20th Century
Nostalgia Album, Orléans
In the old photo above we observe Orléans cathedral at the end of a wide cobbled street with a row of cars parked on the right hand side. Not its real name (Basilique Cathédrale Sainte-Croix [more…]
History
21st Century
My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part One – The Prodigy
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more…]
20th Century
Liquid Thoughts on Beer
I was gratified recently to find that my uncle, John Alldridge, occasionally took time off in the 1940s from reporting World War II and its aftermath to concentrate on more important matters, as can be [more…]
20th Century
One Degree of Separation
My niece tapped on the home office door. When she was smaller I would babysit and sell her pieces of paper as her need to draw and write would keep her occupied. Yes, sell. We [more…]
20th Century
Queen Elizabeth the Great
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, a wife, a mother, an animal lover, a mechanic, a war veteran, a head of many states and our dutiful Queen. Her majesty has so sadly departed on her journey from [more…]
20th Century
Nostalgia Album, Lourdes
Unlike my father, grandparents and daughter, I’ve never been to Lourdes. Given the proliferation of places of worship that have sprung up around the Pyrenean town since the visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to [more…]
20th Century
My Legends of Pop Music – Part Sixty – ELO
I suspect many of you will know my top legends of pop music. The fabulous ELO. They have never done a song I did not like, be them singles or albums. I often play their [more…]
18th Century
One Small Step for Man… Brindley and the Trent and Mersey Canal
In an earlier piece, I mentioned the Trent and Mersey Canal, with its company headquarters in Stone, hinting that its history and the political shenanigans behind its construction might be worth an article in its [more…]
20th Century
Champagne, a Plan and A Philosopher
On New Year’s Eve 1946, my uncle reviewed his first year at home since the end of the War for the Manchester Evening News. It would seem that at times he was finding it hard [more…]