20th Century
The Woman Reporter, Part Two
Another chapter from “Special Assignment” by my uncle John Alldridge (published in 1960 and now long out of print) One august day in 1947 a young girl with long legs and a mop of unruly [more…]
Arts
20th Century
Postcard From Latina
If one, parent’s night, your daughter’s Italian teacher tells you Latina is the ugliest city in Italy and adds in a whisper, “And then there’s Mousillini”, don’t agree with her until you’ve visited. Situated on [more…]
Arts
Three Men on a Bike, Part Three
Having recovered from the ravages of what we thought was pilchard food poisoning but was more likely some dodgy Camembert, and rested sufficiently at the Rouen youth hostel we ventured forth on Day 5 and [more…]
Arts
The Music Business
A few nights ago a post (by Channel Zero) describing how the music business was blindsided and completely shaken up by the arrival of house music in the mid 1980s got me thinking over how [more…]
20th Century
Nostalgia Album, Part Twelve
As we discovered last time on Nostalgia Album, Malta is short of trees. Although my father’s cousin, Anne, and her parents Bob and Lil along with some Navy friends, did find some rare shade when [more…]
20th Century
My Legends of Pop Music – Part Forty – Dire Straits
If get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall try and link live versions if they exist from the tellybox or a film, the sound quality may not be [more…]
20th Century
The Woman Reporter, Part One
Another chapter from “Special Assignment” by my uncle John Alldridge (published in 1960 and now long out of print) No Half-Way For Ladies When I got my first job on a newspaper twenty-five years ago [more…]
Arts
A Life in Three Honks, Honk the Second
At the end of part 1 we left our intrepid teenager entering the portals of the famous Foyles Bookshop in the Charing Cross Road, London. Founded in 1903 initially selling secondhand books from a small [more…]
Arts
A Postcard Frae Glesgae
Over the last few weeks I’ve had occasion to visit Glasgow on two occasions, one for an overnight stay and the second time primarily to visit Kelvingrove Museum and Gallery. The happy circumstance of my [more…]