Arts
Valuing our land area
We’ve forgotten something important I’ve always been a bit of an oddball, so the following may reflect that. But it seems to me that the British people, and perhaps the people of the West in [more…]
England
20th Century
This Is My England, 1950 – Part 1
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…]
Arts
So, Where Are You From?
People research their family trees for all sorts of reasons. Where did I come from? (perfectly respectable to ask one’s self!).What sort of people were my forebears? what jobs did they do? Are there any [more…]
19th Century
England Wales Wendyball Preview
The Football Association was formed on 26th October 1863, the Football Association of Wales on 2nd February 1876. One wonders what they got up to in the intervening years as it wasn’t until January 1879 [more…]
21st Century
Always Worth Saying’s World Cup Report
What do we know about England and Iran? One is a despotic dictatorship where an out-of-touch elite despises the ordinary people. Citizens can be cancelled for what they’re suspected of thinking and jailed for what [more…]
20th Century
Lake District Memories
On Christmas Morning 2021 I was taken by ambulance to hospital suffering from a clot on the lung brought on by Covid (Covid Pneumonitis). It was to be the beginning of ten days there, most [more…]
Arts
Postcard From Chester
There are different ages of man. Transitions between them are celebrated in early age, commemorated in later decades, noted as the senses fail and dreaded as life draws towards its finale. My internet search found [more…]
20th Century
Postcard From Summer 1954, Part Three – Scarborough
In 1954, the Manchester Evening News launched a “Special Investigation” and tasked my uncle, John Alldridge, with answering the question – Holidaymakers, do you get value for your MONEY? What follows is his report on [more…]
Biography
A Leicestershire Lad
Watching formal schooling, community spirit and childhood and family life in general being relentlessly trashed in recent years has made me think more and more about my growing-up years in a small Leicestershire village between [more…]