Arts
The Ugly Duckling County
When you think of the north of England, you think of fells and moors and hill farmers, of ruined abbeys and windswept Wolds, of gaunt mill chimneys, of terracing lurching crazily up bare hillsides, of [more…]
Travel
Arts
Postcard From November, Part 4
Happy Birthday to Me My birthday is November 4th and as a child my main memory of it was always of my parents laying on a party for my friends who all turned up bearing [more…]
History
Mires, moats and manors
How could any true traveller ignore the lure of a name like Thorne Waste? It could be the title of a Brontë novel, or the kind of place the Hound of the Baskervilles was locked [more…]
History
Mancs, Marx and Mill Towns
More notes from 45 years of cycling If you are following this series, you will know that my kind of curiosity is one that is still making money, or at least providing a public service [more…]
Arts
Postcard From November, Part 3
Happy Birthday to Me My birthday is November 4th and as a child my main memory of it was always of my parents laying on a party for my friends who all turned up bearing [more…]
Arts
Postcard From Narvik, Part One
Lying just above the 68th parallel makes the Norwegian port of Narvik more northern than Iceland. The Nordland municipality’s 20,000 inhabitants also live their lives 860 miles north of Oslo, 870 miles from Stockholm in [more…]
Arts
He Who Pays The Piper(rada)
It just wouldn’t do to let Easter weekend pass without an article involving eggs. This dish makes for a useful brunch, lunch or evening supper. Usually we share it with friends, but this year, sadly, [more…]
History
Steeple-chasing
Whenever anybody says Britain has the best TV or the best health service in the world, I tend to bridle. I have seen a fair bit of TV overseas, and have found it much the [more…]
History
Still in business, after all these years
I don’t know how fast you can cycle from Land’s End to Berwick. I dare say there will be a few people who have done it in two or three days, or even 24 hours. [more…]