Wrest is History

Wednesday 15th August, The Feast of the Assumption. Nikolaus Pevsner has a reputation for being dry to the point of dullness, so the dedication in his 1968 guide in The Buildings of England series,  Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough surprised me. 

The Taxman Cometh

It may not seem like it but Income Tax rates in the UK are the lowest since I became a tax payer.

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Categorised as Politics

Swans and a Sesquicentenary

There are few swans on the tidal stretch of the Thames between Hammersmith and Richmond. Recently I have seen three where the Grand Union Canal joins the river at Brentford and I assume they come from the canal for a change of scenery.

Picnic

This picture is in the National Gallery of Victoria. It inspired Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel Picnic at Hanging Rock. Some great novels have a great first sentence.

Leavers

In the Spring of 1951 the Tate had an exhibition. This is how top-notch art dealer Geoffrey Agnew described it.

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Categorised as Art

Frontier Market

I started to invest in Vietnam at the beginning of June and now hold three funds that are showing a loss of 2.5%. It is a volatile market in which to invest for the long term so I’m not worried. Indeed one of my funds, VinaCapital, advises investors to take a five year view.

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Categorised as Business

Ham-Class

Ninety-three Ham-class minesweepers were launched between 1954 and 1959 and they cost a bob or two.

Lunch Menu

On Tuesday I had a simple luncheon comprising egg mayonnaise with a sliver of smoked salmon, cold salmon and devilled kidneys. I have now re-read Abbie and Arthur (much the better of the two Abbie books.)

Alphabet Soup

I have a fiendishly difficult quiz for you today. Here is a list of men (clue: no women) and I simply want you to guess which one of them has this alphabet soup after his name, KT, GCVO, GBE, CB, TD, PC and what these ten men have in common.

Gloriana Incognito

Monday morning and I’m out of the house early to give the cleaner a free rein to wreak the havoc that seems necessary to have a house that doesn’t give the appearance of being lived in by a smelly, old tramp.

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Categorised as Local