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Tag Archives: Britain

Crimean punishment

Attempting – unsuccessfully – to get my head round the roots of the Ukraine war, via Orlando Figes’ magisterial Crimea. — For Perspective

A Hitch in time

On the late, great Christopher Hitchens, and the role the Falklands may have played in his political development. — For The Critic

Around the World in 384 Days

‘The Journal of Victor Emmanuel Smyth, made on a Voyage to Australia’ . Ever since I found a battered typescript in my parents’ house, about a decade back, at this time of year my thoughts quite often turn to Victor Emmanuel Smyth (1856-1947), the younger brother of my great-great-grandfather, who in 1875, set out on […]

So Goode it’s bad

Forever and a Day: a James Bond novel by Anthony Horowitz (Random House Audiobooks, read by Matthew Goode, 7hrs 36mins) . Around the final Daniel Craig installment, there’s been inevitable talk of who should be the next James Bond. Well, I’ll tell you who it shouldn’t be, and that’s Matthew Goode. Three years ago, Anthony […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE

. John Stow, author of the Survey of London, was rewarded by James I with a licence to beg. — The Nelson Evening Mail, Friday, August 17 1906 . In Germany, young ladies have no sex. ‘Silver Billy’ Beldham was blond, and is said to have fathered 39 children. Thom Yorke’s left eye is made […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE

. There are more Jews in New York than there are in Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland put together. They worship in 37 synagogues. Every fifth person belongs to the family of Abraham. — The Nelson Evening Mail, December 1 1906   . Coleraine Blackjack is the cheapest porter in the world. Thomas Nelson […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE

. The German army has the healthiest troops in the world. — The Nelson Evening Mail, July 13 1908 . In January 2001 a BBC documentary crew filmed the everyday goings on in a typical workplace. The skin of fantas melons smells of BO. There’s 25% off Rovic floors. Philip Hensher will read any old crap. […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE

. Only about three in every hundred amateur novel-writers find their way into print, except at their own expense. — The Nelson Evening Mail, January 22 1907 . The erection of a verandah is a useful way to extend one’s living quarters. Seven American states observe Abraham Lincoln’s birthday as a public holiday. There is only one […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE

. In many parts of Africa gin is the only currency. — The Nelson Evening Mail, January 6 1909 . James Ramsay MacDonald became Prime Minister of Great Britain three times. Water is a better conductor of sound than air. A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the […]

Luck of the Irish – two letters

I NAT. TEL. JESMOND 343. Imperial Hotel, Jesmond Road, Newcastle on Tyne 15th Dec 1907 . My dear Victor, …………………..It is my good fortune once more to ask you for your congratulations! This time it is on a very fine appointment as Navigating Officer of H.M.S. “Lord Nelson”, a battleship almost completed, and which is […]