A State of Grace

A friend from America was visiting London recently. I took him to The Grenadier for a Bloody Mary, Ognisko (aka the Polish Hearth Club) for lunch and Opera Holland Park (for Hansel and Gretel). He also was taken by the Judge to the White’s tent at (Royal) Ascot, ticking a 4th box of things he… Continue reading A State of Grace

Take Nine Spies

Why wouldn’t China try to infiltrate the British security services – and those of other countries? I expect China has to a greater or lesser extent been successful in these enterprises. It’s nothing new.

Bedtime Story

More than fifty years ago I stayed in a B&B near Dingle.

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The Unrest-Cure

This is what I wrote seven years ago (in June 2016).

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A Blast

“I will not take up your time, dear boy, with telling you what is the matter with me. Life is brief, and you might pass away before I had finished. But I will tell you what is NOT the matter with me. I have not got housemaid’s knee. Why I have not got housemaid’s knee,… Continue reading A Blast

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The Pound in Your Pocket

Harold Wilson reassured an anxious electorate in 1967 that the pound in its pocket was still worth the same after sterling was overnight devalued by 14% against the dollar.

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It’s in the Post

I have written a cheque this morning – my first this year – worthy of a cuckoo letter to The Times?

Meet the Pallisers

I saw The Rocky Horror Show at a theatre in the King’s Road (possibly The Royal Court) in the 1970s and was taken by surprise when the audience were mostly in costume and participated in the show – I remember lots of rice being chucked in a wedding scene.

Safer Gambling

Yesterday I made a short-term investment with Paddy Power. Why is a turf accountant called after two popular brands of Irish whiskey, doh!

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