Archeology
Postcard from Piercebridge
A few miles south of Legs Cross Bank, Dere Street crosses the River Tees at a place called Piercebridge, the Roman Morbium. Although no more than a village it is still regarded as a town [more…]
Postcard
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 47
For a recap of the story so far, please click here. For some reason, Sister thought that things were, ‘Pretty shitty’. She’d just met the Pope, was flying first class and was eating a delicious [more…]
Arts
Lausanne in the rain
Lausanne, 2014 Back in the 1980s, I had been in Switzerland mainly to make a bit of money and “have an experience.” I hadn’t really been too concerned with the politics or culture of what [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 46
We are a family of six taking a late November weekend break in chilly Northern France. It is the year 2018. We are split into three teams as, unfortunately, I have accidentally booked us into [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 45
We’re in a taxi. It is the middle of the night. There is myself, the driver, uncle Jesus from Bacolod and a hired, senior police officer who is pointing a gun at me. Uncle Jesus, [more…]
Hobbies
On Killing Things
The Switzerland I knew in the 1980s was the other side of the country from Vaud, the remote canton of Graubünden (Grisons), home to German-, Italian- and Romansh-speaking farmers and villagers, where Alpine cattle were [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 44
There may not be a Santo Domingo and Macapagal intersection, suitable for bus spotting after a courier drop. There is a Roberto Orca and Bonifacio Drive and that’s where we’re stood right now this minute, [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 43
Sunday got off to a strange start, as I hadn’t changed the time on my phone and the rotter hadn’t changed itself. My team turned up for the rendezvous an hour late. We’re stopping in [more…]
Arts
Postcard from Lille, Part 42
They say that Mrs Crow is the most intelligent of birds but on account of God and nature pre-determining the size of her brood, she is unable to count or comprehend beyond the quantity of [more…]