Hang On and Hand On

“With peeling paintwork and overgrown courtyards, Calke Abbey, tells the story of the dramatic decline of a country house estate” says the National Trust. (The NT should read a catalogue of buildings in Ireland that have dramatically declined, as chronicled by Robert O’Byrne, The Irish Aesthete.)

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Categorised as Family

Swarkestone Pavilion

Here’s another Round on the Links, set by me not James Walton. What is the connection between two Rolling Stones albums, a building in Las Vegas and a 17th Century bowling green? Not hard, the answer is today’s title.

Double Death on the Avon

I noticed this plaque while I was walking in Wiltshire last week.  It’s quite new and a local woman walking her dog told me replaces an older memorial.

A Round on the Links

FTWeekend is a must-read for me. It is delivered in hard copy to my door and if I’m away I can usually find a copy. The overseas editions have most of the same content as the UK edition. One regular item that you will miss if you are an overseas reader is A Round on… Continue reading A Round on the Links

Fear and Greed and Grouse

Today (Friday) grouse shooting starts and the FTSE 100 index has risen above 6900. It is up 14% this year. It’s nice to feel a bit less poor but is this a bubble that will burst when Brexit bites?

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Alec and Dicky

An astonishing story was told over dinner a couple of evenings ago and you may find it interesting. Cast your mind back to Richard Nixon’s Presidency.

Great Stones, Part Three

Yesterday we walked along the Avon to Old Sarum and then down into Salisbury. The villages are pretty – lots of thatched cottages and spruced up houses with Range Rovers in the drive. A reader in Beverly Hills sent me an extract from Pagan Britain by Ronald Hutton. (Yes, I expect you to be impressed that… Continue reading Great Stones, Part Three

Great Stones, Part Two

  This is Silbury Hill, not far from Avebury, that we passed on Monday after lunch.

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Categorised as Travel