Category: Literature

Lord Dundonald

I have been to Westminster Abbey twice and both visits were for memorial services; Lord Hailsham and Dame Joan Sutherland.  A few days ago I paid a third visit, as a tourist.

A Spy in the Family

In the 1980s I was introduced to Patrick O’Brian’s novels about Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin (it’s curious that the series does not have a title). Like so many others, I became hooked on the detailed descriptions of life on board a Royal Navy ship in the early years of the 19th century. The depth… Continue reading A Spy in the Family

A Hard Day’s Walk

My walk started well. The track was shaded by trees and had re-assuring red and white GR signs to guide me – important, as I don’t have a map.

Ruins on the River

My idea of the Danube was almost entirely formed by reading Greenmantle, by John Buchan, in which Richard Hannay smuggles himself onto a chain of barges carry arms down the Danube from Germany  bound for Turkey.

Holy Right Hand

Last week, on 20th August, St. Stephen’s Day was celebrated in Hungary. I challenge you to name who wrote this, between the wars, about the St. Stephen’s Day procession of The Holy Right Hand in Budapest. “…the swaying canopy above the sacred relics borne by the Cardinal Prince Archbishop, glorious in crimson and ermine….bishops, monsignori… Continue reading Holy Right Hand

Travel Feature

  I can just about remember Alan Whicker’s TV shows in the 1960s, portraying a world that not many viewers in the UK would be able to visit. No cheap air travel and a £50 limit on how much money you could take with you were the first two hurdles.

Serious Money

An American reader puts down his copy of The Razor’s Edge by Somerset Maugham and, after taking  a sip or two from a glass of Riesling, writes to remind me

Drink Time!

“Drink Time! In the Company of Patrick Leigh Fermor” is a memoir by Dolores Payás describing her visits to his house in Greece near the village of Kardamili in Mani in the last two years of his life. It bursts with her affection and admiration for him and is an admirable coda to his life.… Continue reading Drink Time!