France

Postcard from Lille, Part 13

27th April 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

Over chai in the subcontinent, balut in the tropics or roast swan in an Oxbridge refectory the topic of conversation might turn to ‘given the chance, would you kill baby Hitler?’ In Latin this would [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 12

20th April 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

I had an uncle who was an excellent chap from a very proud, hardworking but rather modest background. He’s the one who was on the railway (a reserved profession) during the war but managed to [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 11

13th April 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

You may wonder, dear reader, after ten episodes and a prologue, where all this is leading. It certainly doesn’t seem to be leading to Lille. Bear with me. You’ll recall that, for obvious reasons, the [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 10

6th April 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

Previously I mentioned my ‘backs and forwards’ between the north of England across the Atlantic to North America. You may recall the ‘drink the air fare’ mile high club. These happened between the Pan Am [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 9

16th March 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

On a previous trip across the English Channel many years ago, I was returning to England via Calais to Dover on the ferry as a foot passenger. I was sat on deck minding my own [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 8

9th March 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

I’ve settled myself down in modest but adequate lodgings in Istanbul and get into the habit of a daily stroll just after sun down. It’s a five minute walk down to the Bosphorus where a [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 7

2nd March 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

We’re off to Lille as a family group. We’re travelling by train the length of England from the Bad Lands to the White Cliffs of Dover. And, dear reader, if you will allow me to [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 6

23rd February 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

We’re travelling the length of England from the Debatable lands to the white cliffs. We’re on the way to Lille but I’ve been distracted by an Arab girl who reminds me of an excellent pen, [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 5

9th February 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

We are on our way to France as a family group. We are travelling first class and the serotonin is high. I’m a ‘look out of the window’ kind of person and, as we travel [more…]