Two Fine Lutyens Memorials

There are twenty Grade I listed war memorials in England (out of over 3,000 listed war memorials) including the Arch of Remembrance in Leicester designed by Lutyens, his largest war memorial in England. I have not seen it but on Friday I visited another of his memorials, also Grade I listed.

Betjeman

I have been trying to buy Lord Mount Prospect by John Betjeman and these days you can get anything … at a price.

Published
Categorised as Poetry

General Stewart

If you walk along Pont Street you may have noticed this house opposite St Columba’s Church. Both were built in 1884 but the church was destroyed by a bomb in 1941 and rebuilt in 1955. No 67, known as Farm House, was commissioned by Major General Sir Herbert Stewart KCB but he never lived there.… Continue reading General Stewart

Popcorn

Experiments in psychology are thought-provoking. The University of South California did one using popcorn. They gave cinema audiences free popcorn and monitored how much they ate. Then they gave a similar group free popcorn but with the proviso that they had to eat with their non-dominant hand.

Ware’s War

Yesterday we left Fabian Ware in 1914 as a civilian in charge of The Mobile (Ambulance) Unit, reporting to the Red Cross and St John Ambulance.

Stand Before Your God

Paul Watkins is ten years younger than me, he was born in 1964. His childhood memoir, Stand Before Your God, was published in 1993 and made a huge impression on me.

Alan Higgs

My  terraced house has been transformed by an Australian friend, Alan Higgs. Fortunately he is an acclaimed architect not a chef as I don’t fancy living in a gingerbread house.

A Bulb Changer

As easy as changing a light bulb is an expression which may once have been valid but most certainly does not apply today.

Tamers

Now I know why I have never seen The Taming of the Shrew – it is another of Will’s “problem plays”.

Published
Categorised as Theatre

The World of Yesterday

I bought The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig on the recommendation of an erudite friend. “One of the greatest memoirs of the twentieth century” says David Hare. John Banville adds ” a marvellous recapturing of a Europe that Hitler and his thugs destroyed”.