20th Century
The Desert War – July 1942
The month of July 80 years ago sees what became known as the 1st Battle of El Alamein, the 2nd would become the more famous one. In the first one the German advance was halted [more…]
History
Arts
Set in Stone
This tale begins, as so many tales do, on a dismal winter’s day. This particular day, a miserably chilly and grey February one, was a decidedly rubbish day. Not only had Mr S and I [more…]
20th Century
Nostalia Album, Heading Home
Malaga to Motril and Beyond Having made an heroic 1952 journey from Carlisle to Gibraltar in a Ford 8 in order to visit Aunt Lil, Uncle Rob and cousin Anne, my father and grandparents set [more…]
20th Century
My Legends of Pop Music – Part Fifty-Three – Kevin Bloody Wilson
(Warning – contains filthy foul language, not suitable for playing at work, or where there are children or snowflakes around) If get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall [more…]
Arts
Long memories at Clashanimud
We are often now asked to believe that European countries have no culture, or even any connection to their own pasts – that they are all lands of immigrants, blank sheets on which anything can [more…]
Arts
A View From The Greenhouse; An Veritable Wall Of Stone, Innit?
I’ve been enduring enforced “bachelorhood” this week, as Mrs. C, unwisely a it turns out, has accompanied daughter number two on short visit to Canada, where she’s a bridesmaid for a friend she met whilst [more…]
20th Century
Nostalgia Album, Joining The Team
November 1963 Last week I invited Puffins to guess, in unread comments below the unread article, what course my father’s cousin Anne may have plotted when, aged only 26, she lost both of her parents [more…]
20th Century
My Legends of Pop Music – Part Fifty-Two – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
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…]
19th Century
Review: 120 Days of Sodom by The Marquis De Sade
Just as an 18th century Président may stalk provincial France looking for innocents to corrupt, so bots chew their way through blogs looking for relevant wares to advertise. We must proceed with caution. On these [more…]