20th Century
The Prostitute’s Padre
On 30 July 1937 a man entered a cage at a Skegness amusement park. In the cage were two lions, one male, one female; Freddie and Toto. According to their owner, both animals were “docile” [more…]
Philosophy
History
Elementary, my dear Watson – the Periodic Table
Behold the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the Elements). I’m pretty sure that we are all pretty familiar with this, from happy days in the school classroom if not more recently. It’s an [more…]
History
Elementary, my dear Watson – H Hydrogen
In the previous article, we looked at the development of the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the Elements). The time has come to have a more in-depth look at the story behind some [more…]
Arts
A Postcard From India; Gandhi, His Politics, The People
As I’ve said before during this series of posts, following my recent trip to The Sub Continent, India is a land of often stark contrasts. Its population (official figure) is approaching 1.5 billion people, nobody [more…]
Arts
Silent Night (Stille-Nacht-Kapelle)
The Silent Night Chapel (Stille-Nacht-Kapelle) is located in the town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg in the Austrian province of Salzburg, and is a monument to the Christmas carol Silent Night and its librettist, Joseph Mohr [more…]
Arts
A Postcard From India; Road Trip Part 2- Karauli, Bharatpur, Agra, Delhi
Following a long drive from Jaipur, through small towns and vast open countryside, complete with a break at one of the roadside “Hotels”, we arrived at Bhanwar Vilas Palace which is now, in part a [more…]
Arts
In The Bleak Midwinter
This is a poem written by Christina Rossetti, set to music first by Gustav Holst in 1906 and then by Harold Darke in 1911. This is by Darke : RIP Caroline Catherine McNicholas 2nd [more…]
Arts
Les Fogueres De Sant Joan De Alicante
The history of burning offerings before the summer solstice can be traced back to prehistoric times. It is part cleansing and part preparation for the coming harvest. At some time in recent history it became [more…]
19th Century
The Wild West Trail, Part One
First of a new series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in November 1967 – Jerry F Just 139 years ago, on a powdery ledge of sandstone [more…]