Cooking
A View From (The Town Closest To) The Greenhouse;
I decided, as is my occasional wont, to nip into town yesterday. I intended to do a bit of shopping, get a haircut and then spend a jovial hour or so in Spoons with my [more…]
Culture
19th Century
John Martin: The Geordie Who Invented the Blockbuster
John Martin from Haydon Bridge made his name painting the end of the world, so convincingly that one London gallery had to put a railing round his picture to hold the crowds back. He also [more…]
Arts
Let’s Talk About Tracey
I visited 3 art exhibitions over the summer. The first was the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. I shared my thoughts on that exhibition in early Summer. I also visited the Zurbaran exhibition at the National [more…]
America
What It Means to Be an American
There is a very big difference between being an American and a citizen of any other nation We often hear that Americans are special. We may even say that ourselves. But what does that mean? [more…]
20th Century
TANKFEST 2026 & The Tank Museum, Pt 2
The Tank Museum itself is worth a visit, regardless of whether there’s an event taking place or not. It’s a very large museum and could easily take a full day to explore if you want [more…]
20th Century
TANKFEST 2026 & The Tank Museum, Pt 1
For Father’s Day this year, my brother suggested taking Dad to TANKFEST, the annual event held at The Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset. Yes… yes, let’s do that! Having visited the museum a few years [more…]
15th Century
A View From (A Harbour Some Miles Away From) The Greenhouse; On “Northerner-Ness”
When I was at school, many moons ago now, history was something that was taught to us without the strictures surrounding Colonialism, White Supremacy, Racism and the usual “phobia”. When I discovered that a replica [more…]
Cooking
A View From (Just Outside) The Greenhouse; A Slice Of Life
Not being too knowledgeable where apiary is concerned, but also knowing that some bees do build their homes underground, both the head of the B&M department and myself assumed that the black and yellow stripey [more…]
19th Century
Beamish: the Museum that said yes to everything
You may be surprised to learn that a working time machine has already been invented in County Durham. It exists because one man refused to let the region throw its own history into the skip. [more…]