Going Postal: Recent Episodes
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It takes a week to cycle from Penzance to Berwick. It took me 40 years. Because on the way, I wanted to include every town in England, in what amounted to some two years of [more...]
Monday Good morning and welcome to another week of my tales. It is very grey again here in Westminster but at least it’s not raining. I made the mistake of stepping on the grass this [more...]
Ruffians, alone or in groups of two or three, descend from different directions along gloomy London streets on a sharp winter’s weekday night in February 1894. Amongst them is a figure in a top hat [more...]
Dave woke as the front door banged close, he drunk the now cold coffee Sally had left for him. Coming out of the bathroom, he sat on the edge of the bed, there were two [more...]
Welcome back my friends to the flamboyance that never ends, as Fabulously Flamboyant Friday sashays up to the crease to deliver yet another light-loafered, lubed-up googly from the gasworks-end of musical magnificence. Please be welcome [more...]
Question Time 14th November 2024 The Panel: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour) Damian Hinds (Conservative) Ellie Chowns (Green Party) Greg Jackson (Businessman) Tim Stanley (Journalist) Venue: Basingstoke With an alternative energy chancer and a Green Party MP [more...]
The minibus pulled up on the drive of the Hadley Wood House, squeezing between a Portakabin, a site toilet and a huge mound covered by a tarpaulin. Jinnie looked around at the confusion and then [more...]
Today Spanner Starmer announced he has decided to increase the amount by which emissions will be cut to 81%. No details of how of course, He and Miliband are forcing or attempting to force through something [more...]
“Bei den Fraüen geschätzt” In my DAK militaria collection I have a series of Feldpost letters, starting in May 1942, sent by a Deutsche Afrika Korps soldier, Hans Walden, to a Fraü H. Bronnold in [more...]
If the US and Israel can unilaterally decide who lives or who dies in this world, and suffer no sanctions, then we are truly living in terrifying times. October 16, 2024 I don’t know why [more...]
It goes without saying (but I’m going to repeat it anyway, for those tin-eared few at the back) that Labour won the election simply because the Tories had managed to make themselves un-electable and Reform, [more...]
Dishonesty runs deep in this gummint. Keith is your classic bully and a coward and may even be an android so devoid of human characteristics is he. They are all liars but that is only [more...]
I suspect that all Puffins are fervently hoping that the US Presidential Election will result in the return of the Donald to the White House. If this happens, it will be an unusual but not [more...]
On that day, the American people gave a new reason to remember, remember the 5th of November. Unlike the original Gunpowder Plot, the 2024 version succeeded, and blew the establishment/ruling class/elite all to hell. There [more...]
Now that it is (almost) all done and dusted the aftermath of the American Elections can begin and begin it certainly has. While the Republicans and especially the Donald are basking in glory the Democrats [more...]
Sergeant Michael (Mick) Willetts, GC 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment 13th August 1943 – 25th May 1971 Citation The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the posthumous award of the George Cross to: [more...]
Bonfire night. Wonder if the youngsters are as active as we were. A couple of weeks of ‘Penny for the Guy’ on the street and we had our little cache of fireworks. Nearest bonfire, hot [more...]
Monday Good morning from a grey and not very nice morning in Westminster, where at least it is dry. Legohead was up early this morning as he is off to Birmingham to give a “pre-Budget” [more...]
The Docks at Avonmouth – near Bristol – were constructed in the 1860s, extended with the construction of King Edward Dock (opened 1908) & by the start of The Great War was considered one of [more...]
Welcome back my friends, to the flamboyance that never ends, as Fabulously Flamboyant Friday sashays up to the crease to deliver yet another light-loafered, lubed-up googly from the gasworks-end of musical magnificence. This week’s missive [more...]
Question Time 3rd October 2024 The Panel: Ian Murray (Labour) Andrew Bowie (Conservative) Wendy Chamberlain (LibDems) Jenny Gilruth (SNP) Ian MacWhirter (Author & Coulmnist) Venue: Dundee Last time, QT Review HQ introduced Puffins to the [more...]
Jinnie’s sudden increase in wealth had made her and Paolo review a few things. Paolo wanted a new car and suggested that Jinnie should also get one. However, she had decided that while DKL supplied [more...]
Democracy has nothing to do with freedom. Democracy is a soft variant of communism, and rarely in the history of ideas has it been taken for anything else. Hans-Hermann Hoppe As individual citizens, as voters and taxpayers we have been so deeply, so [more...]
In a previous post, “Will Mushrooms Bloom in Haifa?” I postulated that Iran’s recent swarm attack might not be a simple, if potentially deadly, diplomatic slap at Israel for killing one of their progeny’s leaders [more...]
The parallels between France and Kenya, and between Emmanuel Macron and William Ruto, lead us to question what fundamental trends brought both countries to experience quite similar crises, to which both leaders responded in a [more...]
The hotel outside Matera is new and consequently very modern, the food in the restaurant was pretty good, but the waiting staff knew we were a tour party and treated us accordingly. Not rude, as [more...]
Like many another Mediterranean city Naples looks better seen from a distance. Approached from the sea, preferably at first light, its beauty takes your breath away. Close up too much of it is an offence [more...]
It is a short walk from the twin towers, past the oldest house in Bologna, to Via Santo Stefano. For the most part the journey is under a colonnade of stone, cast in cool shadow [more...]
As I started this article more and more leaks were appearing so it began to get more and more jumbled. To save even more embarrassment it is going to be divided into two parts. The [more...]
I was studying the election results and looking particularly at the proportion of votes attained by each party. I note that UKIP is holed below the waterline and that despite Reform gaining more votes than [more...]
Monday Hello merry readers, and welcome to another working week and the weather forecast down here in London for the week is pretty good. In fact, the first day there is rain in the forecast [more...]
In recent weeks we have allowed ourselves to be distracted by summer riots, 1980s football matches and pop concerts, the Falkland Islands and even the delivery of mail to the South Pole at Christmas. Puffins [more...]
Sally had left to play tennis by the time Dave had dressed and eaten breakfast. He sat in the kitchen thinking about the revelations from the previous evening. On Wednesday, he would have to give [more...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94J1-XdJS1A Featured song: Roy Orbison – It’s Over This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they stopped making [more...]
Question Time 26th September 2024 The Panel: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour) Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative) Carla Denya (Green) Zia Yusuf (Reform UK) Venue: Milton Keynes Recent events in law have allowed the discerning reviewer to peer into [more...]
Jinnie left SuperBurgers HQ confident she had put a cat among the SuperBurger pigeons. Since inheriting her shareholding in the group, she had been in several of their branches and was certain the reason for [more...]
As we all know ‘the first casualty of war is the truth’. That short sentence sums it up neatly. Deception and propaganda are legitimate aspect of warfare. Both sides of a conflict try, in the [more...]
Underneath the appropriate concern of conventional airborne attacks on Israel by Iran and its progeny lies an anxious appraisal of a potential nuclear attack. That fear is the basic driving force of U.S. policy towards [more...]
September, 2024 The log had fallen from my eye. It was time to come from behind the screen and take action. If you were to ask 16-year-old me whether a day would come when I’d [more...]
Where a smile masks a city’s sorrow This a Tale from the Vienna Woods. A Tale told on a spring morning when, from the white cafe tables perched high on the Kahlenberg, the Danube really [more...]
Keith has been taking steps, rather large ones, as he attempts to implement the UK equivalent of the former German Democratic Republic in this once green and pleasant land. Much of what follows comes under [more...]
This is a tale of woe, a tale of lack of planning, of insufficient forethought and carelessness. It’s also a warning to all Puffins not to make the same mistakes as I have made, to [more...]
There’s an old Jewish joke about the elderly family patriarch whose grief-stricken family is tearfully assembled around his deathbed to pay their last respects . “Is Taubele there?” he mutters; “Yes, Papa, I’m here” comes [more...]
It takes a week to cycle from Penzance to Berwick. It took me 40 years. Because on the way, I wanted to include every town in England, in what amounted to some two years [more...]
Monday Good morning folks, well it was a little chilly early this morning and the thermostat turned the heating on so there was a nice warm radiator when I woke up. So tomorrow nearly 2,000 [more...]
Ruto’s wings have been clipped and we are watching over him carefully, monitoring all his movements. Until he surrenders. August, 2024 When we were children, my friends and I loved hanging out every evening [more...]
I thought I was under no illusion when I marked my “X” on my ballot paper back in July. Due to boundary changes I’ve ended up living in one of the safest constituencies in the [more...]
I have been watching them all morning; those bicycle wheels going round and round and round the Leidseplein. There is something hypnotic about it. Something a little frightening too. Like watching life on a perpetual [more...]
Introduction Every Autumn/winter my primary school would drag (probably more true than I care to think about these days) me to the local swimming pool. Understandable as it was indoors and heated. I hated it. [more...]
Now we have had a few weeks of Keith doing his best to send us down the plughole without realising that people didn’t vote for him, they voted against NikNak let’s recap election strategies, So [more...]
What prompted this note was the mention by John Craven of the Czech coloratura opera singer Patricia Janeckova whom I had only stumbled across a few days ago. I was deeply affected as I listened [more...]
Monday Good morning happy readers today is a bit dull, but I am pleased to see there is no rain forecast until the middle of the night. So Liebore have announced they are going to [more...]
There should be a law against circular railway stations, especially those with exits at each point of the compass. The danger is, once outside, visitors don’t know where they are or in what direction they’re [more...]
Sally woke first, she returned to the bedroom with coffees. She gently shook Dave to waken him. “Time to get up, it’s just after 06.00.” With a quick drink of the coffee, he showered and [more...]
Featured song: Chubby Checker – Let’s Twist Again This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began, up to 1999 when they stopped making [more...]
The Puffin is a well-travelled and well-connected bird. Last week’s unread article detailed the need for little women in my evening job’s bargain retail outlet to tunnel next door to Discount Toy Canyon and steal [more...]
Jinnie was very happy as she left the doctor. He had been sent the release notes electronically from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown, and from the questions he asked he had obviously read them. [more...]
So. Now Biden has officially dropped out of the race to be the next President of teh US – after earlier running for, and securing the nomination of the Democrat Party. Biden didn’t drop out [more...]
In parallel with building the baseboard, desert and buildings (see Part 1), I started to collect and assemble the DAK armour, vehicles and figures to populate the diorama. My preference is for kits made by [more...]
August 14, 2024 The evidence of colonial Britain’s attempt to eliminate the Talai a century ago is only now coming to light, as the last of the survivors seek justice. Above: Kibore Cheruiyot Ng’asura, 102 [more...]
As well as researching “Desert Mysteries” and the exploits of the “Desert Fox”, amongst my other hobbies is the construction of scale model dioramas. For a diorama, I design and build by hand the baseboard, [more...]
The Home Guard is institutionalised at the National Police Service and is evident in the lives that have been claimed through state-sanctioned violence during the ongoing Gen Z protests. 14 August 2024 According to a [more...]
The middle of August and, as I type, we have 30mph winds and rain that could penetrate plate armour. I’m putting it down to “Global Warming”, I’m sure it has little or nothing to do [more...]
On his way home from reporting on Kenya for the Birmingham Mail in 1955, my uncle John Alldridge filed this report from Uganda – Jerry F Colour problem in reverse Almost 50 years ago another [more...]
The ‘Flower Moon’ is the term the Osage Indians of Oklahoma use to describe that time of year with a full moon in May when the plains around them suddenly burst forth in millions of [more...]
The latest news from the Tory leadership campaign is firstly the six candidates have all decided there is no place in the Party for Nigel Farage. Even the hindu dwarf said it was a broad [more...]
Borneo (Kalimantan to the Indonesians) is the second biggest island in the world. Along its northern coast, one third of the island lay three British dependant territories – the colony of Sarawak, the Sultanate of [more...]
Monday Good morning and hello from a not very happy cat this morning. I thought that Legohead was supposed to be going off on his holidays and I was going to have a nice peaceful [more...]
July saw a series of high-profile racial attacks with white people as the victims. Anthony Esan, a black man, was charged with attempted murder over the stabbing of Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton near Gillingham’s Brompton [more...]
He left at 12.00, this would give him plenty of time to drive to Luton Parkway and change on to the train for the last part. The M1 was steady all the way, at junction [more...]
Featured song: The Shadows – FBI – as performed on Crackerjack (It’s Friday what do we all say?) This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper [more...]
Have you noticed how easily the left get the rest of us and especially the right to read tweets or watch a short video of a left-wing politician or indeed any Schwab type person? They [more...]
On Monday afternoon Freddie, Nigel’s chauffeur and general factotum, dropped Jinnie, Izzy and Sir Nigel off outside the offices of Mann, Coombes and Company. Freddie headed off in the Rolls to the public car park [more...]
It’s standard practice when a making a complaint that one: articulates the complaint to the appropriate person in writing says what would resolve the complaint i.e. what you want them to do Why should it [more...]
The Vietnam War started in 1955 and ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975 when the Americans left in a hurry. It has been described as the first televised war but a claim to [more...]
Police brutality during the #RejectFinanceBill protests has shown us that while politicians can afford to sit back and wait for the 2027 general election, we the citizens of Kenya do not have that luxury. They [more...]
Lucky Jim was (Sir) Kingsley Amis’s first novel published in 1954. It is the funniest novel that I have read I think, and contains many genuinely laugh out loud passages. Amis was inspired to write [more...]
In 1955, at the height of the Mau Mau Rebellion, my uncle John Alldridge produced a series of reports from Kenya for the Birmingham Mail and the Manchester Evening News – Jerry F Wally’s lion [more...]
After the predictable but sickening claims by Labour that they have a mandate following the 2024 election it is time to check out what happened previously. The sight of Crayons with a permanent smug look [more...]
I do not despise this man. I am sure he believes that he is right and that is something to which we are all entitled. Opinion is not something that should be policed because it [more...]
Monday Good morning and what a fabulous one it is, not a cloud in the sky and my it’s warm. I am a bit disappointed with the Olympics so far, as I write this we [more...]
On Thursday, 25th July, Mrs AWS and myself struck out for Birmingham New Street. One of our Standard Premium day trips, it’s memorable – even without hindsight – by a heightened presence of the transport [more...]
Over breakfast, there was very little conversation, Dave returned upstairs with a mug of coffee and a packet of biscuits. He fired up the laptop and got to work. He went down the list on [more...]
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards pop pickers to be born… Welcome back my friends, to the flamboyance that never ends, as Fabulously Flamboyant Friday sashays up to the [more...]
In May, there were public discussions on the Finance Bill and although concerns were raised on taxation of essential services and other issues connected to it, public participation became a facade and concerns of taxpayers [more...]
Hello faithful reader! It’s that time of year again, when the whole community reaches a fever pitch of anticipation at the impending village show. Consequently, I’ve selected the onions, grown outside for the first time, [more...]
In 1955, at the height of the Mau Mau Rebellion, my uncle John Alldridge produced a series of reports from Kenya for the Birmingham Mail and the Manchester Evening News – Jerry F Nairobi The [more...]
Recently I had to drop Master Reggie off at the Bristol Royal Infirmary for a hospital appointment and had a couple of hours to kill so I decided to revisit some places I hadn’t been [more...]
To: Professor Don Boudreaux, George Mason University From: Patrick Barron Date: July 21, 2024 Dear Don, I read your latest Café Hayek post “On Making the Case for Free Trade” in which you respond [more...]
With the news that Lucia, Cressie (Cressida would you believe), Louise and Daniel have got 4 years for Just Stop Oil rubbish and their leader, Roger Hallam, has got 5 years we are celebrating (only [more...]
Monday Good morning and it is not a very nice morning here in London, although it’s quite warm it is very dull, and I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if it rained again. Obviously, [more...]
As we make our way back from an enjoyable day trip by train to Edinburgh, Mrs AWS and I have pause for thought as we pass through Lockerbie, scene of the 1988 bombing which claimed [more...]
At 08.30 there was a knock at the door. Dave got up from the table in the kitchen to open the front door. “David Stretton?” “Yes.” The caller wanted ID. He was shown the drivers [more...]
Featured song: Everly Brothers – Cathy’s Clown This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they stopped making it. [more...]
‘The Shortest History of England’ by James Hawes is not too short and tops the scales at 272 pages. A bright chap, the 64-year-old writer graduated in German from Hertford College, Oxford, and studied for [more...]
As Britannia headed west across the Atlantic, the weather began to change. The wind got up a bit, and the sea got a little choppy, but Britannia was a big ship and rode it easily. [more...]
On one of AWS’s recent informative pieces on Scotland, he mentioned Waverley Station in Edinburgh and I mentioned in the comments (which nobody reads) that perhaps the most versatile civil servant ever, John Anderson, took [more...]
In 1955, at the height of the Mau Mau Rebellion, my uncle John Alldridge produced a series of reports from Kenya for the Birmingham Mail and the Manchester Evening News – Jerry F Nairobi With [more...]
First an apology. I was going to insert photos into this piece, but the ones I took were rubbish and not wishing to compromise SB’s site with unauthorised clips I gave up with the visuals. [more...]
So many broken promises, so many empty seats and we are deprived of watching the door hit their backside as they exit stage left. In a fit of chutzpah rarely equalled in modern times Charlie [more...]
In the last 3 years I’ve jumped into healthy living with both feet. In this article I’ll share some of the things I’ve learnt when it comes to diet and exercise. Before we start though, [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone and hello from No. 10. Another nice quiet weekend here in the street, no sign of JoJo cat yet, and Legohead only seems to come in during the day and even [more...]
As Mrs AWS and I flash through the Scottish Lowlands after our day trip to Edinburgh, passing through Lockerbie station reminds us of events decades ago and thousands of miles away. Nowadays the term ‘Gulf [more...]
The train was on time, Dave had hoped to grab a coffee at the station, but the cafe was closed, on the train there was no buffet or trolley service. At St. Pancras he headed [more...]
…Alive, Alive O! Welcome back my friends, to the flamboyance that never ends, as Fabulously Flamboyant Friday sashays up to the crease to deliver yet another light-loafered, lubed-up googly from the gasworks-end of musical magnificence. [more...]
The 20th of October 1964 saw the birth of Kamala Iyer Harris at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Oakland, California, a daughter to accomplished academics Shyamala and Donald Harris. Shyamala was already a PhD in nutrition [more...]
The following morning Jinnie and Paolo woke up with the ship already docked in St Lucia. They were in no rush to go to breakfast as they were not booked on an excursion. In fact, [more...]
“Treason doth never prosper, what’s the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it Treason.” – John Harington Shortly after 12:30 pm local time on November 22, 1963, the medical staff at Parkland Memorial [more...]
In Part 3, I included a photograph of a Hawker Hart with most of its fabric covering stripped off as a potential Desert Mystery regarding its fate. Further research has revealed that K4907 apparently had [more...]
Kenya’s Third Liberation Movement It’s no longer just about the finance bill. Kenyans want fundamental change. July 16, 2024 If the point of protest is to create a counter-crisis, then the people’s movement in Kenya [more...]
It’s easy to get a little bit despondent, especially if you spend too much time focusing on the stories of doom and gloom that are drip fed to us, on a daily basis, by the [more...]
In 1955, at the height of the Mau Mau Rebellion, my uncle John Alldridge produced a series of reports from Kenya for the Birmingham Mail and the Manchester Evening News – Jerry F Kamiti I [more...]
Day 12 – 2nd Monday – Corfu As we had sailed from Dubrovnik in Croatia to Corfu which is Greek we have had to put the clock forward an hour overnight to Greek time which [more...]
From the very second that Labour were confirmed as election winners the usual suspects have been wittering on about having the grown ups back in charge. Let’s see how that has been working out. Political [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone from a wet Westminster, where it seems to have done nothing but rain since Legohead grabbed power. I must admit I am becoming concerned over my future here in Downing Street. [more...]
Returning home from our day trip to Edinburgh, myself and Mrs AWS have pause for thought as we eat our Burger Kings in Standard Premium. Beyond our train window, the peaceful Scottish Lowlands flash past. [more...]
Jinnie woke from a deep sleep and thought, ‘It must be nearly breakfast; I better go to the loo before the nurses bring it in.’ It was only when she started to get out of [more...]
On 25 June 2024, a youth-led protest primarily composed of Gen Zs, as they are popularly referred to, stormed Kenya’s parliament. Legislators voted to pass the Finance Bill 2024 in its third and last reading [more...]
Before my late uncle could take part in “air policing” the Middle East (see Part 1) and when not exploring the local sights and antiquities (see Part 2), he was learning to fly. My uncle [more...]
“There can be no socialism without a state, and as long as there is a state there is socialism. The state, then, is the very institution that puts socialism into action; and as socialism rests [more...]
In 1955, at the height of the Mau Mau Rebellion, my uncle John Alldridge produced a series of reports from Kenya for the Birmingham Mail and the Manchester Evening News – Jerry F Vachakos First [more...]
Day 7 Wednesday – At sea The best night’s sleep so far and they have all been good! It’s surprising how tiring sitting in the fresh air can be. After dinner last night I popped [more...]
The dirty tricks have started already. The first is to declare that there can be no deal with Reform on the grounds that the remaining 121 shysters have nothing in common with those far right [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone the cat is back. I have been enjoying not writing my dairy while my scribe has been on the high seas and I’m looking forward to reading his cruise diary. Anyway, [more...]
Returning home from our day trip to Edinburgh, myself and Mrs AWS have pause for thought as we eat our Burger Kings in Standard Premium and watch the Scottish Lowlands flash past from the train [more...]
There are terms and phrases which remain in use today, despite the fact they were coined many years or many centuries ago. In some cases it is quite remarkable that they have survived and stand [more...]
Welcome back my friends, to the flamboyance that never ends. This week, we shall don our finest white polyester suits and totter about on our tallest platform shoes for yet another elegantly coiffured, meticulously manicured [more...]
Question Time 11th July 2024 The Panel: Peter Kyle (Labour) George Freeman (Conservative) Sian Berry (Green) Camilla Cavendish (Journalist) Venue: Colchester Following the general election and its attendant cadre of new MPs, QT Review HQ [more...]
The next six days fell into a routine of breakfast, physio, ward round, rest and read, lunch, a FaceTime chat with Izzy, the twins and Larry, more physio, visitors and a delivery dinner. All the [more...]
Unfortunately, I don’t write much these days, as sitting in front of a computer for anything other than a short time I find truly wearying. Typing anything exhaustive on a tablet is impossible, and despite [more...]
In Desert Mysteries Redux – Part One, I recounted the ‘Desert Mystery’ of the fate of my uncle in Transjordan in 1938. Whilst he was in the desert and not harassing rebellious Arab gangs via [more...]
Western civilization – with all its scientific and technological progress, artistic prowess, philosophical and sociopolitical evolution, moral values, ethical principles and rich culture – took millennia to reach its famed “Enlightenment” point. It has been [more...]
There were times, six weeks or so ago, in the aftermath of the “flood” when I was tempted to germinate some more seed and try to start the pepper and chili plantation from scratch, even [more...]
This may be a bit previous but we can all hope that the Tories and their disgusting party are merely on life support. The election was not quite the killer blow I had hoped for [more...]
Day 3 – Saturday – Mykonos I woke up and saw that it was a couple of minutes before six, and the sun was shining, the sky was cloudless and the sea like a mirror. [more...]
In short, Gen Zs must reject Ruto’s commitment to austerity and to military solutions and instead opt for peaceful solutions that are consistent with Kenya’s 2010 Constitution. 27 June 27, 2024 When Kenya’s history is [more...]
Here we are then the results are in and all that remains is for me to summarise how close the polls were to reality. The pollsters need to have been reasonably close to the final [more...]
Every time I look at that picture, I seem almost to be looking out from near where I live, although the vista that includes St. Michael’s Mount is less distantly hazy, and the Mount more [more...]
Setting off from Edinburgh on a splendid May day, Mrs. AWS and I enjoy our Burger Kings. In the mad world of railway pricing, one of only two differences between Avanti Trains Standard Premium and [more...]
Lord Cameron gazed giddily around his office, a look of wonder playing over his bubblegum pink visage. ‘I must say you have completely and utterly exceeded my expectations,’ he gushed. ‘If I was still in [more...]
Featured song: Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls Of Fire This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they [more...]
I’ve done my bit. The girls at work agreed to vote for Reform. I wrote the name of the candidate on their hands in biro so they knew who to find on the ballot paper. [more...]
The Exit Poll At 10 pm on election night, the London media will turn its attention to the exit poll. Prefaced by a cheesy build-up, Puffins might be advised to delay tuning in to the [more...]
As you read this we stand on the edge of history, Opinion Polls are not allowed to be published on election day so we can expect a flurry of them by the Wednesday. History may [more...]
In the original Desert Mysteries series, I wrote about a 1939 edition of Blackwood’s magazine bought at an antiques fair that led me to research the lives of the men who had read it and [more...]
The manifestos came thick and fast throughout June for the General Election being held on July 4th 2024. 100 parties are involved, standing anything from 635 candidates to just one, with only eight parties fielding [more...]
Throughout the ballot box’s history, unexpected election results have stunned the public, defied polls, and shifted political landscapes. These surprising outcomes often reflect underlying societal changes, voter sentiment, and the unpredictability of electoral politics. As [more...]
As we trundle into the final full week of the campaign the furore over Nigel’s Ukraine comments shows no sign of dying down. The establishment thinks it has found a surefire way of beating down [more...]
Mrs AWS and I are enjoying our May day-trip to Edinburgh, but time is tight. After walloping down (£10) ice creams, we must hurry to Waverley station if only to watch our train depart the [more...]
Welcome back my friends, to the flamboyance that never ends, as Fabulously Flamboyant Fridays proudly present yet another light-loafered, lubed-up and luxuriant leap over the pavilion-end puddles of musical magnificence. Tonight’s missive will probe the [more...]
Question Time 27th June 2024 The Panel: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) Yvette Cooper (Labour) Stephen Flynn (SNP) Leyla Moran (LibDem) Venue: Birmingham In recent QT reviews, we’ve spotted an over-representation of the never-had-a-job community in a [more...]
Jinnie felt she was on the road to recovery. She was being pushed in a hospital wheelchair by a porter and alongside her was Paolo, and behind was a uniformed Barbados Police Service officer armed [more...]
Previously, on “Heat my House” My house is a fairly typical Swedish design, built in the 60s ( it’s 2 years younger than me) with hot water radiators. The whole house, including the heated cellar, [more...]
Throughout the ballot box’s history, unexpected election results have stunned the public, defied polls, and shifted political landscapes. These surprising outcomes often reflect underlying societal changes, voter sentiment, and the unpredictability of electoral politics. As [more...]
I recently spent a long weekend in Llanberis celebrating my eldest daughters birthday, she chose the area because she wanted to climb Snowdon, which she did along with six of the other guests. I had [more...]
In 1955, at the height of the Mau Mau Rebellion, my uncle John Alldridge produced a series of reports from Kenya for the Birmingham Mail and the Manchester Evening News – Jerry F Nairobi Terror [more...]
Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert. NATO continues to escalate its conflict with the Russian Federation. In a recent statement, an important Polish member [more...]
So we start another week, only two more articles after this with maybe a summary after the election where I wipe the egg from my face. As ironic as it gets, Pro Palestinian protesters have [more...]
Lord Leighton’s peerage was, reputedly, the shortest ever, subsisting for one day: ‘Leighton was the bearer of the shortest-lived peerage in history; after only one day, his hereditary peerage became extinct upon his death.’[Wikipedia] He [more...]
Mrs AWS and I are enjoying our day trip to Edinburgh. Although we’re used to exploring Princes Street, this time we are swept in a crowd of alighting passengers at Edinburgh’s Waverley station in the [more...]
Can you guess the leader each of these poems refers to…? Sir A. Tool I’m not a wealthy toolmaker I’m a wealthy toolmaker’s son. He made A Tool, not much cop That the UK he [more...]
Featured Song: – Buddy Holly – That’ll Be The Day This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they [more...]
Question Time 20th June 2024 The Panel: Rishi Sunak (Conservative) Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) Sir Edward Davey (Liberal Democrat) John Swinney (Scottish National Party) Venue: York With our ignored articles and unread comments, Puffins have [more...]
Jinnie was drifting between being conscious and unconscious. She knew she was in pain, and it seemed to be coming from the left shoulder. She tried to move her left arm, but it only brought [more...]
By Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert. The results of the EU elections are causing despair among liberal activists around the world. Irresponsibly, some [more...]
In the film “Lawrence of Arabia”, Lawrence is asked, “What is it, Major Lawrence, that attracts you, personally, to the desert?” His response was, “It’s clean. I like it because it’s clean.” This quote is [more...]
By Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert. France appears increasingly isolated in its decision to intervene directly in the Ukrainian conflict. Not even major [more...]
Our days passed with a fairly set routine. Up early – but far too late for running water, so it was a quick sluice down (over the toilet) from the stored water drawn before dawn, [more...]
Dubuque, Iowa The first thing you learn about the Middle West is the bigness of it. You could, for example, sink without trace the whole of Switzerland in Lake Michigan. The Illinois River at Peoria [more...]
For years we’ve enjoyed our annual holidays in Portugal and I have acquired a “taste” for the local red wine which is not a particularly great seller in the UK. I thought that I’d write [more...]
Introduction One thing no other politician seems to be doing is looking at the whole as to what is required for a stable society. Having done so, it is then possible to work backwards and [more...]
The start of another week and the sh!tshow continues. The little brown chap is said to be despondent about the reaction to him skipping the D-Day commemoration. Not only does he have a tin ear [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone and it’s beautifully warm and sunny here in Westminster today, although it looks like summer ends tomorrow. The election announcements keep coming thick and fast, and I am wondering why the [more...]
I have a strange sensation in my trousers while strolling Edinburgh’s Royal Mile arm in arm with Mrs AWS. Behave yourselves. Regular readers will be unsurprised to learn my work colleagues pay me not to [more...]
Bash in two two weeks. Full details on the forum here: Bash 2024 I’ll send out an email in the next couple of days re the Sunday lunch but feel free to email me your [more...]
Welcome back my friends, to the flamboyance that never ends. Tonight, it’s bona to vada your dolly old eeks, as this week’s Fabulously Flamboyant Friday proudly presents yet another march of the muscle Marys up [more...]
Question Time 13th June 2024 The Panel: Douglas Ross (Conservative) Anas Sarwar (Labour) Kate Forbes (SNP) Stephen Nolan (Political Strategist) Iain Anderson (Businessman and Adviser) Venue: Edinburgh Tonight’s politicians are on Question Time too often. [more...]
Jinnie just couldn’t believe how well things were going. Brian had made agreements to purchase the empty shop and the convenience store. He had an agreement with the cafe that if they helped them relocate [more...]
My US literary agent asked me to cross the pond to boost the flagging sales of my book Magic of Banking, but I seem to have developed a flying phobia of late, as I get [more...]
The Royal Tank Museum In Part 4, I described the vehicles that belonged to the British and Arab “Special Forces” of WW1 and WW2 that are displayed in The Royal Tank Museum in Amman, Jordan. [more...]
Some Puffins may be vaguely aware of Mrs A’s enthusiasm for cruising, and in the course of this has booked us a cruise on the spon-new Cunarder, Queen Ann. Unfortunately she was unable to book [more...]
Executive Global: (EG) We saw a heavy-handed totalitarian response to the events of 2020, something that you also noted and discussed when you recently sat down with HSH Prince Michael of Liechtenstein. What were the [more...]
This week’s sh!tshow has got off to a good start. With news that the Tory campaign is having zero effect the dwarf is rushing northwards to shore up the Tory base and try to deflect [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone and welcome to another week’s worth of my ramblings. I saw the Rich Boy launched his ‘National Service’ big idea yesterday. Of course, as soon as anyone say’s National Service we [more...]
Having exhausted Edinburgh’s King’s Gallery, myself and Mrs AWS spilled into the street and faced the caravan park, timeshares, swimming pool, shop and public lavatory complex opposite. Hold on a minute. On closer observation, the [more...]
I’ve written this article, following unread comments some days ago, on conducting business with Indians and Pakistanis. To give you a bit of background first, many years ago, I was a partner in a business [more...]
Featured song: Elvis Presley with Hound Dog This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they stopped making it. [more...]
Question Time 6th June 2024 The Panel: Mark Harper (Conservative) Shabana Mahmood (Labour) Liz Saville-Roberts (Plaid Cymru) Carla Denyer (Green Party) Venue: Chester One of the Warwickshire Mahmoods, Shabana was Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood [more...]
The day following the office viewing, Jinnie was in her garden office, when she took a call from the commercial property agent, who said he had been talking to the landlord and made a reduction [more...]
I know it’s a bit Clive James with the alliteration for a title but don’t worry, it won’t be anywhere near as witty as Clive was. I was chatting to my daughter, you know she’s [more...]
The Royal Tank Museum Amman in Jordan is home to one of the best museums of its type in the world, The Royal Tank Museum. A project of the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, the [more...]
The French have a phrase for it. Don’t they always? Ce pays ici. As a literal translation, ‘this country of ours’. By idiom, a courtier’s name for the Versailles bubble of pre-revolutionary France. Lord Clark [more...]
The family we stayed with were very hospitable, and as they were being paid something for the inconvenience of us staying there, I am sure we were very welcome! B and I and our lovely [more...]
On a chill November night in 1864 a small boy lay trembling behind a rock — not a hundred yards from where I am writing this — and watched a city burn. It was the [more...]
Now and again, amidst the bustle of comments that none of us read, we notice that a familiar voice has fallen silent, and we wonder. It isn’t particularly unusual for the folk who frequent this [more...]
Forty Years On is the name of a play by Alan Bennett based on the title to the Harrow School Song. This year is forty years since the start of the Great Miners’ Strike and [more...]
Only 5 more articles to go ! We are still in the realms of “We’re rubbish but the other side are even worse”. It is disgraceful. The Tories have presided over a period when the [more...]
Monday Good morning merry readers, and what a beautiful warm and sunny one it is. I see the contaminated blood scandal report is out later. This public inquiry started in 2018 and has taken ages [more...]
On our day trip to Edinburgh, Mrs AWS and I de-trained on Waverley’s Platform 9 at 12:17 prompt. While a disappointing first-class breakfast rattled in our tums, we allowed ourselves to be swept out of [more...]
Okubo is Tokyo’s main Koreatown and one of the very few large immigrant enclaves in the entire country. It’s a downtown area around two very busy railway stations, a little world to itself where people [more...]
Welcome back my friends, to the drivel that never ends – Laydees and Gentlebodies, Fabulously Flamboyant Fridays proudly present yet another of our light-loafered, lubed-up and luxuriant leaps over the pavilion-end puddles of musical magnificence. [more...]
Question Time 30th May 2024 The Panel: Damian Hinds (Conservative) Wes Streeting (Labour) Nigel Farage (Reform UK) Rose Hudson-Wilkin (Bishop of Dover) Piers Morgan (Journalist) Venue: Epsom On 14th April, Scotland’s The Nation newspaper reported [more...]
Jinnie said good morning to Ro and walked into her office and switched on her computer. Before she had finished reading the first of her company emails, Nigel entered the office, closed the door, and [more...]
As one or two of you may have noticed, I have recently passed a Notable Birthday milestone. (thanks to all who sent good wishes, BTW). One pf the many prezzies received was one from Mrs [more...]
In Part 1, I described how from the signatures on the front cover of a June 1939 edition of “Blackwood’s Magazine” purchased from an antiques fair, I found that the original owner, Edward Davis Moore, [more...]
The reality is that Russian influence is non-existent in Poland due to the legacy of its former conservative-nationalist government. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared that he’s establishing a “Russian influence commission” to investigate alleged [more...]
Took a little trip out to Appleby Castle last week. It has a well preserved Norman keep and it’s trying very hard (though not, as yet, fully succeeding) to turn itself into an historical visitor [more...]
John Doe is Asking Awkward Questions The last thing I expected to pick up in this capital city of a great Republic (“the greatest Republic on God’s Footstool,” as I heard a Senator from Illinois [more...]
“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” If in doubt, attribute a quote to Churchill because he probably did say it at one time or another. It’s certainly been stolen many times over, and [more...]
With the news that the pesky injun is going to give us a vote on July 4th please bear in mind that I wrote most of the stuff below (up to the first image) before [more...]
Monday Good morning merry readers, and welcome to another week of my scribbles. No sun this morning, and not as warm as yesterday, but the sweaters have disappeared from the office. So, the Rich Boy [more...]
Gentleman and lady travellers of a certain age may be divided into two tribes: Princess or Market. I’ve always been a Princess man. Let me explain. Arrival at Edinburgh Waverley always drew me up the [more...]
Imagine an England where race matters. Where natives come first in hiring and housing. Where foreigners are barred from certain locales, by signs in the windows. Where people openly judge you by your skin colour [more...]
Featured song: Bill Haley & His Comets with “Rock Around the Clock”. This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 [more...]
Question Time 23rd May 2024 The Panel: Mark Spencer (Conservative) Jess Phillips (Labour) Bridget Phillipson (Labour) Ash Sarkar (Broadcaster) Daisy Cooper (LiberalDemocrat) Tim Montgomerie (Broadcaster) Venue: Coventry The other morning, embarrassingly north of 7:30 am, [more...]
For the second day running, Jinnie woke with a feeling of trepidation. Yesterday, although sad, had gone wonderfully and even the weather had played its part. After the King and Queen had left, she had [more...]
The dirt that Andrey Derkach shared about Hunter’s Burisma corruption scandal made him an enemy of the American and Ukrainian governments. Former Ukrainian MP Andrey Derkach, who’s reviled by the Biden Administration for sharing dirt [more...]
In Part 1, I described how, from the signatures on the front cover of a June 1939 edition of “Blackwood’s Magazine” purchased from an antiques fair, I found that the original owner, Edward Davis Moore, [more...]
By Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, suffered an assassination attempt on May 15th. The politician was [more...]
In hindsight, it was a major life change. Hard to believe that it is now almost 30 years ago – the summer of 1994. Leaving a management job with a FTSE 100 British company – [more...]
Over the main entrance of Providence City Hall is a bust of one Roger Williams, the founder of this city. You can see another representation of him in Roger Williams Park, where yesterday the youth [more...]
It was a dark and stormy night, suddenly there was a knock at the door. Well that’s how childish stories usually start. For our little podcast I’ll try and go more silly. Welcome to Peabody [more...]
Back in the early 1990’s I was working for Girobank, at that time still part of the Post Office. Looking back it was a really interesting place to work, still with many civil service customs. [more...]
Well well well, looks like we won’t be seeing a GE before October according to the hindu dwarf. He really is doing a Mr Micawber the little scrote. On the other hand there is some [more...]
Monday Good morning my friends and welcome to another wet bank holiday. It’s lovely and quiet in No 10 this morning, there is only a skeleton staff in today and they didn’t seem to be [more...]
I’ve been following Daily Mail columnist and author Peter Hitchens – literally. The surprise being we only recently fell into correspondence. Both of us are keen on railways and church, enjoyed minor public school and [more...]
A few weeks back I did a piece on the spectacular Alishan mountain line in Taiwan. One day, I might do something on the Gono line around the wild, craggy northwest coast of Honshu. Or [more...]
Greetings pop pickers and please be welcome to tonight’s Fabulously Flamboyant Friday and another of our fortnightly mastications upon the marshmallowy pillows of musical magnificence. Tonight, as we mark this year’s International Day Against Homophobia, [more...]
Question Time 16th May 2024 The Panel: Meghan Gallagher (Conservative) Anas Sarwar (Labour) Stephen Flynn (SNP) Alex Salmond (Alba) Iain Dale (Broadcaster) Venue: Aberdeen Meghan Gallacher is currently Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives and [more...]
The Trattoria Trevi board voted unanimously to proceed with the test Sybaritic accepting that it was a concept worth trying. Alberto pointed out that the income they were generating from their current lines meant that [more...]
There are, amongst us, many little old chaps who have a tale to tell – I am one such but am not at all remarkable. It would be interesting to me for others to open [more...]
Some years ago, for only a few pounds, I purchased from a local antiques fair a June 1939 edition of “Blackwood’s Magazine”, this magazine and miscellany (pictured) ran from 1817 to 1980. I bought it [more...]
“Being British is all about driving a German car to an Irish theme pub to drink Belgian beer then going home buying an Indian takeaway to sit on a Swedish sofa in front of a [more...]
Things are moving on apace. The recent spell of decent weather’s seen a growth spurt right across the board, so much so that I have most of the tomatoes in the ground and there’s been [more...]
“In his seventh and final article JOHN ALLDRIDGE writes of Tunis and the triumphant end of a campaign.” – Manchester Evening News, November 23 1949 Tunis, Monday I thought I saw a ghost in Tunis [more...]
I never did quite discover Miss Pronter’s exact connection with a once-well-known – not to say notorious – Girls’ Boarding School in Berkshire, but she claimed that the then-Chaplain, having delivered this, left the script [more...]
The fact that Iran provides weapons to Palestinians is not heinous at all, because a population under “belligerent occupation” (in the wording of the Geneva Conventions) has the right to “resist”. And Tehran’s decision to [more...]
Well who’d a thunk it. Here we are again and no sign of an election in sight. The pint sized loser must be well frit. In the meantime what with defections (far-right Natalie) and suspensions [more...]
Monday Good morning readers, and what a beautiful morning it is in London, sunny and warm. But to add to good things, the rumours have Hamster Useless resigning later. Mind you he could hang on [more...]
Who could have thought in the middle years of the twentieth century that the then-nascent Eurovision Song Contest could, a mere seven decades hence, be described by serious commentators as ‘noncing s***’? Albeit the commentator [more...]
The Alishan Forest Railway runs from the coastal plain into the heart of Taiwan’s empty highlands. It was built in 1912 by the Japanese for the purpose of transporting timber from the mountains for the [more...]
Oh dear – It’s that time of year again… Don your taffeta and sequinned best, pull on your bondage trousers, lube up your leather chaps and please be welcome to the annual festival of flounce [more...]
Question Time 9th May 2024 The Panel: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative) Lisa Nandy (Labour) Grace Blakeley (Author) Humphrey Cobbold (CEO of PureGym) Venue: Stoke-on-Trent Lisa Nandy is on Question Time too often. Tonight’s appearance takes her [more...]
As Izzy drove away, Jinnie hurried into the Green Acres reception and was delighted to find someone she knew, Adrienne, on the desk. Adrienne had been on the staff from when Jinnie had worked on [more...]
There is much fear concerning our next Government, it will be Labour whatever happens, but let’s look on the bright side a bit. The Sunak administration does not deserve to survive, it will be obliterated [more...]
The memsahib & I decided on one last Scottish tour of The Highlands, our fifth, before we run down the curtain. I have some Scottish ancestry, my grandmother’s clan was Bruce although a lowland clan [more...]
At this rate, there’s no longer any credible chance that France will revive its independent foreign policy traditions after the five major foreign policy mistakes that Macron made over just the last two years. He’s [more...]
I have long wondered if a dictionary existed that translates the bastardised version of the English language used in America to our original version. That bloke Webster has a lot to answer for, compiling his [more...]
“In the sixth of his articles John Alldridge writes of Bizerta, where a song was born, an Army vindicated itself, and a gigantic building plan went awry.” – Manchester Evening News, November 22 1949 Bizerta, [more...]
“History shall be kind to me for I shall write it” wrote Sir Winston Churchill at the end of the Second World War. He had previously written a six volume history of the First World [more...]
For the longest time, according to conventional and widely embraced wisdom, all responsible and prudent members of society had to have a savings account. All those hardworking taxpayers and all those forward-thinking and sensible individuals [more...]
In the aftermath of the local elections, not all of which have been counted (shades of the Democrats here), can we use their results as an indication of how a GE would unfold. Locals are [more...]
Monday Good morning readers and hello from your favourite cat reporter. My feeder was a little late this morning, apparently there was a problem on her Tube line. Anyway, to make up for being late [more...]
End of the old endboards Gone are the days when television programmes finished with a caption proclaiming ‘Granada, From The North’ or a plummy continuity announcer saying, ‘Mike Yarwood is appearing in summer season in [more...]
The good ship “Fru Alida” Even less well known than Denmark’s triangular trade is the history of Danes and Norwegians as victims of slavery. North African pirate raids were a problem that affected coastal communities [more...]
Greetings pop pickers! Welcome to tonight’s Fabulously Flamboyant Friday and another of our fortnightly frolics in the fragrantly floral front gardens of musical magnificence. This week, as we mark International Lesbian Visibility Week, we shall [more...]
Question Time 2nd May 2024 The Panel: Bim Afolami (Conservative) Peter Kyle (Labour) Kirsty Blackman (SNP) Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel Prize-winning Economist) Anita Boateng (Former Conservative advisor) Venue: Cambridge The great thing about having your own [more...]
On Wednesday Jinnie dropped the twins at school before heading to Potters Bar station to pick up the train to Finsbury Park and then the Tube to Brixton. There was an icy drizzle in the [more...]
Andrzej Duda inadvertently vindicated those Russian observers who long suspected that this transport megaproject right outside of Warsaw had dual military purposes, thus proving that they were right about Poland’s real plans all along. Polish [more...]
David Lean’s 1957 film depicted the bridge as a significant timber structure located in the deep jungle, spanning a narrow river featuring rocks and rapids. This is of course a work of fiction and was [more...]
After Iran’s Saturday strike against Israel, the European Union (EU) will “start the necessary work” to target the Islamic Republic with heavier sanctions, with a focus on the country’s drone technology, according to Josep Borrell, [more...]
I may have mentioned, last time around, that the sheep are returned from their winter sojourn on the hills surrounding Patterdale and Glenridding. As yet we have only hogget in the back field, so the [more...]
“In the fifth of his articles John Alldridge writes of the holy city of Kairouan. It was here that the First Army and the Eighth Army, all the way from El Alamein, finally linked up.” [more...]
It’s the late 1970s, and just hitting the big screen is a space opera in which a lightsabre-wielding smuggler embarks on a royal rescue mission, a talking droid sidekick provides comic relief, and a classically [more...]
My military experience is limited to playing tabletop wargames in my youth. I played American Civil War with 1/72nd scale Airfix figures, moulded in blue or grey plastic. Some of my figures even got painted… [more...]
With all the fevered speculation in Westminster and Edinburgh you might expect the opinion polls to be a bit more volatile but they are not showing much change. The speculation hinges around the hindu dwarf [more...]
Monday Good morning readers and welcome to another week of my ramblings. And it is another horrible wet morning, quite a change from what was a lovely weekend. I did hope that spring had arrived. [more...]
As everyone knows, the Cold War was won by minor public school boys with bad degrees from embarrassing new universities. Sat on the banks of the Danube they sketched Czech freight trains disguised as if [more...]
Transatlantic slavery was ended in 1833 by Britain after a campaign by William Wilberforce. It is one of the key dates in British history, and Wilberforce is a name known to everyone. Britain may have [more...]
If there are any takers for a Friday night music slot email me at the usual. Featured image: Debbie Harry & Blondie PAINTING” by danor shtruzman is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0 Swiss [more...]
Question Time 24th April 2024 The Panel: Chris Philp (Conservative) Wes Streeting (Labour) Munira Wilson (LibDem) Victor Adebowale (NHS Confederation) Charles Moore (Columnist) Venue: Tottenham Wesley Paul William Streeting appears on QT and other broadcast [more...]
Brooke led Patricia onto the northbound Victoria line platform at Brixton. Patricia looked around her in amazement, she had used escalators at airports and big stores but never before to descend below ground. She had [more...]
Years ago, the late Sir Robin Day scored such a direct hit on Mrs Thatcher’s Defence Secretary, John Nott, that he threw away his microphone and stormed off the set in mid interview after Sir [more...]
Step forward to the present day; SWMBO and I have been visiting Thailand for many years and decided it was time to head out to the Death Railway as Grandad Humbug had been in Burma [more...]
We will not close Ethiopia’s consulate in Garowe, Puntland roars back In a tough-worded statement, Puntland maintained its desire to continue collaborating with Ethiopia on social-economic front. The Federal Government of Somalia’s military toothlessness is [more...]
We must all be painfully aware of the lycra clad Bonus Holes who ride about on our roads. There is an absolutely massive one who has a weekday morning show on Channel 5. One of [more...]
“In the fourth of his articles John Alldridge writes of Longstop Hill as it is today — “a totally unremarkable hill” — and recalls the fighting which has made its name a legend.” – Manchester [more...]
Back when motoring was fun…. Tom Robinson was singing this song about our road network to us back in the Seventies, when he wasn’t sharing his anthemic “Sing if you’re glad to be gay”. That [more...]
Le Grand Fromage – The Socialist The son of a physician in France’s northwestern Haute-Normandie région, Hollande was educated at the elite École Nationale d’Administration (more of that later when president), where his classmates included [more...]
I’ve mentioned “Old Jack” and his abandoned (now becoming ramshackle) old house before, on more than one occasion. If it were just about anywhere else in the UK which isn’t a tiny rural hamlet, I’m [more...]
As a regular reader, you’ll know I’ve taken on a pupil, Mr AI Bot. A useful chap, undoubtedly artificial but every inch the novice when it comes to the realm of intelligence. The vacancy attracted [more...]
“Love, mother, father, home, enemy, me”. These are the words burned onto the eyeballs of our protagonist Joe Frady, played by Warren Beatty, as he sits motionless, watching a montage of images flash across the [more...]
The big shift Of course, this is the Left, but also the Right, of the good old days. The days of gentlemanly conduct and of real sportsmanship during a debate. These were the days when cultivated, curious [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone from an extremely quiet London on this bank holiday Monday. I can normally hear lots of traffic noise and this morning there is hardly any. There is only a skeleton staff [more...]
The Elan Valley is a picturesque haven for nature lovers and adventure enthusiasts. Nestled within the Cambrian Mountains region, this area is often referred to as the last wilderness in Wales due to its unspoilt [more...]
Stories from my time spent working for an alarm company. Part One is here This time: Fire damage, I meet the Geezer and being on call. Following the call from Melanie to head to a [more...]
Welcome pop pickers. This week we start the Disco era. This is what we heard at the Youth Club in the early 1970’s through to the late 1980’s, when most nights were party nights, men [more...]
More writings by uncle, John Alldridge. This time he is reporting from South America in 1960 for the Birmingham Evening Mail – Jerry F A boom city built on oil So I end as I [more...]
Miranda, Melissa and Andrew tried for several days to come up with a fancy name for the new business and failed miserably. In the end it was Belinda who suggested the name should reflect the [more...]
This is the first of an occasional series looking at life in Northern France in general and plotting progress with the farm. Setting the scene: Here in rural Lower Normandy things move at a slow [more...]
The gliders wallowed behind their Heinkel 111 tug aircraft in the thin, turbulent air above the mountains. The lead aircraft sighted the long mountain ridge and the Gran Sasso Mountain behind it, gave the order [more...]
Nicolas Sarkozy, American agent1 (The Frog on the Seine is all mine all mine) On 2nd September 2005 Jacques Chirac suffered a serious stroke and ceased to govern. He was no longer able to execute [more...]
My admiration for Deborah Harry goes back some time. I first met her in 1999, and again this year, both times when she was travelling to/from Glastonbury. For me, she was born to deliver the [more...]
Intro Why all the reforms in the world may prevent us from getting wealthier. Having read Henry George, I am having my doubts about the ability to easily bring long-term prosperity for us serfs. I [more...]
Part 2 – Chapter 3 The skies grew darker as the sea splashed against the sides of the Great Ship Saint Catherine. She was tethered and anchored in the port with her sails lowered. The [more...]
Those of us who have read and studied political history, who have closely observed its evolution and especially those who have taken note of all the tactics and ploys used over the last couple of [more...]
It has been too long since I offered up to the folk of this parish a ‘deep dive’ of my literary musings. I’ve a scattering of unfinished articles but something somewhat meatier was needed to [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone, and welcome to another week of madness. I demand to know what has happened to summer this year. I’m sure that when I was a kitten, summer days were hot and [more...]
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth, colloquially known as ‘Aber’, is a university and seaside town located in Ceredigion, Wales. It’s the county’s largest town, with a population of 15,935, and sits on the west coast of Wales, offering [more...]
Stories from my time spent working for an alarm company. In March 1994, I found myself working for one of the UK’s leading privately owned alarm companies. I had secured a job as an alarm [more...]
This week we are back to the singers. Thank you to Wiki and Top of the Pops. I have always enjoyed those singers who really do have an outstanding voice, and when combined with an [more...]
More writings by uncle, John Alldridge. This time he is reporting from South America in 1960 for the Birmingham Evening Mail – Jerry F The capital of the Inca Empire I am very susceptible to [more...]
The Range Rover rushed up the M23 and onto the A23 into London with its blue lights embedded in the bumpers flashing but it was the two escorting police cars that impressed Penny, Nigel had [more...]
This speech was made on April 24, 1933, six years before the second World War, seven years before the battle of Britain, when Winston Churchill was fifty-nine years old. There are a few things I [more...]
I set before the Puffinati assembled a little piece of nourishment backed up with some history. A story as to how a piece of steak came to be one of the most famous dishes in [more...]
In the summer of 1943, the terrible reality of total war was the closest wolf to the Italian population’s sledge. Mussolini’s grandiose plans for a new Roman Empire that would stretch across Southern Europe and [more...]
Life carries on apace and, as things start to slow down a little in the greenhouse I find myself having time to venture out into the countryside, along with my camera, and visit the odd [more...]
Deeply buried in the LGBTQ+ acronym is the letter ‘P’. So deeply buried is it, that it doesn’t actually appear to be there. But believe me, it is. That invisible ‘P’ stands for ‘Paedophile’, and [more...]
After reading DJM’s fascinating article on words and phrases in the English language that originate from the Bard of Avon it set me wondering on the phrases and sayings we use that have their origin [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone, and welcome to my 200th diary entry. Wow, 200 editions, that means I have been writing this diary for over four years (if you count all those holidays my scribe goes [more...]
Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh) is the highest mountain in Wales, standing at an elevation of 3,560ft above sea level. As such, it holds the title as the highest point in the British Isles [more...]
Part one is here Part two is here Part three is here Part Four is here Part Five is here Part Six is here This time: Frank the KP, much excitement amongst the girls, a [more...]
Welcome pop pickers to episode 4 of Genre 2, Glam Rock. This week back to Glam Rock. Thank you to Wiki and Top of the Pops. Courtesy of Wiki: New Romantic acts in the UK such [more...]
More writings by uncle, John Alldridge. This time he is reporting from South America in 1960 for the Birmingham Evening Mail – Jerry F The country where strangers get drunk on fresh air and where [more...]
Larry was perched on Jinnie’s garden office desk watching Jason and Gary trying to sort out the electronics that worked the door in the wall between his garden and Nigel’s garden next door. Larry was [more...]
Great forces are in place to change the world in which we have lived since the end of the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971. These forces cannot be stopped. The leaders of Western democracies are [more...]
Welcome back once more to the Cnuteneering Home For Wayward Lathes and Milling Machines (CHFWLMM Charitable Foundation, listed in Bermuda alongside Tony Blairs Foundation shell companies). We left the last installment with the establishment of [more...]
For Kenya’s Western-controlled political stomachs, with the expected support of Kenya’s Lame Stream, the same agenda continues. Post Ruto’s signing off (or in his case, thumbprint of the Finance Act 2023) under direction of US [more...]
We are working our way through each of the eighteen Groups of the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the Elements), with the general idea behind this series being to ensure that at least [more...]
It’s a fair cop guv. I’m always prepared to admit when I’m wrong, and I was wrong big time about Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. I fully expected Russia to steamroller and flatten the place, [more...]
Introduction At school we had lessons in creative writing, which I’m sure some of you might remember. I was rubbish at it, as I’m about to probably demonstrate. As most of you know I normally [more...]
Have you noticed something? Whether it is the nurses, who are no longer striking, the junior doctors, about to spend three days on the picket line in pursuit of their 35% pay claim, or the [more...]
‘LOVE THOU THY LAND’: TENNYSON LOVE thou thy land, with love far-brought From out the storied Past, and used Within the Present, but transfused Thro’ future time by power of thought. True love turn’d round [more...]
Monday Hi folks, I’m back for yet another week of tales and trivia from Westminster. A beautiful morning, sunny and warm. As I wandered to the bottom of the garden, I could feel the sun [more...]
Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia National Park, known as Eryri in Welsh, is a significant natural region located in northwestern Wales. It is the largest national park in Wales, covering a total of 823 square miles. [more...]
Part one is here Part two is here Part three is here Part Four is here Part Five is here This time: Days off and the new kitchen porter. Tuesday. I was up and about [more...]
This is Genre 1, Motown, episode 5. For those of a certain age this will bring back some fond memories and get your foot tapping. If you are a lot younger, as this is such [more...]
More writings by uncle, John Alldridge. This time he is reporting from South America in 1960 for the Birmingham Evening Mail – Jerry F Caution: This article contains descriptions which some may find upsetting – [more...]
Belinda phoned Jinnie saying she was going to look at progress on Mr Farage’s house the next morning and did she want to walk around the house with her? Then perhaps she could visit Willie [more...]
Translation of the full text of the original 1215 edition of Magna Carta from Latin into modern day English. Which clauses were later omitted and which are still valid today? Notes on the English translation [more...]
This humble author takes no pleasure in relating to Puffins the following tragic tale from the history of his own Debatable Lands, unearthed while researching his family tree. In the never-ending side-shifting quicksands of genealogical [more...]
11 August 2023 The last month or so has been dramatic in the non-existent Kenyan corridors of power because of the controversial Finance Act, 2023. It is not only one of the first major laws [more...]
The weather maps glow red to black, yet here in my little corner of North West England the wet summer days blend, almost seamlessly, into each other. At least there’s plenty of grass for my [more...]
Our Story I write this as a person rather than one of my OTF articles. I feel compelled to write it after our recent experience with the NHS. Some of you know whereabouts I live [more...]
Half an academic dry tome and half one of the most exciting books I’ve ever read, this book lays out the evidence for what is known as ‘the Solutrean hypothesis’. It’s basically trying to answer [more...]
Kristian Niemitz, Head of Political Economy at the Institute of Economic Affairs, wrote a book last year that explores the reasons why the idea of socialism persists as a viable economic system. In “Socialism: the Failed [more...]
Conventional wisdom has it that prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour the USA was sitting pretty and ignoring what was going on in the world. To an isolationist American public this was exactly [more...]
Monday Hello everyone for favourite cat reporter here ready to bring you all the news and rumours I hear in the corridors of power. This morning I had my normal trip down to the bottom [more...]
In the summer of 1932, my grandfather and his pregnant wife set off in a motorcycle and sidecar for a motoring tour of North Wales. In our last episode we recalled their stop in Liverpool. [more...]
Part one is here Part two is here Part three is here Part Four is here This time: Fallout from the lock in and Eck’s sudden departure I was woken by the alarm going off [more...]
Welcome pop pickers. This is based on stuff like what I like, there will be various bands and artists to try and cheer you up and kick-start your weekend. Hopefully for many of you, to [more...]
More writings by uncle, John Alldridge. This time he is reporting from South America in 1960 for the Birmingham Evening Mail – Jerry F Over The Stone Curtain of The Andres Buenos Aires was as [more...]
Jinnie, Brian, and on this occasion Miranda, once again visited the TV station for a progress update. As they waited in reception Mike Graham walked out and did a double-take before walking over. He said, [more...]
My first time in France was in 1963 on an army ‘Adventure Training Expedition,’ aka ‘Think up a jolly which has a ‘ military slant ‘ and have most expenses funded. We were to canoe [more...]
In Part One I described the processes involved in reloading the (to me at any rate) ‘modern’ .303 British cartridge, all stages of which can easily be automated. Now let’s look at what is involved [more...]
Mathare 19 July 2023 Mathare 19 July 2023. Aside ongoing power cuts, internet restrictions, Kenya’s Western proxy President William Ruto again finds himself between a rock and a hard place as business, religious leaders and [more...]
Another week, another element. Let’s head off on another exciting elementary excursion. You’ll get the idea now that I hope to ensure that at least one element is included from each of the eighteen Groups [more...]
We are all aware daily of our ongoing “conflict” with our new chief “adversary” in the world, the Chinese Communist Party. Warnings about the need to increase defense spending to prepare for possible war with [more...]
The splendid Tachybaptus recently posted a recipe on this very blog for the ever-controversial quiche. “Real men eat quiche”, was the surprisingly strident assertion accompanying the article – a bold claim indeed. However, as it [more...]
Since the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 the dollar has been the world’s preferred reserve currency; i.e., the major trading nations of the world were willing to hold dollars in vast amounts to satisfy their [more...]
Monday Hello everyone and welcome to another week in Westminster. It was grey and grotty first thing outside, so I rushed back down and back and was busy tucking into my Felix before the rain [more...]
Holiday 1932 My father’s parents were married on 8th October 1931. My grandfather, Elihu, was a 25-year-old mechanic. His bride, Edith, was four years his junior and worked in a wool shop. My grandfather left [more...]
Part one is here Part two is here Part three is here This time: A day off, my try at water-skiing and a lock in. Thursday, my day off, no alarm set and I woke [more...]
Amongst a century of detritus at the BBC there lies some buried treasure. Between layers of fake news, preachy left-wing documentaries and un-funny comedy, the BBC’s iPlayer hides a gleaming gem of an old archaeology [more...]
More writings by my uncle, John Alldridge. This time he is reporting from South America in 1960 for the Birmingham Evening Mail – Jerry F Paraguay: The Irish beauty who started a lunatic war I [more...]
Jinnie had no idea how radio advertising worked, what it cost or how effective it was. She had heard adverts on the radio and seen adverts on the TV and had her own views as [more...]
I was interested to read 1O210ken’s piece: it is good to read and perhaps learn from other peoples’ experience. I had the same question put to me by my father when I was 15. I [more...]
Introduction Two questions that I am regularly asked when shooting my long-obsolete 19th century rifles at our local club range are i) how much does it cost to make one cartridge? and ii) how long [more...]
If this kind of theoretical reasoning seems too abstract, let us think about it more practically: Any public servant, any member of government, and even the leader of a nation, has very different motivations than [more...]
The weather continues to perplex and frustrate in equal measure. Just over a month ago I was writing about the greenhouse being unbearable to work in, past noon, as temperatures climbed into the low hundreds [more...]
The WEF is basically an organization run by Malthusian ideologues. Its goal is therefore is massive global population reduction, a terrifying concept when the oligarchs making policy control the World Health Organization in turn mandated [more...]
Wednesday 21st June – At Sea I woke shortly after five, took one look at the clock and went back to sleep, that is far too early to wake up on a sea day! My [more...]
Are you a Politically Exposed Person? Bankers now cancelling politicians Great Resetters expose themselves Central banks behind ID, shot and depop Single ledger would track all assets, paws and plants Humans become just another resource [more...]
Monday Hello everyone, it looks like a similar day to yesterday, sunny periods and showers! At least it’s not too cold, just a bit blustery. The word this morning is that the government is looking [more...]
Skegness Skegness is a popular seaside town located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea. Known for its sandy beaches, it is a traditional destination for holiday-makers from across the UK. Its famous mascot, [more...]
Part one is here Part two is here This time: Working on my own, hippies and the loch. The alarm woke me at six, I fumbled to switch it off and lay in bed for [more...]
More writings by uncle, John Alldridge. This time he is reporting from South America in 1960 for the Birmingham Evening Mail – Jerry F I am writing this at a window seven floors up above [more...]
Alan called the SMG team together to brief them on the updated plan for the Irish mission. After explaining the new cover story he asked if anyone had experience in researching their family tree. Carole [more...]
There is quite enough gloom ‘n’ doom in the news nowadays so I thought I’d look instead at an obscure aspect of my hobby – Lego – and my interest, nay obsession, with the different [more...]
Alone again with Deborah, he recalls, in no particular order, every one of the eighteen funerals he’s attended in his ten years as manager. Some bloody miserable, most just a funeral, one of them, Rory’s, [more...]
For decades already, one of the most popular and commonly employed attacks of Keynesians and other left-leaning economists was the one against the idea of “trickle down economics”. They ridiculed the notion that a rising [more...]
Here we go, with another foray into the world of chemical elements. As I’ve said, the plan is to make sure at least one element is included from each of the eighteen Groups of the [more...]
It’s been a while since I wrote anything for the blog for various reasons, but I was determined to, as the saying goes, squeeze one out. Last time I wrote I think Boris was PM [more...]
Sunday June 18th – La Spezia – Italy I think dawn breaking must have woken me this morning. It was about 06:15 and we were entering La Spezia harbour. This is a first visit here [more...]
Firstly, a big thank you to Molly, DJM, MEB and Miss Anon for their contributions to the Bash entertainment and provisions fund, plus everyone who helped erect tents, bring them down, cooked food and made [more...]
I reproduce below (with his permission) an email response from Lee Hurst (h/t Roy Batty and El Cnutador) re Independent MPs. I clearly did not do enough initial research and it may be the amount [more...]
In the final part of this series before I move onto etchings, I’m doing a piece on painting with acrylic paint onto a stretched frame canvas. The principles apply just as well for oil painting, [more...]
Hello everyone, well it’s nice and bright this morning. It looks like it’s going to be dry today which suits me. It’s a pity because I would have loved a huge downpour just as Sniffer [more...]
It’s difficult to be enthusiastic about 1938, a year in which England was on the brink of World War II. The policy of appeasement, led by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, was in full swing. Aimed [more...]
Part one is here This time: My first day The next morning, I was up at 08.00 had a bath and breakfast. By 09.30 I was ready to go. All attempts to persuade Graham or [more...]
Welcome pop pickers. Back to Rock ‘n’ Roll, the early days. This is the sort of music that makes you want to tap your feet, dance, and singalong. Thank you to Wiki, Britannica, and Top [more...]
Are you all OK? I hope so. No doubt Puffins are distraught to read this week’s Question Time Review will not appear and that this circumstance is likely to continue until the autumn. Given the [more...]
Jinnie was meeting Miranda in the Costa Coffee at Vauxhall station, 45 minutes before their meeting with Emma. The plan was to discuss ideas for the SIS Christmas parties and coordinate their presentation. Jinnie had [more...]
Intro I started thinking about this when it was announced Colin Pitchfork was going to be released again. He murdered two teenage girls and raped others. I’m sick of politicians being seen to do the [more...]
“Gavin, nice to meet you,” said Oliver, extending his hand. “You too, Oliver isn’t it?” “It is but everybody calls me Olly, except my wife, but then she is Welsh.” “OK, Olly it is then,” [more...]
There is tons of paper based ephemera left behind from recent times. Most of it is of interest to someone, and much of it describes life in the UK and abroad from the 1830’s Stuff [more...]
The summer, what little we’ve seen of it since the heady days of the June “heatwave”, moves along bringing with it dire warnings of the upcoming conflagration about to be unleashed on us all, not [more...]
A good start Whatever one might think about which currency is better suited to be used in trade or as a benchmark or as a central bank reserve, the fact remains that the USD’s days [more...]
In 1969, my uncle, John Alldridge visited New Guinea to “observe the attempt to weld a primitive people to a modern society”. This is the last of his reports for the Vancouver Sun. – Jerry [more...]
Wednesday June 14th – At Sea I woke at about five to seven having slept soundly, I must say the bed is extremely comfortable. A little grey outside but the sun is only just coming [more...]
To give everyone a rest from the military stuff, I thought I’d share one of my ways of retreating from the stresses of life, politics, the media and people. Watercolour painting is a good starting [more...]
Monday Hello peeps and welcome to another working week in the fun palace that is Number Ten. A report out this morning has said that Sue Gray broke the ‘Civil Service Code’. Well, I find [more...]
Eastbourne is a charming seaside resort town situated in East Sussex on the south coast. Known for its Victorian seafront, it lies 19 miles east of Brighton and 54 miles south of London. According to [more...]
Finishing school and looking for work When school and I parted company on less than friendly terms around April/May 1973 my dad wanted to know what I was going to do for a job. It [more...]
Welcome pop pickers. This is based on stuff like what I like, there will be various bands and artists to try and cheer you up and kick-start your weekend. Hopefully for many of you, to [more...]
Around the year 800 BC the Phoenicians founded a port in southern Spain which they named “Malaca” which means to salt. At the east of the natural harbour, in an area where the bullring stands [more...]
It was Mrs Walsh’s turn to cook Sunday lunch for the family and for the first time in ages both daughters, their husbands and the twins were all there. Only Lucia was missing having, with [more...]
Introduction This article will argue that we have left the age of reason and entered the age of indulgence. It will look at the root causes. It will explore how the effects of this have [more...]
Oliver leans back in his chair, closes his eyes and again goes over the things that will happen during the course of the next few hours. It’s likely that…his mobile interrupts again; the paramedic’s here. [more...]
The Sexes No clearer cultural Anglo French divide is quite so evident than demonstrated in the womenfolk of both countries. At the end of the second Napoleonic war Brit women descended on Paris to search [more...]
Here we are again, off on our elementary excursions. As I have mentioned before, I hope to ensure that at least one element is included from each of the eighteen Groups of the Periodic Table [more...]
Endless ink has been spilled by economists and financial analysts in their efforts to predict the impact of de-dollarization. As might be expected, most of those who embrace a US-centric view of the world and [more...]
In 1969, my uncle, John Alldridge visited New Guinea to “observe the attempt to weld a primitive people to a modern society”. This is the fourth of his reports for the Vancouver Sun. – Jerry [more...]
June 11th – Embarkation day Up early this morning but I am in no rush to do anything. I must drive to Southampton later and park at the Ocean Terminal. Time to potter around, make [more...]
The slug of super-heated copper hit the Land Cruiser at Mach 6, punching through the light metal and Kevlar liner as if it wasn’t there. It entered just behind the driver compartment, some fifty centimetres [more...]
Monday I’m back! While my scribe has been on the high seas, I have been having a lazy old time with a lot of snoozing in the warm weather. Well, all apart from one day [more...]
Beachy Head Beachy Head is a prominent chalk headland located in East Sussex. It’s known for its stark white chalk cliffs that rise around 530 feet high, making it the highest chalk sea cliff in [more...]
This time, Covid, furlough and enough is enough. Brief recap, I spent two and a half years trade plating round England with the occasional foray into Scotland and Wales. Part one is here Part two [more...]
This is based on stuff like what I like, there will be various bands and artists to try and cheer you up and kick-start your weekend. Hopefully for many of you, to bring back some [more...]
Question Time 6th July 2023 The Panel: Johnny Mercer (Conservative) Bridget Phillipson (Labour) Dale Vince (Ecotricity) Kate Andrews (The Spectator) Venue: Fleetwood John Luther Mercer is a former Royal Artillery officer, risen to the rank [more...]
Jinnie and Lucia where busy feeding the twins their breakfast and having their regular chat when they both suddenly stopped. Willie had distinctly said ‘Mum’ while reaching out for his mashed up boiled egg. Millie [more...]
It happened a couple of weeks ago. I was feeling rather disconsolate. Deflated. Depressed, even. As I watched our freedom slip away, largely unremarked by the mainstream media who were busy frothing over The Next [more...]
As he approaches Deborah’s apartment, the third this morning, Oliver detects a faint whiff of something unpleasant. Unpleasant but familiar. He hopes he’s mistaken but after another couple of steps he knows he’s not. Vomit, [more...]
Whatever crimes the RPF had or hadn’t committed inside Rwanda, its interventions in DRC and meddling in neighbouring states (Uganda and Burundi) had exposed a casualness to human life, cavalier ruthlessness, and shocking levels of [more...]
The time of abundance is mostly upon us, potatoes, more beans than one can shake a stick at, strawberries, courgettes, beetroot, spinach, chard, radish, leaves of many and various kinds and even a couple of [more...]
Born in 1875 Henry the eldest son of the 4th Marquess of Anglesey Citation needed here because it was rumoured throughout his life the Marquess was not his real father and that his mother had [more...]
In 1969, my uncle, John Alldridge visited New Guinea to “observe the attempt to weld a primitive people to a modern society”. This is the third of his reports for the Vancouver Sun. – Jerry [more...]
The news sent me scurrying to the attic to fumble in the dark with my watawat (behave yourselves). With girls’ football and Wendyball now equivalent in every way, the crafty chaps at association football’s governing [more...]
Wednesday 19th February It seemed as though Colonel Nguyen was getting frustrated with National Caveats as well. His Environmental Health Officer, Major Stavros Balaskas was due to go up to the Czech military hospital on [more...]
Chapter 1 – Preliminaries I had just returned from a Christmas and New Year cruise when I started thinking about booking the next Christmas cruise, being a single traveller, you need to book early to [more...]
As further proof that nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, in this week’s edition we diverge from my grandparents’ faded leather-bound family album from the 1940s and 50s and take a look at what [more...]
This time, Security vans, a trip to Rochester and a stranger in my own country. Brief recap, I spent two and a half years trade plating round England with the occasional foray into Scotland and [more...]
Welcome pop pickers to episode 3 of Genre 2, Glam Rock. This week back to Glam Rock. Thank you to Wiki and Top of the Pops. Courtesy of Wiki: Glam rock emerged from the English psychedelic and [more...]
Question Time 29th June 2023 The Panel: Helen Whately (Conservative) Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour) Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Chef and Campaigner) Dia Chakravarty (The Telegraph) Mhairi Black (SNP) Venue: Exeter Hugh Christopher Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall was born in Hampstead, [more...]
It was a very happy Jinnie who drove her Lexus back to Potters Bar to drop off Alberto and Guido. As she drove, the directors chatted. Jinnie asked if both the others were happy how [more...]
William Shakespeare devised new words and countless plot tropes that still appear in everyday life. Famous quotes from his plays are easily recognisable; phrases like “To be or not to be,” “wherefore art thou, Romeo,” [more...]
Oliver Harding is expecting a business-as-usual day at Bawlsinyore Court, a rather smart retirement housing scheme in a sleepy corner of Cambridgeshire where he’s the resident manager. Today the window cleaners will be here and [more...]
Rwanda’s “story” had the international community so thoroughly by the emotional and intellectual throat, it could not now, wrest free. Some elements of the stranglehold were self-serving. Rwanda’s most prize 21st-century export was not coffee [more...]
As time goes past on our elementary adventures, I hope to ensure that at least one element is included from each of the eighteen Groups of the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the [more...]
Briefing 47, The Global Warming Policy Foundation. The Brink of Darkness: Britain’s fragile power grid by John Constable. I was prompted to reread the above yesterday by two things, one the receipt of a combined [more...]
In 1969, my uncle, John Alldridge visited New Guinea to “observe the attempt to weld a primitive people to a modern society”. This is the second of his reports for the Vancouver Sun. – Jerry [more...]
Last Tuesday, June 20th the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the Commonwealth’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. Although the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, it seems [more...]
Monday 16th February Margin was constantly amazed at just how little work was completed in the ISAF Headquarters. Most of the day-to-day running of operations in Afghanistan were carried out by the ISAF Regional Commands [more...]
Before the pencil Pens and ink have been in existence for a very long time, being used by the ancient Egyptians for writing and drawing on papyrus, a papery substance made by beating reeds flat. [more...]
Battle Abbey Battle Abbey, located in Battle, East Sussex, is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey built on the site of the historic Battle of Hastings. The abbey is dedicated to St Martin of Tours and [more...]
This time, Security & breathalysers, Southampton, tracked vehicles and a sad tale. Brief recap, I spent two and a half years trade plating round England with the occasional foray into Scotland and Wales. Part one [more...]
This is Genre 1, Motown, episode 3. For those of a certain age this will bring back some fond memories and get your foot tapping. If you are a lot younger, as this is such [more...]
Question Time Brexit Special 22nd June 2023 The Panel: John Redwood (Conservative) Jenny Chapman (Labour) Ben Habib (Businessman) Prof Anand Menon (UK in a Changing Europe) Alastair Campbell (Former No 10 Press Secretary) Venue: Clacton-on-Sea [more...]
Penny, Steven and Les were dropped off by two ministerial cars in Downing Street and much to Les’s surprise they were shown straight into the PM’s private office. Nigel shook hands with them all and [more...]
This is my first comment though I was in the second wave of refugees from Fatso’s site and have been happily lurking here ever since. I do not have a tv or listen to the [more...]
If one were of a particularly cynical nature, one might think that a piece with this title might have been written to comment upon the near unbelievable social and political culture we find ourselves living [more...]
Having humiliated the Ugandan Army (UPDF), the RPF and the RCD in December crushed the remnants of the Congolese army and its Zimbabwean allies in Pweto, southeastern Congo. On 16th January 2001, Kabila was sitting [more...]
Why a Puffin you may (or may not) be asking yourselves, but there’s no great mystery or even significance behind the header picture of my latest ramblings being of our “Spirit” bird. I’ve made the [more...]
There is clearly a common denominator in the kind of “solutions” that the State comes up with to deal with the problems that it caused (and that’s most problems). Not only are these remedies worse [more...]
In 1969, my uncle, John Alldridge visited New Guinea to “observe the attempt to weld a primitive people to a modern society”. This is the first of his reports for the Vancouver Sun. – Jerry [more...]
The US dollar has been the world’s premier reserve currency since the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944. Until 1971 it was redeemable by foreign central banks in gold at $35 per ounce. As long as [more...]
Wednesday 11th February While Margin had a great deal of respect for the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, he realised that there was one major flaw in the well-oiled machinery of repatriation. It was designed [more...]
Monday Hello merry readers and welcome to another week of my diary and thoughts. I start this week in a good mood, I have had a good weekend, nothing special for me to report on [more...]
Dover In this week’s dip into the family album we have moved around the Kent coast from Ramsgate and have arrived in Dover. The White Cliffs, the outline of Dover Castle and the seafront make [more...]
This time, Preston and Norwich and a nightmare in London Brief recap, I spent two and a half years trade plating round England with the occasional foray into Scotland and Wales. Part one is here [more...]
Welcome pop pickers to an ambitious series of articles covering 6 genres, each with 6 episodes. To give a bit of variation, the next episode of each genre will be published 6 weeks after the [more...]
Question Time 15th June 2023 The Panel: David TC Davies (Conservative) David Blunkett (Labour) David Linden (SNP) Charlotte Ivers (Times Radio) Guto Harri (Former Boris Johnson Aide) Venue: Deeside David Blunkett (not his real name, [more...]
Jinnie drove away from Windsor feeling quite pleased not only had they given the employment agency a massive kick up the arse, but they had also found a front of house manager for the Artisan [more...]
Having spent a while researching the Desert War series, it is only fair to leave you my impressions based on the many thing that have passed before my eyes. It takes a while to weed [more...]
Over the last couple of years, the UK has been increasingly in the news – for all the wrong reasons. The cost of living crisis, in particular, has been monopolizing headlines at home and abroad. [more...]
In March 1997, in his usual dubious and manipulative way, Kagame “assumed” the chairmanship of the RPF (the ruling party) from Colonel Alexis Kanyarengwe. After protesting army massacres of Hutus in his home province of [more...]
In this series, we’ve taken a wander through the marvels of the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the Elements) and become familiar with some fundamental chemistry principles. We have explored: Hydrogen, Carbon, Mercury, [more...]
Fk’s sake. Just back fae a dissaplinary heerin’ wi’ a pair ae complete fkin’ cts frae tha profeshnul standards dapartment. It wis aboot fkin’ hee haw an’ aw. A pure waste ae polis time ovah [more...]
In 1950 John E Horwell, the former Chief Constable of Scotland Yard, set out his view of the state of modern policing; a view which will resonate with many 73 years later. This article first [more...]
In Part One we followed the journey of Irishman Charles Freeman, on the SS Medic down the west coast of Africa, from Liverpool to Cape Town in 1927. The ship was continuing on to Australia, [more...]
Thursday 5th February The son who had been born in a clinic in the Camargue while lizards crawled up the walls of the delivery room, looked down at the dying man in the bed. Cancer [more...]
Monday Good bank holiday morning everyone, it’s a sunny today which is unusual for a bank holiday Monday. I’m looking forward to a nice lazy day today with no visitors to Number 10 and only [more...]
After the crowning broad bean horror of Charles the ill’s recent circus, it’s time to rehabilitate the quiche from the gastronomic hell into which it has been plunged by meddling chefs. The original quiche is [more...]
Canterbury In our family album, my father and grandparents visited Kent and Sussex for a holiday in 1948. This was a time of great change and transformation in those counties as they, and the rest [more...]
This time, Grandad rights and the ultimate sin Brief recap, I spent two and a half years trade plating round England with the occasional foray into Scotland and Wales. Part one is here Part two [more...]
Welcome pop pickers. This week is back to Rock ‘n’ Roll, the early days. This is the sort of music that makes you want to tap your feet, dance, and singalong. Thank you to Wiki, [more...]
Question Time 8th June 2023 The Panel: Lee Rowley (Conservative) Jonathan Ashworth (Labour) Ayesha Hazarika (Broadcaster) Lord Sumption (Former Supreme Court judge) Venue: King’s Lynn Jonathan Sumption, not his real name (Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption, [more...]
The party in Mendoza kept up the pretence of being tourists, going out in the car every day. They decided to avoid the missile site by day and only keep an eye on it by [more...]
I spent over forty years in the City of London very largely specializing in pension & trust fund management. The latter decade in tax effective investment. We live in a kleptocracy which seems to have [more...]
A Refuge from Modern England Several things have triggered this article; conversations I have had with various Puffins face to face at meetings and get-togethers, something that Polar Opposite posted in one of the comments, [more...]
If “keep us safe” was the RPF’s public driving mantra, it was easier said than done. Having taken a generation for Uganda refugee camps to produce a rebel force capable of threatening Rwanda’s national security, [more...]
First things first, as the saying goes. Starting bottom left, the vine flourishes and has benefitted, in no small measure, from a good old fashioned “clip out”, more of which next time. Before we get [more...]
The 2 Faced Theatre Academy was a children’s theatre company founded in August 2008 and based at the Guide Bridge Theatre near Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester. One of the founders and a tutor at the [more...]
As many of you know I have been hankering after a milling machine for some time. Not being able to justify the price of a shiny new one I have been religiously checking ebay and [more...]
The definition of “family values” in most dictionaries includes features such as “upholding the moral and ethical principles of fidelity, honesty, truthfulness; and values that promote the sound functioning of the family, at the same [more...]
In May 1969 my uncle, John Alldridge, described the voyage of Allcock and Brown for the Montreal Star. This is the last of his reports. – Jerry F It was 4.28 GMT when the heavily [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone, and welcome to another week of my musings. I have had a cracking weekend. It has been lovely and peaceful in Number 10 with the Rich Boy in Japan and since [more...]
She’d been eyeing me shrewdly, from the moment I’d sat down. ‘You can twiddle your thumbs, and put on a ‘butter wouldn’t melt face’, for all you’re worth…’ my pained expression was not even worth [more...]
Cape Wrath Cape Wrath is a cape located in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. It is known for being the most north-westerly point in mainland Britain and boasts [more...]
The Epsom Derby Today sees the 244th running of the Derby Stakes run on the famous Epsom Downs in Surrey, with the thirteen runners guaranteed to make it a highly competitive renewal. The Derby is [more...]
Welcome pop pickers. This is based on stuff like what I like, there will be various bands and artists to try and cheer you up and kick-start your weekend. Hopefully for many of you, to [more...]
Question Time 1st June 2023 The Panel: George Freeman (Conservative) Jess Phillips (Labour) Nimco Ali (The Five Foundation) Jack Monroe (Activist) Chris Patten (Chancellor, Oxford University) Venue: Leicester I’ll tell you what happened. Despite being [more...]
The Trattoria Trevi board gathered, as agreed, on the Monday afternoon and after a short discussion during which Brian repeatedly reassured the directors that they had sufficient funds for both projects, Jinnie pointed out that [more...]
News here in the US has been full of the latest farce known as raising or not raising the debt ceiling. Today (Thursday, May25, 2023) the Wall Street Journal’s headline story reassures us that progress [more...]
A few days ago, the Little Girl Next Door had a school friend come home when school finished at three o’clock. They happily played in the back garden and the visitor stayed for tea. A [more...]
While continued attempts to persuade Hutu officials to return, the RPF pressed for its own list of candidates for the posts of bourgmestres to be appointed. At grassroots level, the power-sharing principles of the Arusha [more...]
We’ve already explored the development of the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the Elements) and picked up a few bits of basic chemistry information. The elements we have met to date have been: [more...]
Previously, in “The Sore Seated Safari”, we followed one Charles Henry Freeman and some compatriots, on a 1929 road trip from the town of Iringa, in Tanganyika, to Nairobi in Kenya. But what were they [more...]
Welcome back to Cnutelectronics! It comprises the same bone headed ignorance, overenthusiasm, poor research, pointy metal things as Cnuteneering and also adds the additional danger of very hot soldering irons. If you missed them here [more...]
With the Axis occupying a smaller and smaller piece of real estate in Tunisia this was the month they would have to surrender, 291,000 of them. There was no way to supply them and no [more...]
In May 1969 my uncle, John Alldridge, described the voyage of Allcock and Brown for the Montreal Star. This is the fourth of his reports. – Jerry F Like most cities, St. John’s, Newfoundland, has [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone and welcome to another week in the madness that is modern Britain! The biggest madness to arrive over the weekend was Sir Beer Korma’s idea of voting reform. Apparently, he wants [more...]
Loch Ailort As we accompany my grandparents (and their caravan) on their 1956 Scottish road tour, we reach Loch Ailort, a west coast sea loch and popular tourist destination. Or do we? The location of [more...]
This time, The only time I felt unsafe and down to the South West Brief recap, I spent two and a half years trade plating round England with the occasional foray into Scotland and Wales. [more...]
Welcome pop pickers to an ambitious series of articles covering 6 genres, each with 6 episodes. To give a bit of variation, the next episode of each genre will be published 6 weeks after the [more...]
Question Time 25th May 2023 The Panel: Laura Trott (Conservative) Peter Kyle (Labour) Munira Wilson (LibDem) Janet Street-Porter (Broadcaster) Theo Paphitis (Businessman) Venue: Gravesend A man went into a fellside pub and ordered two pints [more...]
Jinnie decided that as she no longer had a parking space in the SIS underground car park she would use the train to London. She drove to Hadley Wood station and as it was just [more...]
Happy Birthday to Me My birthday is November 4th and as a child my main memory of it was always of my parents laying on a party for my friends who all turned up bearing [more...]
On seeing the title of this article, the casual reader might assume it’s about brave Ukrainian peasants, led by fearless, democracy-loving President *elensky, and the battle to stop wicked Putin’s army dead in its tracks, [more...]
In Africa, generally speaking, museums usually are thin on the ground. Underfunded, poorly maintained (if at all), they often present a version of history barely refreshed since colonial times. Rwanda is an exception. Currently it [more...]
The world turns Postaliers and life moves on apace. This time of year is fraught with many and various dangers though, as we negotiate our way from heatwave to heatwave and through the resultant “Catastrophic [more...]
The name Dr Mary Temple Grandin may not exactly trip off the tongue, but her story is a fascinating tale of grit, stubbornness, a never ending will not only to survive but to thrive in [more...]
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain was an American writer and humourist as well as having a multitude of other careers throughout his life. He is probably best known for [more...]
Introduction This is a short article, looking at dealing with the manifold problems of science. Medical science, agri science & food science are all owned by the companies that benefit from selling us stuff based [more...]
In May 1969 my uncle, John Alldridge, described the voyage of Allcock and Brown for the Montreal Star. This is the first of his reports. – Jerry F MANCHESTER — She hangs now, like some [more...]
Monday Good morning happy readers and welcome to another week’s diary entries from your cat reporter. It was a strange day yesterday, first it rained hard, then it was sunny for a couple of hours, [more...]
Essentially hill and lake people, and having traversed the French and Italian Rivieras during their 1958 Ford Prefect continental road trip, my grandparents headed inland in search of inclines and hairpin bends. Col de Tende [more...]
The article below was originally published in May 1902 before the coronation of King Edward VII the following June. It was written by Mrs. A. Murray Smith and originally published in the monthly Pall Mall [more...]
Greetings pop pickers! This evening’s planned exploration of Scandinavian Death Metal has been unexpectedly postponed. This unfortunate occurrence is due to the recent and thoroughly welcome announcement of some rather splendidly splendid glad tidings – [more...]
Firstly, I hoped you thoroughly enjoyed my first few articles covering the two key national hunt festivals in the UK. Now that the dust has settled on the recent Aintree Grand National and a belated [more...]
Question Time 4th May 2023 The Panel: Mark Harper (Conservative) David Lammy (Labour) Peter Hitchens (Journalist) Minette Batters (NFU) Billy Bragg (Musician) Venue: Telford David Lammy is the son of Guyanese immigrants, was born in [more...]
Jinnie was driving home around a busy M25 when her mobile rang, cutting into the phone-in she, Alberto and Guido had been listening to on the car’s sound system. Glancing at the screen it said [more...]
Although that of King Charles III divides opinion, coronations remain fascinating events that have captivated the world for centuries. They are the ultimate display of power and prestige, as rulers are crowned and anointed in [more...]
Its walls and towers stare down – rather snootily it could be said – from Maze Hill, over the lesser buildings clustering round its feet on the edge of Greenwich Common. Opposite, Canary Wharf’s ghostly-looking, [more...]
Luwero Triangle, a 2,800 square mile cheese slice of land NNW of Kampala. Within it are 33 memorials scattered across the Luwero Triangle. Some 4,000 lie buried in Kikyusa. They and all other memorial sites [more...]
By now, you should have (happily I hope) settled into our explorations of a day in the life of the elements. So far, we’ve investigated Hydrogen, Carbon, Mercury, Bromine, and Oxygen, taken a canter through [more...]
In part two of this series I’d like to introduce the joys and messiness of drawing with soft pastels. The pastels I use are chalk based, although some are oil-based and therefore more like crayons. [more...]
If there was one place in England I did not intend to visit it was Clovelly. I knew just what to expect: I have seen that quaint little High Street, climbing like Jacob’s ladder from [more...]
Monday Good morning merry readers. I don’t know why but something woke me early from my slumbers. Anyway, I ventured into the back garden and there was a grey tree rat on the bird feeder. [more...]
San Remo San Remo, also spelt Sanremo, is a town located in the Liguria region of northwestern Italy. It is a popular tourist destination on the Italian Riviera and is known for hosting cultural events [more...]
This time, We go digital and getting between jobs Brief recap, I spent two and a half years trade plating round England with the occasional foray into Scotland and Wales. Part one is here [more...]
Greetings pop pickers! This week’s Classic Album Review is Dedicated to Chrissie and Easy With The Tonic & Pussies. Wizzard – See My Baby Jive Both Chrissie and Easy have voiced concerns with regard to [more...]
Question Time 27th April 2023 The Panel: Rachel Maclean (Conservative) Lisa Nandy (Labour) Layla Moran (LibDem) Camilla Tominey (Journalist) Venue: Greenford There is a spat on my ‘1970s Football Terraces, Floodlight Pylons and Belfast Roofs’ [more...]
The new building was progressing leaps and bounds. Nigel wanted to start off the site visit in the computer room. It was a hive of activity, Nigel pointed out several racks where servers were humming [more...]
A real systemic crisis If there was one thing more telling than the bank failures themselves, it was the governments’ reaction to them. The sheer panic that shook US, Swiss and Eurozone officials was almost pitiable [more...]
Obote depended on Idi Amin to enforce his policies, but knew he couldn’t trust his protégé. The suspicion was mutual. Hearing he was about to be arrested for the murder of an Obote ally, Amin [more...]
Life carries on apace and although the weather still refuses to settle down, there’s always time in my horrendously busy schedule to take a walk, often with my camera and occasionally with a group of [more...]
In September 1948, a few weeks after its launch, John Alldridge set out to answer this question – His findings make very interesting reading 75 years later – Jerry F On Monday, July 5, nearly [more...]
“We now eat in two weeks the amount of sugar our ancestors of 200 years ago ate in a whole year” John Yudkin 1963 All WW2 Far East Prisoners of War were heroes, but in [more...]
It might sound like an old-fashioned notion, the sort of thing that one reads about in period novels and romantically sighs “oh, the good old days”. It might sound like old timely advice, perhaps of [more...]
From the tip of Land’s End on a fine spring morning you may look down on a sea that can be as calm and clear as a mill pond. From that height the Atlantic is [more...]
Monday Good morning readers and welcome to another exciting week in No 10. Well, it’s back to more rain this morning and there are puddles on the garden path and the grass is soggy, typical [more...]
Her breakfast was spoiled by the knowledge that, at some point, she would have to tell the waif about the ‘team’s’ visit: not only how to break the news, but when. She decided that it [more...]
Menton Menton is a charming coastal town located on the French Riviera, only six miles from Monaco and within sight of the Tête de Chien cliffs which overlook the over-developed principality we called upon last [more...]
Driving the minibus, a bit of racial tension and a near punch up. Brief recap, I spent two and a half years trade plating round England with the occasional foray into Scotland and Wales. Part [more...]
This week there will be no messing around with any Mickey Mouse, common-or-garden, Diamond certified albums – no siree. This weeks album is a proper whopper. With 33 million copies sold, lavish helpings of adolescent [more...]
Question Time 20th April 2023 The Panel: Jeremy Quin (Conservative) Wes Streeting (Labour) Carla Denyer (Green) Lord Sentamu (Christian Aid) Merryn Somerset Webb (Finance Journalist) Venue: York John Sentamu (not his real name, The Right [more...]
Ro rang Jinnie and said she hoped she didn’t mind but she had suggested to Nigel that he and Jed should move into what had been Aimee’s office as it was much more suitable for [more...]
Introduction For my 50th birthday, as I didn’t have my children all available, I decided to experience Marrakech. A lot of people recommended it, so decided it was a good time of year to visit [more...]
There are spy novels…. & novels about spies. Fleming, Deighton & Le Carre definitely wrote the former (& in doing so laid bare their inner classist prejudices) , whilst Ambler, Greene, & Conrad constructed far [more...]
The Banyarwanda, the Kinyarwanda-speaking community, constituted one of Central Africa’s biggest ethnic groups, its footprint stretching from eastern Zaire to western Tanzania and up to western Uganda. At its core sat the tiny, mountainous former [more...]
By now, you should be getting quite used to meandering through the mesmerising memoirs of the elements. So far, we’ve covered Hydrogen, Carbon, Mercury, and Bromine. In doing so, we’ve also covered a good chunk [more...]
Before I retired my boss had a beautiful 4-bedroom detached house on a private estate on the edge of Dorking. However, both her and her husband were gardeners, and their pristine garden was just too [more...]
Welcome back to Cnutelectronics! It comprises the same bone headed ignorance, overenthusiasm, poor research, pointy metal things as Cnuteneering and also adds the additional danger of very hot soldering irons. We left the last episode [more...]
Not who I think I am Oh, dear. Be careful what you wish for. Let sleeping dogs lie. Unexpected consequences. Every family holds its secrets – except yours and mine. All is not what it [more...]
Look at Tolpuddle now, with its neat thatched cottages, its tall chestnuts in splendid flower, all in all as pretty an English village as ever found its way on to a Christmas card, and you [more...]
Monday Good morning people and welcome to a new week. What a lovely sunny morning, I could feel the warmth of the sun on my fur as I headed down the garden. Mind you it [more...]
‘You the parrot lady?’ She smiled: ‘Yes, I suppose I am. Is that what people call me?’ ‘No – just me. How many parrots have you got?’ ‘At the moment, just a pair. But I [more...]
Monte Carlo Casino After spending much of one’s life in Carlisle, it might be difficult to be sniffy about Monte Carlo but as time goes on, it does become easier. On this page from the [more...]
Time and place 21st – 22nd/23rd July 2023 at the Gate Hangs High. Accommodation Many of us will be camping in one form or another at the GHH, there is a very large field with [more...]
How it all hangs together and how easily it goes pear shaped. Brief recap, I spent two and a half years trade plating round England with the occasional foray into Scotland and Wales. Part one [more...]
This week there will be no messing around with any Mickey Mouse, common-or-garden, multi-Platinum albums. No siree. This weeks album is the globe straddling, chart shattering, Diamond Certified behemoth from “that lil’ ol’ band from [more...]
We left our travellers on the evening of September 25th, 1929, as they settled down for a night’s sleep in the village of Bereku, Tanganyika, about 37 miles north of Kondoa Irangi. Today it boasts [more...]
Jinnie was sat at her desk in the garden office reading emails and reports. Although it had only been in use a short while the garden office was proving to be just what Jinnie needed. [more...]
It’s Saturday 5th April 1997. The horses are parading in the Aintree paddock for the third race, due off at 2.55pm. The field is headed by Make a Stand, who recently won the Champion Hurdle [more...]
The Axis forces will surrender in May so April sees the Allies squeezing the Axis into a smaller and smaller area. On the 1st the US 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions attacked Italian positions at [more...]
The first of 12 articles, building a clearer picture of what happened and what was not reported. It has heavy relevance in this part of the world and is being watched like a hawk. Needless [more...]
Finally got the layout finished with the completion of the four (slightly) raised beds. In the final analysis (for this season at least) I decided not to permanently fix them down with corner pegs as [more...]
A few weeks ago, Swiss Bob was asked to review a book advocating re-joining the EU: Brexit Unmasked by Albert Kemp (Brown Dog Books, 2023). I don’t know if this unusual request was in recognition [more...]
Here is a quick and easy meal to make one evening which is easy to do, using mainly inexpensive ingredients and very little effort. The recipe was one from my mother. Being a child of [more...]
Almost fifty years ago I booked a package holiday to Austria. I was young, impressionable and thought that by having everything organised I could play the quintessential Englishman abroad. How wrong I was. The “family [more...]
There is one date in history that no Englishman can escape remembering — Battle of Hastings, 1066. So being quite close to the place we thought we would go and see how that famous battlefield [more...]
Monday Good morning people and welcome to my diary for another week. Well, at least it was dry when I woke up but cooler again even with the sun out. I had a surprise yesterday [more...]
After spending much of one’s life in Carlisle, being unenthusiastic about Monaco might be a challenge. Or might it? First, a disambiguation. Monaco is the name of a principality of less than 500 acres which [more...]
Out on my own Brief recap, I spent two and a half years trade plating round England with the occasional foray into Scotland and Wales. Part one is here. I received a text on Friday [more...]
Pocket Full of Kryptonite is the multi-platinum debut studio album by the American rock band, Spin Doctors. Released in August 1991, the album was a huge global success, received multiple international gold and platinum certifications [more...]
Amongst a century of detritus at the BBC there lies some buried treasure. Between layers of fake news, preachy left-wing documentaries and un-funny comedy, the BBC’s iPlayer hides a gleaming gem of an old archaeology [more...]
Belinda led the small party through the double doors that lead to the ground floor accommodation. From her memory of the drawings and images she had seen, Jinnie knew that most of the ground floor [more...]
In the cupboard to the left of my desk, sits a large cardboard box filled with old family photo albums. These arrived in my parent’s house in the early 1980s, after the death of my [more...]
“World bankers, by pulling a few simple levers that control the flow of money, can make or break entire economies. By controlling press releases of economic strategies that shape national trends, the power elite are [more...]
Like the Tet offensive in Vietnam, the political fallout caused the usual sea change in the US bringing the Somalia adventure to an end. Paul Watson, though not a professional photographer, who won the Pulitzer [more...]
By now, you should be getting quite familiar with some of the fascinating titbits of information it’s possible to unearth (pun intended) about elements. In previous articles, we’ve explored the development of the Periodic Table [more...]
(I) It is 5-30am and children come out of the gloom like ghosts in silent procession. They are laid heavy with satchels, wear blouses and shirts which are so white that they hurt your eyes [more...]
Cnutelectronics [ ca-noot-elec-tronicks ] noun The art or science of making practical application of the lack of knowledge of pure sciences, such as electrical engineering, as in the construction of useful circuits without suffering any [more...]
Great Britain is now bankrupt, morale & national self confidence is at a low not seen since the 1970s. Managed decline, the main political party strategy since 1945 must be turned around. It is only [more...]
Kent used to be called “the Garden of England.” Perhaps it still is. The garden itself is still there — a mass of snowy blossom just now; but since I last saw it the great [more...]
Monday Good morning everyone, and welcome to another week of news and trivia from your cat reporter. It was dry when I ventured out before my breakfast, but now it has been consumed I see [more...]
Cannes Having pestered the French Air Force at Istres last time, this time we’re striking out from there along the Cote d’Azur in diréction Cannes. Above we see the fishing port side of the town [more...]
This is part 1 of a few about my trials and tribulations of two and a half years spent as a trade plate driver. You are bound to have seen “platers” with their red and [more...]
Hot rats, released in 1969, is the second solo album by the late American musician, composer and band leader, Frank Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993). It was the first album he released [more...]
Question Time 30th March 2023 The Panel: Andrew Murrison (Conservative) Emily Thornberry (Labour) Helen Morgan (LibDem) Danny Sriskandarajah (Oxfam) Fraser Nelson (The Spectator) That’s nutty Bristol which should be twinned with other progressive oddities such [more...]
The metallic black Lexus ES was beautiful and Jinnie thought it looked just perfect for a managing director. The salesman from the garage showed her all the electronic wizardry but there was so much to [more...]
I don’t get out as much any more now that I’ve learned to do my work online. Slouching behind a steering wheel 200 miles a day has been replaced by slouching at a screen waiting [more...]
OK Puffins Hands up those who think the “pandemic” was used as cover for a financial/energy crisis. Well, those 97% who’ve donned their tin foil hats & agreed with the premise might also ask themselves [more...]
The post What’s it all about, Part 1 first appeared on Going Postal.
Independent journalists and non-UN aid workers had already done enough to discredit the approach taken under Operation Restore Hope and so were treated by the US-UN as “the enemy”. Throughout Somalia’s “peacekeeping war”, independent journalists [more...]
The post Day of the Rangers first appeared on Going Postal.
Along with every other part of the country we’ve had a bit of “Man Climate Change Made Warming Cool Global” weather over the last couple of weeks or so, (more of which later) which has [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse; Eid Mubarak, Suckers first appeared on Going Postal.
Starting around 1989 the Soviet empire started to crumble. The time period between the forming of NATO in the late 1940’s and the retreat of Russia from Eastern Europe and the eventual collapse of communism [more...]
The post Role Reversal first appeared on Going Postal.
I’m sure many people are familiar with H.G. Wells’ science fiction output, with novels like The War of the Worlds, The Shape of Things to Come, The Invisible Man, The Sleeper Awakes (which some have [more...]
The post The Young H.G. Wells by Clare Tomalin. Viking: 2021 first appeared on Going Postal.
The other evening my wife was watching Question Time on BBC 1. I wandered into the room and listened for 5 minutes, hearing panel members pontificating on what their respective political parties would do/are doing [more...]
The post The lack of affordable housing? Blame it on 12 years of interest rate-suppression first appeared on Going Postal.
If you want to see what a profound and lasting impression the war has left on the face of rural England you should make a point of travelling over that stretch of road that links [more...]
The post This Is My England – Part Five first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday It’s a beautiful Monday morning here in Westminster, even if it was a bit wet overnight. The sun is out, the sky is blue and it’s even a bit warmer. The woman who looks [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary – Week One Hundred And Eighty first appeared on Going Postal.
Le Train Bleu Last time we teased that we were arriving at a quayside in Ostend to connect with the Istanbul Express as if Graham Greene’s characters in Stamboul Train. My grandparents’ Ford Prefect was [more...]
The post A River Runs Through It first appeared on Going Postal.
I’ve often heard Puffins lament that they would like to contribute articles to our esteemed website but are too daunted. So, I thought I’d share a few tips to encourage more Puffins to pick up [more...]
The post Writing – a few tips first appeared on Going Postal.
Phil is taking a few weeks off. I first saw Prince at Wembley Arena in the late eighties and again at the Hardturm Stadion (home of Grasshopper Club Zürich) in 1993. Switzerland must be one [more...]
The post Prince – 4EVER first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 23rd March 2023 The Panel: Andrew Bowie (Conservative) Louise Haigh (Labour) Zing Tsjeng (Vice UK) Howard Davies (NatWest Group) Tom Newton Dunn (Talk TV) Venue: Newcastle-under-Lyme Edinburgh University graduate Tomas Zolton Newton Dunn [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Larry lay in the Wendy house watching the workmen through the part open door. He was not sure if he would be welcomed by the workers if he went for a closer look, as he [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Five, Chapter Four first appeared on Going Postal.
New Orleans prosecutor Jim Garrison sits next to Senator Long of Louisiana on a crowded businessman’s shuttle flight either into or out of Washington DC. Director Oliver Stone never did tell us which in JFK, [more...]
The post Justice For Ellie? first appeared on Going Postal.
This is a Winter Dish, but if you live in the Land of Eternal November, who cares? You need: fresh leeks French or French-style slices of ham, as many as you’ve got leeks Salted butter [more...]
The post Steamed leeks wrapped in ham first appeared on Going Postal.
Relief work had been halted overnight following the death of the Pakistanis. UN [read US] commanders tipped off aid agencies a “massive strike” would be carried out sometime in the next two days, imploring them [more...]
The post Keystone Cops And 12th July first appeared on Going Postal.
In previous articles, we’ve explored the development of the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the Elements), and examined the elements Hydrogen, and Carbon. In this, the fourth, I’m going to take a closer [more...]
The post Elementary, my dear Watson – Hg Mercury first appeared on Going Postal.
There have been reports in the press recently about the approval of insects as an ingredient in the human food chain. I have no objection to people eating insects – John the Baptist famously lived [more...]
The post Eating the Bugs… first appeared on Going Postal.
Welcome back to Cnutelectronics! It comprises the same bone headed ignorance, overenthusiasm, poor research, pointy metal things as Cnuteneering, and also adds the additional danger of very hot soldering irons. We left this project with [more...]
The post Automations in my Home: Conclusion first appeared on Going Postal.
In a recent conference, the EU’s Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, gave a dire warning: “We have a shrinking workforce all across Europe, all countries are losing their workforce.” Indeed, in just 10 years, [more...]
The post The “great Ponzi scheme” coming to an end? first appeared on Going Postal.
I was awakened that morning by the sudden furious ringing and clanging of bells — a sort of wild, insane music, as if some demented Dickensian sexton had been let loose in the belfry. To [more...]
The post This Is My England, 1950 – Part Four first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday A good Monday morning to you all. Very dull and chilly this morning, I thought it was supposed to be meteorological spring! The talk of the office this weekend has been the Rich Boy’s [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary – Week One Hundred And Seventy-Nine first appeared on Going Postal.
According to those better able to describe such things than myself, decades ago the crossing to Ostend was one of drenched decks, the smell of steam and oil and of stale Bass from the bar. [more...]
The post Ostend For Greeneland first appeared on Going Postal.
A small confession: my first introduction to this opening soliloquy was as a child on a Saturday afternoon from none other than Arnold Judas Rimmer in Red Dwarf. He and Lister are marooned and, to [more...]
The post Crom’s Deep Dive: Richard III, Act 1 Scene 1 first appeared on Going Postal.
G6E1 – Those different ones like what I like. Welcome pop pickers to an ambitious series of articles covering 6 genres, each with 6 episodes. To give a bit of variation, the next episode of [more...]
The post G6E1 – Those different ones like what I like first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 16th March 2023 The Panel: Andrew Bowie (Conservative) Bim Afolami (Conservative) Lucy Powell (Labour) Stephen Flynn (SNP) John Allan (Tesco) Anne McElvoy (Journalist) Venue: Warrington At the last minute, the advertised Andrew Bowie [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie, Alberto and Guido sat in First Class in the Thameslink train back to Cambridge. This was a decent way to travel, they were heading into London when the commuters were heading out so the [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Five, Chapter Three first appeared on Going Postal.
Apparently things are not as they once were. The world is changing. Or at least in a supposedly first world country, we have been told that there may be times when it is needed to [more...]
The post When is your power going off? first appeared on Going Postal.
Some Puffins may have dim & distant memories of learning their ABCs by rote, both at home & at primary skool. Which is E X A C T L Y why they’re so confused & [more...]
The post ABC first appeared on Going Postal.
The Torygraph’s “exposé” ignores the planning of the Convid response and its aftermath. Eugenics is the man without a face; the continuity that links families and regimes. Bojo had promised families would spend Christmas of [more...]
The post Halfcock’s a Tool of The Banks first appeared on Going Postal.
Welcome once again Postaliers to the continuing adventures of this singularly rough gardener and his occasional “partner in crime”. In this weeks instalment we get radical with a plum tree, find out what “root stock” [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse; Burn Down The Mission first appeared on Going Postal.
Introduction Up until 2005, the Cheltenham Festival was traditionally held over three days. The third day’s card was unquestionably the highlight of the meeting. Starting with the Triumph Hurdle, followed by the Stayers Hurdle and [more...]
The post This Sporting Life – Chapter 2 first appeared on Going Postal.
If Westminster politics is show business for ugly people then the Holyrood equivalent is a pantomime for the deformed and demented. Amidst a blizzard of criticism for putting rapists in women’s jails and the inability [more...]
The post SNP Leadership Runners And Riders first appeared on Going Postal.
I detect signs of a nascent backlash. There seems to be a realistic hope that people are waking up to the reality of the prevailing insanity inflicted on them by officialdom in all its guises. [more...]
The post Is The Pendulum Swinging Back To Sanity? first appeared on Going Postal.
I have had a particularly soft spot in my heart for Nottingham ever since an evening in June, 1940. There were about a thousand of us, dribs and drabs of a British Expeditionary Force, scooped [more...]
The post This Is My England, 1950 – Part Three first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning everyone, yet another Monday morning and a fun week in Westminster looks to be ahead. It’s bright and sunny this morning but still chilly, when is it going to be warm enough [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary – Week One Hundred And Seventy-Eight first appeared on Going Postal.
It’s difficult to tell exactly where we are in old Zermatt, pictured below during my grandparent’s 1950s road trip. These days the town is short of public squares given what has to be squeezed onto [more...]
The post The View From Sunnegga first appeared on Going Postal.
Introduction Currently there are sixty racecourses spread across the United Kingdom and thus far I’ve visited around a third of them. Of the total, more than half cater for the faster type of horses bred [more...]
The post This Sporting Life – Chapter 2 first appeared on Going Postal.
Welcome pop pickers to an ambitious series of articles covering 6 genres, each with 6 episodes. To give a bit of variation, the next episode of each genre will be published 6 weeks after the [more...]
The post G5E1 – Origins of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Beginning first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 9th March 2023 The Panel: Robert Jenrick (Conservative) Sarah Jones (Labour) Ken Clarke (Former Home Secretary) Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (Journalist) Richard Madeley (Broadcaster) Venue: London Hereditary journalist Richard Madeley was born in Romford, Essex [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
The day after Jinnie’s meeting with ‘C’ things started moving. In mid-morning Belinda arrived for a site visit to plan the garden office. Instead of bringing Andrew with her she was accompanied by Brain, who [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Five, Chapter Two first appeared on Going Postal.
With the Axis on the run in Tunisia it was only a matter of time until they had to surrender. Their supply routes to Tunisia were under constant attack and the Axis could do little [more...]
The post The Desert War – March 1943 first appeared on Going Postal.
On 30 July 1937 a man entered a cage at a Skegness amusement park. In the cage were two lions, one male, one female; Freddie and Toto. According to their owner, both animals were “docile” [more...]
The post The Prostitute’s Padre first appeared on Going Postal.
I was asked to appear on the Mark Dolan Show (GB News) last week to discuss the proposition ‘Are Civil Servants Inherently Left Wing?’ Irritatingly a technical hitch my end scrapped the debate. The proposition [more...]
The post Civil Servants first appeared on Going Postal.
In previous articles, we’ve looked at the element Hydrogen, and at the development of the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the Elements). This time, I intend to shine the spotlight on an element [more...]
The post Elementary, my dear Watson – C Carbon first appeared on Going Postal.
Each morning in early 1993, UN Pakistan contingent troops answered the muezzin call to prayer. The purported common Islamic bond between Somalis and Pakistanis was considered by both sides to contribute to a special rapport [more...]
The post New World Order Falls at First Hurdle first appeared on Going Postal.
- And outside. Home automation seems all the rage in puffinland with various articles describing the setting up, care and feeding of home automations. We’ve had Automations in my home and Smart Radiators, and I [more...]
The post Automations In My Home* Part II first appeared on Going Postal.
For many months now Alasdair Macleod of Goldmoney.com has been writing about the efforts of a group of non-Western nations, led by Russian economist Sergey Glazyez, to establish a new settlement system for international trade. [more...]
The post Simplicity and Honesty in a New International Trade Settlement System first appeared on Going Postal.
From Haddon Hall to Tideswell is only about ten miles. But to get from one to the other you have to travel across some of the bleakest, wildest, most God-forsaken country in England. On these [more...]
The post This Is My England, 1950 – Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning everyone, and welcome to another week of my musings. I took a slow walk down to the bottom of the garden this morning as it is getting a little more pleasant in [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary – Week One Hundred And Seventy-Seven first appeared on Going Postal.
Puffins will be familiar with a truism of the lower orders ducking and diving through the mean streets of Zermatt with a dagger between their teeth looking for a cheap room while the officer class [more...]
The post Trag In Ruh (Take It In Your Stride) first appeared on Going Postal.
Welcome to the second of Crom’s Deep Dives. I was touched by some of your comments on the first of this series and found they motivated me to find the time to commence this second [more...]
The post Macbeth Act 1 Scene 1 first appeared on Going Postal.
G4E1 – Origins of Northern Soul & Disco – The Beginning Welcome pop pickers to an ambitious series of articles covering 6 genres, each with 6 episodes. To give a bit of variation, the next [more...]
The post G4E1 – Origins of Northern Soul & Disco – The Beginning first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 2nd March 2023 The Panel: Graham Stewart (Conservative) Jonathan Reynolds (Labour) Tom Harwood (Journalist) Juergen Maier (Businessman) Kirsty Blackman (SNP) Venue: Sunderland The first question, dear God, was about Brexit despite the fact [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
When the meeting with the Super Burger team had concluded with an agreement in principle both sides shook hands. They further agreed that everything they had discussed was subject to the full acceptance of their [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Five, Chapter one first appeared on Going Postal.
Switzerland’s long-standing and well-deserved reputation as one of the last bastions of individual and financial liberty has been recently vindicated and reaffirmed. It was a much-needed boost of confidence for Swiss citizens like myself who [more...]
The post Switzerland: Still a bright beacon of freedom first appeared on Going Postal.
I know it has been remiss of me for not following up on the article of 16th of January. I’d planned to write one around once every two weeks as the layout progresses but time [more...]
The post Shunting along first appeared on Going Postal.
29th December – At sea The ‘Phantom Door Banger’ was late this morning. I was up and dressed when ‘its’ door crashed at 07:20. Guess who forgot to put their clock forward? Mind you, having [more...]
The post A Postcard From a Long Christmas Cruise, Part Seven first appeared on Going Postal.
It’s that time of year again, when I choose to bore the bi-weekly pants off you all by relating my erstwhile greenhouse adventures and, more often than not, misadventures. As always this “diary” will be [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse; New Beginnings first appeared on Going Postal.
Somalia is a land of great beauty and infinite Promise… Tourists are assured and enjoyable Stay in Somalia, where they will find the people Friendly and the country attractive “Beautiful Somalia” Ministry of Information Booklet [more...]
The post God’s Work = Failed New World Order first appeared on Going Postal.
“There’s a form of tolerance that’s worse than syphilis, worse than murder, worse than madness.” On October 20th, 2022, I and thousands of like-minded people stood in the pouring rain on Place Denfert-Rochereau to pay [more...]
The post Lola first appeared on Going Postal.
We’ve forgotten something important I’ve always been a bit of an oddball, so the following may reflect that. But it seems to me that the British people, and perhaps the people of the West in [more...]
The post Valuing our land area first appeared on Going Postal.
Since this journey must begin somewhere, let it begin here in Bakewell with the story of a tart. A Bakewell tart, which, of course — as they are quick to point out — isn’t a [more...]
The post This Is My England, 1950 – Part 1 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning everyone, and what a lovely morning, bright, sunny and not too cold. Maybe it’s because it’s half term down here in the south of England and the kids can go outside to [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary – Week One Hundred And Seventy-Six first appeared on Going Postal.
We shall continue our trip towards the source of the Matter Vispa, heading south towards the mountain town of Zermatt. However, we shall no longer call it a road trip. The evidence suggests, given a [more...]
The post His Monument, The Matterhorn first appeared on Going Postal.
“Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs” The first in this series of Deep Dives will look at the language and linguistic devices employed in Act 3, Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Richard II. First, [more...]
The post Crom’s Deep Dive: Richard II, Act 3 Scene 2 first appeared on Going Postal.
Welcome pop pickers to an ambitious series of articles covering 6 genres, each with 6 episodes. To give a bit of variation, the next episode of each genre will be published 6 weeks after the [more...]
The post G3E1 – Origins of The Singers – The Beginning first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 23rd February 2023 The Panel: David TC Davies (Conservative) Thangham Debbonaire (Labour) Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru) Rakie Ayola (Actress) Anita Boateng (Political commentator) Venue: Cardiff One of the Surrey Boatengs, Anita was [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie rang Bill Furr and suggested he might like a guided tour of the ‘Dark Kitchen’ now that it was virtually ready to go, adding perhaps he should organise a decent photographer to accompany him. [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Thirty-Two first appeared on Going Postal.
This month sees the battle of the Kassarine Pass.This was where the Axis forces gave the Americans a run for their money and may have been the start of the “our Italians” handle given to [more...]
The post The Desert War – February 1943 first appeared on Going Postal.
This is the first of a short series of articles I plan to write for Going Postal that will coincide with the major horse racing festivals during 2023, starting with Cheltenham in mid-March and culminating [more...]
The post This Sporting Life – Chapter 1 – Introduction first appeared on Going Postal.
23rd December – St Kitts I can hardly believe that this is day 23 of my cruise. Much like any other it started with me being woken by the phantom cabin door banger, who was [more...]
The post A Postcard From a Long Christmas Cruise, Part Six first appeared on Going Postal.
Behold the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the Elements). I’m pretty sure that we are all pretty familiar with this, from happy days in the school classroom if not more recently. It’s an [more...]
The post Elementary, my dear Watson – the Periodic Table first appeared on Going Postal.
Q: Isn’t there a better way to control these gunmen? A: Somebody did suggest one – carpet bomb Somalia with ecstasy, because it curbs hunger and makes everyone love each other. It’s not a bad [more...]
The post Carpet Bomb Somalia With Ecstasy first appeared on Going Postal.
I’m inclined to believe that everybody has a modicum of genius within them. It does not have to be mathematics, say. It could be cooking or good parenting. I like to cook but would not [more...]
The post How To Be A Genius first appeared on Going Postal.
Transfer of our capacity to manufacture goods and mine energy and resources to developing countries served to endorse our virtual assets as we established and dominated new markets with economic colonialism. Ludwig von Mises noted [more...]
The post Economic Evolution: Darwin’s Idiot Speaks, Part Six first appeared on Going Postal.
Last in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in February 1968 – Jerry F We had camped that last night on the Crow Indian reservation [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Twelve first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning everyone and what a lovely sunny one it was when I trundled down the garden before breakfast. The sun is finally getting a little warmth in it and with any luck I [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Seventy-Five first appeared on Going Postal.
After completing our clockwise tour of the northern shoreline of Lake Geneva, we head inland at the eastern extremity of Villeneuve and drive along the Rhone Valley. Our first photo is labelled ‘The Diablerats, Berner [more...]
The post Following in the Steps of Sepp first appeared on Going Postal.
Introduction This is an article about the ParkRun movement that is dragging thousands of people out of bed every Saturday to do a 5km (3.1 mile) run/walk around a park. It is enjoyed by all [more...]
The post ParkRun first appeared on Going Postal.
Welcome pop pickers to an ambitious series of articles covering 6 genres, each with 6 episodes. To give a bit of variation, the next episode of each genre will be published 6 weeks after the [more...]
The post G2E1 – Origins of Glam Rock – The Beginning first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 16th February 2023 The Panel: Robert Jenrick (Conservative) Stephen Kinnock (Labour) Ian Hislop (Private Eye) Ruth Wishart (Journalist) Lionel Shriver (Author) Venue: Rugby Mr Hislop is the editor of ABC1 demographic high-end male [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie and Paolo arrived at the restaurant early as Alberto had promised to give them an update tour of the Dark Kitchen. He was delighted with progress which was about two weeks ahead of schedule. [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Thirty-One first appeared on Going Postal.
The rise in energy prices has been confusing me. With standing charges being increased three or more fold and the cost per unit heading for the stratosphere, what on earth is going on. There is [more...]
The post The price of energy first appeared on Going Postal.
Puffins of a certain age will recall that seminal moment in 1987 when Mathias Rust, a West German teenager, seemingly did the impossible when he flew a Cessna light aircraft through 500 miles of the [more...]
The post History does not repeat, but sometimes it rhymes first appeared on Going Postal.
18th December – Aruba The ship picked up the port pilot around six this morning and after a very slow trip from Bonaire (it is only 125 nautical miles away) we docked around about 06:30 [more...]
The post A Postcard From a Long Christmas Cruise, Part Five first appeared on Going Postal.
You’ll have heard all the scare stories, especially if you’ve travelled to the Middle East, Eastern Europe or Asia; before we set off I lost count of the number of people who warned me about [more...]
The post A Postcard From India; The Food first appeared on Going Postal.
Death has become too commonplace to matter. The two greatest products in Mogadishu are shooting and rumours: from morning to night, they manufacture rumours, from night to morning they manufacture shootings – Mohamoud Afrah. Mogadishu: [more...]
The post City of Insane Warlords and Technicals first appeared on Going Postal.
On Dec 29th 1972 a paper was submitted to the American Association for the advancement of Science. The author, Edward Lorenz was an MIT professor of meteorology and the subject of the paper was:- Predictability; [more...]
The post Chaos Theory – Butterflies first appeared on Going Postal.
It should be patently obvious that putting the country into cold-storage for two years, and lavishing unfunded benefits to all and sundry to protect them from hardship, must carry dire consequences for Britain’s economy – [more...]
The post The Curse of Government Intervention first appeared on Going Postal.
FDR had abolished private ownership of gold money but retained gold as the underlying asset for U.S. currency, exchangeable one for the other. Variations in the price of U.S. currency in ounces of gold served [more...]
The post Economic Evolution: Darwin’s Idiot Speaks, Part Five first appeared on Going Postal.
Eleventh in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in January 1968 – Jerry F I found him sitting beside me at a snack bar on [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Eleven first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning everyone, no rain or frost again today, but the grass is still very wet under paw, but at least it isn’t so muddy as it was last week. There is even a [more...]
The post Larry Diary – Week One Hundred and Seventy-Four first appeared on Going Postal.
As we continue our clockwise trip around the northern shore of Lake Geneva, we take a slight detour behind the town of Montreux. The above photograph is captioned ‘Col de Jaman’ which is a high [more...]
The post From Byron to Buchli first appeared on Going Postal.
Have you ever wondered how the bank worked out how much interest to pay on your savings account, or charge you on your mortgage? I had a mortgage with a building society some years ago, [more...]
The post How to work out your interest yourself – and how the banks did it in the old days… first appeared on Going Postal.
G1E1 – Origins of the Motown – The Beginning Welcome pop pickers to an ambitious series of articles covering 6 genres, each with 6 episodes. To give a bit of variation, the next episode of [more...]
The post G1E1 – Origins of the Motown – The Beginning first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 9th February 2023 The Panel: George Freeman (Conservative) Lisa Nandy (Labour) Sarah Olney (LibDem) Matthew Syed (Journalist) Inaya Folarin-Oman (Broadcaster) Venue: Swindon One of the Kent Folarin-Imans, Inaya was educated privately at Tonbridge [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Maya dropped Penny and Irena at a port gate and they approached one of the British soldiers at the gatehouse who asked for her papers. Both the girls presented their identical German ID cards, Irena’s [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Thirty first appeared on Going Postal.
The blame game As we know from every crisis in human history, and especially the more recent ones, the most important item on any politician’s agenda is to find someone else to blame for it. [more...]
The post The death of the middle class is the death of civil society first appeared on Going Postal.
People research their family trees for all sorts of reasons. Where did I come from? (perfectly respectable to ask one’s self!).What sort of people were my forebears? what jobs did they do? Are there any [more...]
The post So, Where Are You From? first appeared on Going Postal.
12th December – Barbados This changing the time by an hour every other day is driving my body clock mad! I woke up at 5:20 ages early. The lights of Barbados were twinkling as we [more...]
The post A Postcard From a Long Christmas Cruise, Part Four first appeared on Going Postal.
In the previous article, we looked at the development of the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the Elements). The time has come to have a more in-depth look at the story behind some [more...]
The post Elementary, my dear Watson – H Hydrogen first appeared on Going Postal.
Somalia’s recent history is also a tale of grave miscalculations made by foreigners in a very foreign land. Knowing nomads happily demonstrated their supremacy and disdain for outsiders, the so-called fruits of civilization were not [more...]
The post Somalia – Western Economic Colonialism first appeared on Going Postal.
One of Say’s Laws holds that “we produce to consume”. This is certainly the underlying theme of the Industrial Revolution with its accompanying exponential growth in production of technology, communication, and energy utilization. While private [more...]
The post Economic Evolution: Darwin’s Idiot Speaks, Part Four first appeared on Going Postal.
Eleventh in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in February 1968 – Jerry F Nobody who caught the gold fever ever quite recovered from it. [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Ten first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning everyone and welcome to another week in Number 10. I work up late this morning, I think I slept longer because I watched the football on the office TV in the afternoon [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary – Week One Hundred And Seventy-Three first appeared on Going Postal.
As we continue our clockwise drive around Lake Geneva our first and brief port of call is Lausanne, the capital and largest city in the French-speaking Swiss canton of Vaud. Lying at an elevation between [more...]
The post Notables Indésirables En Route to Montreux first appeared on Going Postal.
When you read about Japanese trains, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the shinkansen, the world’s first bullet train and still a wonder to behold and to ride in. Or you [more...]
The post Riding the donkou through Japan first appeared on Going Postal.
My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Twenty – Morrisey/Smiths After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Twenty – The Smiths – Morrissey first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 2nd February 2023 The Panel: John Lamont (Conservative) Ian Murray (Labour) Jenny Gilruth (SNP) Ella Whelan (Journalist) India Willoughby (Broadcaster) Venue: Glasgow If Westminster is a village then I’m forced to concede to [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie was up early, she had fed and changed the twins who were now peacefully sleeping. She had also fed a persistent Larry and was wondering whether to return to bed to try to get [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Twenty-Nine first appeared on Going Postal.
The middle class in the West has been shrinking for years, but after the covid crisis and especially after the inflation explosion, whatever was left of it is now basically under threat of extinction. This [more...]
The post The death of the middle class is the death of civil society first appeared on Going Postal.
I think I’ve mentioned this before on these very pages. Perhaps it’s because I am of a certain age and demeanour. Is it the slightly haggard, worldly look or a hint of exotic places in [more...]
The post Who Do I Think I Am? first appeared on Going Postal.
7th December – At Sea I can hardly believe that today is the 7th day of my cruise time is flying by. We are heading on a course of 244°, approximately south westerly and it [more...]
The post A Postcard From a Long Christmas Cruise, Part Three first appeared on Going Postal.
As I’ve said before during this series of posts, following my recent trip to The Sub Continent, India is a land of often stark contrasts. Its population (official figure) is approaching 1.5 billion people, nobody [more...]
The post A Postcard From India; Gandhi, His Politics, The People first appeared on Going Postal.
It hasn’t been a great year, no change there then. Yet another event has divided people, this time Ukraine – Covid previously. I can’t say I understand the Ukraine/Russia divide, supporting either side to me [more...]
The post Happy 7th Birthday Going Postal first appeared on Going Postal.
Some more on the background context of how Kenya got to where it currently is. The presidential contest election was effectively a two-horse race between Deputy President William Ruto and veteran politician Raila Odinga. Neither [more...]
The post Kenya Election Context first appeared on Going Postal.
Science, like a sport, is an art that’s well practised. To lose educates you more than to win instantly. Okay, that’s corny but I’ve found that my project failures have taught me more information and [more...]
The post Playing With Light first appeared on Going Postal.
By now even Treasury officials and central banks recognise that their practice of Quantitative Easing has run its course. In its contemporary form, QE began a dozen years ago as a temporary emergency measure enacted [more...]
The post Growth is the antidote to stagnation – but it requires knowledge and leadership first appeared on Going Postal.
Banking came up with its own methods of inflating the supply of legal tender-fiat money, fractional reserve lending. A bank comes to know (a version of the dispersal of knowledge of the market) how much [more...]
The post Economic Evolution: Darwin’s Idiot Speaks, Part Three first appeared on Going Postal.
Ninth in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in January 1968 – Jerry F Nine Quarter Circle Ranch, Gallatin Gate-Way, Montana. When Howard Kelsey, boss [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Nine first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning everyone, and welcome to another week in the fun palace that is Westminster. My, didn’t it rain last night, I don’t know how many times the rain beating on the windows woke [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Seventy-Two first appeared on Going Postal.
Last time we strolled through Geneva in the 1980s looking at some of my own old photos. Puffins will be relieved to hear that this week we’re back in the 1950s and travelling in my [more...]
The post Marching Clockwise Around Lake Geneva first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Nineteen – The Sex Pistols first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 26th January 2023 The Panel: Jake Berry (Conservative) Tracy Brabin (Labour) Konstantin Kisin (Comentator) Alison Phillips (Daily Mirror) Venue: Scunthorpe What? Islington’s wunderkinder glitterati lebensborn don’t do Scunny on a Thursday night in [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Penny had a feeling of deja vu as climbed the stairs to the top of the terminal building. Her small party of four were first up on the roof and were to be followed by [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Twenty-Eight first appeared on Going Postal.
In October 1955, the Manchester Evening News sent my uncle to interview Benny Hill – Jerry F In some respects Mr. Benny Hill is the most irritating young man I have ever tried to interview. [more...]
The post John Alldridge Meets Benny Hill first appeared on Going Postal.
Wayne stopped by last night to tell me his interwebs had been cut off for being in arrears, and he wanted to use mine to download some documents from his barrister regarding child custody. He’s [more...]
The post Letter from Stafford, Two first appeared on Going Postal.
December 1st. – Sailing day. Well, I think I have done everything. Case packed, car filled with petrol, papers cancelled, all the paperwork printed off and in an A4 envelope in my hand luggage, passport [more...]
The post A Postcard From A Long Cruise, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
January 1943 saw the Casablanca Conference take place where FDR, Churchill, Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud (de Gaulle’s #2) would discuss the future of the war though the French were not really involved in [more...]
The post The Desert War – January 1943 first appeared on Going Postal.
21 August 2022 Westerners, the outgoing president (Uhuru Kenyatta), and former opposition leader (Raila Odinga) wish to force a barmy government in which the pursuit of citizen wellbeing is halted in favour of pursuing undefined [more...]
The post Danger to Kenya’s Democracy first appeared on Going Postal.
Think for a moment about a field, half filled with rabbits. How can we figure out how many fluffy bunnies we’ll have in a year’s time? Let’s start by agreeing to use a population of [more...]
The post Chaos Theory – Population Growth exhibiting odd behaviour first appeared on Going Postal.
Prior to written documents being exchanged as representations of mutually agreed perceived value, the concept of money arose amongst multiple trading groups. This may have taken place prior to the credit/debit system as a substitute [more...]
The post Economic Evolution: Darwin’s Idiot Speaks, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
Eighth in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in January 1968 – Jerry F We reached Cody, Wyoming on a night of driving rain and [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Eight first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Yeah, I’m back. My scribe is back from his holiday and I understand he is ready to transcribe my thoughts. I have enjoyed my time off and spent loads of time carrying out my [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred and Seventy-One first appeared on Going Postal.
We shall remain in Geneva in the 1980s for a little longer before moving around Lake Geneva in a clockwise direction in the 1950s. Does that make any sense? Our first photo this time is [more...]
The post A Stroll Along Quai du Mont-Blanc first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 250 first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Eighteen – Phil Collins first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 19th January 2023 The Panel: Will Quince (Conservative) Wes Streeting (Labour) Clare Gerada (Royal College of GPs) Victor Abedowale (NHS Confederation) James Bartholomew (Journalist) Venue: Hoddesdon La Bruce has given up on politics [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Penny looked at Steven in amazement. “Do you really want us to break into the terminal building and get onto the roof as a test?” She asked. “If we were caught it might give the [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Chapter Twenty-Seven first appeared on Going Postal.
Since my last ‘Going for Gold’ article I have been asked, from time to time, for advice about the best type of gold to buy and where I would recommend buying it from. I will [more...]
The post Going for Gold – Part 11, 2023 Update first appeared on Going Postal.
When I first arrived in Hong Kong, many years ago, I bought a microwave grill for the new flat from Park and Shop, a big supermarket chain. Could it be delivered? “Yes, when do you [more...]
The post Year of the Rabbit first appeared on Going Postal.
Being single and with no very close family, Christmas is not an easy holiday. I get invited to stay with cousins, but I have often felt like an outsider as they all have children and [more...]
The post A Postcard From a Long Christmas Cruise, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
Another long day of travelling, including two longish taxi rides and two internal flights, via Hyderabad, saw us arrive in Cavelossim. The journey to the airport in Goa, through the last of the “rush hour” [more...]
The post A Postcard From India; Goa first appeared on Going Postal.
Amongst a century of detritus at the BBC there lies some buried treasure. Between layers of fake news, preachy left-wing documentaries and un-funny comedy, the BBC’s iPlayer hides a gleaming gem of an old archaeology [more...]
The post Buried Treasure first appeared on Going Postal.
I’ve not frequented this site as often in the past – the last year or so, though #FFriday with a beer or two is always worth a visit and the gaffer continues to get his [more...]
The post Shunting dusted off first appeared on Going Postal.
Having been born into and grown up within the never-ending promise of prosperity guaranteed by Keynes’s gospel that saved us all from the purgatory of the Depression, I like others only began to see a [more...]
The post Economic Evolution: Darwin’s Idiot Speaks, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
Last time our 1955 Ford Prefect road trip found my grandmother photographed standing on the Jet d’Eau side of Lake Geneva. An interesting crown-topped cupola lay squatted in silhouette on the other side of the [more...]
The post Sisi – The Foulest Crime of The Century first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Going Postal Spare Crossword 249 first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Seventeen – Hawkwind first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 12th January 2023 The Panel: Alex Chalk (Conservative) Bridget Phillipson (Labour) Tim Stanley (Journalist) Ash Sarkar (Novara Media) Anna Sourby (Barrister) Venue: Birmingham In more recent editions of Question Time, La Bruce has [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s ~~Ques~~ Harry’s Book Review first appeared on Going Postal.
When Jinnie lifted the double baby carrier out of her official Jaguar, she was delighted that the twins didn’t wake. As she walked across the pavement to the restaurant, Alberto and the receptionist emerged from [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Twenty-Six first appeared on Going Postal.
Seventh in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in January 1968 – Jerry F We left Deadwood in the late afternoon and headed West again, [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Seven first appeared on Going Postal.
Part One of this postcard looked at the challenges I faced in making this once-in-a-lifetime trip to Cambridge. Boy, what a lot of fun I had but, despite all the angst, I made it. This [more...]
The post Postcard from Woke Central, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
Interview with Jeff Deist, President Mises Institute, Auburn, USA Division, friction and polarization have been on the rise in the West for at least a decade, but the escalation we saw during the “covid years” [more...]
The post “Markets and civil society are win-win institutions, government and politics are zero-sum.” first appeared on Going Postal.
Ah’m sick tae fkin’ death ae hearin’ aboot aw thess Harry and Willyam pish. Ah’ve bin puttin’ up wi’ their se since they were weans an iss away’s thah same f*kin story. Ah mind wance [more...]
The post Harry and Willyam first appeared on Going Postal.
Elias Jevola is momentarily distracted from the diversity and inclusion training on his computer screen as he gazes through the window beside his 42nd floor desk in the heart of the city’s central business district. [more...]
The post Rainy Island gets Universal Basic Income first appeared on Going Postal.
“You promised!” I certainly didn’t recall promising my wife anything of the sort, but then I also promised to be careful one night in Rome twelve months earlier, so I suppose she did have a [more...]
The post The Final Cut first appeared on Going Postal.
The Imperative for Change The purpose of this essay is not to convince the reader of the necessity for change. It is to present some common sense policy changes to prevent or perhaps mitigate the [more...]
The post Policies to Restore American and British Worldwide Reputation in 2023 first appeared on Going Postal.
In a previous edition gleaned from my family’s 1950s road trips album, from the top of the Eiffel Tower we noticed an interesting double-decker bridge carrying both a road and a railway across the River [more...]
The post The 19:13 From Gare de Lyon first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 248 first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Sixteen – Jimi Hendrix first appeared on Going Postal.
It’s not often a reviewer has an opportunity to cast a critical eye across a papal funeral, although in the bizarre times in which we live having two Popes on the go at once is [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Papal Funeral Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Penny was still in a daze when the presidential limo, the Beast, dropped the party back at the hotel. Following the formal presentation, everyone had mingled on the sunny lawn with the guests. Penny couldn’t [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story, Book Four – Chapter Twenty-Five first appeared on Going Postal.
Sixth in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in January 1968 – Jerry F Some few minutes before four o’clock on the afternoon of August [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Six first appeared on Going Postal.
In September this year, I received an invitation to a symposium in Cambridge. This was to be held in December, in celebration of the decades of amazing scientific achievements that my old boss has initiated, [more...]
The post Postcard from Woke Central, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
Much has been written about the disastrous effect of experimental spike protein therapy on hitherto healthy young adults & children, much more will be when the slow exposure of the criminals involved get put under [more...]
The post What Will The New Year Bring first appeared on Going Postal.
And so to Kerala. It’s over 1,600 miles between Delhi airport and Cochin International Airport, but, thanks to the miracle of air travel, once you discount the bureaucracy and chaos of Indian airports, the journey [more...]
The post A Postcard From India; Kerala first appeared on Going Postal.
This piece is shared with you all on behalf of our good friend Moscowflyer. She asks us to mark a year since this world said fare-thee-well to a very special lady, and a much-loved Puffin, [more...]
The post The Parting Glass first appeared on Going Postal.
One of the greatest literary works of the age, James Joyce’s “Ulysses”, reveals its author’s surprising, yet profound, understanding of some of the most basic issues in economics. In the early days of the 20th [more...]
The post Civil Freedom and its Contemporary Enemies first appeared on Going Postal.
Introductory sweeping generalisations Well, yeehah y’all! Just a few words to bring you an update on the second biggest state in the USA. They say there are three seasons in Texas: July, August and summer. [more...]
The post Postcard from Texas first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Fifteen – The Jam first appeared on Going Postal.
Berne is the capital of Switzerland and enjoys a modern-day population of about 130,000. The old part of the city is contained within a bend in the river Aare which, along this part of its [more...]
The post Wankdorf Excitment first appeared on Going Postal.
In a hyper-competitive media world of streaming, multi-channel TV, high-quality witty blogs and the internet, a unique entertainment selling point is more important than ever. But is it wise for a comedian to boast that [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Christmas Comedy Club Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Penny and Daniel walked out of the lift into the hotel lobby and strolled to the reception desk. What Jinnie hadn’t told them was that she had booked them the honeymoon suite and as Daniel [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Twenty Four first appeared on Going Postal.
Fifth in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in December 1967 – Jerry F Every Western cow town has its museum. Among the usual dusty [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Five first appeared on Going Postal.
With the current ridiculous cost of heating and a house that is usually half-empty, I decided to see what could be done. We had a new combi boiler installed earlier in the year, replacing a [more...]
The post Smart Radiators – A Review first appeared on Going Postal.
At the end of a Goldfinger car chase through the Furka Pass, Bond and Tilly Masterson stand beside a white Ford Mustang whose tyres have just been shredded by the optional extendable tyre shredder of [more...]
The post Altdorf to Lucerne first appeared on Going Postal.
The Silent Night Chapel (Stille-Nacht-Kapelle) is located in the town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg in the Austrian province of Salzburg, and is a monument to the Christmas carol Silent Night and its librettist, Joseph Mohr [more...]
The post Silent Night (Stille-Nacht-Kapelle) first appeared on Going Postal.
You have my dearest lady to either thank or blame for this one. Reminiscing about Xmas at her parents as a child, she has often waxed lyrical about these things called pickled clementines – which [more...]
The post Tastes of Christmas Past first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Fourteen – Leonard Cohen first appeared on Going Postal.
I know a Blessing, she is Nigerian. And Gift from Tanzania, named after his natal day – the early January festival when the faithful celebrate the Wise Men giving to baby Jesus. I knew twins [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Harry & Meghan Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Paolo looked at his watch and saw it was twenty past five, time for a quick wash and to get his casual gear on. Jinnie was still asleep and he decided that he should wake [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story, Book Four – Chapter Twenty-Three first appeared on Going Postal.
Is it possible, or perhaps even desirable, for economic freedom and progress to be compatible with authoritarian government? Let’s cut right to the chase. Although some may believe so, this is a fallacy. Freedom is [more...]
The post Authoritarianism Is Not Compatible with Economic Progress: Freedom Is Indivisible first appeared on Going Postal.
… for The Professor I’ve recently been working on a little project, to make a very personal (and I think appropriate) keepsake for my old boss, to mark the end of his many years loyally [more...]
The post Time Flies first appeared on Going Postal.
Fourth in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in December 1967 – Jerry F We left the Oregon Trail at Scotts Bluff with 1,200 heartbreaking [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Four first appeared on Going Postal.
Following a long drive from Jaipur, through small towns and vast open countryside, complete with a break at one of the roadside “Hotels”, we arrived at Bhanwar Vilas Palace which is now, in part a [more...]
The post A Postcard From India; Road Trip Part 2- Karauli, Bharatpur, Agra, Delhi first appeared on Going Postal.
The vast majority of yer actual lefties give the impression that they are incapable of either thinking or concentrating and this means their education has to be conducted in soundbites. They use these soundbites to [more...]
The post Soundbites first appeared on Going Postal.
I guess quite a few of you will have had to undergo a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan over the past few years. As you lie in the machine’s tube with headphones on to muffle the [more...]
The post How MRI Works first appeared on Going Postal.
This is a poem written by Christina Rossetti, set to music first by Gustav Holst in 1906 and then by Harold Darke in 1911. This is by Darke : RIP Caroline Catherine McNicholas 2nd [more...]
The post In The Bleak Midwinter first appeared on Going Postal.
Things are finally looking up for the Allies at the last month of 1942. The Axis are on the run in North Africa, Operation Torch has been a success though not without some busy bits. [more...]
The post The Desert War – December 1942 first appeared on Going Postal.
The history of burning offerings before the summer solstice can be traced back to prehistoric times. It is part cleansing and part preparation for the coming harvest. At some time in recent history it became [more...]
The post Les Fogueres De Sant Joan De Alicante first appeared on Going Postal.
If, in the mid-1960s, you visited a provincial northern cinema to watch the latest James Bond and, during a car chase through the mountains, a middle-aged couple sat nearby were heard muttering to each other [more...]
The post Addressing the Furka Pass first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 247 first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Thirteen – Yes first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 15th December 2022 The Panel: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative) Shabana Mahmood (Labour) Daisy Cooper (LibDem) Peter Hitchens (Journalist) Pat Cullen (RCN) Venue: Winchester Privately educated Peter Hitchens attended Mount House School, Tavistock, the Leys [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
When the BA cabin manager approached Penny on the flight from Venice to Heathrow she knew what to expect, but she let him tell her that she was to be deplaned first and an official [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story, Book Four – Chapter Twenty-Two first appeared on Going Postal.
The Japan-Korea World Cup in 2002 was the first time the competition had been co-hosted. It was the first time it had been held in Asia, and the first time a country that had never [more...]
The post Memories of the first World Cup held in Asia: Final rounds first appeared on Going Postal.
Third in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in December 1967 – Jerry F From Alcove Springs, in Kansas, to Fort Kearney in Nebraska is [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Three first appeared on Going Postal.
Since the “winter” flight timetables have come into operation it has become more convenient for me to initially fly into Kaunas rather than into Vilnius for my business-related visits to Lithuania (something I have undertaken [more...]
The post The Lithuanian Gas Chamber first appeared on Going Postal.
Virtually all measures tried to date to restore faith in our election process and thus the election results at all levels have been turned aside procedurally by our self-interested institutions. However two new cases at [more...]
The post Restoring the Republic by Stealth first appeared on Going Postal.
Back in October (before Goldman Sachs Sunk became PM), part 1 of the 2022 Christmas Cake creation was published, see here. Since then our new leader has shown himself to be nothing more than another [more...]
The post Christmas Cake – Part II first appeared on Going Postal.
The woes we face are not theoretical. They are real, and worsen by the day. Very few members of the public really understand their causes, still less what can be done to reverse the decline. [more...]
The post Economic Consequences of Demented Leadership first appeared on Going Postal.
Some violence. Afarin Khan looked at herself in the mirror and sure enough, an old lady stared back at her. She picked at her hair and felt her joints that told her she was getting [more...]
The post Samyaza Epilogue – 2017, No Time to Mope first appeared on Going Postal.
One of today’s conundrums, hinted at in my Elected Lords article is the supine compliance of the MSM with what appears to be all the woke nonsense. For the poor lefties who don’t know what [more...]
The post MSM compliance first appeared on Going Postal.
Taking a look at the map, our redoubtable Ford Popular must have continued its 1954 road trip along the valley from St Moritz heading southwest towards the border whereupon it, and my father and grandfather, [more...]
The post Washerwomen by Lake Lugano first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 246 first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Twelve – Genesis first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 8th December 2022 The Panel: Guy Opperman (Conservative) Lucy Powell (Labour) Patrick Grant (Fashion designer) Isabel Oakeshott (Journalist) Stewart Hosie (SNP) Venue: Bishop Auckland An unlikely boulevardier, Mr Hosie has suffered a sex [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie got the expected summons to see ‘C’ in the middle of the following morning. Emma smiled as she entered the outer office and pointed at the Daily Express on her side table and said, [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story, Book Four – Chapter Twenty-One first appeared on Going Postal.
The Japan-Korea World Cup in 2002 was the first time the competition had been co-hosted. It was the first time it had been held in Asia, and the first time a country that had never [more...]
The post Memories of the first World Cup held in Asia: Early rounds first appeared on Going Postal.
Second in a series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in December 1967 – Jerry F We slept that first night at Alcove Springs, a straggling thicket [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
According to Wikipedia, Bernie Madoff ran the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, with losses estimated to be as high as $65 billion. Madoff promised to invest his customers’ money in productive enterprises and pay them generous [more...]
The post Who Has Better Ethics, the Social Security System or Bernie Madoff? first appeared on Going Postal.
I don’t know this for a fact, but I’m pretty sure whatever time you might choose to leave the environs of Delhi, unless it’s in the dead of night, the traffic on the main roads [more...]
The post A Postcard From India; Road Trip Part 1; Delhi-Jaipur-Karauli first appeared on Going Postal.
For obvious reasons myself and Swiss Bob don’t know each other’s true identities nor are we ever aware of each other’s exact whereabouts. Secret messages whizz around the globe. A sentence is out of place [more...]
The post Finding Ngozi first appeared on Going Postal.
Most will know about the Lancaster Bomber, that it was designed by Ray Chadwick to carry a huge bomb load a very long way and was probably the best bomber in WWII, certainly the most [more...]
The post The Lancaster Bomber first appeared on Going Postal.
In September it was our 29th wedding anniversary and we decided it would be good to celebrate by spending a couple of nights away somewhere. As is usual, it was my job to organise these [more...]
The post Postcard from Aberystwyth first appeared on Going Postal.
Contains violence and a description of suicide. Jean-Claude took the morning BA flight from London to Tirana, and it landed at 13:00. He got a taxi from the airport to the British embassy at Rruga [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 34 – Albania and England 2013 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning cat lovers, it was dry when I first woke up and ventured out into the cold, but gosh it’s wet now. A lovely peaceful weekend in Downing Street. I did almost nothing [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred And Seventy first appeared on Going Postal.
As we head into Switzerland on my father and grandparents’ 1954 Continental road trip, Puffins will be horrified to hear that not only was that year a World Cup year but that the tournament was [more...]
The post Rendezvous with Bond at the Palace first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 245 first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Eleven – Atomic Kitten first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 1st December 2022 The Panel: David TC Davies (Conservative) Vaughan Gething (Welsh Labour) Adam Price (Plaid Cymru) Olivia Utley (GB News) Shavanah Taj (Wales TUC) Venue: Aberystwyth “Where are you from?”, asked a [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie was busy working on her PC when Penny stuck her head around the door and asked, “Have you seen the latest message from Steven?” Jinnie said, “No, is there anything new?” Penny replied, “I [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story, Book Four – Chapter Twenty first appeared on Going Postal.
Those who are familiar with my ideas and my writings undoubtedly know that one the issues I’m most passionate about is individual freedom, on all levels. I believe that free-thinking people know what’s best of [more...]
The post A practical roadmap to reclaiming individual and financial sovereignty – Part I of II first appeared on Going Postal.
First of a new series by my uncle John Alldridge. This article first appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph in November 1967 – Jerry F Just 139 years ago, on a powdery ledge of sandstone [more...]
The post The Wild West Trail, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
The fat Turk in a very recent interview with CNN has said that the Germans wanted the war in Ukraine to be over quickly. This has since been denied by the Germans but remember, this [more...]
The post What are they doing in our name first appeared on Going Postal.
The Football Association was formed on 26th October 1863, the Football Association of Wales on 2nd February 1876. One wonders what they got up to in the intervening years as it wasn’t until January 1879 [more...]
The post England Wales Wendyball Preview first appeared on Going Postal.
Many people are confused about inflation, unsurprisingly because politicians & Central Banks want you to be confused. Let me give a few pointers, a quick glossary if you will. Monetary Inflation This is base camp [more...]
The post Inflation Explained first appeared on Going Postal.
Welcome back to Cnuteneering, where the possible is made more difficult by bone headed ignorance, overenthusiasm and pointy metal things being brought together. It’s been a while – you may want to refresh your memory [more...]
The post Cnuteneering, Part Thirty Five first appeared on Going Postal.
Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng have had to bear the brunt of the markets’ predictable reaction to their mini-budget last month. Although amateurishly presented and poorly explained, it was nevertheless replete with strategy for growth. [more...]
The post Is this government Conservative? Socialist? Actions, not words, count! first appeared on Going Postal.
Question: Do snails understand mathematics? Ok here’s an idea. Start with the value 0 and 1 and then apply the following rule. Take the last 2 numbers you have and then add them, to make [more...]
The post Chaos Theory – A gentle introduction first appeared on Going Postal.
He moved in with her in the little house on the hill. He was gentle, kind and a good nursing orderly, changing the dressings on the burns every day and weaning her off the Oxymorphone. [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 33 – England, Afghanistan and England – 2012 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning cat lovers, it’s a lovely sunny morning and not too cold. The gardener is busy cutting the grass I wonder if it will be for the last time this year? While the [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred and Sixty-Nine first appeared on Going Postal.
Here we see caped cyclists rolling downhill from the Brenner pass summit which marks the border between Austria and Italy. The sign to the left, in both English and German, reads ‘Good bye again in [more...]
The post A Motor Through The Alps first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 244 first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Ten – The Clash first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 24th November 2022 The Panel: Richard Holden (Conservative) Andy Burnham (Labour) Ben Habib (Businessman) Charlotte Ivers (Times Radio) Darren McGarvey (Broadcaster) Venue: Skipton What would the panel do to encourage the economically inactive [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
On Monday morning Greta showed Penny into Jinnie’s office. Jinnie asked her to shut the door, to help herself to a mug of coffee and to take a seat. Jinnie explained to her that in [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story, Book Four – Chapter Nineteen first appeared on Going Postal.
When people I meet ask where I’m from, I tell them Welsh and French by blood. English by schooling (failed Latin – no Greek), and Virginian by the Grace of God. Why not? Virginia was [more...]
The post Letter From Stafford first appeared on Going Postal.
Earlier this year, we revisited The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Hanley, primarily because we wanted to see the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard exhibits once again. Now living only a few miles away, a quiet [more...]
The post Mitchell’s Spitfire first appeared on Going Postal.
Sir Keith Starmer’s call for an elected House of Lords brings to mind the conundrum caused when you replace an essentially toothless institution with an elected one. This applies equally to an elected President replacing [more...]
The post Elected Lords first appeared on Going Postal.
I thought long and hard(ish) on how I could start off a series of “Postcards” about our trip to India. The whole thing came about following an off the cuff remark whilst discussing, with my [more...]
The post A Postcard From India; Delhi first appeared on Going Postal.
What do we know about England and Iran? One is a despotic dictatorship where an out-of-touch elite despises the ordinary people. Citizens can be cancelled for what they’re suspected of thinking and jailed for what [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s World Cup Report first appeared on Going Postal.
Ed. This was sent to me in 2018 by Moscow Fred, sadly he was never able to finish it. RIP Fred. I was reminded of it by the documentary on The Herald of Free Enterprise [more...]
The post How I came to mistrust, then detest the Main Stream Media first appeared on Going Postal.
Every time I start this essay I find the political background has shifted so dramatically that I have to start again. Only Ollie’s complaint to Stan seems to be an apt constant: “another fine mess [more...]
The post Retaining a Semblance of Sanity in the Asylum first appeared on Going Postal.
What do we know about Ecuador? If you’ve visited this mountainous country that straddles the Equator as it touches the Pacific coast of South America, you’ll recall they don’t have their own currency but use [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s World Cup Report first appeared on Going Postal.
The next time they visited Sirte, Belhaj was more disposed to see them. Afarin said nothing in the pick-up truck and was totally incognito in her silk farrashia and this time, Jean-Claude introduced Julian to [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 32 – Libya, – April – May 2011 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning cat diary lovers, yet more rain in Downing Street. I popped down the soggy garden path between downpours and on my way back I spotted one of those grey tree rats picking [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred And Sixty Eight first appeared on Going Postal.
Every once in a while, as one turns a page in an old family photo album, one runs the risk of falling across a cause célèbre or even a grisly murder. If, after braving the [more...]
The post Murder Most French first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 243 first appeared on Going Postal.
After 60 proper legends of pop (OK, you may have thought that some were a bit iffy), it is now time for my Top 20 Leg Ends of pop. These are those groups or artists [more...]
The post My Leg Ends of Pop Music – Part Nine–U2 first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 17th November 2022 The Panel: Victoria Atkins (Conservative) Jonathan Ashworth (Labour) Kate Andrews (The Spectator) Trevor Philips (Broadcaster) Ian Blackford (SNP) Venue: Snape in Suffolk The presence of Fatty Blackford allows us our [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
The evening after the trip to Crawley, Jinnie and Alberto spoke on the phone and both agreed that the trip had been well worth the effort. Jinnie was more sure than ever that Brian was [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story, Book Four – Chapter Eighteen first appeared on Going Postal.
This has been an article that has evolved during the writing of the rest of the series. Initially more about introspection. It is now also an amendment of the start of the series and a [more...]
The post OTF (Own Two Feet) Party, Part Fifteen first appeared on Going Postal.
I would be very surprised if any of you good Going Postal readers would say of Sir Malcolm Arnold “never heard of him” when I tell you that he was the composer of film scores [more...]
The post In Chaos there is Fertility first appeared on Going Postal.
I used to be OK at chess but reluctantly I have had to turn down commentating on the Todd Wellington (USA) vs Sven Magnusson (Sweden) international chess match in Wreck Yer Vick. That’s disappointing because [more...]
The post I DON’T Love Lucy first appeared on Going Postal.
Cream of Lettuce Velouté de Laitue Nota Bene: all translations into French are intended for you to impress your guests and make them believe they are dining at a posh restaurant. You will be henceforth [more...]
The post Cream of Lettuce Soup – Cooking for numpties and the terminally depressed first appeared on Going Postal.
The term “White Privilege” is the term being used as a justification for all kinds of reverse-discrimination policies and even as Mao-style forced confessions of captive audiences, such as school children and employees of government [more...]
The post What Does “White Privilege” Really Mean and Is It True? first appeared on Going Postal.
Fracking is once again in the news, once again you will hear of the dire consequences, the disasters and the earthquakes caused by drilling and fracturing the shale underground. It was suggested that the proposed [more...]
The post Tremors and logs first appeared on Going Postal.
To many of us, no matter how well versed in history, in political affairs or in socioeconomic issues, the present conditions in the West, and especially in Europe, can sometimes seem like the plot of [more...]
The post “Keynes is the winner of the day, not Milton Friedman” first appeared on Going Postal.
The next morning, she moved the pickup truck round and onto the road. She was wearing her hijab, tightly wrapped so only her eyes showed. She waited and saw Jean-Claude and Edge walk out to [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 31 – Libya, February – April 2011 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning cat diary lovers. I was a little confused yesterday when my breakfast was late. In bustled the duty feeder and chatted away to me while opening my Felix pouch, it was only [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred And Sixty-Seven first appeared on Going Postal.
Lans A sign to the right of the crucified Christ announces that we are arriving at the Tyrolean hamlet of Orfsende Von Lans. That’s certainly what I thought. Further investigation shows we’re leaving, and not [more...]
The post Small Towns in Austria first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 242 first appeared on Going Postal.
November would see the assault at El Alamein succeed and the Axis would now be on the back foot as they withdrew towards Tripoli and eventually Tunisia. On the 16th November the Stoneage convoy of [more...]
The post The Desert War – November 1942 first appeared on Going Postal.
There’s an old online adage: if you can’t beat the censorial posting comments algorithm, make it an article. And so I will. Twice censored in the comments that nobody reads. Thanks, Disqus codebase. A lazy [more...]
The post Feck yoos Disqus censor algorithm first appeared on Going Postal.
Introduction This is an occasional series with no set timing, as and when it makes sense to post an update. Could in fact be the only article. It is more an intellectual exercise than being [more...]
The post Life Not In The (Fridge &) Freezer first appeared on Going Postal.
Uncle Benny has got one! Many years ago I was invited by two well-known MP’s to write some articles on the subject of Israel. To be frank I screwed up the relationship. I guess I [more...]
The post The Zionist lobby in the USA is no myth first appeared on Going Postal.
Mike had heard all the tales. Hell, he’d even made up some of his own over the years to try and scare the out of towners and holiday makers as he and his pals drank [more...]
The post Wildfowling: Terror on the Marsh first appeared on Going Postal.
In raking over the embers of Truss/Kwarteng aspirational economics a few observations are still pertinent. The fiscal “event” they staged was, its critics opined, “stillborn”, dead at birth – with no hope of getting it [more...]
The post Growth must be backed by knowledge – not just words first appeared on Going Postal.
He visited her religiously every weekend. By now she was able to speak clearly, although her voice was a little hoarse. He brought her books about the Crusades and one about the SOE. He taught [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 29 – August 2007 – Wiltshire, RAF Brize Norton and Martigues France first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning folks, very wet first thing, I nipped out between downpours and only got a little damp. It’s supposed to be drying up and getting sunny later. I had a lovely peaceful Sunday [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred And Sixty-Five first appeared on Going Postal.
By now, you will doubtless have figured out that I have a very keen interest in glass, so while we were visiting the lovely Northeast of England for a few days recently, we took the [more...]
The post Pumpkin time first appeared on Going Postal.
Donaueschingen Strict privacy laws and the German people’s well-practiced challenges to any risk posed to that privacy means that Street View isn’t available in the Federal Republic. Identifying the locations of old photographs, in this [more...]
The post Postcard From West Germany first appeared on Going Postal.
On June 5, 1947, the eve of the third anniversary of the 6th British Airborne Division’s landing in Normandy, my uncle John Alldridge of the Manchester Evening News reviewed the achievements of the establishment responsible [more...]
The post The Central Landing School, RAF Ringway, 1940 – 1942 first appeared on Going Postal.
Climate I think most of us accept that the world climate is mostly out of our control and the sun will do what the sun wants to do. There are local changes, but these are [more...]
The post OTF (Own Two Feet) Party, Part Nine first appeared on Going Postal.
International Festival of Glass, Stourbridge, August 2022 Earlier this year, around May-June if I remember correctly since it was right in the midst of the chaos of our moving home, it was with some excitement [more...]
The post A Postcard from the IFG Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
Welcome to another edition of The Frank Report – you find me reporting live from Westminster, where it’s been a busy week. They say you learn on the job, and let’s hope for Liz Truss [more...]
The post The Frank Report XXXVIII first appeared on Going Postal.
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” We live in very strange times indeed. The United Kingdom applies some of the most draconian libel laws in the Western world, while [more...]
The post Burning heretics first appeared on Going Postal.
It’s that time of year again, the strawberry beds offer up the odd lusciously red but sad, sour, berry. The courgettes are having a final spurt. The tomatoes, apart from the odd couple of plants [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse; Tha..Tha…That’s All Folks!!! first appeared on Going Postal.
A couple of days ago I chartered a 38 foot sloop for the weekend with my sister, her husband and a friend. We set off from the Hamble River near Southampton on Saturday morning. It [more...]
The post Postcard from the English Channel with the Border Farce first appeared on Going Postal.
One or two Puffins may well be of a vintage where the adage “you’ll never forget where you were when it was announced that JF Kennedy was shot” rings true. SWMBO and I are fortunate [more...]
The post The Marisco Tavern first appeared on Going Postal.
Some seven years ago, after experiencing the dizzying effects of a very low pulse rate, I was given a pacemaker and, as an anti-clotting precaution, a blood-thinning medicine, which I was taking for several years [more...]
The post Reflections on The National Health Service – based on personal experience first appeared on Going Postal.
She met Bartlett in the Costa Coffee at Victoria underground. She was extremely nervous about the meeting and saw him inside. She went to shake his hand, but he hugged her and led her towards [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 25, London and Scotland – The Decision is Made first appeared on Going Postal.
Like the Covid pandemic, the war between Ukraine and Russia was not foreseeable. However, despite conventional thinking, the current cost-of-living crisis has causal strands other than the war and the pandemic. These strands lie chiefly [more...]
The post Inescapable Consequences if Folly in High Places first appeared on Going Postal.
Time to hide behind the sofa again. Contains descriptions of a sexual nature. Afarin devoured Heyfa’s body with her eyes. She marvelled at just how lovely the female body was. Not hers of course. She [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 21, Camp Mitkan – October 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning my merry readers. It’s quiet here still, apparently Bozzie is home from his hols, but staying in Chequers, although he may pop in from time to time. I have been reading that [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred And Fifty-Seven first appeared on Going Postal.
Descending Tourmalet Having conquered the 7,000ft Col du Tourmalet for England, our pugnacious Ford 8 trundles down the other side nonchalantly taking for granted the now over-familiar spectacle of Pyerean mountain passes. The cycling data [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Nature’s Colosseum first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 234 first appeared on Going Postal.
I suspect many of you will know my top three legends of pop music. We are on the countdown now to my most favourite music artists, making them my 3rd most favourite legends of pop [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Fifty-Eight – Smokie first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie worried about what to say to her assembled department and had a short discussion with Greta and Carol. In the end, the consensus was not to make a speech, but to say a few [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Seven first appeared on Going Postal.
Central planners and paper pushers of all stripes are not generally known for their acumen or their ability to recognize and successfully seize opportunities in time. They always tend to lag behind more or less [more...]
The post “War on cash” update: A brighter outlook first appeared on Going Postal.
In March 1944 my uncle John Alldridge visited Naples a few months after it had been liberated and produced this report for the Manchester Evening News. – Jerry F *** War brought disease and desolation [more...]
The post Naples – Front Line Problem City first appeared on Going Postal.
Fairly taxing thoughts… In this article, I hope to think through a fair taxation system. What to tax and why. I am starting from the ground up and paying no attention to the fact that [more...]
The post OTF (Own Two Feet) Party, Part Five first appeared on Going Postal.
You have all seen old Hollywood movies showing Napoleonic cavalry officers celebrating by cutting the tops off of champagne bottles. The name for this is sabrage. As with most things in movies there is some [more...]
The post Sabrage, or how to show off at parties first appeared on Going Postal.
All puffins, and most of the rest of the country, will be well aware that HM Queen Elizabeth II’s offspring have not been the wisest in their choice of spouse. This may not entirely be [more...]
The post In praise of the Countess of Wessex first appeared on Going Postal.
Uncle Fred’s Early Life ‘Uncle Fred’, as we all called him, was, in reality, my maternal grandfather’s uncle, and my great great uncle. He was the only other member of my grandfather’s family I ever [more...]
The post Uncle Fred, Edwardian Metropolitan Policeman first appeared on Going Postal.
I was thinking about a title for this article for some time and “The Detritus of Death” was the best I could come up with – even if it does sound like a Doctor Who [more...]
The post The Detritus of Death first appeared on Going Postal.
“I have to make this restatement now at the end of this brief manifesto: Many are domestic animals and happy that way. I speak instead to the men who feel stifled by this bug world.” [more...]
The post Book Review – Bronze Age Mindset by Bronze Age Pervert first appeared on Going Postal.
August 80 years ago and although the situation in the desert starts off mostly quiet all hell is breaking out at sea. The Axis are desperate to resupply Rommel and the Allies are equally desperate [more...]
The post The Desert War – August 1942 first appeared on Going Postal.
The case in favor of mandatory vaccines rests upon faulty logic and violates ethical principles. A vaccinated person protects himself to the extent of the vaccine’s capability, which may be close to one hundred percent, [more...]
The post Mandatory Vaccines vs. Logic and Kantian Ethics first appeared on Going Postal.
The time passed very quickly and yet it felt slow. It was soon dark outside, and Afarin took the tennis ball and went out into the night. After a fifteen-minute walk she was at the [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 20, The Western Desert – October 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning happy readers. The temperature has dropped overnight, it’s still warm but it is a little cloudy and there is a tiny breeze, now this is Larry weather! It is still peaceful here [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred and Fifty-Six first appeared on Going Postal.
Col d’Aspin Last time on Nostalgia Album the heroic Ford 8, with a hiccup or two, commenced an odd zig-zag route across the Pyrenees as part of my father and grandparent’s 1952 return journey from [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Conquering The Long Mountain first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 233 first appeared on Going Postal.
I do like good old rock ‘n’ roll. Happy music, singalong, dance, be merry. Darts seemed to be on ToTP just about every week, so many happy memories. One of those bands that you just [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Fifty-Seven – Darts first appeared on Going Postal.
The Monday morning after Jinnie’s new restaurant opened she was in her office trying to work out how she could best tell ‘C’ that the American she had been asked to plan the insertion of [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Six first appeared on Going Postal.
The train from Cartagena is eleven minutes late arriving into Alicante and almost twenty minutes behind schedule by the time it leaves for Zaragoza. Not that anyone minds, it is the way of the things [more...]
The post Towers And Lovers first appeared on Going Postal.
In August 1945 my uncle, John Alldridge, wrote this article commemorating the sixth anniversary of the end of World War II for the Manchester Evening News. He ended with the implication that the memory was [more...]
The post All That Was Ended, 15th August 1945 first appeared on Going Postal.
This section is where I feel all parties fail abysmally. And I see no reason to believe Reform etc would be any different. It is also my only gripe with (far better) writers on GP, [more...]
The post OTF (Own Two Feet) Party, Part Four first appeared on Going Postal.
No, it’s not about trains, in fact there are no railways on Jersey, the horror! Being a pureblood, many holiday destinations (USA, Spain, Cruises) are out of the question at the moment. Not that big [more...]
The post Jersey – a Postcard first appeared on Going Postal.
Does society really need and can it benefit from goals designed to achieve statistical “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” metrics? The answer, of course, is “no” on both counts; i.e., society neither needs these goals and [more...]
The post Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Goals Are Illogical and Harmful first appeared on Going Postal.
The Fascist Boogeyman awakes again The threat of a far-right takeover has been around for at least three decades in Europe and Italy has been one of the best “candidates” for the “beginning of the [more...]
The post “Whatever it takes”, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
It’s that time again; when we get so far into the season it’s hard to think of “interesting” things to write about where vegetables are concerned, that I haven’t already mentioned at least half a [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse; Murder Most Foul first appeared on Going Postal.
Previously in Oldham In July’s first part of Brown Wall, Blue Line we looked at Oldham. A report entitled Review into historic safeguarding practices in the borough of Oldham exposed a seedy underbelly of child [more...]
The post Rotherham’s Brown Wall And Thin Blue Line first appeared on Going Postal.
The first of August 2022 marked the second anniversary of the day I kicked the TV habit, and binned the Telly Tax. I wasn’t that surprised at how easy it was to give up watching [more...]
The post The Day I Kicked The TV Habit first appeared on Going Postal.
Warren buffet famously quipped: “When the tide goes out you can see who has been bathing naked!” Now we know! Both candidates for the premiership are senior Conservative Cabinet members and Ministerial office-holders, and naturally [more...]
The post “When the tide goes out you can see who has been bathing naked!” first appeared on Going Postal.
Afarin hurried out of the undergrowth and found the other three. They were crouched down waiting, Dan with a filtered signal torch, ready to send out two dashes and two dots. Afarin crouched down with [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 19, Alexandria – October 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning readers, gosh it’s warm again this morning and the forecast is for a very hot week. I think I might go on strike and demand extra Felix and chilled water for working [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary – Week One Hundred And Fifty-Five first appeared on Going Postal.
As we continue the Nostalgia Album 1952 return trip to England, after leaving north eastern Spain and Catalonia, it is time to traverse the Pyrenees. The next sequence of photos helps to recreate the route. [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Pyrenean Crossing first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 232 first appeared on Going Postal.
Back on to more main-stream pop music and the tunes that may well bring back memories with the wonderful voice that is Annie Lennox We are on the countdown now to my most favourite music [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Fifty-Six – Eurythmics first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie had just entered the house when her mobile rang. It was Alberto and she had been expecting him to ring. He quickly brought her up to date with developments. The accountants confirmed that the [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Five first appeared on Going Postal.
An argument for the structure and role A brief look at what I believe governments should do at what level. I have only gone into a little detail at the national level and left the [more...]
The post OTF (Own Two Feet) Party, Part Three first appeared on Going Postal.
In August 1951, as preparations for the 1953 Everest Expedition were underway, my uncle John Alldridge wrote about the previous expeditions for the Manchester Evening News – Jerry F “I guess my real reason for [more...]
The post Men Against Everest first appeared on Going Postal.
In The Beginning Prior to sitting his professional exams, Anis Rushdie, one of the Kashmiri Rushdies, graduated from Lahore’s University of Punjab in the mid-1930s. After passing fourth overall, and as top Mulsim, Anis was [more...]
The post Salman Rushdie & The Satanic Verses first appeared on Going Postal.
Day 12 – Thursday 7th July 2022 – Cadiz Awakened just as we are approaching Cadiz. I think it is the pilot coming aboard that wakes me as it all happens below my cabin but [more...]
The post A Postcard From a Mediterranean Cruise – Part Five first appeared on Going Postal.
One of the arrogances of “Western” nations is that our way of life and our liberties are protected by periodic elections as required by constitutions, written (America) or not (Great Britain), containing bills of rights, [more...]
The post Sound Money Can Prevent What Representative Democracy Does Not first appeared on Going Postal.
Fisherman’s luscious lardy cake recipe reminded me of this one William posted a few years ago which some of the many newbies to GP might like to try. Plum Bread and Butter Pudding (Not for [more...]
The post Plum Bread and Butter Pudding first appeared on Going Postal.
The definition of insanity attributed to Albert Einstein is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Lets apply that definition to the current economic and political climate. The current price rises [more...]
The post The Insanity of Goodwill first appeared on Going Postal.
As most Puffins will know (based on my incessant posting of food photos), I have been on a keto/low-carb journey. The 24th of July marked the first anniversary of my adventure, so I thought I’d [more...]
The post New Adventures in Low Carb – Part 3 first appeared on Going Postal.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Kalifornia continues its emancipation of citizens and residents from local Jeffersonian control. The state has already superseded local zoning laws by allowing building of up to 4-8 residences on previously [more...]
The post Report from the DPRK: Indigo Rising first appeared on Going Postal.
They made their way to the control room, lugging their weapons and equipment. None of the crew even looked at them, as though they knew they were mysterious, ruthless killers. It was not their job [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 18, El Alamein – October 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning folks, another week in Westminster for me to report on. Bozzie was very late for breakfast this morning and he wanted black coffee instead of his usual strong tea. I suspect he [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred and Fifty-Four first appeared on Going Postal.
‘When the Rudyards cease their Kipling, and the Haggards ride no more…’ was a favoured line in the era of post Imperial breast-beating, when this voluminous and best-selling writer, both in verse and prose was [more...]
The post In Defence of Kipling first appeared on Going Postal.
Barcelona At the end of the last episode of Nostalgia Album I referenced a very important mission. Despite all this talk of the 1950s, a family obligation could be carried out in modern-day Spain. Did [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Family Pilgrimage first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 231 first appeared on Going Postal.
It is possible that some of you will know some of the songs, but not the singer. From the first time I heard “This is your life”, I was hooked. A great singer. Not released [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Fifty-Five – Amy Macdonald first appeared on Going Postal.
On the way home from the visit to Belinda’s house, Jinnie discussed with Paolo her thoughts for making the owner’s widow an offer for the Turners Hill Italian restaurant and converting it into Trattoria Trevi [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Four first appeared on Going Postal.
I think I told Puffins that my winter hobby day project (when I can’t get into the garden) was an engine shed for my model railway, Charlisle. Based on the old Kingmoor steam shed, long [more...]
The post Hobby Days And Open Days first appeared on Going Postal.
Ostensibly, it appeared to be a significant improvement on Larkin’s usual choice of hostelry. Outside, there was no gaggle of wizened, gimlet-eyed daytime drinkers sucking on Superkings and grunting incomprehensibly at one another. There was [more...]
The post Eternal Drudgery first appeared on Going Postal.
Intro If we want to be free to live our lives mostly as we see fit then government needs to be curtailed to a rump of operations, which I tackle in the next article. In [more...]
The post OFT (Own Two Feet) Party, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
Day 9 – Monday 4th July 2022 – Barcelona day 1 The port pilot coming aboard woke me around 6 o’clock. The sun was just coming up, a big red ball heralding another hot day. [more...]
The post A Postcard From a Mediterranean Cruise – Part Four first appeared on Going Postal.
When the collapse of the Italian government was officially announced, on July 21, many political observers both in Europe and across the rest of the West, were aghast. If Mario Draghi, the central banking messiah [more...]
The post “Whatever it takes”, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
It’s that time of year again, the ground is supposed to be fecund with the results of six months of rough, lazy gardening, the freezers should be bulging and the soup pan should be constantly [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse; Show Edition (Genies And Bottles) first appeared on Going Postal.
In 1982 Clive left a small Welsh town for London to start his degree course, he had outgrown the town where he had lived all his life and was a couple of years older than [more...]
The post Derek And Clive Go Clubbing first appeared on Going Postal.
In a few days the British Conservative Party will select a new prime minister from within its ranks. The new PM will have a short-lived opportunity to select new ministers. But more importantly, due to [more...]
The post An Opportunity for Real Change in Britain first appeared on Going Postal.
They were given two days stand down and a doctor came and visited each one on each day. They had one meal together, but it was a subdued affair and Freida made her apologies and [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 17, Camp Mitkan, off El Alamein – October 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning, folks, it is much cooler today than last Monday, much more my type of weather. I might even try the windowsill later. Bozzie was chuckling this at radio reports this morning. Apparently, [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred and Fifty-Three first appeared on Going Postal.
My Own Interpretation The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our [more...]
The post The Lord’s Prayer first appeared on Going Postal.
Valencia After last time’s run in the general direction of home, from Gibraltar to Almeria, we pick up the pace further along the Spanish Mediterranean coast at Valencia. With no photos of the intervening Costa [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Almeria to Barcelona first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) & a mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 230 first appeared on Going Postal.
There are some tunes, that even on hearing for the first time, you will know who they are. ZZ Top fall into that category. I have enjoyed their stuff pretty much all my life. We [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Fifty-Four – ZZ Top first appeared on Going Postal.
On the Monday following Jinnie’s housewarming party it was the talk of Vauxhall Cross. The Sunday papers had published stories and pictures of the Prime Minister attending a private party in Hadley Wood. The story [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter Three first appeared on Going Postal.
Leadership Debate 4th August 2022 Present: Rishi Sunak Liz Truss Kay Burley (Moderator) Venue: London It is not uncommon to hear of someone missing a plane that subsequently crashes. No doubt there were some on [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Tory Leadership Debate Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Ingredients 1lb / 450g of Strong Bread Flour 1 tablespoon of Lard 3 teaspoons of Dried Active Yeast 1 teaspoon Salt 1/2 a cup of Superfine / Castor Sugar 11 fl oz / 300ml of [more...]
The post Lardy Cake first appeared on Going Postal.
The month of July 80 years ago sees what became known as the 1st Battle of El Alamein, the 2nd would become the more famous one. In the first one the German advance was halted [more...]
The post The Desert War – July 1942 first appeared on Going Postal.
Day 4 – Wednesday 29th June 2022 – At sea I woke up and struggled to focus on my little clock, 07:30, late for me as I like to breakfast at 8 o’clock. Anyway I [more...]
The post A Postcard From a Mediterranean Cruise – Part Three first appeared on Going Postal.
While the precise mechanisms resulting in the release of Covid 19 worldwide may never be publicly known, its deliberated impact on the developed economies of the West evoke all sorts of conspiratorial theories that generally [more...]
The post China’s Machiavellian Virus first appeared on Going Postal.
This tale begins, as so many tales do, on a dismal winter’s day. This particular day, a miserably chilly and grey February one, was a decidedly rubbish day. Not only had Mr S and I [more...]
The post Set in Stone first appeared on Going Postal.
Introduction Why the Own Two Feet Party In this and following articles (15 in total), I am trying to get to the nub of what people want/need from a government and consider some basic tenants [more...]
The post OTF (Own Two Feet) Party first appeared on Going Postal.
Last year I moved into a new house. On moving in I tried to get the Hive heating system up and running so I could control it from my phone. The previous occupants had left [more...]
The post Automations In My Home first appeared on Going Postal.
What a spectacle! Two former colleagues, erstwhile members of Boris Johnson’s discredited cabinet, now vying with each other for the top job. Collegial unanimity of purpose has given way to visceral rivalry – gloves off [more...]
The post The New Prime Minister – The Acid Test first appeared on Going Postal.
This Chapter I’m warning you all, is extremely brutal. It hopefully demonstrates the cruelty and indifference the State shows to those who conduct its business. They had already made incursions into the Palestinian occupied territories [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 16, The West Bank, Fatah Interrogation Centre – September 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning folks, back to work this morning despite it being warm in London. Bozzie is back from his leaving party at Chequers. I hear it went well. This morning he is off to [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred And Fifty-Two first appeared on Going Postal.
Malaga to Motril and Beyond Having made an heroic 1952 journey from Carlisle to Gibraltar in a Ford 8 in order to visit Aunt Lil, Uncle Rob and cousin Anne, my father and grandparents set [more...]
The post Nostalia Album, Heading Home first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of Crossword 228 and [more...]
The post Crossword No. 229 first appeared on Going Postal.
(Warning – contains filthy foul language, not suitable for playing at work, or where there are children or snowflakes around) If get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Fifty-Three – Kevin Bloody Wilson first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie and Paolo both took a week off work to settle into the new house. She and Paolo moved into one of the en-suite bedrooms and decided that the second could be a guest room. [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
Do the math as our American cousins say. Keith has said he wants to form a Labour government but has no intention of negotiating with any other Party either before or after the election. We [more...]
The post Will we just make a cup of tea? first appeared on Going Postal.
We are often now asked to believe that European countries have no culture, or even any connection to their own pasts – that they are all lands of immigrants, blank sheets on which anything can [more...]
The post Long memories at Clashanimud first appeared on Going Postal.
On the 22nd May 1978 at the tender age of 27, me and ‘er indoors flew to Kuwait so I could go and work. It was a bit of an adventure, I had no idea [more...]
The post Working in Kuwait first appeared on Going Postal.
Day -1 – Saturday 25th June ’22 Today I have a few little jobs to do before I am ready for my drive to Southampton tomorrow morning and my cruise, nothing too taxing but if [more...]
The post A Postcard From a Mediterranean Cruise – Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
Something has been gnawing at my guts for some considerable time now. We all pretty much agree that situation ethics, political correctness, the religion of woke and various other cultural weapons have pockmarked the edifice [more...]
The post The weaponisation of dignity first appeared on Going Postal.
I’ve been enduring enforced “bachelorhood” this week, as Mrs. C, unwisely a it turns out, has accompanied daughter number two on short visit to Canada, where she’s a bridesmaid for a friend she met whilst [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse; An Veritable Wall Of Stone, Innit? first appeared on Going Postal.
Leadershiop Debate 25th July 2022 Contenders: Rishi Sunak Liz Truss Venue: Stoke-on-Trent Monday saw the first televised leadership clash in a disappointing Tory leadership contest that has seen the number of contestants reduced to the [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Tory Leadership Debate Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Welcome back to Cnuteneering, where the possible is made more difficult by bone headed ignorance, overenthusiasm and pointy metal things being brought together. It’s been a while – you may want to refresh your memory [more...]
The post Cnuteneering, Part Thirty Four first appeared on Going Postal.
Following is a plea to Germany–The war is over and has been for three-quarters of a century. It’s time to stop prostrating yourself for the supposed “good” of Europe. It’s time to take complete control [more...]
The post Germany Can Save Itself, and Possibly the World, by Abandoning Four Failed Policies first appeared on Going Postal.
It was back to the classroom the week after Rosh Hashana, but as always there was a late afternoon booking for them on the ranges. They waited for the first presentation to start, full of [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 15 Camp Mitkan – September 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning folks, I’m back! WG is back from his cruise and seems to have done little other than eat and laze around in the sun. Lots of things have occurred in No.10 while [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred and Fifty-One first appeared on Going Postal.
November 1963 Last week I invited Puffins to guess, in unread comments below the unread article, what course my father’s cousin Anne may have plotted when, aged only 26, she lost both of her parents [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Joining The Team first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a book of your choice (subject to T&Cs) Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of Crossword 227 and [more...]
The post Crossword No. 228 first appeared on Going Postal.
If get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall try and link live versions if they exist from the tellybox or a film, the sound quality may not be [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Fifty-Two – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young first appeared on Going Postal.
Larry the Cat sat on the tree stump in the dapple shade, enjoying scanning the woodland around him through his half-closed eyes. In front of him, on the other side of a wire fence, ran [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Four, Chapter One first appeared on Going Postal.
There’s been a flurry of articles, news stories and headlines lately over the developments in the FOREX market, specifically over the moves of the EUR/USD currency pair. As headwinds on all levels, economic, geopolitical and [more...]
The post Parity hysterics: What it means and what it doesn’t, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
Just as an 18th century Président may stalk provincial France looking for innocents to corrupt, so bots chew their way through blogs looking for relevant wares to advertise. We must proceed with caution. On these [more...]
The post Review: 120 Days of Sodom by The Marquis De Sade first appeared on Going Postal.
The World War II project to build an atomic bomb is seen by many as a template for government action to solve what appear to be national economic problems beyond the scope of private enterprise. [more...]
The post The Fallacy of Calls for "A Manhattan Project" to Solve National Economic Challenges first appeared on Going Postal.
Russell Kirk the philosopher, compared George Gissing’s The Nether World to a literal Hell on earth. It was “the culmination of our social revolutions” which would make life more torturous. For New Grub Street, Kirk’s [more...]
The post New Grub Street by George Gissing: A Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Back in the 80s and 90s in my IT life I did a lot of work on something called platform migrations. If your eyes haven’t already glazed over imagine taking Windoze programs and automatically converting [more...]
The post A visit to Kuala Lumpur first appeared on Going Postal.
I never enter the greenhouse these days without at least a sense of trepidation. The worst’s over, that much is clear and those plants which haven’t been totally ruined, even if they aren’t looking as [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse, A “Mini” Postcard, The Right To Choose first appeared on Going Postal.
Your humble author and Imelda Marcos have been in the same place at the same time only once. Thirty years ago the trade winds had tempted a much younger me to a dusty road beside [more...]
The post Keeping It in The Families first appeared on Going Postal.
It’s been several months since my last artwork article and I thought I would respond to SB’s request for more articles by submitting an update on latest purchases etc. Hope you enjoy it. You may [more...]
The post More Artwork 2022, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
Believe me my young friend there is nothing, absolutely nothing, half as much worth doing as simply messing about in boats (Ratty to Mole, Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows) I first started messing [more...]
The post Messing about in boats first appeared on Going Postal.
“Play up! Play up! And play the game!” Afarin was in cover, carefully scrutinising the shimmering, broken landscape ahead of them and the distant low olive trees. Through the field glasses, the ground sloped down [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 11 Camp Mitkan June-July 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning folks, it started off sunny and warm this morning but as I dictate this it is clouding up. Bozzie is in fine fettle this morning, his spies tell him that Stoma is [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred and Forty Nine first appeared on Going Postal.
As every schoolboy knows, off the southern coast of the province of Cadiz the 3rd August 1704 ended briskly as Sir George Rooke’s fleet bombarded the Spanish isthmus of Gibraltar. The following morning, 1,900 English [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Journey’s End first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a GP mug Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of Crossword 223 and a GP mug JR (Contact [more...]
The post Crossnumber No. 224 first appeared on Going Postal.
If get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall try and link live versions if they exist from the tellybox or a film, the sound quality may not be [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Forty-Eight–Showaddywaddy first appeared on Going Postal.
It was the fourth early morning of following the truck when the girls saw it stop at a pole barrier across a gap in a chain-link fence. The barrier went up and the truck entered [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Three, Chapter Twenty-Five first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 23rd June 2022 The Panel: Rachel Maclean (Conservative) Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour) Anne Boden (Starling Bank) Ben Habib (Businessman) Mick Lynch (RMT) Venue: Stratford-upon-Avon Don’t mock our football team. Yes, three of us are [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
80 years ago in June things started to look bleak in the desert, the Axis was on the advance and we were retreating. At sea the Royal Navy was just as busy and the convoys [more...]
The post The Desert War – June 1942 first appeared on Going Postal.
Whilst listening to some 70’s era music – the time when music demanded competence – I came across a track by Traffic. I listened and remembered hearing it many years ago and that it was [more...]
The post The tale of John Barleycorn first appeared on Going Postal.
In this extract from his book* my uncle describes his time as a war correspondent with the Army’s official newspaper Union Jack in the latter stages of World War II. Jerry F. In World War [more...]
The post The Front Line Reporter first appeared on Going Postal.
This article is about different coffee brewing techniques that don’t require plug-in machines. Many people swear by expensive espresso makers, pod machines, or electric percolators, but I prefer the simplicity of manual devices. These are [more...]
The post Coffee – Five Manual Brewing Techniques first appeared on Going Postal.
David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is not just a great film, it is a nearly perfect one. Even better, it was recognised as such from the start by virtually everyone. [more...]
The post Film Review: Bridge Over The River Kwai first appeared on Going Postal.
I recently visited two old friends. We were united by the deaths within a week of mutual life-long friends a few weeks ago. I realised it was important that we keep in touch. I had [more...]
The post “I’m not interested in Black History Month” first appeared on Going Postal.
Previously we have had Part 1 (Planning), Part 2 (Days 1-5), Part 3 (Days 6-9). Welcome to the final instalment. Day 10 — Careg-y-Big to Llandegla (20 miles) The day started easily enough with some [more...]
The post A short walk in the Cymraeg Kush, Part Four first appeared on Going Postal.
This not the first time that Václav Klaus’ astute observations and experience-based predictions turn out to be shockingly accurate years later, and I’m pretty confident it will not be the last. Even before the examples [more...]
The post Unheeded warnings: Václav Klaus at the Marmara Forum first appeared on Going Postal.
They spent the next three weeks working with the Golani Brigade and a pilot came to speak with them, to talk about the limitations and advantages of air power. He was a major and like [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 10 Camp Mitkan June 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
After a while, as it was getting lighter and lighter, I said, ‘I must ask your father’s permission.’ She nodded. ‘And there’s a couple of other phone-calls I must make.’ Then I slid my left [more...]
The post Pale Hands 5 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning folks. Bozzie was running around like a mad man this morning trying to drum up support for the leadership vote of confidence. The Chairman of The 1922 Committee rang him last night [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary Week, One Hundred And Forty Eight first appeared on Going Postal.
Parador Torremolinos As we near journey’s end (can Puffins tell where we’re going to yet and why?), the final photo from the previous edition of Nostalgia Album is reproduced below. Depicted, is an unprepossessing single-story [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Part Nineteen first appeared on Going Postal.
The poll was taken in the wake of the Kavanaugh assassination attempt. Kavanaugh killer’s contents: He was arrested with a suitcase containing a tactical knife, a Glock 17 pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, [more...]
The post 44% of Young Male and 32% of Young Female Democrats Say ‘It’s Acceptable To Assassinate a Politician’ first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a GP mug Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of Crossword 222 and a GP mug CG (Contact [more...]
The post Crossword No. 223 first appeared on Going Postal.
I tried this the other day following a recipe I found but tweaked it a bit. The chicken needs to marinate in the fridge for at least one hour, and there is some preparation, requiring [more...]
The post Chicken Tagine first appeared on Going Postal.
Reaching The Coast Standing beside the Mediterranean after a monster journey from Carlisle at the other end of the European continent, we spy a railway line. The year is 1952, the location is near Málaga [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Part Eighteen first appeared on Going Postal.
When I watch the tragedies unfold on these mass shootings, I do not hold my breath as I know that the DemonRats will be pounding their chests and exploiting the deaths for what they [more...]
The post My solutions to mass/school shootings first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a GP mug Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of the Platinum Jubilee Crossword 221, an ounce of [more...]
The post Crossword No. 222 first appeared on Going Postal.
If get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall try and link live versions if they exist from the tellybox or a film, the sound quality may not be [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Forty-Seven – Madness first appeared on Going Postal.
When Jinnie stood up to say goodbye to the PM she was pleased that she had left the car at the parent’s and they had grabbed a taxi to the Trattoria. She knew that the [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Three, Chapter Twenty-Three first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 9th June 2022 The Panel: Chris Philp (Conservative) Wes Streeting (Labour) Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat) Rory Stewart (Former Minister) Tom Harwood (GB News) Venue: Dorking I had a friend who farmed. An excellent [more...]
The post Always Worth Sayings Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
My paternal grandfather, Herbert, was born in Morley in 1875 to a family of coal miners and woollen weavers. The sixth of twelve children, he was a master boot and shoe maker and repairer. As [more...]
The post Herbert’s War: My Grandfather, Herbert first appeared on Going Postal.
Bit of a different style of review this time. I know there are a few who enjoy a spooky story on GP, as do I – especially when it’s one apparently based in reality. So [more...]
The post Castles in the air: the restoration adventures of two young optimists and a crumbling old mansion by Judy Corbett first appeared on Going Postal.
It all sounded so wonderful. Loads more, up to 5 times more, graduates coming into the workplace, it couldn’t help but improve the country. We would be flooded with doctors and engineers. What a wonderful [more...]
The post Educayshun, educayshun, educayshun first appeared on Going Postal.
Your author has enjoyed the extracts posted recently by GP from his uncle’s work, reflecting on older fashioned journalism. The extracts titled ‘The Lady Reporter’ and ‘The War Correspondent’ suggested this response. Imagine, if you [more...]
The post The Lady War Correspondent first appeared on Going Postal.
Hello again Puffins. I’ve been pretty snowed under for the last few months with Property Management problems and having been on one of my caravan expeditions for the last few weeks. MY CURRENT LAND-VOYAGE BY [more...]
The post Sailing my life away (II), part 2 first appeared on Going Postal.
I struggle to warm to Jurgen Klopp. Until a recent unseasonably chill Monday morning, I wasn’t sure why. Friends assume it’s because he is Liverpool manager. Far from it. Although the club, capped by fans [more...]
The post Outing An Agenda first appeared on Going Postal.
Previously we have had Part 1 (planning). Day 1 — Home to Sedbury to Beeches Farm (8 miles) I’ve checked the weather forecast, all set fair for the next 10 days. Excellent, checking the forecast [more...]
The post A short walk in the Cymraeg Kush, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
After months of consumer price increases and after countless working households found themselves in dire financial straits struggling to make ends meet, in the late May, President Biden finally revealed his grand plan to fight [more...]
The post Inflation outlook – A battle lost before it started first appeared on Going Postal.
In memory of those who have crossed the bar Fearless of storm or foe, Guarding the traffic of the east and west, Giving with hearts heroic of their best, The brave mine-sweepers go. Horace Rumsam [more...]
The post A Family At War, Part Four first appeared on Going Postal.
It was the holy feast of Pentecost, commonly known in English as the Feast of Weeks, a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (it may fall between [more...]
The post Samyaze Chapter 8 Camp Mitkan Adam and The Sea of Galilee – June 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Morning reader. It’s a bit grey this morning and not so warm as recently. Bozzie was having his usual moan over breakfast this morning. Today it was about the contrived row in the media [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred And Forty Six first appeared on Going Postal.
Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid As long-suffering Puffins were finishing off last week’s episode of Nostalgia Album ( Aranda de Duero to Madrid) which terminated at the Plaza de Cibeles, thousands of Madridistas were gathering at [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Part Seventeen first appeared on Going Postal.
James Bond dozed in the warm Jamaica sun. It was only April, and the baking heat of summer was still to come. He daydreamed happily of past exploits and beautiful girls. No doubt they were [more...]
The post A Right and Left – Part 1 of 2 first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a 1 oz silver Britannia & a GP mug! Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of Crossword 220 [more...]
The post Platinum Jubilee Crossword first appeared on Going Postal.
If get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall try and link live versions if they exist from the tellybox or a film, the sound quality may not be [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Forty-Six – Rod Stewart first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie finally stumbled into bed at just after midnight, she was shattered not so much from the physical effort of the day but from the emotional effort, she had expended trying to make the restaurant [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Three, Chapter Twenty-Two first appeared on Going Postal.
The May of 80 years ago finally saw some desert action in Libya but not until later in the month, all the navies were busy attacking ships and the air forces were attacking everything. Convoys [more...]
The post The Desert War – May 1942 first appeared on Going Postal.
Another chapter from “Special Assignment” by my uncle John Alldridge (published in 1960 and now long out of print) In almost every great news story of recent times Luck has been the deciding factor. You [more...]
The post Press Photographer, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
Some of you may remember my earlier Postcard from Vilnius Postcard From Vilnius much to my surprise that article is now 2 years old. I reference it only because it still contains much current information [more...]
The post A Post Covid Postcard From Vilnius (It’s War!) first appeared on Going Postal.
In memory of those who have crossed the bar Fearless of storm or foe, Guarding the traffic of the east and west, Giving with hearts heroic of their best, The brave mine-sweepers go. Horace Rumsam [more...]
The post A Family At War, Part Three first appeared on Going Postal.
Welcome dear readers; before we get started, a warning. Those of you that aren’t interested in the maudlin, or the philosophy of loss, or the pain which accompanies it, look away now, this isn’t going [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse; (Pain and Loss) first appeared on Going Postal.
In memory of those who have crossed the bar Fearless of storm or foe, Guarding the traffic of the east and west, Giving with hearts heroic of their best, The brave mine-sweepers go. Horace Rumsam [more...]
The post A Family At War, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
Foreword by Warble on Augh Yes, I have read it, re-read it and revisited more times than I probably should have. I refer of course to that wonderful piece of literature “A short walk in [more...]
The post A short walk in the Cymraeg Kush, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
In memory of those who have crossed the bar Fearless of storm or foe, Guarding the traffic of the east and west, Giving with hearts heroic of their best, The brave mine-sweepers go. Horace Rumsam [more...]
The post A Family At War, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
From that day on it became like Groundhog Day to Afarin. Kit inspection from Staff Sergeant Hoffman, who was now at the shouty, throwing things about phase. The morning before he had taken Umbridge to [more...]
The post Samyaze Chapter 7 Camp Mitkan Adam, Training Areas – June 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Morning peeps. A little grey but warm this morning, the woman on the TV says it is going to be sunny and quite warm here in London this morning. Bozzie is off to Northern [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred and Forty Five first appeared on Going Postal.
Last time on Nostalgia Album, my father and his parents were heading south in their Ford 8 in the general direction of Madrid. The year is 1952 and Franco’s rural Spain must have appeared un-developed [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Part Sixteen first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a 1 oz silver Britannia. Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of Crossword 219 and a GP mug [more...]
The post Crossword No. 220 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Happy bank holiday, people. It is very quiet in London this morning. The family didn’t come home yesterday so I assumed they will be back late today. That suits me, all the papers have [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Part One Hundred and Forty Three first appeared on Going Postal.
It’s that time of year again…… The UK entry is Sam Ryder – SPACE MAN – United Kingdom 🇬🇧 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022 and is the featured track. The music is generally [more...]
The post The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 first appeared on Going Postal.
Despite the statements coming out of the most corrupt and embarrassing White House administration, the Biden/ Harris plan is not working. Today I was asked by an obvious libtard how I could say that neither [more...]
The post The Biden plan is collapsing. It always would! first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a GP mug. Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of Crossword 218 and a GP mug CG (Contact [more...]
The post Crossword No. 219 first appeared on Going Postal.
Featured image: “abba-th” by opethpainter is licensed under CC BY 2.0 To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse © Phil the ex test manager 2022
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Forty-Three – ABBA first appeared on Going Postal.
The party slowly assembled in a large meeting room on the Genoa naval base. When the girls arrived the GOI contingent were sitting around drinking coffee and one or two were smoking despite the prominent [more...]
The post Jinnie’s War – Book Three, Chapter Nineteen first appeared on Going Postal.
Question Time 12th May 2022 The Panel: Suella Braverman (Conservative) Shabana Mahmood (Labour) Geoff Norcott (Comedian) Miatta Fahnbulleh (Economist) Sebastian Vettel (F1 Driver) Venue: Hackney QT Review is proud to announce that, in a first [more...]
The post Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review first appeared on Going Postal.
Follow… Follow… Leave your England at dead midnight still Guarded by grandsires, babes and old women, Either past or nor arrived at pith and puissance. For who is he, whose chin is but enrich’d With [more...]
The post Operation Chariot – The Greatest Raid of All first appeared on Going Postal.
Another chapter from “Special Assignment” by my uncle John Alldridge (published in 1960 and now long out of print) During the course of World War II the Press War Correspondent found himself in competition with [more...]
The post The War Correspondent, Part Two first appeared on Going Postal.
This can be cooked with fresh ingredients or cupboard staples. You need: Some butter beans (a tin or dried beans previously soaked overnight and then cooked) Tomatoes (fresh ones or a tin) Garlic: 2 cloves [more...]
The post Cooking for numpties and the terminally depressed first appeared on Going Postal.
- The continued ringing of the telephone brought us both abruptly out of the past and Cambridge. ‘Your Father!’ I exclaimed. ‘My Mother.’ She whispered. ‘Richard Conyngham here: we’re at Waterloo and due to arrive [more...]
The post Pale Hands 3 first appeared on Going Postal.
For decades, physical gold investors have had to contend with superficial, naive and wholly ahistorical “arguments” from the mainstream financial press, from economists and experts of all stripes, claiming that gold is nothing but a [more...]
The post Gold: A use case for the modern era, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
It’s been a month now since I last posted from the greenhouse, although, somewhat thankfully, it hasn’t been a month since I visited it. With the arrival of spring we see ewes and lambs arriving [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse; Bath, A Chance Encounter, Long “Covid” first appeared on Going Postal.
It has been some time since we have moved home so when we decided that we were going to up sticks and move somewhere a little more remote, I thought I knew the game and [more...]
The post Moving house first appeared on Going Postal.
Two weeks after setting forth from Croydon we finally free-wheeled into St.Nazaire on the southern coast of Brittany, somewhat short of our initial target of St.Tropez. The tandem and single bike had survived various alarms [more...]
The post Three Men on a Bike, Part Four first appeared on Going Postal.
Contains descriptions of sexual relations. Her head was resting on his forearm, her body nuzzled up close to him. She was still asleep and he looked at her in the sparse light coming in between [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 3 – April 2006. first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning people, I am delighted it’s another bank holiday as it’s another nice peaceful day in Downing Street. Not quite so warm in London this morning but it is still very pleasant with [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred And Forty One first appeared on Going Postal.
Previously on these pages, Puffins have learned that everything was better in the old days. Malta was better as a Crown colony, railway stations were better with splt-flap Solari rattle boards rather than giant RGB [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Part Thirteen first appeared on Going Postal.
First correct entry out of ‘the hat’ wins a GP mug. Email entries to me by 6.00 pm Friday, subject ‘Crossword’. Contact here on email Winner of Crossword 216 and a GP mug In like [more...]
The post Crossword No. 217 first appeared on Going Postal.
My Legends of Pop Music – Part Forty-One – Chuck Berry If get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall try and link live versions if they exist from [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Forty-One – Chuck Berry first appeared on Going Postal.
Having recovered from the ravages of what we thought was pilchard food poisoning but was more likely some dodgy Camembert, and rested sufficiently at the Rouen youth hostel we ventured forth on Day 5 and [more...]
The post Three Men on a Bike, Part Three first appeared on Going Postal.
But where do you go to my lovely When you’re alone in your bed Tell me the thoughts that surround you I want to look inside your head, yes I do Peter Sarstedt – 1969. [more...]
The post DIY Therapy first appeared on Going Postal.
- I was up pretty early, used the outdoor privy and the scullery sink so as not to disturb the sleeper, went off to Church, collected the paper on the way back, spoke as jauntily [more...]
The post Pale Hands 2 first appeared on Going Postal.
A few nights ago a post (by Channel Zero) describing how the music business was blindsided and completely shaken up by the arrival of house music in the mid 1980s got me thinking over how [more...]
The post The Music Business first appeared on Going Postal.
Introduction In common with many boys who like me were fortunate enough to grow up in the 1950s and 1960s, I spent much of my spare time building and flying Keil Kraft balsawood & tissue [more...]
The post Erich Bachem – an engineer years ahead of his time (i) first appeared on Going Postal.
In 1798 Thomas Malthus postulated his gloomy theory that the growth in population must always outstrip the means of subsistence needed to support it: “Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only [more...]
The post The science of economics has lost its way first appeared on Going Postal.
Over the last two years, we’ve all witnessed state abuses of power and extreme overreaches the likes of which many average citizens had never imagined they’d see in their own lifetimes. This caused a great [more...]
The post Is Switzerland still a safe jurisdiction for precious metals investors? first appeared on Going Postal.
She breakfasted alone, although she could hear the sound of someone with a vacuum cleaner in another room. There had been no sight of Jean-Claude and she decided that she was a little disappointed. It [more...]
The post Samyaza Chapter 2 – April 2006 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Good morning people, I am delighted the weather is much improved this morning. It’s sunny and warmer, what I call window sill weather. Bozzie has been busy this weekend, taking a trip to Ukraine. [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred and Forty first appeared on Going Postal.
As we discovered last time on Nostalgia Album, Malta is short of trees. Although my father’s cousin, Anne, and her parents Bob and Lil along with some Navy friends, did find some rare shade when [more...]
The post Nostalgia Album, Part Twelve first appeared on Going Postal.
If get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall try and link live versions if they exist from the tellybox or a film, the sound quality may not be [more...]
The post My Legends of Pop Music – Part Forty – Dire Straits first appeared on Going Postal.
Jinnie was anxious to settle Willie into British life so while he unpacked and put away his new clothes in his new bedroom she wondered if a typically British dinner would go down well. She [more...]
The post Jinnie’s Story – Book Three – Chapter Sixteen first appeared on Going Postal.
The truck now leaving a back lane behind your local railway station may well be removing the mangled remains of a giant departure board. Why so? Because they’re being replaced, and by creatures not even [more...]
The post The Board Now Departing first appeared on Going Postal.
Another chapter from “Special Assignment” by my uncle John Alldridge (published in 1960 and now long out of print) No Half-Way For Ladies When I got my first job on a newspaper twenty-five years ago [more...]
The post The Woman Reporter, Part One first appeared on Going Postal.
Two War Eagles, Paula Dobriansky and Richard Levine, emphatically argue in today’s Wall Street Journal the reasons NATO (and therefore the U.S.) must wage an active direct proxy war against Russia: We cannot pretend a [more...]
The post Ukrainian War Eagles first appeared on Going Postal.
At the end of part 1 we left our intrepid teenager entering the portals of the famous Foyles Bookshop in the Charing Cross Road, London. Founded in 1903 initially selling secondhand books from a small [more...]
The post A Life in Three Honks, Honk the Second first appeared on Going Postal.
It is undeniable that the ongoing crisis in Ukraine has polarized Western societies to an extent unseen in decades in any other foreign conflict. For over a month, we have been bombarded unceasingly by all [more...]
The post Russia’s “gold peg”: Lessons for Western investors first appeared on Going Postal.
Over the last few weeks I’ve had occasion to visit Glasgow on two occasions, one for an overnight stay and the second time primarily to visit Kelvingrove Museum and Gallery. The happy circumstance of my [more...]
The post A Postcard Frae Glesgae first appeared on Going Postal.
“Trust, but verify, is a well-known saying loved by Ronald Reagan, who was taught it by the writer Suzanne Massey. However, not many people are aware that it came into the English language directly from [more...]
The post Доверя́й, но проверя́й – Trust, but Verify first appeared on Going Postal.
The time is the mid 1970s. The place is Canvey Island. The band is the dynamic “proto-punk” outfit known as Dr Feelgood. (I put inverted commas round proto-punk because, although that is what some music [more...]
The post Lee Brilleaux: rock n roll gentleman, by Zoë Howe first appeared on Going Postal.
This is the brief story of my grandad and his part in the war. Here is a picture of George with who we think is his grandmother in the early 1900s. George Gilfoyle was born [more...]
The post What did you do in the war grandad? first appeared on Going Postal.
I am one of those fortunate people who understand both metric and imperial measurements. I am old enough to have had my early education purely in imperial but as an apprentice my college courses employed [more...]
The post Imperial Measures first appeared on Going Postal.
As regular non-readers of the comments will know, I spent a large part of 2020 (and some of 2019) looking for a job. Looking back at my spreadsheet I made approaching 60 applications, albeit quite [more...]
The post Gizza job. I could do that first appeared on Going Postal.
This was, thought Merritt, absolutely bloody typical of Larkin. The place was a dizzying carousel of gigantic, deafening televisions blaring out conflicting commentaries on horse racing and football, the bleeping and blinking of garish slot [more...]
The post The Making of a Mercenary first appeared on Going Postal.
!! Warning: this article contains images of a “shameless clickbait” nature !! According to Wikipedia, “The Dog (Canis Familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf which is characterized by an upturning tail. It derived [more...]
The post The Joy of Dogs first appeared on Going Postal.
So here we are possibly facing WW3. Or maybe not. I will give a brief analysis of what I see going on in Ukraine and how it relates to the wider world. I will say [more...]
The post War In Ukraine first appeared on Going Postal.
I did promise an article on Beef Stroganoff and it is time I delivered. You are of course all aware that all these delicious sauces prepared by a long list of famous chefs were only [more...]
The post Stroganoff first appeared on Going Postal.
Last month I wrote about the massive waste implicit in government-sponsored bureaucracy – at local and central levels. The craving for a sense of importance leads small-minded apparatchiks to seize power over others by controlling [more...]
The post Fault-Lines in Thinking Exposed first appeared on Going Postal.
When in the vicinity one feels obliged. After all, I am a Carlisle lad. During my previous life more interesting I found myself nearby and could adjust my schedule. If I was shot by an [more...]
The post Postcard From Carlisle first appeared on Going Postal.
St Juan de Pasto Main Operating Base and Bogota, the Grange Bar – Venue The aircrews inspected their helicopters with shock and sadness. The decks were awash with coagulated blood and every one of the [more...]
The post The Colombian Soujourn – Chapter 28 first appeared on Going Postal.
Introduction In 1967, as part of my Public Health Inspectors’ Education Board course, I remember attending a lecture given by Dr Moore, the then Medical Officer of Health for the City and County of Kingston-upon-Hull, [more...]
The post A Court for King Cholera first appeared on Going Postal.
In the Devon village closest to the Andrei Sakharov Dissidents’ Campsite lived two young dissidents affectionately known to everyone as the Girlies. Although they looked like two peas in a pod, the Girlies were not [more...]
The post The Girlies’ Cottage first appeared on Going Postal.
Project 1: Scope Dials Welcome all and please gather round so I can waste a few minutes of your precious time on describing something that didn’t really need doing and no doubt would interest few. [more...]
The post Unnecessary Engineering first appeared on Going Postal.
You were probably brought up on such medical TV programmes, depending on your age, as Dr.Kildare, Emergency Ward 10, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook or the many subsequent programmes of a similar genre. The implication of such [more...]
The post Your GP is simply a functionary first appeared on Going Postal.
If you thought strawberry tales was boring, then I guess you’d better hold my coat (as the saying goes). Following several days of not being able to even enter the greenhouse, apart from a cursory [more...]
The post A View From The Greenhouse (A Savile Jibe, Really?) first appeared on Going Postal.
Old, unhappy far-off things, and battles long ago… How do we know about King Arthur? Please note that this is not a rehash of the old “Did King Arthur exist?” historical chestnut. Whether or not [more...]
The post King Arthur And The Battle Of Hastings first appeared on Going Postal.
Day 6 – Wednesday 29th December – St. Maarten Good morning from the beautiful tiny island of St. Maarten. I woke as we approached the port just as the sun was coming up, I think [more...]
The post Another Caribbean Christmas, Part Four first appeared on Going Postal.
Introduction Cipher – meaning zero (0), nothing or an empty set. Decipher – to make something out of that seemingly meaningless nothing. Caroline or ‘Old Trout’ (as we affectionately remember her) was a brilliant mathematician. [more...]
The post Cipher – A Tribute To OldTrout first appeared on Going Postal.
Headquarters DEA, in the Pentagon City area of Arlington, Virginia. St Juan de Pasto Main Operating Base and Bogota On the day Edge got back to Pasto, members of the General Council of the CIA [more...]
The post The Colombian Sojourn – Chapter 23 first appeared on Going Postal.
Monday Morning all, another week stretches in front of me, I wonder what will happen this week. Bozzie was on the phone to that Muslim woman who claims she was told that she was being [more...]
The post Larry’s Diary, Week One Hundred and Twenty Nine first appeared on Going Postal.