April is the Cruelest Month Thank you to friends wishing me a happy 68th birthday on Sunday: here, by post and email. I had a home-made birthday cake with candles (not 68).
Tied Up When I came to live and work in London in 1976 my grandfather generously thought of a couple of things to make me fit in.
The Efficient Eimear Unlike Lord Emsworth my grandfather rather enjoyed having a secretary. He called her Miss Tappitt, not to her face.
Fifty Ways Anthony Sampson’s Anatomy of Britain in 1962 was a success with many follow-ups until Who Runs This Place? The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century in 2004; last in the series as Samson died that year.
What Comes Around … Theophilus Van Kannel was inducted into the National Inventors’ Hall of Fame in 2007.
Wodehouse in the Springtime George Dennis Martin was an architect most of whose work is in London but one of his most spectacular commissions is The Majestic Hotel in Harrogate.
A King, a Field Marshal and a Prince. You may not be familiar with Carlo Marochetti, born in Turin in 1805, where his father was professor of eloquence at the university; nice.
Bringing the Good News Patrick O’Brian had a wealth of material to draw on for his naval novels but as far as I remember he did not use John Richards Lapenotiere.
Palmy Days Palmy Days is an American musical comedy, choreographed by Busby Berkeley, released in 1931.