20th Century
Nostalgia Album, Seine Bridges
As we reach the end of our 1952 Nostalgia Album adventure to Gibraltar and back, my father and his parents remain at the top of the Eiffel Tower gazing at the more distant of the [more…]
Blog
Hobbies
How to Make the Going Postal Crossword
Nearly five years ago, I emailed Swiss Bob with the idea of setting a Saturday crossword, as you are all (mostly) cerebral types who enjoy some mental gymnastics at the weekend after the nocturnal gymnastics [more…]
20th Century
My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Four – Red Hot Chili Peppers
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more…]
Health
Coronavirus – the first thousand days
The earliest stats on the coronavirus that I can find – numbers of cases and deaths – were recorded by John Hopkins university on 19th January 2020, with 204 cases and 3 deaths. There are [more…]
Arts
Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review
Question Time 13th October 2022 The Panel: Douglas Ross (Conservative) Anas Sarwar (Labour) John Swinney (SNP) Isabel Hardman (The Spectator) Stuart Murdoch (Musician) Venue: Musselburgh The first question was grunted by a local and seemed [more…]
20th Century
Inquest on Aachen
On 27 October, 1944 my uncle John Alldridge reported from Aaachen for the Manchester Evening News. Six days previously, Aachen had become the first German city to be captured by the Western Allies. – Jerry [more…]
Democracy
OTF (Own Two Feet) Party, Part Ten
Introduction This article is a self-confessed flight of fancy and almost certainly impossible, but maybe can be a springboard to spark other ideas. We already have intellectual property rights for music etc etc. I propose [more…]
17th Century
A Postcard from the IFG Part Two
International Festival of Glass, Stourbridge, August 2022 In Part One, I just about managed to shoehorn two days of the fantastic Festival. Before I carry on telling you about the rest, a quick gallop though [more…]
Authoritarianism
Evil beyond measure
Mrs R and I have a mutual friend of many years who knows both of us extremely well. For the sake of brevity, let us call her “A”. This came home when we were having [more…]