As Article 50 is triggered many of us take a long view. On BBC Radio 4 The Long View makes a comparison with the overtures made by Elizabeth I to Turkey, Asia and North Africa to open trade routes. You can hear it on iPlayer so it would be otiose to go on about that.
Category: History
A Very Great Man
Galateo
Megalithic Temples of Malta
Carnival and Churches
A few tourists but mostly Maltese pour into Gozo for Carnival. The usual population is elderly but Carnival is for the young and thirsty. Robert and I must be the only people who didn’t have a drink – but we didn’t stay long. The parade hadn’t started which made it easy to take these… Continue reading Carnival and Churches
Martello Towers
The coastline of the British Isles was defended in the 19th century by Martello towers. One, in Aldeburgh in Suffolk, belongs to the Landmark Trust – you can rent it and stay there. James Joyce stayed in another Martello, in Sandycove near Dublin. Why are they called Martello? Signore Martello was a Venetian architect who… Continue reading Martello Towers
Indian Summer and Belisha Beacons
The tortuous and blood-stained road to Indian independence and partition is uncannily like the path taken in other countries. The most important political leaders are Mahatma Gandhi (Inner Temple), Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Lincoln’s Inn) and Jawaharlal Nehru (Harrow, Trinity College Cambridge and Inner Temple) … and Lord Mountbatten who, like my cousin Richard, went to… Continue reading Indian Summer and Belisha Beacons
Living on Malta
Who wrote this to his wife? I wish I knew how to flirt with other women, and especially with my wife. I wish I’d sown more wild oats in my youth, and could excite more than I fear I do. I wish I wasn’t in the Navy and had to drag you out to Malta.… Continue reading Living on Malta