shewhomust | Five things at the breakfast table

In yesterday's paper: the Ladies of Llangollen: This article illuminates the third member of the household, the servant Mary Carryl.
On her death, the money she left to the Ladies (visitors would pay her for garden tours) enabled them to buy Plas Newydd, guaranteeing continued stability.

Traditionally, it's the proprietor who leaves money to the faihful retainer, so they won't be homeless when the property passes to the heir. I liked this twist, which reverses that convention. It must have been a tidy sum, to judge by the picture of the house, which is about three times as big as I had imagined it.
In yesterday's paper: finding youself in someone else's narrative: This article about the downside of kindness videos took some finding, because searching The Guardian for 'random acts of kindness' keywords prioritised a whole page of more positive coverage. I probably err on the side of caution: I'm very hesitant about photographing strangers, ao my pictures tend to show mysteriously empty streets...
On the other hand: The same article quotes someone who "has been researching consent and ethics in memoir and other life-writing for 10 years." Good subject: even at the very informal level od this journal, I do sometimes hesitate over including other people's stories. At a more sustained level, I have been reading Ellen Mellor's memoir Tea, Comics and Gender: it's very strange reading the autobiography of someone you know (and finding yourself in it!) but it's Ellen's story to tell, and she has taken pains over hoe other people are presented. Recommended, by the way.
The front page of today's paper: A picture of a dodo! Scientists plan to use gene-editing to recreate a dodo. Is this a good idea? I don't know, but I enjoyed the picture. (It makes a change from cabinet ministers.)
A phone call from the car rental company: They have a car for us. Hooray! I have rebooked my appointment with the optician for tomorrow.