Gentlemen - as P-Day approaches we've been splendidly Proustian in our moments of inactivity punctuated by protracted periods of naval-gazing, yet we still hasn't produced an official start date. We have, of course, decided that we will commemorate the important occasion that is the 85th anniversary of the publication of the first English translation of Swann's Way this September. However, this still leaves the small matter of which day in September (and the smaller matter of which time zone we utilise to mark the commencement of that day).
As for the day, the options are:
September 1st - being a logical start day. Clearly the choice of any straight-forward thinking individual. Or my personal preference:
September 22nd - since the first publication of said book was in September '22.
I also have an alterior motive, in that I am currently battling with Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Sadly not One Hundred Years of Solitude (that being a situation any ambitious Proust-reader might appreciate), but the rather less good Love in the Time of Cholera. I'd ideally like to polish this off before tackling M. Proust. Still, there are three of us, so can I move to a vote on this issue.
As for the time zone - this is clear - we go with the neutral, Parisian-favoured Central European Summer Time - i.e. 11 pm British Summer Time or 6 pm Eastern Daylight Time the day before the official start date. Pedants who, at this juncture, feel the need to point out that Daylight Saving Time didn't exist in Marcel's day should continue their naval-gazing in silence.
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2 comments:
I concur with the 22nd. It has the added advantage that I will be half way through a holiday not at the beginning and will thus lose much of any unfair advantage that will accrue my way.
Points on timings are to applauded and should be followed.
Excellent - Alexis, feel free to object, although this will be a futile expression of your democratic right.
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