A Good Gossip

I’m reading The Journals of Kenneth Rose in small doses, not because they are heavy going; they are highly readable; there are aperçus on every page and they deserve to be savoured.

Black Sheep

When Wendy Cope was on Desert Island Discs this week she chose some beautiful music. This made a welcome change from some of the stuff I’ve heard on the programme recently.

Published
Categorised as Poetry

Joyride

  An unexpected present plopping through the letter box on a cold morning brought a surge of gratitude to my thoughtful friend who had sent it.

Published
Categorised as Literature

Corner Shop

Doreen Fletcher has been recording the architectural history of the East End since the mid 1980s. She did this for her own pleasure and has only recently been “discovered”.

Of Teeth and Travel

Cereal House on Mark Lane was home to the London Commodity Exchange when I started in the City in 1976. There were futures markets for sugar, coffee, cocoa, etc there, as well as a bar. In 1981 the grandly named International Petroleum Exchange opened in a room that had been home to a defunct futures… Continue reading Of Teeth and Travel

Carlingford

This is my uncle getting ready to water ski on Carlingford Lough in 1969; no wetsuits in those days. I took the picture and if there’s a bit of a wobble it’s because I was timid about following him into the icy waters.

In Rome and Brussels

Naughty Margaret did not confine her friendships to the Bonaparte clan, as her album reveals.

Naughty Margaret

Earlier this month I introduced my great, great great grandmother, Margaret Bryan. She kept for a few years an album with entries by her friends and today it’s time to take a look at some of them.

Whither Oil?

This chart is not slap-bang up-to-date. The price of Brent is now around $60. I never fretted unduly about oil prices; that was the advantage of being a broker.

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Categorised as Business