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me, most days.

Story of Alan’s life

Eliot was always cautious; he admired Leavis, but thought him ‘intemperate and extravagant’. He did, however, visit the Leavises in Cambridge. Mrs Leavis was strongly opposed to the visit: ‘Why do you let that man in the house? You know what he wants.’ ‘You ought to trust me, my dear,’ replied Leavis. ‘Of course I know. He won’t get it.’ The visit went well despite Eliot’s incessant smoking, because Ralph Leavis, as a small boy and a prodigy, entertained the visitor with precocious literary and musical talk.

Frank cur-mode, LRB

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That’s Alan on the right of course

In Dundee, to flee your female partner after the last dance was known as ‘duffing’: ‘If you got duffed, you immediately told all your pals and … That wiz his erse oot the windie. He just got ignored from then on in.’

Tom Crewe, LRB

Pleasure in Britain today has become increasingly privatised, something to be acquired or aspired to. The sell-off of playing fields and the closing of youth facilities, arts centres, libraries and swimming pools since 2010 has made clear that our public inheritances are to be regarded as perks, not necessities. The downscaling of dance halls was an early sign of that diminution of social potential, symbolised by the dropping of civic nomenclature in favour of proprietorial possessives – Annabel’s, Tiffany’s, Raquel’s. These days clubs have names like Home, Life, Fabric and Gatecrasher. They don’t pretend to belong to anyone.

Tom Crewe on dance floors, LRB