Mediterranean shores
"A man who has not been in Italy, is always conscious of an inferiority, from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see. The grand object of travelling is to see the shores of the Mediterranean."
Samuel Johnson (1709?1784), lexicographer and writer, quoted in Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell.
Note: The Rainy Day team is travelling. However, Movable Type has been primed and the Rainy Day sister in Limerick is now the managing editor of the blog. This combination of nepotism and world-class nano-publishing system will ensure that the site is updated regularly.
Diarist of the day: Harold Nicolson, 12 September 1941"Dylan Thomas comes to see me. He wants a job on the BBC. He is a fat little man, puffy and pinkish, dressed in very dirty trousers and loud check coat. I tell him that if is to be employed by the BBC, he must promise not to get drunk. I give him ₤1, as his clearly at his wits' end for money. He does not look as if had been cradled into poetry by wrong. He looks as if he will be washed out of poetry by whisky."
