Hot Dogs

“Despite their promises at the last Election, the politicians had not yet changed the climate. The State Meteorological Institute had so far produced only an unseasonable fall of snow and two little thunderbolts no larger than apricots. The weather varied from day to day and from county to county as it had done of old,… Continue reading Hot Dogs

Men in White Coats

Chiswick House and its gardens was a private lunatic asylum from 1892 until 1928. Looking at the entrance at Chiswick I’m reminded of Mr Loveday’s Little Outing by Evelyn Waugh.

Kirill Karabits

Kirill Karabits; now that’s a name to roll round your tongue; born in Kiev on St Stephen’s Day, 1976.

Published
Categorised as Music

Apples

A mandolin is a useful bit of kitchen kit, however it must be used with care. Especially now that the top of my index finger has become a vital appendage.

Published
Categorised as Technology

Kippergate

On Wednesday evening at ExCel Boris Johnson brandished a kipper from a smokehouse on the Isle of Man.

Henry VIII and All That

Henry VIII is presenting the Barber-Surgeons’ Company Charter to their first Master, Thomas Vicary, superintendent of St Bartholomew’s Hospital and royal physician.

At the Hustings

In Ukraine polling stations, where Parliamentary elections are taking place on Sunday, are called Precinct Electoral Commissions. This has an American ring calling to mind the administrative area of police stations.

Published
Categorised as Politics

Belt and Braces

Belt and Braces is what I call China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It marks the second stage of China’s rise to out-grow the United States economically. The first was the industrialisation of China, building cities and transport infrastructure. This all happened within China’s borders.

On Safari

Let’s start small – no, not microscopically tiny – just a small mammal and we will work up to bigger ones. Five of us were having supper in the garden on Monday evening.