Looking at old encyclopedias* in a bookshelf** it occurred to me that what with the internet an' all, they are a completely redundant genre. So we no longer get those poetic juxtapositions of headwords at the top of pages and on the spine. Amen to Artillery, Art Nouveau to Begin.
* For younger viewers, an 'encyclopaedia' is a book*** where we used to look up random facts before we had the internet.
** a 'bookshelf' is a place we used to keep books.
*** a 'book' is a collection of paper pages, glued together in a block. You could read it one page at a time, and then turn to the next page.
If you're wondering why I'm starting to sound like Victor Meldrew, it was my birthday last week and I turned 70. I am feeling a personality change coming on, much like Harry Enfield's character Kevin when he turns 13.