January 2013 – The Friends of Charles Darwin

Darwin in plain English?

In which I attempt to rewrite the wonderful final paragraph of ‘On the Origin of Species’ using only the 1,000 most common English words.

Charles Lyell (1797–1875)

On 10th January 1860, Charles Darwin wrote to his good friend the geologist Charles Lyell, humorously describing mankind’s ancestor.

My wonderful, long-suffering partner, Jen, filled a gaping hole in my Darwin-groupie library this Christmas.

My wonderful friend Stense bought me two magnificent books for Christmas.

Mug shot

What do you buy a tea-addicted, Darwin groupie photographer for Christmas?

Dismissing naïve questions as stupid is not going to win anyone over to the enlightened cause.

In which I suggest an answer to a well-known Pompeii conundrum described by the classicist Mary Beard.