2025 at 12:15 PM
The over-40s, of course, were early adopters of the shaky domestic tech of Windows 95/98, hit-and-miss external CD burners and dial-up modems. We built the first individual websites using HTML code and were adept at diving 'under the bonnet' of our processors to fix stuff. Trouble adapting? Please.
Journalism first. Craig Oliver, later 'Sir', in his role as austerity hatchetman at the BBC World Service (pre-Cameron job but much the same thing), shocked a group of us from the WS newsroom by blithely stating that the over-40s among us would have trouble adapting to the brave new digital world.
December 1, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Journalism first. Craig Oliver, later 'Sir', in his role as austerity hatchetman at the BBC World Service (pre-Cameron job but much the same thing), shocked a group of us from the WS newsroom by blithely stating that the over-40s among us would have trouble adapting to the brave new digital world.
Am developing a head of steam on this as I think about egregious incidents from my own employment experience. Allow me to share two of them - one from journalism (30 years in broadcast news) and another later from academia (10 years as a uni lecturer inc while doing a PhD);
December 1, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Am developing a head of steam on this as I think about egregious incidents from my own employment experience. Allow me to share two of them - one from journalism (30 years in broadcast news) and another later from academia (10 years as a uni lecturer inc while doing a PhD);
Thanks for the reply. I don't know what can be done about this. Experience does tend to cost more ! - and management can see it as a block to new ideas.
December 1, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Thanks for the reply. I don't know what can be done about this. Experience does tend to cost more ! - and management can see it as a block to new ideas.
One point this article does not address is the fact that (in my experience) larger organisations do not WANT older workers. They cost too much, they know too much, they've seen all the management shtick before, and they raise well-founded objections to cost-cutting. Age discrimination is real.
December 1, 2025 at 11:13 AM
One point this article does not address is the fact that (in my experience) larger organisations do not WANT older workers. They cost too much, they know too much, they've seen all the management shtick before, and they raise well-founded objections to cost-cutting. Age discrimination is real.
Aha yes - interestingly, it doesn't appear to come via the same path. There's no sign of a final F anywhere in the 'swart' lineage. According to Mr Google, swarf could come from Old English geswearf (filings) or Old Norse svarf (file dust) !
December 1, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Aha yes - interestingly, it doesn't appear to come via the same path. There's no sign of a final F anywhere in the 'swart' lineage. According to Mr Google, swarf could come from Old English geswearf (filings) or Old Norse svarf (file dust) !
I was just thinking that I hadn't heard 'swarthy' for many years, presumably because of its negative-verging-on-racist overtones, if that's the right word.
November 30, 2025 at 8:56 PM
I was just thinking that I hadn't heard 'swarthy' for many years, presumably because of its negative-verging-on-racist overtones, if that's the right word.
A recent uni lecturer and marker writes: the best way for markers to detect underhand use of AI in coursework is to use their brains. Check references, check breezy generalisations. Oh yes: this makes grading take three times as long. That's why most faculty don't do it. Dispiriting.
November 30, 2025 at 3:49 PM
A recent uni lecturer and marker writes: the best way for markers to detect underhand use of AI in coursework is to use their brains. Check references, check breezy generalisations. Oh yes: this makes grading take three times as long. That's why most faculty don't do it. Dispiriting.
The Smol Paul Glare was - even then - very much in evidence, I see !
November 30, 2025 at 10:49 AM
The Smol Paul Glare was - even then - very much in evidence, I see !
But we who live in the UK very much mind the hypocrisy of our press, which consistently manipulates public opinion to the benefit of disaster capitalists.
November 30, 2025 at 9:22 AM
But we who live in the UK very much mind the hypocrisy of our press, which consistently manipulates public opinion to the benefit of disaster capitalists.
This is another ‘unicorn Brexit’ argument in disguise - that if only there’d been a stronger mandate, there would have been a ‘better’ Brexit. He still can’t accept the folly of a Brexit outside the SM.
November 30, 2025 at 9:16 AM
This is another ‘unicorn Brexit’ argument in disguise - that if only there’d been a stronger mandate, there would have been a ‘better’ Brexit. He still can’t accept the folly of a Brexit outside the SM.
I‘d love to be on the receiving end of one of your translations… 🧐
November 27, 2025 at 2:57 PM
I‘d love to be on the receiving end of one of your translations… 🧐
A movie that takes place where you’re from ?
November 24, 2025 at 5:47 PM
A movie that takes place where you’re from ?