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…]
Paris
19th Century
Enemies Within: Anarchy!
Only the nieve might think the nighttime streets of 1894 Soho, a den of immigrants and nere-do-goods, were not already alive with talk of the events of the previous chilly February afternoon. Passers-by investigating an [more…]
Animals
Larry’s Diary, Week Two Hundred And Forty-Four
Monday Good morning and what a fabulous one it is, not a cloud in the sky and my it’s warm. I am a bit disappointed with the Olympics so far, as I write this we [more…]
Animals
Larry’s Diary – Week Two Hundred And Forty-Three
Monday Good morning and it is not a very nice morning here in London, although it’s quite warm it is very dull, and I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if it rained again. Obviously, [more…]
20th Century
The 19:13 From Gare de Lyon
In a previous edition gleaned from my family’s 1950s road trips album, from the top of the Eiffel Tower we noticed an interesting double-decker bridge carrying both a road and a railway across the River [more…]
20th Century
Nostalgia Album, Seine Bridges
As we reach the end of our 1952 Nostalgia Album adventure to Gibraltar and back, my father and his parents remain at the top of the Eiffel Tower gazing at the more distant of the [more…]
20th Century
Nostalgia Album, The Trocadero
On their Nostalgia Album 1952 road trip, my father and his parents have reached the top of the Eiffel Tower en route to Carlisle after visiting Aunty Lil in Gibraltar and taking in the healing [more…]
20th Century
Nostalgia Album, Paris
This week’s first picture is of the unmistakable Eiffel tower. In 1952, without a phone mast, the landmark was 984 ft high with a viewing area 906 ft from the ground. We shall assume my [more…]
Authoritarianism
The Great Confinement
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. C.S. Lewis Greetings [more…]