Travelogue

This Is My England – Part Six

2nd April 2023 Going Postal 0

Kent used to be called “the Garden of England.” Perhaps it still is. The garden itself is still there — a mass of snowy blossom just now; but since I last saw it the great [more…]

This Is My England – Part Five

26th March 2023 Going Postal 0

If you want to see what a profound and lasting impression the war has left on the face of rural England you should make a point of travelling over that stretch of road that links [more…]

I’ve often heard Puffins lament that they would like to contribute articles to our esteemed website but are too daunted. So, I thought I’d share a few tips to encourage more Puffins to pick up [more…]

This Is My England, 1950 – Part Four

19th March 2023 Going Postal 0

I was awakened that morning by the sudden furious ringing and clanging of bells — a sort of wild, insane music, as if some demented Dickensian sexton had been let loose in the belfry. To [more…]

This Is My England, 1950 – Part Three

12th March 2023 Going Postal 0

I have had a particularly soft spot in my heart for Nottingham ever since an evening in June, 1940. There were about a thousand of us, dribs and drabs of a British Expeditionary Force, scooped [more…]

This Is My England, 1950 – Part Two

5th March 2023 Going Postal 0

From Haddon Hall to Tideswell is only about ten miles. But to get from one to the other you have to travel across some of the bleakest, wildest, most God-forsaken country in England. On these [more…]

A Postcard From a Long Christmas Cruise, Part Seven

1st March 2023 Going Postal 0

29th December – At sea The ‘Phantom Door Banger’ was late this morning. I was up and dressed when ‘its’ door crashed at 07:20. Guess who forgot to put their clock forward? Mind you, having [more…]

This Is My England, 1950 – Part 1

26th February 2023 Going Postal 0

Since this journey must begin somewhere, let it begin here in Bakewell with the story of a tart. A Bakewell tart, which, of course — as they are quick to point out — isn’t a [more…]

A Postcard From a Long Christmas Cruise, Part Six

22nd February 2023 Going Postal 0

23rd December – St Kitts I can hardly believe that this is day 23 of my cruise. Much like any other it started with me being woken by the phantom cabin door banger, who was [more…]