In May 1915 a German U-boat sunk the Lusitania off the coast of Co Cork and 1,198 passengers and crew lost their lives. Hugh Lane was one of those passengers. He had been born in Co Cork in 1875.
The Hibernian Catch Club
Members of White’s are proud that their club is the oldest gentleman’s club in London, founded in 1693. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge are members. Across the Irish Sea the Hibernian Catch Club was already thriving – it was founded circa 1680 – and I never knew of its existence until… Continue reading The Hibernian Catch Club
Welcome to Dystopia
Rear Window
The story so far. Property developer, Dominvs Group, bought the old Magistrates’ Court on the Talgarth Road. They paid £50 million – nice money, if you have it. The site is between the Ark building to the west and a BP filling station to the east. On the south boundary are the Piccadilly and District… Continue reading Rear Window
Bertie and Brunner
“Megan the sheepdog is moving to the US after being sold for £18,900” (Metro, 23rd February 2020). Bertie needn’t worry; there’s no price tag on him but sometimes it’s good to sell something and that’s what I did this morning. Five years ago I bought a boring investment trust, Brunner. In 2016 I explained why.… Continue reading Bertie and Brunner
What the Dickens
Recently I saw The Personal History of David Copperfield; an enjoyable romp through a book I have not read. The cast is starry but it’s a story that is a magnet for stars. Personally I like the 1935 version but you may prefer the 1969 film with Ralph Richardson, Richard Attenborough, Laurence Olivier, Susan Hampshire,… Continue reading What the Dickens
The Ring
There may be some elderly folk who can not, but most of us can remember every Ring cycle we have seen. We are talking about Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. I have never seen the operas consecutively but I remember the ones I didn’t get to. I had not heard of Fulham Opera when they staged it… Continue reading The Ring
Interesting Times
The impact of Storm Ciara in west London was minimal. Almost all the parks were closed on Sunday, one tree and some boughs were brought down in Margravine Cemetery and a tree fell across the towpath on the river. The willow tree threatened with felling in 2018 (see Wind in the Willows) did not shed… Continue reading Interesting Times
The Mountbattens
Bertie Wooster describes Sir Roderick Glossop as “a high-priced loony doctor … over the years practically every posh family in the country has called him in at one time or another”. In the words of the late, much lamented, Wodehousian, Norman Murphy: “ Wodehouse never made anything up”. Indeed he based Sir Roderick on Dr… Continue reading The Mountbattens
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Everybody loves a Rembrandt. They go mad for him. Pre-blog I went to the Rijksmuseum at opening time on a Sunday morning. It was almost empty until we got to The Night Watch where the crowd was five deep. You can dangle his contemporaries, Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, Peter Paul Rubens and get a nibble… Continue reading Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man