Sardines

Spot the anomaly. Since 2002 Finistere has been Fitzroy. I highly recommend This Thing of Darkness (don’t let the title, a quote from The Tempest, put you off) about Fitzroy and Darwin – one of the best books I read last year.

Days and Nights on Malta

Nicholas Monsarrat is an unjustly neglected author. If you have read any of his novels it will be The Cruel Sea. I hadn’t read anything of his until last weekend.

Palm Balm

I can remember when using natural cork as a wine bottle stopper was considered bad as cork forests were being destroyed. Cork oak trees, Quercus suber, are largely (more than 60%) grown in Portugal. Now sustainable forest management means real cork is an eco-friendly, sustainable crop, supporting livelihoods in Portugal and around the Mediterranean. Using… Continue reading Palm Balm

A Vanished Mansion

I have lived in London for almost half a century. I went to Gunnersbury Park for the first time, with Bertie, on a sunny day last month.

Local Politics

I suspect the quality of candidates prepared to get involved in local politics is unsatisfactory. In rural communities a paternal squire (he or she) may shoulder the burden.

Under the Weather

Yo, ho, ho; have again plundered The Assassin’s Cloak, edited by Irene and Alan Taylor.

Published
Categorised as Literature

Traffic

Sorry, today’s post is both boring and nerdy – but I am often asked how many readers come here.

Published
Categorised as Technology

A Stately Home

Houses open to the public usually fall into three categories: owner occupied, National Trust and English Heritage.

Barons Court Station

This post, written in February 2017, describes some of the features of Barons Court station. It depicts an architectural rarity, deservedly Grade II listed. Unfortunately and inexplicably some of my photographs have disappeared, so I took some more yesterday.