Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Also from The Telegraph,
Which is hitting on all cylinders today. An obituary of Ferguson George Donaldson Smith, who had an amazing time in the RAF during the war, and who was an ace spy catcher after.
From The Telegraph
A long excerpt from Mark Lewisohn's new book on the Beatles, Tune In: The Beatles--All These Years. This piece about John Lennon and his mother, Julia.
Friday, September 20, 2013
To Save the Realm, first 9 lines, Chapter 9, Out on the Street
This was the third pub Brock had passed time in since leaving Sherbourne outside his club in the glorious drizzle on Bloomsbury Square. He'd had one or two pints in each one, too. Full Imperial pints. Glorious pints. The first pub he'd visited was the Headless Fool and the second was the Thanet Arms. He had wandered into them, sat quietly by himself, drank, and pondered his fortune and the events of his strange day.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Jackie Lomax is dead..
One of the Original Liverpool rockers. He could never really seem to "make it", but he kept trying.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
ASBOs work?
So says the Independent. In the old days, these sorts of problems would have been handled in a different way.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Last Night of the Proms
Listened to the last night of the Proms on Sunday. Rousing. Here are William Blake's words to 'Jerusalem'.
Exclusive from the Grauniad
Stonehenge placed to align with a natural landform. Amazing to have just found this out!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
To Save the Realm, first para, Chapter 8: At Sherbourne's Club
At the doorway, after handing his umbrella to Brock, Alfred Sherbourne fumbled with the keys to his club. The rain had come down in buckets as they walked from the museum. Both men, despite the efforts of their meager coats and Sherbourne's umbrella, were quite soaked. Finally, Sherbourne opened the door and they entered one of the Georgian town houses that border Bloomsbury Square. A closed door to the left led down a flight of stairs to the cellar in which the club had its home. On the ground floor of the house were the offices of a travel agency. A small dance studio was on the first floor, which produced a steady flow of leggy young women up and down the stairs.
Friday, September 6, 2013
A small island that no one listens to?
That's what Putin called Britain. And geopolitically, he's right. The PM's rejoinder is sad.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Power Pylons from...
Bridgwater to Avonmouth in North Somerset. Ugh. A continuing story--the destruction of the countryside.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
An Atlas of Hillforts in Britain and Ireland
Hillforts are really cool and mysterious places, my favorite being South Cadbury in Somerset. I loosely base the hillfort in To Save the Realm, Abbott Edge, on South Cadbury and an experience I had there. Now archaeologists are asking for the public's help in mapping and describing the 5,000+ hillforts in Britain and Ireland.
To Save the Realm, first 10 lines, Chapter 7: A Vision at the British Museum
Brock was sitting on a bench in the British Museum. He had been on the bench in this relatively small, dimly lit room for half an hour. The only other people there with him were two very serious-looking German tourists who were focusing their attention on the swords and shields that were hanging on a wall across the room. The fact is, Brock was transfixed. For the past thirty minutes he'd been gazing at what, for him, seemed a wondrous thing, a warrior's helmet made by a Celtic craftsman in the fifth century.