Literature
Postcard from Taiwan
The Alishan Forest Railway runs from the coastal plain into the heart of Taiwan’s empty highlands. It was built in 1912 by the Japanese for the purpose of transporting timber from the mountains for the [more…]
Travelogue
Hobbies
A Scottish Odyssey
The memsahib & I decided on one last Scottish tour of The Highlands, our fifth, before we run down the curtain. I have some Scottish ancestry, my grandmother’s clan was Bruce although a lowland clan [more…]
20th Century
In The Steps of The First Army, Part Six
“In the sixth of his articles John Alldridge writes of Bizerta, where a song was born, an Army vindicated itself, and a gigantic building plan went awry.” – Manchester Evening News, November 22 1949 Bizerta, [more…]
20th Century
In The Steps of The First Army, Part Five
“In the fifth of his articles John Alldridge writes of the holy city of Kairouan. It was here that the First Army and the Eighth Army, all the way from El Alamein, finally linked up.” [more…]
20th Century
In The Steps of The First Army, Part Four
“In the fourth of his articles John Alldridge writes of Longstop Hill as it is today — “a totally unremarkable hill” — and recalls the fighting which has made its name a legend.” – Manchester [more…]
Arts
Postcard From Peter Hitchens, Part Four
Having enough in common with Peter Hitchens to engage in correspondence, I put pen to paper after spying an entertaining railway-orientated thread on his X account. Eventually, he wrote back. Or rather, eventually I found [more…]
Literature
Along the Saxon Shore
When I lived in London in the early 2000s, I explored all the surrounding counties by bike. Of them, Essex was perhaps the most interesting. It suffers from more negative stereotyping than any other county [more…]
20th Century
In The Steps of The First Army, Part Three
“In the third of his articles John Alldridge writes of Medjez el Bab, a name which he says the Lancashire Fusiliers will one day carry on their regimental colours.” – Manchester Evening News, November 14 [more…]
Arts
Postcard From Peter Hitchens, Part Three
I might have offended Peter Hitchens by mentioning during a Question Time Review that he never replied to a letter of mine. After finding his response propped up and neglected in my hallway, I felt [more…]