Posted by Peter Ceresole on November 16, 2006 at 08:23:03 from 80.177.22.49 user PeterC.
In Reply to: Re: Eavesdropping (was Listening (was lurking) posted by John Giddy on November 15, 2006 at 23:18:11:
They left early, as they seemed to be unable to contribute anything. Sad really...
But maybe not sad for them. There are people like that; I had some neighbours (over the wall in the garden, round the corner by road) who were also very, very quiet. No children. Perfectly friendly. I think they were teachers of some kind. It was a sociable little corner of London; all the neighbours chatted. Except for this couple. Nobody else had ever found out anything about them. When I moved house after 20 years, I'd still not exchanged more than a few words. All the signs were that they had chosen that way to live, and chosen each other in consequence.
As for my favourite lurking scene, it's at the end of PM when the Ds lurk in the wood above Beckfoot waiting for the GA to leave. They can't actually see anything; it's all described in sound. A lovely scene, and beautifully written. (PM, JC 1948, pp.298-9)