Old Dog, New Tricks

New converts are always the most fervent, especially in the Catholic Church ever since St Paul saw the light. I notice this in myself.

Bruce’s Black Dog

Bruce Springsteen was on Desert Island Discs yesterday. I knew very little about him so found the interview interesting. He spent a lot of time chuckling and being self-deprecating, both attractive traits. He also spoke about bouts of depression he has suffered.

The Lanchester Tradition

I wrote briefly about the Stradivari Trust on 23rd August last year at the end of a post called Stephen’s Day and it’s time for an update.

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Categorised as Music

Are Brokers Human?

When I lived at Barmeath I was a young dabbler in the stock market using my grandfather’s broker, Dudgeon, in Suffolk Street, Dublin. They were an old-fashioned firm whose partners were all known to my grandfather as friends or relations. On important occasions such as the Irish Derby there would be no partner in the… Continue reading Are Brokers Human?

Hadji Bey’s Turkish Delight

Memories of childhood Christmases at Barmeath include special things only eaten then. A butcher in Drogheda, Kierans, made spiced beef (aka Red Round), crystallised fruits came from Dublin and Turkish Delight called Hadji Bey was made in Cork.

Operation Sea Lion – Part Three

In the summer of 1940 Churchill and his Chiefs of Staff expected an airborne invasion and a seaborne one, most likely on the east coast where the beaches were flatter and the terrain likewise making it easier country for motorised troops. They thought it much less likely that there would be an invasion across the… Continue reading Operation Sea Lion – Part Three

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Categorised as History

Get me to a Nunnery

A recent comment reminded me that I was a vendangeur in 1972; cue for me to ramble on a bit about my “gap year”.

Ear to the Ground

If you are under fifty you may want to skip today’s post – perhaps saying “what a saddo” on your way out.

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Categorised as Family, Sport

Corbin & King

Rolls and Royce, Bryant and May, Callard and Bowser, Huntley and Palmer, are as well-known as fish and chips. A relatively new pairing is Corbin and King.

Operation Sea Lion – Part Two

While we fret over whether we can get out of the EU in two years, in 1939 events moved a lot more swiftly. Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3rd September, honouring treaty obligations to Poland that had been invaded two days earlier. On 15th November, Grand-Admiral Erich Raeder, Commander-in -Chief of the… Continue reading Operation Sea Lion – Part Two

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Categorised as History