"Lizzie never cites the Telegraph - "

Actually, I do...you obviously miss some of the links I put in...


"her ideas all come from the Daily Mail, which is a very different beast."

Really? You say that, not me. I don't actually get any newspaper on a regular basis these days. The one I like best is The Independant, as it always has a different front page story to everyone else, and is intelligent, not running with the herd.

So, put that in your Paperism Pipe and smoke it. Thank you.





"Yet a potty-mouth at other times."

How kind, Nigel.

"Do you accept that your regular use of sexual referents in your written language (and presumably in your speech)is part of the same problem, bringing matters that would normally be kept for the bedroom (or at least kept between adults) into general use?"

No, I do not accept that. Why? Because I would never use sexual references in front of children, nor write them in a children's book.

I have, however, taken books from the 'teenage' section (and younger) of Waterstones, over to the counter and asked the staff if they think the kind of storyline, or language, inside the book is suitable for children or young people, pointing out that in my day (220 years back) this sort of story or language would never ever have been deemed suitable for them.   

They stare at me, blankly...and you can see the lights going off in their heads..."Weirdo Alert! Call the manager!"....so they do...and I go through it with him as well, because he likes to have an academic discussion on whether something, which I consider to be almost pornographic, is suitable for the elements of a story in the children's section of Waterstones.

So far, we have never seen eye to eye. He sells the books, I complain about them.

May I politely suggest that you look, then complain as well, Nigel...Ooh, and also, look at children/teenage books in your library as well, because you may be quite surprised at what's inside those pretty, sparkly little covers..

Never judge a book by its cover, has never carried a more sinister meaning...