The Queen of Spades

The Queen of Spades at Covent Garden has a lot of super music and is an interesting production by Norwegian director Stefan Herheim. The road to operatic hell is paved with ‘interesting’ productions.

Published
Categorised as Music, Travel

A Grandmother’s Album

My paternal grandfather’s mother died in childbirth in 1893 leaving my great-grandfather with four young children to bring up. He married again in 1895 and had three more children.

Published
Categorised as Family

Premium Bonds

When I was a nipper my uncle gave me a £5 Premium Bond. As I recall, his thinking was that if the Good Lord wanted to be bountiful it would be a shame if he could only arrange it by having my mother, or similar, ironed out in an accident so I could scoop the… Continue reading Premium Bonds

Published
Categorised as Business

Darth Vader Kettle

When’s a kettle not a kettle? When it’s Darth Vader. I just couldn’t bear having a toaster or a kettle in view in the kitchen – they both looked so ugly. So first I found an achingly cool, black and chrome Dualit toaster and now I have a to-die-for Alessi kettle.

Side by Side

Side by Side … by Nicolson and Rose. Kenneth Rose’s journals are, I hope, a bright new star in the literary firmament. Let’s see how they match up to Harold Nicolson’s diaries.

The Tulip

Tulips belong in Amsterdam. This Tulip is a proposed 1,000 foot tower to be plonked down next to the Gherkin in the City. I disapprove of the desecration of London’s Square Mile by greedy vertical developers and this one is the limit.

A Diary Entry

Tuesday, 8th January 2019. 8.15 Have coffee and yogurt listening to the Today programme and checking the stock market. This is a waste of time as I hardly ever buy or sell anything. Send out blog bulk e mail. 10.00 Read more of Stalin’s Englishman. Burgess is now living in exile in Moscow but seeing… Continue reading A Diary Entry

Published
Categorised as Local

Guy Burgess

Andrew Lownie spent thirty years researching this book and interviewed more than a hundred sources, as the list of acknowledgements attests.

Five More Pinter

The Pinter season continues at the Pinter Theatre. On Friday I was taken to see five of his one-acters. It was especially interesting for at least two reasons.

Published
Categorised as Theatre

High Treason

Is it too soon to digress? Don’t muddle High Toast with High Treason; the former an agreeably astringent snuff but the latter is also to be taken seriously. In ‘the good old days’, the existence of which is very doubtful, the usual punishment for dabbling in the latter was hanging, drawing and quartering.