Home | The Scrivener
Master wordsmithBrian Barratt has been looking into the origins of well-known ‘Americanisms’ – with surprising results.
This is the first in a series of three articles. The second in the series will appear in Open Writing next Friday.
For further intellectual stimulation and delight do please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…My computer keyboard bears the well known words Made In China. This little message is so common nowadays that we forget about all the other countries which sell us this day our daily bread…
But those imported goods come with user manuals containing language which is more likely to astonish than instruct, as Brian Barratt reveals.
To read dmore of Brian’s inimitable words please click on The Scrivener on this page. And do visit his brain-sharpening Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The more affluent of these owner-builders often finish up with something like a furniture showroom or an art gallery. There is little or no sign of that old fashioned factor, let's see, what is it called? Ah, yes, homeliness. Friendliness. Comfort…
Brian Barratt tends to be more bemused than envious as he watches a TV series on the designing and building of dream homes.
For more of Brian’s choice words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And further treat yourself by visiting Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…But, oh dear me, must we always have the largest of this and the tallest of that?...
Brian Barratt deplores the desire to build the biggest, the tallest, the longest…
To read more of Brian superlative columns - built from the minimum number of words to make a lasting impression on a discriminating reader – by clicking on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do please visit his entertaining Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt introduces us to William Beckford, an English "character'' who towered above other eccentrics.
To read more of Brian’s wonderful words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit his absorbing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "The Towering Ambition Of William Beckford" »
…H.S.Park's Magnetic Curative Appliances were given a glowing testimonial in 1880 by Mr J. Manchester: 'I can certainly say that I derived great benefits from your Magnetic Appliances for my chest.' As his full name was the Rt Rev. James Fraser, Lord Bishop of Manchester, that's quite a commendation…
Excellent stuff, electricity! In this sparkling column Brian Barratt enlightens us on some of its peculiar applications.
To read more of Brian’s wonderful columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The Celestial Bed was twelve feet long and nine feet wide. It was supported by 40 richly coloured glass pillars. Above it emanated 'reviving invigorating influences'. Beneath it were great lodestones 'continually pouring forth in an ever-flowing circle, inconceivable and irresistibly powerful tides of the magnetic effluvium'…
Brian Barratt tells of the audacious 'Dr' Graham who offered electrical therapy for sexual problems to refined clients who could afford his fees. Others could pay a smaller fee just to gawk and ogle at the splendidly appointed rooms of the Temple of Health.
Do please visit Brian's invigorating Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "'Dr' Graham And His Amazing Magnetic Bed" »
…Believe it or not, he also acquired degrees and doctorates such as D.D., LL.D., Ph.D., D.Litt. and a vast number of grandiose titles including His Sacred Beatitude Mar Georgius I, Patriarch of Glastonbury, Prince-Catholicos of the West, Doctor Christianissimus, and Prelat Commandeur of the Order of the Crown of Thorns….
Brian Barratt introduces us to an extraordinary character, Hugh George Newman.
To read the two preceding articles in this series of three - And So The Immortals Pass By and Proper Bishops And Another Messiah - please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Some so-called bishops find themselves in the most unholy of situations, as Brian Barratt reveals in this astonishing article.
This is the second in a series of three articles. To read the first in the series please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
Do please visit his entertaining Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt tells of some of the prophets and Messiahs who have littered Protestant Christianity in the past few centuries.
Brian writes brilliantly on a multitude of subjects. To read more of his memorable columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And please do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Human ants, scurrying around, working, shopping…
Brian Barratt, sensible chap that he is, sips a coffee and surveys the scene, allowing himself time to get to know people.
For more of Brian’s entrancing columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit his engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt tells of a recorded performances, guaranteed to bring sheer delight, of Mozart's great opera The Magic Flute.
This is the fifth article in a series on this wonderful ever-enchanting masterpiece. To read the preceding articles please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s engaging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
There is much more to Mozart’s marvelous opera The Magic Flute than meets the uninformed ear, as Brian Barratt reveals in the fourth of a series of five perceptive articles about this masterwork.
Do please visit Brian’s exhilarating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt tells of the hints of Freemasonry in Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. This is the third in a series of five articles about what many consider to be the finest of all operas.
Do please visit Brian’s intriguing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Is Mozart’s The Magic Flute merely a merry romp, or does it carry a deeper message? Brian Barratt presents the second in a five-article series on what some consider the greatest opera ever composed.
For further intellectual stimulation please visit Brian's Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt begins a five-part series of articles on one of the greatest operas ever written – Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
Brian derives great joy from listening to the work - and his words will encourage you to enjoy the magic in some of the greatest music ever written.
Please do visit Brian's intriguing and entertaining Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Brian Barratt muses upon malapropisms, spoonerisms, and other confusions, manglings and distortions of that most splendid edifice, the English language.
To read more of Brian’s glorious excursions into words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt Googles up a whole heap of word fun.
To read more of Brian’s sparkling columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do please visit his Web site, The Brain Rummager, which he refers to in this column www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
So what do you call it? The loo? The bathroom? Brian Barrett considers the terminology for that place to which we all have to go.
For more of Brian’s well-considered words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit Brian’s entertaining Web site www'alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Curiosity may have killed the proverbial cat, but it keeps wordsmiths alive and well, as master scrivener Brian Barratt proves so entertainingly.
For further mental gymnastics do please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Christmas – the time of year when TV stations churn out a day-long diet of “old'' films. In Britain that means stilted Carry On comedies and yet another encounter with James Bond.
Brian Barratt lists some of the films which have brought him the greatest satisfaction and joy – quality films you are most unlikely to see on your TV screens in these late December days.
Why not follow Brian’s lead and compile your own list of all-time favourites - films you wish to see again and again.
For yet more bracing mental activity do please visit Brian's invigorating Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…A few years ago, I checked about 60 words related to Christianity and the Church. There were some surprises…
Brian Barratt meanders along lexicographical byways, conveying his delight in the history and meaning of words.
For lots more examples of Brian’s magical ways with words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt says we can be gullible when hearing or reading about other people’s psychic and occult experiences., adding “It seems to me that we should keep an open mind and be sensitive to their beliefs, but at the same time apply a strong dose of scepticism, reason, and logic, all in good spirit.’’
To read more of Brian’s wonderful columns – which are as a glass of spring water to those thirsting for fine prose – please click on The Scrivener on this page.
And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Spike Milligan told the story of how he took his elderly grandmother to the seaside for her very first visit. They walked down to the water’s edge, where she stood for a long time gazing at the gently lapping tide. Eventually, she turned to him and asked, ‘Is that all it does?’…
Brian Barratt takes us on a short but hugely enjoyable journey around the points of the humour compass.
To read further wonderful literary excursions please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For vigorous and entertaining exercise for the brain visit www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…I have a mental picture of the passing years as an illustrated road stretching back into the 1930s. People, places, events and signposts are dotted along it. And there are occasional bumps…
Brian Barratt has encountered bumps in various parts of the world in the long road of his life. Now, in prose that is more finely polished than precious metal, with a smile and an occasional tear, he looks back on his experiences.
Do visit Brian's Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
The next time you are about to use the word “great’’ think accomplished, admirable, brilliant, eminent, excellent, famous
good, grand....
Brian Barratt, a man who fully appreciates that words are far more valuable than jewels, wishes that more people would read dictionaries in bed.
For more of Brian’s delectable demonstrations of how to use words to best effect please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
…Blaming somebody else or something else is a popular disease of our times, isn’t it? I wonder how many people would join a class action against God if that were possible? Or perhaps they would sue sinners, on the basis that bad weather is God’s punishment for their sin. Thank goodness we don’t have to believe in a God like that!…
Brian Barratt considers the weather in all its varieties.
For more of Brian’s sunny words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For another feast of intellectual fun do please visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Brian Barratt investigates a tasty subject – the banger.
More of Brian’s appetizing and satisfying words can be found by clicking on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do please visit his absorbing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Ducks and magpies have different ways of dealing with child-rearing and family issues…
Brian Barratt tells of autumn in Melbourne, proving in yet another entertaining column that there lots of fascinating things going on in the world, if you would only stop and look.
For more of Brian’s magical words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt calls for white lines to receive the respect that is their due.
For more Brian’s well-ordered and wonderfully entertaining prose please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For hours of additional fun visit his Web site The Brain Rummager, www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt, an enchanting conversationalist and host, shares his Australian home with uninvited, though not unwelcomed, guests.
To read more of Brian’s hospitable columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For a bout of invigorating mental callisthenics also visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
So how do you prevent fairies from colonizing your front lawn? Brian Barratt offers a surprising “solution’’.
To read more of Brian’s enchanting words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And you are missing lots of fun if you don’t visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Continue reading "There Are Fairies At The Top Of My Garden" »
…It's sad, isn't it? And worrying. You meet people who do not or will not listen. Of, if they do, they don't think. It happens in letters, too. I don't mean e-mails, which so many people can't be bothered to respond to. I mean proper letters sent by stickystamp mail…
Brian Barratt, triumphantly remaining reasonable rather than becoming grumpy, tells of the trials of dealing with those who do not listen.
For more of Brian’s splendiferous columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do please visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Read some of these 17th Century remedies, unearthed by Brian Barratt, and you will instantly persuade yourself that you are not in need of treatment.
Brian’s inquiring mind and word wizardry combine to create the most satisfying reading. For more of his columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page.
Continue reading "Natural Therapies For The Ailing Or Dyeing" »
…You’re walking quietly in the crowd at a shopping centre, and someone barges into you. No worries, they assume that they have the right of way. I’m tempted to slide my walking stick out just a few centimetres so that they trip over, but that wouldn’t be nice, would it?…
Brian Barratt muses upon thoughtless public behaviour.
Rumour has it that Brian’s computer, accustomed to a steady flow of civilised and good-humoured words, now wears a permanent contented smile. To read more of those words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…‘Excuse me,’ said a voice at my side. The vowels were well rounded, and the intonation precise. ‘Could you tell me how much this is?’
It was one of those voices that reflected a determined but failed effort to overcome the Australian accent and pretend to be south-country English. Its owner was a pleasant elderly lady, dressed comfortably in furs…
Brian Barratt recalls the day he was mistaken for an art expert.
For more of Brian’s colourful words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
…The best part of the annual hard rubbish throw-out is watching the kerb crawlers come along and peck like vultures at the discarded evidence of your domestic history…
‘I’m most impressed,’ declared one of Brian Barratt’s neighbours. ‘I’ve never seen so much rubbish come out of one house in this street. You’re definitely raising the tone of the neighbourhood.’
Reading Brian’s ebullient words is one of life’s great joys. For more of them please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…There was an exhibition of contemporary sculptures. At least, I think they were sculptures. One, I remember, consisted of a wooden frame like an elevated trestle table, from which hung about half a dozen furry things that looked for all the world like dead rabbits…
Brian Barratt tells a gloriously funny story about a visit to a a well-known art gallery.
For more of Brian’s memorable words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page. And do visit his celebrated Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…In the morning, the reflections of the mooring posts are ruffled by the slight breeze on the water. In the evening, they are clear and mirror-like on the calm surface. In winter, they stand alone. In summer, they hold boats firmly against the drift of the current. All through the year, the visiting birds alight on them, either to watch the rest of the world, or to find a vantage point for eating, or simply to rest for a while…
Brian Barratt has the enviable gift of being able, with mere words, to allow you to see that natural wonders that he sees.
For more of Brian’s columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page. And do visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Brian Barratt meets the salt of the earth in laundromats.
For more of Brian’s invigorating words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And to enjoy a further abundace of mental fun visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
Brian Barratt, a man with Roma blood in his veins, an adventuresome soul who has lived on three continents, muses poetically on a big question: Where is my home.?
For more of Brian’s joyously readable words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
For lots more intellectual fun please visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…The rain came shortly afterward. Hesitantly at first, in unsteady large drops. I went outside, stood in the street, and welcomed it with open arms…
Writing with the passion of a true nature lover Brian Barratt, an ever-fruitful wordsman, recalls the day the rains came.
To read more of Brian’s satisfying columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page. And do visit his mentally invigorating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
“You, too, can write purple prose,’’ says Brian Barratt, who proceeds to give examples of writing which is so bad that it becomes hilariously good.
For more of Brian’s entertaining columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page.
And do visit his enjoyable Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Over the hill and into the main road. A barbed wire fence runs along the side, punctuated occasionally by little yellow signs to let you know that it is electrified. Ninety-seven sheep seem unconcerned about this, as they turn lazily to watch you stomping by…
Brian Barratt presents a holiday snapshot in words. Who needs a camera when there’s a wordsmith like Brian to record what his eyes are seeing.
If you are in the mood for mental calisthenics – and Open Writing readers are of the mentally agile kind – do please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Today, noisy squabbles constantly broke out among the chestnut teal. The black ducks (which are brown) were pursuing each other across the surface with anything but placidity. A wood-duck hissed menacingly at me as I walked past. It was a male, and his companion was his newly selected female. Looking rather silly with both a walking stick and a furled umbrella, I was perceived as a threat…
That wonderful wordsmith Brian Barratt, who can paint a picture in words that is clearer and more enduring than any image produced by a camera, casts a keen eye on life in his beloved Melbourne wetlands.
For more of Brian’s columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page.
And if you are in the mood for mental gymnastics, as I am sure you are, please visit his Web site The The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
For more of Brian’s delightful literary excursions and diversions please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit his challenging Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
...I like dreams. Lose them
And you lose the flaming dragons from the sunset sky,
And silent roaring creatures in the darkling gnarly bark
Of trees, which you creep quietly by...
Brian Barratt's poem reminds us that we should treasure childhood's inchoate feelings of wonder.
To enjoy more of Brian's astonishing literary versatility please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
Then, to give your mental faculties a thoroughly enjoyable work-out, visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Florrie, a nursing home resident, has a way with animals and birds. But what of her way with men?
Brian Barratt tells an enigmatic tale.
Do visit Brian’s intriguing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
One can have too much of words, and of a man who produces them, as Brian Barratt’s tale reveals.
For more of Brian’s sparkling prose please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For further large helpings of delight please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…'Oh, Mrs Lee, I wonder if I could impose on you?' The vicar smiled charmingly. 'We need someone to take a meal round to Mr Standish. Would you mind very much?' Penelope wondered, briefly, how she could fit in yet another social duty….
After her husband Kenneth has left in his Mercedes for the office, Penelope Lee fills her time with social work. Then Kenneth starts arriving home late…
Brian Barratt tells a subtle tale of lives drifting in opposite directions. For more of Brian’s stories and articles please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...Pam and Pete are happy in their new home. Then Felicity, the woman next door starts to take an interest in Pete. She is always out there when Pete is weeding and digging…
Brian Barratt tells a startling tale.
For more of Brian’s ebullient words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And you are cordially welcomed to visit his Web site www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
…'Who the hell wants to be called SharON MariON JohnsON — on, on, on?' This morning, she was blaming her parents for her misery…
Brian Barratt tells the story of a confused young lady for whom life goes on and on and on, until… To find out until what, read on and on...
After coming to the end of this satisfying tale do visit Brian’s fascinating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
When Brian Barratt put out items for Melbourne City Council’s annual hard rubbish collection one of his neighbours commented “I’m most impressed. I’ve never seen so much rubbish come out of one house in this street. You’re definitely raising the tone of the neighbourhood.’’
Brian has ruefully come to the conclusion that not everything will come in useful one day. On the other hand…
To read more of Brian’s more than useful and always welcomed words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do visit his intriguing Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt, irritated by folk who, uninvited, coming knocking on his door has put up a sign which politely requests purveyors of religions, churches, cable TV, mobile telephones, knife-sharpening, tree-lopping and financial services to GO AWAY NOW.
For more of Brian’s thoughtful, humorous and ever-engaging words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And do please visit his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…What better way of satisfying the hunger pangs of late elevenses, or early lunch, than an old-fashioned cream bun?…
Brian Barratt paints a vivid portrait of tasty moments by the waterside – so vivid that you may well find yourself racing to the nearest bakery after you have read this column.
For more of Brian’s luscious words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. Visit also his Web site The Brain Rummager which will persuade your mental faculties to wake up and take exercise www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Conversation with anyone in the family in the butcher’s shop is not easy, unless you follow football (or cricket in the summer) or wish to hear about someone’s niece’s recent surgery. I did try, once. I asked why one cut of steak was given a fancy name instead of being called by its correct name, buttock. I think the word shocked the entire family into speechless horror; the mother temporarily lost her smile, and sent the son into the back room…
Brian Barratt brings us a prime steak of a column about goings on in the butcher’s shop.
For more of Brian’s tasty words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And do please visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
After one of his letters had been published in a Melbourne newspaper, Brian Barratt received an unexpected telephone call which took him on a rewarding, if emotional, conversational journey.
To read more of Brian’s sparkling words please click on The Srivener in the menu on this page.
For lots moe fun with words and ideas visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
Brian Barratt draws our attention to the pioneering work of Sir Isambard Vestibule Greangrymne in demonstrating the al fresco use of used tea-bags.
Brian is dedicated to bringing the achievements of the amazing Sir Isambard to the attention of an ignorant world. Previous reports – one of which regrettably is an obituary – can be found by searching through the columns of The Scrivener in the menu of this page. Try March 24, 2006 and November 10, 2006.
Continue reading "Sir Isambard And The Pre-loved Tea-bags" »
…'Dad, are there angels?' That was a new one. It came up last week. UFOs I can cope with, but angels? I was never very religious, and this one was way outside my domain…
In Brian Barratt’s glowing short story young Dean asks a question which leaves his father lost for a good answer.
For more of Brian’s brilliant words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. And for further mental exercise visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
...When I reached the hard surface of the drive at the side of the house, I realised that I'd lost the little rubber tip of my walking stick. Instead of the quiet flump flump it went woodenly tap tap on the concrete.
It was one of those days when I felt like kicking something that brings suffering to the world. A neighbour's cat which kills possums, for instance, or a fundamentalist, Christian or Muslim, it doesn't matter which sort. But I'm not a violent person, so I'd attacked the grass instead...
Instead of kicking something or someone, Brian Barrett settled down to watch scenes from sun-drenched Provence.
After reading this splendid article you can sample more of Brian's sunlit words by clicking on The Srivener in the menu on this page. Visit also his stimulating Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
…The message of many of the churches I investigated was "We Are Right". Nowadays, the message of televangelists matches that of some Muslim clerics — "I Am Right". We live in an era of egotism and arrogance…
Brian Barratt presents some profound, and profoundly sensible, thoughts, on religions.
To read more of Brian’s well-considered words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. You will also find a stimulating welcome at his Web site, The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
To celebrate Brian Barratt's 50th birthday in 1986, friends were asked to write a poem. Much merriment ensued. Richard McRoberts — a teacher and prolific author who later became a publisher — produced and read aloud this wondrous Chaucerian account of Brian's work as a publisher. Richard has kindly granted permission for it to be reproduced here.
…The rain came shortly afterward. Hesitantly at first, in unsteady large drops. I went outside, stood in the street, and welcomed it with open arms. Eventually, it turned to a tropical torrent. What a splendid relief in this season of drought! I hied me through the gate in the back fence and watched the lake waters rise…
Rain descends on sun-baked Melbourne, to be greeted in deeds and words by master-scrivener Brian Barratt.
To sample more of Brian’s wonderfully-satisfying words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page. For further mental gymnastics visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
...We live in a world where decimalised and metricated kids speak freely of bytes, kilobytes, megabytes and gigabytes. They probably have no concept of the 6/3˝d. I used to pay for Golden Platignum fountain pens in my schooldays...
Brian Barratt, a columnist who does not know how to write an uninteresting sentence, ruminates upon measurements and currencies.
For more of Brian's entertaining words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For further mental gymnastics visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…Making contact with possible friends via the Internet is rather like going to a cocktail party, isn't it? You wander round, striking up conversations. You might meet someone who was born in the same town or reads the same books but, in the end, you have nothing in common. You might also meet someone with whom you just "click", and a conversation develops into a friendship…
Brian Barratt muses entertainingly on Net friendships and face-to-face chats over cups of coffee.
To read more of Brian’s words, and there is no companion more entertaining, either in print or in conversation, please click on The Scrivener in the menu on his page.
For an added treat visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas
…She brought an ash-tray to her table. None of that hypocritical talk about cigarette smoke while sitting at a pavement café, with dozens of vehicles pumping out ghastly gases in the adjacent car-park. Anyway, we quickly got chatting about publishers, books, writers and bookshops….
A chance encounter over a cup of coffee can result in a conversation which makes for the best hour of the day, as Brian Barratt reveals.
Lucky are those who meet Brian, a natural-born conversationalist in the Johnson tradition, whose words are always worthwhile. Lucky too are those who read his wonderful columns. Please do click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page to sample them.
For further mental stimulation take a look at Brian’s Web site, The Brain Rumager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…One day, we heard someone whistling in the corner. He was in the greetings card section at the front. Oh yes, we could see him from behind the counter at the back. He picked a card here, a card there, and danced around while he whistled and held it high in the air. After a while, he bought just one card…
Brian Barratt recalls incidents in a missionary society bookshop 50 years ago, then considers the vagaries of the human brain, recommending us to cherish and use our neurons while we still have them.
Brian’s columns are a guaranteed source of reading delight. Please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. For further intellectual stimulation visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
…There was something strange and yellow lying on the footpath, about 100 metres ahead. It looked like a discarded shopping bag or a quaint cardboard cardigan. Curiosity can be a very good incentive to walk up that curving slope. Curiosity is increased when a teenage boy seems to be talking to the yellow... whatever it is…
Brian Barrett, lucky man, confirms that a stroll along a neighbourhood footpath can carry one's thoughts to the other side of the world.
For more of Brian’s not-to-be-missed columns please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page. His web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas brings the opportunity to indulge in hours and hours of invigorating mental callisthenics.
After the engine of Brian Barratt’s little two-stroke motor-bike conked out while he was on a solo 2,000 mile trip in southern Africa he came upon words powerful and poetic which have stayed with him: ‘On every mountain height is rest.’
For more of Brian’s engaging thoughts and superlative words please click on The Scrivener in the menu on this page.
And you are missing a stimulating intellectual treat if you don't visit his Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/