Arts
Britain under lockdown
In the space of a few weeks, the Overton window has been moved so far to the left, it has shattered. Whereas before teh virus, the left were only talking about refusing treatment to smokers and [more…]
Arts
Arts
A bird in a gilded cage
My lockdown is idyllic, I am one of the most fortunate people in England at the moment. We have a smallholding in the East Riding of Yorkshire, close to the river Derwent which is the border between [more…]
Arts
Bottoms Up!
To these gloomy pandemic-filled days, I’d like to bring a little cheer. For months I have, of course, not ‘read the comments’ posted by this assortment of scoundrel and rapscallion Fraterculae. Without having viewed such [more…]
Arts
Book Review: The Throwback by Tom Sharpe
Some books can influence the way we view the world, perhaps we read them at a particularly impressionable time in our lives. Perhaps when we are young or going through some form of major crisis [more…]
Arts
The Swaling, Part One
I began to obsess about Mr Reginald Stein on the evening that a party guest, a Mr Hong Gildong, tried to read Mr Stein’s Turkish rug. My wife thought him ill. Our student maid, Rose, [more…]
Arts
Ooh, Aar, A Guide To Rough Vegetable Gardening Part 4
Hello folks and welcome to part four of a guide to rough veg growing. It’s impossible to grow vegetables, even roughly, without a large number of containers, a decent space to work the magic, an [more…]
Arts
Artwork In My Home – Part One
Finding myself with lots of spare time on my hands I thought it might be interesting for one or two Puffins on GP if I shared pictures of some of the artwork in my home. [more…]
20th Century
Arts
All change at Shijiazhuang
In spring 2013, I travelled by train across China from Guangzhou to Qingdao in the north via Wuhan. This leg starts at Shijiazhuang, where I discovered the hard way why most Chinese plan their journeys [more…]