Hobbies
Cruising From Malta, Part Two
Day 3 – Saturday – Mykonos I woke up and saw that it was a couple of minutes before six, and the sun was shining, the sky was cloudless and the sea like a mirror. [more…]
Holiday
Hobbies
Cruising From Malta, Part One
I won’t bother taking you through all the preliminaries for this cruise except to say this time I choose to fly to Malta to pick up the cruise ship, P&O Azura. It cuts out a [more…]
20th Century
Postcard From Peter Hitchens, Part Five
I’ve been following Daily Mail columnist and author Peter Hitchens – literally. The surprise being we only recently fell into correspondence. Both of us are keen on railways and church, enjoyed minor public school and [more…]
Culture
An English to English Dictionary
I have long wondered if a dictionary existed that translates the bastardised version of the English language used in America to our original version. That bloke Webster has a lot to answer for, compiling his [more…]
Eating
Caribbean Christmas 2023/24, Part Four
Day 10 – 31st December – New Year’s Eve and it’s still Antigua I didn’t expect to be in beautiful Antigua again today, but I can think of worse places to be. It’s another lovely [more…]
Eating
Caribbean Christmas 2023/24, Part Three
26th December – Boxing Day, La Romana, Dominican Republic I have only visited the Dominican Republic once before, when I stayed in an all-inclusive hotel in Puerto Plata many years ago and enjoyed it. Puerto [more…]
Arts
The Return of the Native
Sorry to disappoint the diehard Thomas Hardy fans amongst you, but this has nothing at all to do with Clym Yeobright, Egdon Heath and the heathlands of Wessex, nor the love tangles and tragedies he [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Saint Agnes
I suppose the best way to start this article is to say it has almost nothing to do with St Agnes, the patron saint of girls, although rather weirdly I am unintentionally writing it on [more…]
Eating
Caribbean Christmas 2023/24, Part Two
Day 1 – 22nd December, Gatwick to Bridgetown Barbados My alarm woke me at 05:00. In no rush to get up, I lay there for 15 minutes before struggling out of bed. I showered and [more…]