Arts
Manouche – Part Two
After leaving the Manouche, I stayed in London for about a year, putting some money together, and surprised myself by getting married to a Colombian lady. While in London, Beudjeu and I still wrote to [more…]
Travel
Arts
Manouche – Part One
Ernesto sang a beautiful haunting rhumba from his native Brazil, and then Chocote took the guitar to accompany Memé’s singing. Chocote’s big labourer’s fingers were transformed as they danced nimbly around the chords, his other [more…]
Business
Somewhere to Hang Your Towel
The phrase “grim up north” lingers in the national imagination and conjures images of soot-stained skylines, struggling towns, and industries long past their prime. Yet this caricature of tired decline obscures another, less frequently told [more…]
Holiday
WG’s Summer Cruise, June 2026 – Part Five
Thursday 25th June – At sea Do you ever get the feeling you have done something wrong and you actually haven’t? Well, the information to put the clocks forward to European time went out yesterday, [more…]
Business
A Plutocrats’ Tour of The North, Part Eight
The phrase “grim up north” lingers in the national imagination and conjures images of soot-stained skylines, struggling towns, and industries long past their prime. Yet this caricature of tired decline obscures another, less frequently told [more…]
Holiday
WG’s Summer Cruise, June 2026 – Part Four
Saturday 20th June – At sea, heading for Gibraltar Today is my birthday and I am sure you all know the saying, “You are only as old as you feel.” Well, today I feel old [more…]
Business
A Plutocrats Tour of The North, Part Seven
For generations, the phrase “grim up north” has lingered in the national imagination — conjuring images of soot-stained skylines, struggling towns, and industries long past their prime. It is a shorthand that flattens the region [more…]
Holiday
WG’s Summer Cruise, June 2026 – Part Three
Sunday 14th June – At sea, off southern Portugal and into the Mediterranean When your intrepid diarist woke, it was still dark, but a tap on my iPad screen revealed it was 06:45. Then I [more…]
19th Century
Wealthy Wendyball Wayfaring
As the World Gentleman’s Wendyball Invitation Shield dominates yet another weekend, shall we use our weekly plutocrats’ tour of the North to spy upon the round ball game? I think we might as well. For [more…]