Trieste

The very name, Trieste, is redolent of sadness: I’m thinking of Françoise Sagan’s novel. I went for a Ryanair weekend in 2008 and, to avoid repetition, you can read about it in a post misleadingly titled Tahiti .

What Now? What Next?

Now the birds are loving lockdown. An uxorious  pair of Great Tits eat peanuts from a feeder in the garden unfazed by us. The falcons nesting aloft Charing Cross Hospital laid three eggs. One has hatched and it seems probable that the others will not. 

Firebrand at Sea

Yesterday’s comment made me turn to Uncle Herbrand’s memoir, Firebrand, The Life and Times of Herbrand Alexander. The final pages are worth quoting; redolent of Patrick O’Brian, Paul Scott and The Navy Lark.

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A Russian Ramble

Let’s go for a virtual walk round St Petersburg.  Jean-François Thomas de Thomon is a French neo-classical architect who designed the Stock Exchange in St Petersburg. Come over to Alexander Park and look at this fine bronze group, The Architects, installed in 2011. Do you recognise Thomas de Thomon? No you don’t because the sculptor… Continue reading A Russian Ramble

Coronavirus Chronicle VI

A friend tells me her mother is finding lock-down frustrating. She rails against her enforced seclusion; “but she’s nearly ninety and hasn’t been out of the house for years”.

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Stretchers

James Agate tells the story of a generous but punctilious host, one of whose guests arrived thirty minutes late for a luncheon party. Full of contrition she (of course) explained that she had stopped to buy a chandelier.

Blithe Spirit

Plum Duff, aka figgy-dowdy, is dished up on Sundays in the Royal Navy depicted by Patrick O’Brian. Next month there is lashings of Plum on Sunday afternoons on Radio 4; Uncle Fred in the Springtime and Leave it to Psmith, with excellent casts.Details on the PG Wodehouse Society website.

Objets Trouvé

When Bertie pounces on something that belongs to somebody else, he dances, prances and capers and I say sorry; but my heart isn’t in it; it’s an objet trouvé.

Benford’s Law

There may not be enough PPE in hospitals but popular economist, Tim Harford, has his own PPE from Brasenose. His columns in The FT and broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 are usually intriguing.

Windmills on My Mind

Exploring Wimbledon Common, it’s hard to miss the windmill. Some things never change. In 1799 an enterprising cove sought permission to build a windmill but he was refused because he didn’t submit plans.