I had come to realise that the membership of the Probus Club in Irvine (Scotland) and also its invited speakers could describe a rich vein of life experience and knowledge. And all was undertaken in a manner of jovial banter and a certain forthright honesty. When one of the members described a ‘folk memory’ of… Continue reading The Bonny Barques
Category: History
Items of general historical interest and covering items, for example, relating to the history of specific nations, famous individuals and conflicts such as the War of 1812, World War I and World War II.
On the Trail of the Elgin Marbles
A Portrait The collection on display at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland is like a treasure trove of things that were and which very likely are still with us. Take for example, what is referred to in the United Kingdom as the ‘Elgin Marbles’. For being constantly in the limelight of international… Continue reading On the Trail of the Elgin Marbles
Crown Hill, Stoke Golding 1485
An Imagined Dialogue Scene: ‘Crown Hill’ – Stoke Golding, England after the Battle of Bosworth 1485 (written while living at the location of ‘Crown Hill’ in Stoke Golding, December 2020). Lord Stanley: Upon this place today is discovered a new king of England – as one that will honour all the pledges of fair justice… Continue reading Crown Hill, Stoke Golding 1485
The Half Life of Stuff
It was an idea to make a statement about the fragility of family objects with the passing of the generations. It seemed appropriate to make a photographic record of assorted items with specific associations. Access to a Canon Compact camera simplified the photography with choice of a square image format. The images captured were mainly… Continue reading The Half Life of Stuff
Surprising Salisbury
After moving from North Wales to Warwickshire so began a process of exploration of the surrounding counties. This tended to be undertaken without the immediate access to all manner of information about intended destinations as is now available. This made travel then more of an unfolding experience than one of matching experience to expectation. It… Continue reading Surprising Salisbury
The Return of the King: Richard III
A Memorable Day For some time I had been considering the best place to park the car to attend the ceremony at Dadlington to mark the passage of the remains of Richard III from the site of battle near Fenn Lane Farm to Leicester Cathedral. The sensible decision eventually taken was to walk the short… Continue reading The Return of the King: Richard III
Shakespeare on Silver Street
A Stroke of Luck Perhaps it is better said that it is worthwhile to read books and especially rewarding to discover treasures among them. An example of this is the book entitled ‘The Lodger’ by Charles Nicoll whose starting point was the serendipitous discovery of a part of a court record involving William Shakespeare. The… Continue reading Shakespeare on Silver Street
Chartwell: The Legacy of Winston Churchill
A Cherished Location Often while travelling in the United Kingdom for work meetings, I would come upon various locations of interest and resolve to visit these in due course. This was the case for Chartwell, the country house of Sir Winston Churchill in Kent and which has been in the care of the National Trust… Continue reading Chartwell: The Legacy of Winston Churchill
York Air Museum: RAF Elvington
The Unexpected Museum The meeting on liquid and gas flow measurement using a novel technology pioneered by the Dutch company Bronkhorst was being held at the former RAF Elvington World War II airfield near York in England. The meeting itself was highly interesting and particularly relevant to measure the actual flow rates of infusion devices… Continue reading York Air Museum: RAF Elvington
James Watt’s walk on Glasgow Green
The Story Line In one sense the Industrial Revolution was gathering steam – but not very efficiently. The Newcomen engine which initially was developed in 1712 was in use at numerous locations in Britain but was expensive to operate on account of the system’s poor conversion of input energy – coal – to useful power… Continue reading James Watt’s walk on Glasgow Green