Month: August 2019

The Spy from Skibbereen

The Cold War was rather frightening. Leaflets advised what to do in the event of a nuclear strike. Ham-class minesweepers patrolled our inshore waters. RAF Bomber Command had nuclear-armed Vulcan bombers on standby on airfields around East Anglia. 

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Categorised as History

Do Not Resuscitate

The local council, Hammersmith and Fulham, have one department with which I cannot find fault; tree maintenance. They regularly prune the crab apple tree on the pavement outside our house and plant new trees when necessary. Our streetscape would be impoverished without their diligence and care.

On Box Hill

This is the view from Box Hill in Surrey. It is a short, steepish climb to the 735 foot summit and I was surprised how may people had made it up there until I saw a large car park operated by the National Trust near the top.

X-mini

I always glance at Jonathan Margolis’s technology column in the FT How To Spend It supplement. To be truthful, over the years I have amassed quite a lot of gadgets that I never use: a hi-spec digital camera, headphones that gave me tinnitus, AirPlay speakers that don’t always connect and have puppy-chewable flex; I’m a… Continue reading X-mini

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Categorised as Technology

Zither Time

Seventy years ago The Third Man was released with zither action. I read that in The Oldie but it reminded me that my sister worked for Shirley Abicair, famous for plucking the zither.

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Categorised as Family

Ko-Cho-Line

You’re never far from a splash of rain in Wales. To digress, I may have mentioned I am a member of the Worshipful Company of Loriners.

Carreg Cennen to Kathmandu

Yesterday we went castle-creeping in Wales. Conveniently Carreg Cennen is within walking, splashing, stile-crossing, gate-vaulting distance of where we are staying. We met sheep, horses and English Longhorn cattle along the way.

Arnold’s Omelette

The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes were first awarded in 1919, so happy birthday and may there be many happy returns. Unlike the not-Man Booker you will have read many of the authors and some of the winning books. I think I’ve read eighteen titles in the fiction category; fewer in biography.

Red-eared Slider

The Arcadian purlieus of Chiswick House are a Garden of Eden post-Fall. Rats are commonplace and now I have seen red-eared terrapins or, as our friends across the pond call them, red-eared sliders.

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Categorised as Nature