Arts
The English Pub
After many years of leading tours of European battlefields I decided to add another string to my bow & took the course at St. William’s College to qualify as a professional guide at York Minster. I [more…]
Culture
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 35
They, dear reader, say that a humble author should read, read, read as well as write, write, write. In my defence, long-suffering aficionados of our never-ending quest for Lille will have noticed, to name but [more…]
18th Century
Postcard From Cumbria (A Week in the Lake District) Part One
Some of you may remember that back in 2017 Mrs. C and I (it was all her plan really) made it our business to do 40 things together to celebrate having been married for 40 [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 34
As if mountaineers roped together, we troop along Euston Road in a line, making our way from Euston Station to St Pancras International with our packs and cases. My now middle-aged self leads the way, ahead of [more…]
Arts
Arts
National Trust AGM 2019 – The Non-Woke Block Vote
I can understand those who walk away from bodies like the National Trust once it become woke, yet when these things happen there is rarely enough of an exodus to drag the organisation back to [more…]
Arts
Postcard From Lille, Part 33
There was a game that we used to play in the office called, ‘Would / Wouldn’t’. Every adult female would be attached either of the monikers. We even had cards made that we could hold up as [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 32
There’s a game to be played with airline names. BA, British Airways, is re-named, ‘Bloody Awful’, Alitalia become ‘Always Late in Take-off and Landing’. And if you don’t realise SAA stands for ‘Sodding Awful Airline’ then [more…]
Arts
Three years later: Willkommenskultur revisited
It’s been over three years now that Frau Dr. Angela Merkel, German chancellor, tried to turn Germany into a Willkommensrepublik (welcoming republic). At the height of the Syrian refugee crisis, the Islamic State’s (ISIS) multinational [more…]