Hardship Allowances

When I was posted to Belize, in the Irish Guards, in 1973 it was officially still British Honduras. The name changed unobtrusively, at least to me, in June 1973 mid-way through my stay.

Published
Categorised as Travel

Cave Men

Jeremy Clarke, who sadly died too young this year, and Matthew Parris, both columnists in The Spectator, bought cave houses in France and Spain respectively.

Cloud Cities

If you want people to know you have a cold, ostentatiously blow your nose; but if you are feeling pretentious, something I sometimes feel, it’s not so easy to signal.

Lifecycles

Denys Watkins-Pitchford (1905 – 1990) was a naturalist, illustrator, art teacher and author of books for children.

The House of Elrig

Henry Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland had thirteen children, six of whom were daughters, and only one of the bakers’ dozen died in infancy. I put that down to the bracing Alnwick air.

Published
Categorised as Literature

Gadhus Morhua

When my Jameson grandmother was in hospital in Dublin in the early 1970s she was in a public ward and found the food excellent.

Prize for being Patronising

I hoped this was a sticky sticker that I could peel off but it’s printed on the cover of the paperback.

Published
Categorised as Literature