A series of ironic interruptions

Having a big thing for the English cathedral tradition, I really love R3's midweek broadcasts of choral evensong. But despite that, my shallow atheist sense of irony can't help be mildly amused by the recent series of power cuts and acts of God that have knocked out some of the live broadcasts over the last month or two.

I know it's wrong to feel this way — I enjoy the services, despite not believing a word of them, and I feel bad for the people who've put in a lot of effort only to see things fail at the last ditch — but I just can't help myself.

I very much suspect this makes me a Bad Person...

The Nine Tailors

And so to what is probably the best of Dorothy L Sayers' straight up mysteries, The Nine Tailors. Set in a fenland village, it feature a mysterious murder, a partially solved theft, and a series of explanations of the art of campanology.

After crashing his car on a snow New Year's Eve, Wimsey finds himself stuck in the village of Fenchurch St Paul. Swept up by the Rector's enthusiasm for his huge church and its particularly fine ring of bells, Wimsey ends up taking part in a nine hour peal of 15,840 changes to mark the new year. After picking up some of the village gossip, including the story of the theft of a valuable emerald necklace that all but ruined the local squire, Wimsey and Bunter take their leave and return to London.

In spring, Wimsey is surprised by a letter from the Reverend Venebles imploring him to return to Fenchurch St Paul. The badly disfigured body of a man has been found in the grave of Lady Thorpe, who died on New Year's Day, just prior to Wimsey's departure. Connecting the corpse with an itinerant motor mechanic he met on his way out of the village and wondering whether the man might be the sole surviving member of pair who stole the Wilbraham Emeralds, Wimsey rushes down to attend the inquest. ( More... )