Hooting Yard’s anagrammatist-in-chief, R., has alerted me to Joel Stickley’s How To Write Badly Well blog. A cursory examination suggests I can pick up some very useful tips there. This, for example, entitled “Present your research in the form of dialogue”, is brilliant:

‘My god,’ said Geoff, ‘so it’s true. We hold in our very hands the original draft of the hitherto unknown third treaty of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia signed by the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III himself.’

‘Yes,’ confirmed Sally. ‘Who would have thought when we set off this morning for this remote Swiss village that we would end the day in possession of the very document which marked the birth of modern European statehood?’

‘Certainly not me!’ laughed Geoff.

’Nor me!’ guffawed Sally.

‘And to think,’ Geoff extemporised, ‘the Ratification of the Treaty of Münster occurred exactly three hundred and sixty-one years ago today!’

Mister Dan the Da Vinci Code Man has clearly been keeping a gimlet eye on this blog, or I’m a Huguenot. There is much else there to split your sides to, so go and visit. It may keep you all occupied while I am away. Yes, Mr Key, the so-called “Diogenesian recluse” (© Chris Cutler) will shortly be venturing abroad for a spell, during which postages here will be sparse. More details later, when I have packed my rucksack haversack knapsack pippy bag…