20th Century
The Story of a Watch
This is the story of a watch. A plain, simple, pocket watch. Probably bought in the early 1940’s for three Half-Crowns (7/6, or in “New Money”, 37.5p) from a Woolworth or a High Street Jewellers. [more…]
Month: March 2021
Economics
Going for Gold – Part 2
Sovereigns have a long and interesting history; first produced during the reign of King Henry VII on 28th October 1489 by the Royal Mint on his instruction to create “A new money of Gold”. Prior [more…]
Arts
Postcard From November, Part 1
Happy Birthday to Me My birthday is November 4th and as a child my main memory of it was always of my parents laying on a party for my friends who all turned up bearing [more…]
Health
20th Century
The Desert War – March 1941
Into March and while there is a bit of a lull in Libya, The Balkans start to figure large and Italian East Africa gets smaller and smaller. Let’s start with a look at Libya. The [more…]
Biography
Sailing my life away, part 10
RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON PART 9 and a COVID DIGRESSION Yes FOXOLES I’m afraid you did miss something – perhaps my account was too oblique. The double in South Africa existed only in the [more…]
Drinking
My First Foreign Holiday
I left school in July 1966 and started work as an apprentice in that September. I didn’t earn a lot of money but I did manage to save a little in the Bradford and Bingley [more…]
Business
How Government Hides the Damage from the Covid-19 Lockdowns
Do not believe government pronouncements that the economy is rebounding from very minimal damage caused by unprecedented Covid-19 inspired closures of businesses or that the damage was very mild anyway. Government will use it favourite [more…]
20th Century
De Profundis or How Green Was My Valley?
I qualified as a public health inspector (PHI) in Hull in 1968 and after a couple of years with a rural district council in South Norfolk, at the tender age of 22 I found myself [more…]