I wrote on Monday on one of my favourite Secret Gardens in the City of London, Fen Court. It would be a beautiful little space in any case but is extra special due to its connections with the Abolition of Slavery. One of the works of art has elements of a poem by Lemn Sissay… Continue reading The Gilt of Cain
Category: Culture
Coronavirus Diary 29 – Learning Latin
I’ve always enjoyed languages and being a bit fed up of either staring at my computer, making plans for my work or finding somewhere semi-comfortable to sit in my partly completed house I decided I would put my spare time to good use by deciding to learn a language. I heard about a website and… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 29 – Learning Latin
The oldest living English language
Today’s post isn’t one that I wrote. I’ve been on the internet way before there was a world-wide web. When it was all Gophers and FTPs in the early 1990’s and even in the late 1980’s on local Bulletin Boards or BBS. In some ways the internet of old was a bit better than today;… Continue reading The oldest living English language
Coronavirus Diary 17 – Social Distancing with Opera, Fräuleins and the low-skilled!
I was reading this morning that the social restrictions the government have put in place a month ago have been so successful that they are worried on how to convince people to come out again once it is safe to do so. I’d go a step further and say except for the whole Coronavirus, I… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 17 – Social Distancing with Opera, Fräuleins and the low-skilled!
Spitting Image is back!
It was announced last week that one of my favourite television programmes when growing up is to make a return. To people of a certain age, Spitting Image was an unmissable programme with up to 15 million people tuning in to watch the current affairs of the week being re-enacted by large rubber puppets. By… Continue reading Spitting Image is back!
The Queen homes in on being the longest serving monarch in history
Last week Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II became the fourth longest-serving monarch today, surpassing legendary Mayan ruler Pakal the Great. The Queen has surpassed K’inich Janaab Pakal who ruled the Mayan city state of Palenque for 68 years and 33 days before his death in 683AD. The Queen obviously holds several records including her title as the longest-living… Continue reading The Queen homes in on being the longest serving monarch in history
Dark Sugars – The Best Hot Chocolate in London
I hate coffee, I don’t even like the smell of it. I love tea but it’s not quite the same having Soya Milk rather than Cows Milk and even when I could drink cow juice, I still got sick of tea. What I’ve always been a fan of is cocoa or hot chocolate. I love… Continue reading Dark Sugars – The Best Hot Chocolate in London
Cheers to pub signs!
As we near the darkest and coldest nights in the U.K. many of us will be spending at least some times in pubs. This would have been even more the case in years gone by. There have been pubs of one variety or other since at least Roman times and almost since that… Continue reading Cheers to pub signs!
Are pubs making a comeback?
Most people around the world know that British pubs are a national institution but from 2001 to 2018, 25% of our pubs closed due to the changing nature of our societies, work-life patterns, availability of cheaper drinks elsewhere and other factors such as the use of social-media which has reduced people actually going out and… Continue reading Are pubs making a comeback?
A Grotesque Gift – The difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque!
As I write this, yesterday I received a mysterious box from Oxford University and for a split second I wondered what it might be but then I realised it must certainly be a gift from my tourist friend Lorraine in Australia. We’d been to Oxford as part of our epic North of England tour, Oxford… Continue reading A Grotesque Gift – The difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque!
Stephen Liddell 