Month: July 2016

How to be a Brit

George Mikes came to live in Britain from his native Hungary just before WW II. His book How to be a Brit is a minor classic but it was written about seventy-five years ago. His one-sentence chapter on Sex may or may not be accurate: Continental people have sex lives: the English have hot water… Continue reading How to be a Brit

A Tooth for a Solex

Maybe all dentists in the 1950s and 60s were like Mr Behan in St Laurence Street in Drogheda (above). He had a handshake like a vice – the ritual of shaking hands was bone crunching. My grandfather thoroughly approved; “you need a powerful grip to pull teeth”.

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Categorised as Family

Le Corbeau

Alan Furst writes atmospheric espionage novels, usually set in WW II. His first successful book was Night Soldiers, published in 1988. It is excellent but it left him with a problem, one he shares with Simon Raven, whose Brother Cain was published in 1959.

Seven Halts on the Somme

It is easy to feel overburdened by history visiting Westminster Abbey.  It was founded in 940, the Lady Chapel was built in the early 16th century by Henry VII and is where he is buried but it is not a fossilised place of worship; it constantly evolves.

Lady Thatcher at Worship

Margaret Thatcher’s association with The Royal Hospital seemed to start in the 1990s. She and Denis were regular attenders on Sunday mornings sitting with the rest of the congregation. After a few years the Governor invited them to join him in his Stalls and this arrangement continued for the rest of her life.

Ginger & Pickles

The Tale of Ginger & Pickles by Beatrix Potter is an indispensable Economics text book. The late Duchess of Devonshire thought so and I concur. It is our misfortune that our Chancellors of the Exchequer have either not read it or ignored its message.

Love and Friendship

Going to the cinema is more of a winter activity but recently it has been so wet in London that I went to see Love and Friendship, a film written and directed by Whit Stillman. 

St Thomas the Apostle

Yesterday I went to The Royal Hospital, Chelsea. It was a Vets’ Service. Let’s get something clear. If you are an American you will assume it was a Service for Veterans; if not you will intuit that it was attended by uniformed members of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps.  –more–> After they had filed into the Chapel, designed by… Continue reading St Thomas the Apostle

Professor Lord Pinkrose

Professor Lord Pinkrose is a fictional character in Olivia Manning’s Fortunes of War.  Alan Bennett plays him to perfection in the 1987 BBC adaptation. He is portrayed by Manning as being self-important, self-centred, snobbish and rude. It’s interesting to discover that he is not entirely fictional.

Two Birthdays

St. Borchill is a now obscure Irish saint. She must have been better known 250 years ago as the church at Dysart in Co Louth (above) bears her name. The church was built in 1766, early as anti-Catholic legislation had not yet started to be repealed. The site is carved out of a corner of… Continue reading Two Birthdays