Diary
Diary Of A Covid Victim
Sunday I got a lift from Ms Geek’s sister and husband for a family gathering in the West Country where I would finally meet the delectable Ms Geeks after a few weeks’ absence. A boring [more…]
Blog
19th Century
1850s British and American Rifle-Musket Cartridges Compared
Introduction My main interest in firearms has always been their technology and development, particularly during the 19th century which saw an incredible advance from flintlock, smoothbore muskets to semi and even fully automatic weapons. This [more…]
Arts
Smoke and Mirrors: Nadine Dorries’ announcement on the BBC TV licence by Stockton Heath
Recently Nadine Dorries announced the end of the BBC as we know it. At least that’s what the culture secretary appeared to imply when declaring that the next licence fee announcement will be the ‘last’ [more…]
History
Postcard From Osh
A promise was made to Puffins regarding a dispatch from Kazakhstan to report upon the fighting between Kazakh forces, Russian paratroopers and ‘fuel protestors’. Located at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, a correspondent was only 12 miles [more…]
Biography
Sailing my life away, part 33
RESPONSES Joe Slater is obviously more familiar than I with written Chinese Characters and I thank him for explaining that Zheng He and Cheng Ho were one and the same person. When visiting the museum [more…]
Fiction
The impact of the Central African situation with regard to the Lucky Onion trade
I found this script, on a park bench, and found it interesting. NewsTonight featuring Camelly Mateless “Good Evening, and welcome to NewsTonight. with me, Camelly Mateless. Tonight we are investigating the ongoing situation in Central [more…]
Arts
The treachery of our very own fourth estate
Who among us is not aware of the disgraceful behaviour of the BBC during the Falklands War. They did their utmost to scupper our chances and give information in public that was very useful to [more…]
Arts
Another Caribbean Christmas, Part Three
Day 2 – Christmas Day – Barbados Christmas Day dawned another warm and sunny morning. As per the itinerary we were still berthed in Barbados awaiting more passengers. I watched a truck being loaded with [more…]
Economics
Missing the forest for the tree
Over the second half of January, we witnessed a fresh wave of volatility in equity markets, culminating in a pullback that caused widespread concern and endless headlines in the mainstream financial press. There was speculation [more…]