ABSTRACT
For the writer at least as much as for the reader the biggest initial limitation in autobiographical writing is the one-stringed tonal fiddle, the single channel for tones of voice. Tones of voice, yes; and stance, and ways of walking, or of sitting, particularly the way in which different manners of sitting are forms of communication. But all in all hearing proved sharper than sight; especially of voices and especially of the way in which manners of speaking, both the music of a voice and the locutions favoured, give clues to character. About the language of modern consumption – consumption of goods, of fashions, of opinions, of instant politics –– it is harder to speak because that ground has been so well-trodden; but to so little effect, with so little increase in comprehension. Yet one goes on, recording the changing fashions and trying to pin down their meanings, what they indicate of changes in our attitudes to each other.
