perlmonger::metalog

I've begun compiling my reading stats for 2025 and one of the challenges was fiction with a "senior" protagonist. I've read at least 20+ books with human main characters over the age of 65, and 26+ over the age of 50. 31+ books if we include all good senior representation in all types of books. [Assuming we're including Merlin, which I'm ruling that we are despite his tendency to age backwards and/or hibernate and/or reincarnate - see bonus poll below....]

But does the tenth Doctor count as a senior?

A. I mean, yes, he's objectively old by human standards (at least within his own linear timeline) but Time Lords who stay out of danger would presumably take much longer to pass through ten regenerations so he must be a comparatively young Tenth by normative Time Lord standards.

B. Also, if each regeneration is a life stage then the tenth Doctor would be about 62 years old compared to a human who lives in the UK because he's only about 77% through his regenerations (if he had the normative number for Time Lords), so he'd be pre-retirement age by the human standards that applied during his visits to Earth.

So, is the tenth Doctor a senior because his objective timeline age is over 65 (or whatever threshold you're applying), or is the tenth Doctor not a senior because he's only about 77% through his regenerations (if he had the normative number for Time Lords)? Or some other fanonic reasoning which you hold dear?

- Reading: 117 books to 9 Dec 2025.

Current reading quote:
"Time passes. It passes.
It passes. It scores."

100. The Possibility of Tenderness, by Jason Allen-Paisant, 2025, non-fiction autobiography and botany (nature, lol), 5/5

Personal memoir as community social history, very readable prose, relates several subjects together (including the relationship between those who profiteered from slavery in Jamaica and then profiteered from selling all their slaves to the British taxpayer and then profiteered by using the British taxpayer's money to buy up and exploit common land or other land traditionally lived and worked on by the rural working classes in Britain, and so having ejected freed slaves from their homes in Jamaica proceeded to use the profit to eject working class people from their homes and livelihoods in Britain).

Brought back memories of my childhood, including rural working class people feeding ourselves from our own land (and freely distributing surplus to those in need in our communities), and my local shop being a wooden roadside shack that sold newspapers and tobacco and sweets.

So many possible quotes from this, but: "Sir, I'm glad to see you here; it means everything to me."

My one criticism is that Allen-Paisant doesn't allow science enough credit for recognising biochemical(-electrical-vibrational) communications between plants and animals.

101. Lost to the Sea, by Lisa Woollett, 2024, non-fiction geography and history and travel, 5/5

A social history of human settlements around the coastline of the British Isles (including Ireland) that have been "lost to the sea" by coastal erosion, flooding, and sand dunes, from prehistory to today. Not comprehensive but each chapter covers a different type of situation. Quote: "picknickers" is a choice of spelling, lol.

105. The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett, 1896, slice of life novel, 3.5/5

My favourite part was the extended pen-portrait of Mrs Todd, especially Mrs Todd the herbalist. I also thought the retired sea captain's immram tale was an interesting choice of genre. But the thing that makes these nostalgic USian settler narratives fail for me is the conspiracy of silence that they sign up to about the genocide of Native Americans / First Nations / Indigenous people. Jewett describes evidence of an "Indian" settlement and artifacts found on Shell-Heap Island (the shell-heap is an old midden), and that local white people collect these "relics"/"remains", and even repeats local legends about Native Americans from the area (the island landing is difficult to navigate so there is an implied level of boating skill in local cultures), and... that's it: the "Indians" were living there and now they're not and there's NO commentary about that at all - not one word - which is contrary to Jewett's anthropological curiosity about every other detail of local life. When USians say they have "no history" what they mean is that they don't want to remember the history they do have. It's such a creepy conspiracy of silence amongst otherwise engaged and curious people. Oh, and the "Indians" are only mentioned in relation to the currently uninhabited Shell-Heap Island and not anywhere white people now live - gee, I wonder why....

Quotes:
- [Mrs Fosdick, expurgated] "'T was 'counted a great place in old Indian times; you can pick up their stone tools 'most any time if you hunt about."
- [Mrs Todd describing her cousin-in-law Joanna Todd] "[...] she asked if he had any interest about the old Indian remains, and took down some queer stone gouges and hammers off of one of her shelves and showed them to him same's if he was a boy. He remarked that he'd like to walk over an' see the shell-heap; so she went right to the door and pointed him the way."
- [Captain Bowden] "I didn't know but you merely wanted to hunt for some o' them Indian relics."

( 109, 111, 112, 115 (&114 separately tomorrow, I hope) )

- Overheard on the bus: woman on the bus talking LOUDLY about when the fire brigade had come round to deal with a vibrator under her bed, and all the passengers pricked up their ears but were disappointed to learn that the "vibrator" is a fire alarm because she's deaf. And it was lucky for me I was getting off at the next stop so I could laugh uproariously for several minutes without embarrassing everyone.

- Reading: my library-based A-Z author read through challenge has been going well but it looks as if I might end up reading Julia Quinn for Q (probably not my thing), and I suspect I'll get stuck on X and Z unless I go to a bigger library with more translations.

- Current reading quotes, on lawyers:

"We failed," I said.
He laughed. "Well sometimes you'd like to commit an international crime, but you can't pull it off. No problemo. Give me a call when you do."

- Health advice, fungal nail infections: most fungal nail infections (and some ingrowing toenails caused by invisible infections) can be cured by painting white vinegar on the nail bed (and around the edges to be thorough). Vinegar stings on open wounds so avoid those and dilute it with water if necessary. One application will probably kill the fungus at the nail bed but viable fungal spores tend to lurk in socks, shoes, and bedding, so an occasional re-application after bathing or as part of regular weekly / monthly footcare routine are advisable. Remember it takes toenails up to 18 months to grow out so you won't see the full improvement immediately. White vinegar also has no side-effects: external application won't ruin your digestive system, or breed a resistant super-fungus. I have to wonder when this simple solution stopped being common knowledge and some people swapped to expensive and potentially dangerous drugs instead.

- Consumer advice, UK holiday rentals: don't rent through Sykes Cottages or any of their accursed shell companies, all based in Chester whatever region they claim to be representing, because their terms and conditions remove any consumer rights you have under UK law. They can legally take your money and give you nothing at all in exchange, or rent you an unfit property that nearly kills you, or whatever. You don't have to take my word for this because Which? warn against them (27%, more than 1 in 4, Which? subscribers, the most savvy group of consumers in the UK, who'd used Sykes had serious unresolved problems with them). There's also an anti-Sykes group on facebook with thousands of members, and growing. I thought everyone knew this but apparently not (someone I know nearly died and lost £900 in a Sykes rental with no refund and no recourse in law).

1. If you had to participate in one Olympic event, what would it be and why?
Despite representing my schools in multiple sporting events from the ages of 8-15, especially netball and athletics, I have no idea what events are currently in the Olympics. If I'd trained hard when I was younger I probably could've made it into one of the less popular events for the UK (my cousin did a sport at national level), not ski-jumping though because it's too challenging so Eddie the Eagles's's legend remains safe. :-D

2. What is the one song you always sing along to?
I sing along to almost everything, including scat singing classical instrumental music. I also sing signals to the birbs when I feed them, so they know I've put food out and wasn't merely gardening (but the robin follows me closely when I'm potentially exposing natural food too).

3. Do you wear a seatbelt in the car?
Yes, obv, why wouldn't I? Although, to quote the novel I'm currently reading about post-communist Eastern Europe: "They'd fastened their seat belts, an obvious sign that they weren't from around here."

4. Car, SUV or truck and why?
Feet, bus, train, pedals, trap/horse: in that order. In an apocalypse I'd steal a small electric vehicle with large wheels that could be charged by renewable energy and had reasonably available parts (tyres for a start!), so probably a bicycle and bike trailer.

5. Are you a good/bad driver? Explain.
I'm a good driver, but I'm now medically disqualified from driving on public roads (except farm machinery for which I have an exemption and vehicles that don't require a licence). I can drive multiple different vehicles with wheels numbering between one (wheelbarrow not unicycle) and many-many. Also, I've driven large farm machinery on narrow winding lanes and never squished anybody, which is proof of my good-drivingness. Lastly, I never drove a front-opening bubble car with no reverse gear into a wall while drunk and had to stay there all night until my friends found and rescued me in the morning, lmao.

6. And y'all? :-)