Other Men's Flowers

I posted a note last year about the most successful series of books ever written by one man (14 million copies over 45 years and still sell...

In a post last month I traduced the memory of John Donne by suggesting that the title of the comedy series Last of the Summer Wine might ha...

In my last post I wrote about some famous long-dead women. They weren't very interesting, so now let’s have a happy picture of a couple ...

As I expected, responses to my offer to answer questions about the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography have come flooding in by email. ...

Monotheists seem to feel the need to give constant praise to their creator; all widely-worshipped deities are believed to expect this and to...

"How's about a coupla ringsides for tonight, Jack?" car2

Just a reminder that if you happen to be passing this week through Southern Orange County, CA, you should note that although the Hirundos (H...

This idiotic picture was used on the front page of a travel supplement to illustrate an article on how Italians take their holidays.

Earlier this month a gang broke into my house. They had slipped through the unlocked front door and then suddenly burst violently into the r...

My grand-daughter stood us up because she wasn’t well, and it seemed a pity to waste the tickets even if they were comps. So we were among t...

I watch quite a lot of TV, and some of it I actually enjoy. By chance, I have recently seen the same drama three times and would be happy to...

"Say 'How d'you do?'" [Here is another one of Nicolas Bentley's affectionate drawings of nuns]

Among the more laudable achievements of Laurens van der Post, the much admired writer, farmer, war hero, conservationist, liar, fraud, paedo...

As promised in an earlier post, I have dredged the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography for figures illustrating the gender (they call it...

Blair confessed on a chat show last night that his decision to go to war with Iraq was underpinned by his Christian faith. So it was a crus...

I have just discovered to my delight that by using my library membership card I can access at home the mighty Oxford Dictionary of National ...

Adrian Leppard, assistant chief constable of Kent, has said that the £50 million raid on the cash depot in Tonbridge " had been planned...

So how many copies of Prince Charles' personal, highly confidential, journal did he send round? According to the Observer, " only 1...

Can anyone doubt that the Punjab Rural Olympics are much more fun than all that chilly sliding around in Turin?

…A dream of love to warm the winter nights A draught of wine to end the summer days… When my sister telephoned me to ask me if I knew the or...