20th Century
Desert Journey, Part One
In 1961 my uncle, John Alldridge spent some time on the set of Lawrence of Arabia and reported his experiences for the Birmingham Mail – Jerry F Akaba, Jordan I am writing this on the [more…]
Literature
Travel
Postcard From Keflavik
Art and the terminal Puffins who can see an enviably empty airport car park in the middle of nowhere with the skeleton of a nosedived B-52 embedded in the tarmac embarrassingly far from any runway, [more…]
Animals
Larry’s Diary, Week Two Hundred And Twenty
Monday Hi folks, well that was a bit of a wild night here in London, but it looks to have been a lot worse in the North and I have heard on the radio that [more…]
Arts
Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review
Question Time 1st February 2024 The Panel: Malcolm Offord (Conservative) Ian Murray (Labour) Kate Forbes (SNP) Patrick Harvie (Greens) Fraser Nelson (The Spectator) Venue: Glasgow Kate Forbes (not her real name, Kate Elizabeth MacLennan), is [more…]
Fiction
Jinnie’s Story – Book Six, Chapter Fifteen
Jinnie woke with a start and for a few seconds struggled to realise where she was. It was only when she saw the stewardess reading to the twins that she remembered where she was. Glancing [more…]
20th Century
Report From Israel, 1957 – Part Six
In 1957 my uncle, John Alldridge visited Israel for the Birmingham Mail. This is the last of his reports. – Jerry F When an Israeli defines a civilian as a soldier on leave for eleven [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Saint Agnes
I suppose the best way to start this article is to say it has almost nothing to do with St Agnes, the patron saint of girls, although rather weirdly I am unintentionally writing it on [more…]
Animals
Larry’s Diary, Week Two Hundred And Nineteen
Monday Hi folks, I’m getting back into the swing of this daily diary thing again. The Rich Boy is due to make a statement in the Commons this afternoon on the bombing of the Houthis [more…]
Travel
Postcard from Iceland
A fat lot of help the Sultan of Oman was. About as much use as a chocolate teapot in the Al Hararis Plain during the hottest hour of an Omani desert day. Creepy sleepy sniffy [more…]