20th Century
From Then To Now
Late autumn 1962 was good to culture. The first James Bond film opened in London on 5 October. The French New Wave was at its height with the release of Cléo de 5 à 7 [more…]
1960s
20th Century
Childhood Memories
At the end of August 1939 my maternal grandmother took the decision that her children would not be evacuated because of the war. My grandfather had little say in the matter and accepted that if [more…]
20th Century
‘The Promised Land,’ by Anon
Before the invention of social media, people in workplaces found ways to share humour, satire, and political commentary through handwritten or copied notes circulating informally among colleagues. Employees might create cartoons or sarcastic messages poking [more…]
Arts
Book Review, ‘Karla’s Choice’ by Nick Harkaway
The children have a WhatsApp group where they conspire to buy me useful things for Christmas and birthdays. This is a big improvement on the old scattergun approach, where everyone either bought me the same [more…]
Literature
1001 ways to popular parties
When clearing my parents house a few years ago I went through the process of sorting things either to be taken to my mother’s new house, kept or sent to a charity shop or the [more…]
20th Century
Scandal After Midnight
Busy times for Mrs Francis Killen. The adverts had been placed. The VIPs were on their way. The early weeks of 1960 saw her guests begin to converge on Merseyside. If her curly-wired bakelite GPO [more…]
20th Century
Adventure in New Guinea, Part Five
In 1969, my uncle, John Alldridge visited New Guinea to “observe the attempt to weld a primitive people to a modern society”. This is the last of his reports for the Vancouver Sun. – Jerry [more…]
20th Century
Adventure in New Guinea, Part Four
In 1969, my uncle, John Alldridge visited New Guinea to “observe the attempt to weld a primitive people to a modern society”. This is the fourth of his reports for the Vancouver Sun. – Jerry [more…]
20th Century
Adventure in New Guinea, Part Three
In 1969, my uncle, John Alldridge visited New Guinea to “observe the attempt to weld a primitive people to a modern society”. This is the third of his reports for the Vancouver Sun. – Jerry [more…]