Month: November 2023

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The Crunch

“For field executives the crunch is part of the trade and if it weren’t there you wouldn’t do it, but that doesn’t mean you don’t let it worry you, assuming you want to live. (Calthrop didn’t want to: One of his contacts told him there was going to be a secret-police unit waiting for him at the airport but when he stepped out of the helicopter there weren’t there after all because he stepped out ten minutes before it came in to land.)”

— From The Sinkiang Executive (1978) by Adam Hall

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After Tea

“In all properly regulated country houses, the hours between tea and dinner are set aside for letter writing. The strength of the company retired to their rooms, heavy with muffins, and settle down to a leisurely disposal of their correspondence. Those who fall asleep try again next day.”

— From Pigs Have Wings (1952) by P.G. Wodehouse