A Pinch of Pugin

Nine of the eighteen buildings in Ireland that Pugin had a hand in (I’m choosing my words carefully) are in Co Wexford and you may well wonder why I didn’t see any when there recently. St Aidan’s Cathedral in Enniscorthy would have been an obvious choice, especially as we drove through the town.

In The Psychiatrist’s Chair

I read psychology at Durham and this, in my opinion, qualifies me to put the Chairman of the Workers’ Party in Korea and supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, on the couch in my consulting room. I have just ushered out Homan Potterton who came with a swollen head after his swimgloat surrounding the publication of his… Continue reading In The Psychiatrist’s Chair

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Categorised as Politics

The Day The Dream Died

Today I am casting my bread upon the waters. TDTDD – I enjoyed writing that, it reminds me of TWTWTW – is a documentary screened, only once, on Channel 4 in 1988.

Two Lucias

Typical, you wait ages for a Lucia and two turn up together. You can see Lucia di Lammermoor this month at Covent Garden (top price seat £165) or at Fulham Opera (top price £25).

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Categorised as Music

The Homan Touch

Who Do I Think I Am? Having read Homan’s memoir I am not sure I can answer his question but I can say what a rollicking good story it makes.

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Categorised as Literature

A Hanging Offence

More than fifty years ago my brother stole this from, well you can guess where. He was in the habit of taking a room at the Intercontinental Hotel in the afternoons to catch up on some sleep after the revelry at Hunt Balls in Horse Show week. 

Classic Detective Stories

The Golden Age of the classic detective novel was the middle of the 20th century. Wilkie Collins is often cited as founder of the genre when he wrote The Moonstone in 1868 which was developed by Conan Doyle and his contemporaries but we treat today with the mid 20th century.

Poppycock

Something really rather irritating happened on the last night of the Wexford Festival on Sunday evening. I was wearing with pride an enamel shamrock poppy and found on Monday morning that I’d lost it.

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Categorised as Music

Lord Mayor’s Show

When I was a Trooper in the Honourable Artillery Company in the 1970s I twice took part in the Lord Mayor’s Show.

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Categorised as History

Last Night

Risurrezione by Franco Alfano (1875–1954) has been acclaimed as this year’s Wexford hit and so the festival went out on a high note on the last night on Sunday when we saw it.

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Categorised as Music