Letter to the Secretary of the Fellowship

Authors

David Mendel
Kent

Date of this Version

2003

Document Type

Article

Citation

The George Eliot Review 34 (2003)

Comments

Published by The George Eliot Review Online https://GeorgeEliotReview.org

Abstract

Dear Kathleen Adams

I am writing to say thank you very much for all the work which you continue to do on behalf of us punters. If I weren't 80 I would volunteer for some job myself to ease your load, but my get up and go has got up and ·is gone.

I was disappointed with Rosalind Miles 's Memorial Lecture. Having set up a pretty spurious list of straw men - and women - she spent the rest of the lecture proving what we all know anyway, which is that GE rises above all that.

In addition she said 'In fact her cranium measured 221. inches in diameter which is not so large at all ... '. 221. is the width of a large TV screen. Even in the 19th century that would have been on the big side. Perhaps she should add a further straw man to her list:- Inability to distinguish between diameter and circumference! I'm surprised that neither of your distinguished editors picked it up. As it is scientists who are usually thought of as being victims of the cultural divide, it is interesting that here are at least two members of the educated classes who don't understand the difference between two simple English words