20th Century
Bax of Delights
There have been quite a few occasions when one wished one was a fly on the wall to listen in on a conversation. The private discussion between Sir Arnold Bax, Master of the King’s Musick, [more…]
Biography
Arts
In Chaos there is Fertility
I would be very surprised if any of you good Going Postal readers would say of Sir Malcolm Arnold “never heard of him” when I tell you that he was the composer of film scores [more…]
Biography
Lieutenant Rory Stewart – Traveller, Soldier, Gentleman
In the year of our Lord 2002, a remarkable young soldier by the name of Roderick James Nugent Stewart took some good old fashioned shooting leave in Afghanistan. Upon his return to Britain, he documented [more…]
20th Century
How to Finger
During a recent bout of insomnia caused by near-fatal man flu I tuned into the GP night shift to provide some distraction from the snuffling, hacking, wife-disturbing misery. It was only a tea-lit personal message [more…]
Biography
Anna Soubry
I first came across Anna Soubry MP on an edition of BBC Question Time four or five years ago. Until this auspicious moment I confess I had never heard of the Conservative Member of Parliament [more…]
Arts
Graveyard Shift
I used to work in a cemetery. It was a dead-end job, but you could always bury yourself in your work! Oh, ho ho ho! I humbly beg your pardon. I shall start again. I [more…]
Arts
Three Men on a Bike, Part Four
Two weeks after setting forth from Croydon we finally free-wheeled into St.Nazaire on the southern coast of Brittany, somewhat short of our initial target of St.Tropez. The tandem and single bike had survived various alarms [more…]
20th Century
Book Review: Slipstream: A Memoir by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Elizabeth Jane Howard, known as Jane, was born in 1923. Her name may be familiar to various Puffins because she was briefly married to the famous naturalist and painter Peter Scott (son of Scott of [more…]
Arts
Three Men on a Bike, Part Three
Having recovered from the ravages of what we thought was pilchard food poisoning but was more likely some dodgy Camembert, and rested sufficiently at the Rouen youth hostel we ventured forth on Day 5 and [more…]