"Uncle Norman"

 I decided that D, who is only 5 but pretty sharp, should know that books are not just for reading but for finding information as well. One suspects that, for many young people, the web is the primary (only?) source of information (not to mention fake information and news designed to influence not to inform) and that "looking stuff up" may soon bet a lost pleasure.

So I showed him my "Uncle Norman" and tried to explain how it worked. 

The Penguin English Dictionary was published in1965 and the primary author was G N Garmonsway, Professor of English Language and Medieval Literature at Kings College, London. My Mum was a Garmonsway and, although we had no idea if and how this gent might be connected to us, we were very proud to have a family dictionary and it instantly became known as the "Uncle Norman".  We younger members of the family were especially impressed since it was purportedly the first English dictionary to list words like "fuck" and "cunt"!

Sadly my copy, purchased in 1970, has seen better days and almost fell apart when D handled it. A repair was necessary and - who y'a gonna call? Sticky-Backed Plastic of course!

One of the first things I learned in a secondary school English lesson was how to cover a book (probably my school dictionary) with sticky-backed plastic and it's a skill I have somehow retained in spite of not using it for literally decades. Remarkably we had some in the house and, though I'd apparently covered this book when I bought it in 1970, it soon had a fresh coating and should last another few decades.

Now I just need to find another way to explain a dictionary to little D...