The Observer has, as part of the GANTOB inner circle, been proof reading a paperback copy of the forthcoming book, GANTOB’s 25 Paintings.

The Observer is, as you will no doubt know if you are a GANTOB regular, the ghost of an albatross stranded in the northern hemisphere.

GANTOB (the project) has been incorporating Chekhov parallels into its work since the arrival of the snail in the third GANTOB book (Little Grapefruit Takes the Bus). The new book takes this to a new level.

The Observer knows nothing about classic Russian literature, but does enjoy checking off proofreading tasks. Currently The Observer, as instructed by The Benefaktor, is making sure that every instance of a book, song, play or painting title in GANTOB’s 25 Paintings is in italics, a point identified by GANTOB contributor JR. That is challenging when your only cultural references are what you’ve picked up from snippets overheard from ship radios, discarded books in the debris of the North Atlantic and, when you’re invited, GANTOB Committee Meetings.

The Observer is therefore starting evening classes. The first lesson is attending Chekhov’s play The Seagull, with a fulmar friend, mid October.

THE OBSERVER, 8 September 2025, as dictated to DGMoG(tp) AKA Maureen

As a PS, JR responded with this picture, saying: “I also feel for The Observer in their quest to find unitalicised titles. I checked my library and I have a couple of books that may help”.