Pembroke Castle

Yesterday we visited Pembroke Castle. The site of the castle was first occupied by cave dwellers in the Old Stone Age, some 12,000 years ago. In the late 11th century, Roger de Montgomery, a cousin of William the Conqueror, built a castle here. It was constructed of timber, not stone.

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Categorised as History

Wales

Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years and 216 days. She spent just seven days of her reign in Wales, not because it rains as she was partial to rainy Scotland.

Thomas Jervais

I was at Trim Cathedral for Holy Communion on the Sixth Sunday of Easter and paid attention to the Dean’s sermon. The First Lesson was Acts 17: 22-31 and this provided his opening.

Mood of the Meeting

Lassitude seems to suit me. A few essential tasks are within my grasp but nothing else gets done. This all started when I got sanglier flu in France.

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Categorised as Business

Pallant House

Last weekend I went to Chichester for the first time. It is ridiculous how many cathedral cities I have not been to or not looked at properly. An excellent excuse for heading down to West Sussex is the Pallant House Gallery.

Matisse Mania

In August the Royal Academy is putting on Matisse in the Studio. Of course the works will not be for sale so if you’d like to buy a Matisse hasten along to the Bernard Jacobson Gallery.

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Categorised as Art

Capability Brown

My brother continues to enhance and extend the gardens at Barmeath. There is a new summer house in the walled garden, new beds and paths and a maze. He is a latter day Capability Brown.

Moth House

At Barmeath there was a Moss House constructed of moss-clad wood. In the 19th century it was a destination for picnics carried up in a dog-cart. When I was at Barmeath a few weeks ago I was interested to see that a new “moss house” is being put up on the site. The picture above… Continue reading Moth House

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Categorised as Family

Japan

The Japanese economy has been stagnant for the last thirty years. The Nikei 225 index was briefly above 38,000 in 1989; today it is about 20,000. Unsurprisingly my previous forays into Japanese stocks have not ended well. However, when I wrote recently about Emerging Markets a reader commented that Japan was worth a look too.

Heart to Heart

It’s 8.25 pm on Thursday 6th September 1962. You switch on the TV and all around Europe the same programme is being broadcast by the BBC (UK), RTE (Ireland), RTF (France), ORF (Austria), SRT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), RAI (Italy), NTS (Netherlands) and YLE (Finland) as part of a project called The Largest Theatre in the… Continue reading Heart to Heart