Category Archives: Writing

Vegetables Matter In my Midlands youth it was regarded as uppity to serve broccoli to guests because in the language of vegetables broccoli was ‘moi’ when ‘I’ would do just fine. Similarly, it was way beyond our station to buy … Continue reading →

When the strains of the trio section of Elgar’s First Pomp and Circumstance March hit the airwaves the average Brit assumes it is time to salute the flag and start welcoming in song the once unstoppable spread of the British … Continue reading →

“The region’s cultural hub, Portland has a striking art museum housing three centuries of art and architecture and a world-class permanent collection, performing arts centers, active historical and preservation groups, an art school and a university, a symphony orchestra, numerous … Continue reading →

Once upon a time there were three little pigs. They lived contentedly with their mother, but the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes out in the big, wide world. Before they left, their mother told … Continue reading →

“Horses for courses” is the pithy phrase the Brits use to underline the need to choose certain animals for certain races and not for others, and by extension, certain people for certain jobs etc. There are things that fit particular … Continue reading →

In 1840, so many boys at Eton wanted to play Fives that to accommodate the craze for the sport a new block of four courts was built, replicating the conditions at the foot of the chapel steps where the game … Continue reading →

Everyday speech is full of poetry – There’s no-one here to take your call right now; please leave a message when you hear the tone. Few people would recognize this as perfect Iambic Pentameter (di-DUM five times over) that would … Continue reading →

If members of the general public applaud the antics of an animal being paraded on its hind legs, any indulgence on their part is an acknowledgment of effort rather than quality, and is also tinged with sympathy for the poor … Continue reading →

Sometimes it is a simple case of cash that lies at the heart of an ownership contest. A recent row between the town of Florence and the Tuscan State, in which both the city and the state each contends that … Continue reading →

Driving home a nail into the door of the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg in 1517 on which to hang a list of 95 clerical abuses was Martin Luther’s act of whistle-blowing, unequivocally calling the Catholic Church to account for its intermingling … Continue reading →