A drop o’ Nelson’s blood
A short while ago, my son, who is in foreign parts, as they say, started winging me snatches of sea shanties over the internet. “Listen to this one, mum”,…
Hearts of oak
We pass them by with barely a thought, yet they’ve been here far longer than any of us. They'll be here long after we’ve gone. The mighty oaks. “Uh oh,…
UFOs, Aliens and the Mowing Devil
Going through the lockdown box-set options, I considered, for a brief second, starting again with the "X Files". Better sense prevailed (namely "Spooks"), but the thought stuck in my mind.…
For the benefit of Mister Kite….
…..there will be a show tonight - on trampoline. The Hendersons will all be there, Late of Pablo Fanque’s fair - What a scene! Another lyric for the baby…
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
I am a true baby boomer. I grew up with the sound of the best popular music ever, as the background to my teenage life. Heavy-rock, prog-rock, glam-rock, blues -…
A tale of suspense
With the summer sun at its peak, following the recent solstice, I thought I would introduce a hint of the shadows into the proceedings. After all, a touch of the…
Young Americans
In case it has passed you by in all the chaos, 2020 is an anniversary year - the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower in 1620 from Plymouth…
Tales of the Ostrich
I’ve now written over a dozen posts for my living-history blog. So it’s time. “Time for what?”, you may ask. Well, any amateur historian worth their salt has to tackle…
Dress code
It’s behind you! A fond Christmas memory of my London childhood was the annual trek westwards to the Golders Green Hippodrome, to see the pantomime. Why we didn’t go to…
Easter bunnies and Eostre’s hares
I wish you all a belated Happy Easter, during this dreadful time of lockdowns and bad news. Easter bunnies We were all sad not to have our usual bounty of …
Swan songs
Here's a riddle - what connects Saint Bride's church in Fleet Street with a happy arrival some time after the wedding? The answer is perhaps not what you think. The…