The Ancient Family of Bellew

“In the Reign of Edward I lived John de Bellew, who married Laderina, youngest of the four Sisters and Coheirs of Peter de Bruce, descended from the same Lineage as the Kings of Scotland, who died in 1271, and Daughter of Peter de Bruce, who died the 6th of that Reign, with whom he had… Continue reading The Ancient Family of Bellew

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Categorised as Family

John Lodge’s Genealogical History

May I present Mr Lodge, Deputy Keeper of the Records in Bermingham Tower, Dublin Castle. As he will be your companion for a few days you may call him John.

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Categorised as Family

A Dolls’ House

I have finished The Quest for Queen Mary. There was one more especially enjoyable piece: James Pope-Hennessy’s visit to Copenhagen to meet Prince and Princess Axel of Denmark.

The Quest Continues

There are two magnificent set pieces in James Pope-Hennessy’s quest for Queen Mary.

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Categorised as Literature

The Quest

I enjoyed Hugo Vickers’ diaries written when he was writing Cecil Beaton’s biography (Malice in Wonderland) so it was just a step back of thirty years to James Pope-Hennessy’s diaries when he was writing Queen Mary’s biography.

Needle Time

If you read Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack or live in Wagga Wagga you will remember James (“Jim”) Higgs, OAM. He is a leg spinner who played for Australia in twenty-two Test matches. The late, great and lamented Murray Hedgcock would have known him.

Storm Bertie

  An eclectic list of storm names chosen by the UK Met Office, Met Éireann and KNMI (The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute). So here’s something that hasn’t been effed up by Brexit. 

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Categorised as Politics

Old Hammersmith

This is what I saw yesterday at the top of the escalators on the first floor of Charing Cross Hospital. It was commissioned “for the benefit of elderly patients” and being one myself I drank it in, so to speak.

Polemics

Many years ago I was instinctively anti hare-coursing. It seemed cruel to kill hares as a sport and there was plenty of polemic literature to reinforce my prejudice.