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…]
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…]
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…]
Wednesday 10th June – Home to Southampton and to sea Very little to do this morning before leaving home. I did have to lug my suitcase downstairs from a spare bedroom where I had been [more…]
The Prologue I booked this cruise while onboard P&O Arvia in the Caribbean the Christmas before last (2024). P&O are a bit artful, they leave a copy of the latest cruise brochure in your stateroom, [more…]
It was early March in 1975 when the editor wandered into the newsroom of the New Zealand Herald and asked for volunteers to go to Vietnam. Specifically, Saigon. The older men kept their eyes down, [more…]
Known for muck and brass, the grim north of England was formerly a hotbed of the Industrial Revolution, rich in sweat, resources, enterprise and plutocrats. Nowadays synonymous with grim decline, my wife and I have [more…]
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…]
After several requests from fellow Puffins, I finally got off my arse to rummage around in the attic and miraculously unearthed a bunch of diaries from over fifty years ago, and most importantly the one [more…]
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