Town mouse remembers the First World War

Last month, nobody lit a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night for fear of being spotted by Zeppelins. I’m writing, of course, about 1914. Or am I? A brilliant new blog has brought the First World War into the mental framework of the present. I know, I know, brilliant blog sounds like an oxymoron, but this enterprise—WW1 Soldier’s Tale—isn’t simply the work of a lonely geek, but a team that’s deploying careful research across all the different platforms of the internet, to provide a day-by-day story of the First World War in real time. This is how the conflict might have been experienced if Tommies and nursing Angels had been able to communicate via Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere.

Walter Carter, a railway porter before war broke out, is still in England, training with converted Lee Enfield rifles that now take a Mark VII cartridge. His family is mourning the loss of his brother Charlie, killed at Ypres. Rose, his sister, is a military nurse in France. Walter has just given his sweetheart Lily Howes, a shopgirl at Arding and Hobbs with an interest in women’s rights, a brooch to discourage other suitors. For more, visit www. ww1soldierstale.co.uk or www.facebook.com/ WW1SoldiersTale. Tell your children and grandchildren. Try it yourself—if you like The Archers, you’ll be hooked.

Town mouse dines at the London Library

Town mouse attends the London Library's literary dinner.

Town mouse considers the resurgence of facial hair

Town mouse considers one of the few male fashion accessories that's guranteed to be noticed: facial hair.

Town mouse visits the Edward Lear Society

Town mouse remembers Edward Lear.

Town mouse spends the weekend in Milan

Town mouse discovers the lost Leonardo da Vinci mural uncovered in Castello Sforzesco, Milan.