H is for Hawk

Unless you are David Attenborough you will find it convenient to see all the flora and fauna of Estonia without leaving Tallinn Old Town at the Museum of Natural History.

Broken Line

You may remember, I do, the ferry tragedy at Zeebruge in 1987 when Herald of Free Enterprise, a roll-on/roll-off car ferry, capsized killing 193 passengers.

1 Pangari Street

This Art Nouveau building was completed in 1912 as a residential house when Estonia was part of the Russian Empire under the last Czar, Nicholas II. After Estonia declared independence in 1918 the Provisional Government met here to direct the War of Independence. Later, in the 1920s and 30s, it was the Ministry of War.… Continue reading 1 Pangari Street

Guess the Country

Guess the Country is a daily geography game where you guess the country from its shape and get clues with every attempt. I checked it out today and it was unusually easy, I got it in one. But I digress. I have given you a clue, Kirbla. Well done, but in case you are flummoxed… Continue reading Guess the Country

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Categorised as Travel

Barons Court Station

This is the 4th post titled Barons Court Station, showing a lack of imagination on the part of the author. In total there are one hundred and twenty posts in which Barons Court gets at least a mention.

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Categorised as Local

The Borghese Balustrade

Even in the rain it was agreeable to lean on the balustrade to look out at the view of Rome and, actually, I was keen to recover my puff after the climb up from Piazza del Popolo. The balustrade, not the one I was leaning on, has an interesting history. The President of the United… Continue reading The Borghese Balustrade

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Categorised as Sculpture

High Renaissance

My next book, well that’s a bit misleading as it will be my first book, is going to look at busts and portraits. I have a newly formed theory that sculptors are more generous than artists. Take a look at these two fellers.

Roman Churches

I visited the churches mentioned by James Lees-Milne in his guide Roman Mornings when I last visited in 2017 but here is no shortage of churches in Rome and yesterday I went to some I had not been to. The only challenge was to work out a circular walk and to factor in lunch.

Romulus and Remus

Kipling’s poem is as bleak an assessment of the world condition today as when he wrote it in 1908. Although he was referencing Canada modern parallels come to mind.

Published
Categorised as Poetry

Stolpersteine

Tomorrow is Holocaust Memorial Day. The person who may have done most to keep memories of victims alive is German artist Gunter Demnig. Since 1992 he has been placing small square brass plaques (Stolpersteine) on pavements to mark the last place they lived. He says “a person is not forgotten until his or her name… Continue reading Stolpersteine

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Categorised as Art, History