Ron, I am just back from the Kettil Bruun Society meeting in Portugal,
where I gathered from Andrea that you were puzzled by the lack of
spirited debate on your excellent seven-part essay (which arrived in a
totally bizarre order, by the way!).  Ron, we do care!  I found it so
good and useful that I printed it out.  BUT it did arrive at the end of
term when I was mired down with hundreds of pages of student essays to
read, and so had absolutely no chance to respond.  In fact, the entire
semester has been hell, with five search committees in the Department.
Remember that some of us have to make a living teaching, and just cannot
find the time we would love to have, in which to engage in lively
exchanges.  I look back with great fondness and nostalgia to my years in
a research group at Yale, but alas the real world is not like that for
most of us.  I have a huge problem even keeping up with my e-mail.  So
please forgive the silent majority, but DO keep on tossing us such
wonderful morsels.  Some of us will get around to responding eventually.
In my case, not at the moment. I am just in town for a week, with all
kinds of projects vying for attention, before flying to London.
I am really pleased with the new ATHG bulletin board -  David Fahey has
given us a real boost with this - but I have to say that I personally
think that it is no substitute for conferences, where human beings can
meet face to face.  Next year the Kettil Bruun Society is going to meet
in Edinburgh during the first week of June, and I am going to put a
strong pitch in the upcoming issue of SHAR (should be out in July!) for a
bigger group of us ATHG members to gather there than came to Porto last
week.  It is a natural forum for us to get together to exchange ideas. I
certainly hope that you will be able to make it.  It would be extremely
good to see you again, and to talk face to face!
Best wishes, Geoffrey