Category: History

A Walk in the Park

The Yellow Earl’s London house was in Carlton House Terrace. It was in fact two houses knocked into one. Here is an extract from The Yellow Earl, Douglas Sutherland’s excellent biography of the 5th Earl of Lonsdale.

Are you in the Picture?

Here is a family snap I took at Barmeath in 1963. It says a great deal about my skill as a group portrait photographer. I must have been incredibly slow and fiddled with the camera a lot to have elicited such expressions of fierce concentration.

War Artist and Poet

Yesterday morning the Queen’s birthday parade assumed especial significance. The Duke of Edinburgh turned ninety-five the day before and it was Her Majesty’s official 90th birthday. The crowds in the Mall were larger than usual. The parade was broadcast by the BBC and their programme included an interview with Captain Alexander Ritchie, Coldstream Guards, whose… Continue reading War Artist and Poet

Blue Plaque

Blue plaque is not something that stains your teeth if you are a Conservative. It is a commemorative plaque put on the outside of a house in London that has been lived in by someone distinguished.

High Tide

Three years ago the BBC made a short film warning that flooding in Paris was inevitable and they have been proved correct. The last time the Seine rose to such high levels was in 1910 and, although it didn’t burst its banks, the flood spread through tunnels, sewers and drains causing much damage.

Local Hero

This is a photograph of Sergeant-Major Champion in full dress uniform. James Champion was born and died in Hammersmith and he came to my notice when I saw his headstone in Margravine Cemetery. It was put up last month although he died in 1904 and the Cemetery closed for new burials in 1951.

Pavilioned in Splendour

Earlier this week I alluded to the remarkable success of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The credit often goes to Prince Albert but it was the brainchild of a civil servant, Henry Cole, among much else the inventor of the Christmas card. Joseph Paxton lent a hand, designing the Crystal Palace to house the exhibits… Continue reading Pavilioned in Splendour

A Great Exhibition

I like reading lists. A chap called Ben Schott has taken advantage of my predilection by publishing books of them that he calls Miscellanies. Here is a list (not one of his) that interests me.

Caroline

Once upon a time, on a dark and stormy night in the North Sea – so long ago there were no wind farms or oil rigs – a funny looking boat bobbed around.

Peaky Bloomers

Peaky Blinders is a BBC crime drama series set in Birmingham immediately after World War I. It must be good – it’s on its third series. I’ve not seen it (maybe a good box set for the winter) but Dr Henry Sanford has.