19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 28
June 3rd, 1811. The city of New York lies in a broad river estuary whose wooded slopes give no hint of what will appear around the corner. The river is divided into several channels, forming [more…]
Hobbies
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 27
April 24th, 1811. Our wanderings have brought us to Trinidad, the largest and almost the easternmost of the chain of islands which dot the edge of the Caribbean Sea. Skirting the western edge of the [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 20
I’m in Josephina Island in the middle of the Philippine archipelago and have just rendezvoused, now that the typhoon has passed, with my business associate Gisele. She has pleasantly surprised me with a business opportunity, [more…]
America
An Eventful Ride, Part Two
When spending several weeks in Northern California with Bestie, seeing a lynx down by the pond, having a Crystal Meth junkie gal banging on the truck door and then, finally, getting to where we had [more…]
Arts
America
An Eventful Ride
I was spending a few weeks with “Bestie” at her home in Northern California. She has a beautiful house which overlooks her downward sloping meadow, about five acres, at the bottom of which is a [more…]
Arts
The Geek’s Guide To Distilling Commercial Grade Whisky For £8 A Litre Bottle
First, for those people in the UK and other countries where it is illegal to distil spirits without a licence, here’s the legal bit: “It is illegal to manufacture spirits in the UK without a [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 26
February 22nd, 1811. Late last night, as we were heading north-west in a moderate wind, a tremendous grinding crash threw the whole ship askew, and we found ourselves drifting with the sails flapping dangerously, threatening [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 19
I can’t understand why people are rude to the staff. I was always getting told off for being kind, or even just polite, to the maids and servants, or ‘helpers’ as they were often known. I was hissed at for always saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Enquiring politely about their families was frowned upon and helping them with their chores got the second greatest insult [more…]