Arts
Review – Dunkirk, by Rat Catcher
It was on Saturday that Mrs. Catcher and I took the train to the imax cinema to see Dunkirk. It is quite a journey so we made a night of it and came back the [more…]
History
Animals
Postcard from Way-Els
Way-Els – The English words “Wales” and “Welsh” derive from the same Germanic root (singular Walh, plural Walha), which was itself derived from the name of the Celtic tribe known to the Romans as Volcae [more…]
16th Century
Postcard from Malta, No 1
The Inquisitor’s Palace (Maltese: Il-Palazz tal-Inkwiżitur, colloquially tal-Inkisitur) is a palace in Birgu, Malta. It was the seat of the Maltese Inquisition from 1574 to 1798, under the name Palazzo del Sant’Officio. The building was [more…]
Engineering
Development of the Merlin Engine
The Rolls Royce Merlin was a V12, 27 litre engine and originally was a private venture so was financed entirely by Rolls Royce and its backers. Designated the PV12 it followed the Rolls Royce trend [more…]
20th Century
School, and finding a love, of learning
I was an inquisitive child, I wanted to know how, and why. Mum was one of those who thought ‘just because’ was an answer. Dad was much better but worked several jobs so wasn’t around [more…]
20th Century
Off Grid Living, 1945 to 1953
I lived for the first seven years of my life in a hamlet on the western fringe of Salisbury Plain. At about six hundred and sixty feet above sea level it was a fairly bleak [more…]
20th Century
Foraging for food in the Fifties
I was born in 1945, the war had just ended, the world was a very different place then. As a child food was one of my primary concerns, it was difficult to find enough fuel [more…]