There are a few minor civic tasks I perform, treasured because they do actually pay, and even more for the few perquisites that accompany them. Take, for example, my position as secretary to the ‘Committee for distributing alms to the worthy poor.’ This committee was a minor sinecure, costing the Sinecurist a mere twenty alars. … More In the service of Lady Bountiful
I don’t often deal with the new aristocracy. It’s strange really but with the old aristocracy who where here before the city was founded, I have no problems. But the new aristocracy, largely those who have been ennobled in the last few centuries, are very different. The old aristocracy will occasionally hire me if they … More Porphyrogenitus
People don’t realise what gifts they have, or what skills they possess. Sometimes they have the ability to do all sorts of things yet they never do them. Obviously I am a person with many capabilities, able to turn my hand to a wide variety of work, a sonnet here, a bawdy ballad there, a … More A load of Bull
I have always been of the opinion that we should leave matters of state to the wise, as opposed to the merely strident or muscular. Indeed as I fail to fall into any of these three categories I feel that I am an unbiased observer whose opinion should count for much. But the question has … More The advantages of a good education
Have you noticed how some people might in themselves pose a problem, but are inadvertently the answer to a far larger problem? So you’re faced with the troubling realisation that you must somehow find a way to live with the lesser issue. Galis Heeb was perhaps the definitive example of this phenomenon. In himself he … More Knight Arrant?
As you all know I’m a man who makes a point of being smartly turned out. If you’re blessed with an elegant figure and can turn a fine leg, it seems silly not to allow the eye to dwell on your finer points. Therefore over the years, the way young Mutt dressed has often been … More A dish served cold
The life of the jobbing poet is not without incident. People tend to assume that just because you are willing to oblige patrons there is no real limit to what a poet is willing to do. Obviously we all have our standards, but in all candour these can be infinitely mutable. The timing of … More A last afternoon with Madam Ioni
Tallis Steelyard 