Watty suddenly remembered:

I was going to do the Pepys thing, wasn't I? Most people have probably seen this by now - I gather it's quite famous. But just in case, I'll enthuse here.

Someone has had the terrific idea of publishing Pepys' diary as if it were a weblog. So, if you've ever wanted to read it, here it is, added to daily, right from the beginning. So far, so good, but the thing which elevates it above the web gimmick is the commentary. Everyone who reads it is encouraged to ask or answer questions, comment or just generally supply background information. There's only about three weeks of entries in it so far, but already my understanding of 17th century politics has been greatly enhanced - it's quite possible that, if it continues as it has started, it will become one of the great repositories of information about the time anywhere.

Another one of those 'why didn't I think of that?' moments...