Month: June 2020

Woolton Pie

When Margaret Thatcher, as she then was, made Irwin Bellow a Life Peer in 1979 he wanted, unsurprisingly, to be known as Lord Bellow. This was not allowed by the College of Arms which, I suppose, means Garter as he might be mistaken for Lord Bellew.

Sir James Cassels

Who was Sir James Cassels? He was born in 1877, the only son of an assistant clerk at Bow Street Magistrates’ Court. James learned shorthand at school but was destined for greater things than life as a clerk.

Published
Categorised as History

Irish Church Monuments

You may recall Homan Potterton’s first novel, Knockfane, published last year. This is his first book, published in 1975 when he was a young Assistant Keeper at the National Gallery in London.

A Mystery is Solved

Nero Wolfe solves cases from his brownstone on the south side of West 35th Street in Manhattan. I have got my own Nero Wolfe who solves problems from her home in Queensland, Australia. Brenda is related to me on the Hill side of the family through her husband and she is a a wizard at… Continue reading A Mystery is Solved

Published
Categorised as Local

Uncle George Remembers IX

“It was not long after this episode (being knighted by George VI) that my wife and I became aware that we lacked just one thing to make our lives complete – a dog, a faithful hound.

Present Laughter

“What is love? ’tis not hereafter; Present mirth hath present laughter; What’s to come is still unsure:” (Twelfth Night)

Published
Categorised as Theatre

Reuben College

In the last century tube strikes were not infrequent. One morning in the 1980s a colleague was at the end of a long queue at a bus stop in north London. An expensive car pulled over and the driver offered her a lift if she was going to the City.

Exterminate

It’s well known that coronavirus manifested itself in London in the 1960s. The first case was seen in Hammersmith but it quickly spread through the capital.