Travel to Santa Helena Island with a cup of coffee – World Meanderings (n°103)
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny St. Helena Island is world famous for being Napoleon’s last residence and death place. But this tiny island lost in...
Karl’s Chronicles. Article 52 Le Jardin Majorelle – A Painters Triumph.
The fashionable came to see and be seen, almost as worthy as the official pieces of art that lay bold but simultaneously unassuming around them. Chic supercilious women strolling...
Harry’s Ramblings Love Me Tender
by Harry Pope My wife thinks I can’t sing. She is right, but just sometimes I can hold a note sufficiently long to be able to entertain others as...
CWA Dagger Awards 2020 Winners Announced
If you love crime novels, the CWA Dagger Award have now been announced. Ann Evans has the details. The world-famous Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers are the oldest...
Elles Bailey finally returns to the road with a socially distanced show at The Appleyard in Sittingbourne on Nov 14th
Wild Wild West taken from the CD release Blacktop Companion. Out now, you can hear the track at : MP3 We Transfer : WAV We...
Harry’s Ramblings Television notoriety
by Harry Pope I have had three stabs at television fame, two almost successful, the third an abject failure. The first started with an advert in the London Evening...
Two Great New CDs.
Broken Road by Ben Hemming Ben Hemming’s fourth album, recorded in Norway at Velvet Recordings, was produced by Nick Terry (The Libertines, Ian Brown, The Klaxtons.) Nu-Bluesman Ben said,...
Harry’s Ramblings Fleeting Celebrities
by Harry Pope Mary Berry smiled at me. Just the once, mind you, but it was memorable. At the time I had no idea who she was, it was...
Harry’s Ramblings My Oscar for Extra of the Year, by Harry Pope
by Harry Pope October 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of my starring role in the re-make of the Graham Greene novel; Brighton Rock. Wherever you look, I am popping...
Karl’s Chronicles Article 45 Titian: Love, Desire, Death.
Centring around Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid, Titian, under commission from Prince Philip of Spain, created a set of paintings based on classical myths, developed between 1551...
Barcelona: a city of sun, sea and style
Barcelona, in eastern Spain is the capital of Catalonia and is a modern, vibrant and sophisticated city surrounded by sloping hills and a Mediterranean coastline. Catalan pride and...
Harry’s Ramblings The Mystery of Flight.
Now that there are fewer planes in the sky, it has made me ask the question, how do planes stay up there in that great expanse of sky. Yes,...
Mary Berry launches The Great British Garden Party
Join in and celebrate your garden and help support our nurses. Ann Evans tells you how. Mary Berry, President of the National Garden Scheme is launching a major event that...
It’s amazing what you can Discover on your Doorstep!
Neighbour Helen suggested that we go for an afternoon walk, and it sounded like a good idea as it was a nice day. The sun was shining and there...
Harry’s Ramblings. Tickets for my Hero
by Harry Pope When I was a lad I was a junior marshal for the British Automobile Racing Club. That meant that I went round to various circuits, mainly...
Malta Diary: What links “Calypso” to Jacques Cousteau … to Malta and Gozo?
ALBERT FENECH e/mail – Facebook: As a young boy many were the days I spent in front of our television, huddled in an armchair, enveloped...
HeyHeyUp! Bilko’s Back – Bigger and Better!
Photos courtesy of Rob Tysall and Steve Everett. Ann Evans reports that Coventry’s Sgt. Bilko Vintage Emporium and Phil Silvers Archival Museum are back in business. Like...
Malta Diary A pictorial panorama of the Maltese Islands over the last 200 years
ALBERT FENECH e/mail – Facebook: My four grandparents died 50, 40 and 30 years ago. I often muse that if they were resurrected today and...
Harry’s Ramblings Don’t buy that Limousine
by Harry Pope When I entered the funeral profession in 1977, the first vehicle I was allocated was a 1966 Austin Princess limousine. I hated that car, it was...
Can you Solve Albert Einstein’s riddle?
Einstein’s impossible riddle…can you solve it? Here’s something a little different to occupy your mind while you’re at home. Now I’m not one to boast, modesty being one of...
Harry’s Ramblings What’s It Worth
by Harry Pope A couple of years ago a local Eastbourne lady was going to give items to a charity shop. Her friend said ‘try the auction instead.’ They...
Book Reviews
IAIN ROBERTSON Thanks to being cloistered away over the past few months, it seems that our nation has become increasingly book savvy and Iain Robertson has reviewed some of...
Welsh Witterings: Farewell to Laura Ashley – a Piece of Welsh History
The home and fashion retailer Laura Ashley collapsed into administration a few months ago after its attempts to raise capital to fund a restructure of the business failed,...
Five exclusive live readings of “The Little Prince” to cheer up dreamers throughout the world
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny From 29 June to 3 July 2020 Michael Morpugo in collaboration with the “Institut Français du Royaume-Uni” and the “Antoine de Saint...
Harry’s Ramblings. Soap Cameos
by Harry Pope Our future King, sipping what looks like whisky, in a television pub? Really, did we actually see that happen. Yup, it was in December 2000 when...
Taxi Noir: A Brief Perambulation around Fleet Street
People think that because I drive my taxi around London all day I know all the best places to go, or know all the history. I don’t. I haven’t...
Harry’s Ramblings, Sherlock Holmes came to Eastbourne
by Harry Pope I had no idea of the number of famous people who have lived in Eastbourne, but there were a lot of them. Sherlock Holmes lived here....
When I met Vera Lynn, The Forces’ Sweetheart.
It was sad news to hear about the death of Dame Vera Lynn at 103. She was a real Lady who brought a lot of happiness into the world....
Four acts have new singles out on May 29th
Nuala – Artemisia This Friday sees the release of “Artemisia” by NUALA, the second song to be released from her self-titled debut album. The album, produced by John Reynolds,...
Audi endured racing success for more than two decades
IAIN ROBERTSON The pandemic has upset the plans of many companies and events, not the least in the field of motorsport, which Iain Robertson suggests has been decimated by...
NGS Reopen Their Open Gardens!
Ann Evans brings great news for garden lovers! The great news for everyone who loves gardens and gardening, is that the National Garden Scheme’s open gardens are...
In Crime Honoured Tradition
In Crime HonouredTradition The CWA Daggers Awards 2020 Longlists are published. Ann Evans tells us who is in the running. If you love your crime stories, then you...
Coping with Coronavirus 22. Edwardian Parlour Games.
In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, people were a lot more trusting. Guests would arrive, armed with an introductory letter, or introduced by family or friends of their hosts,...
MALTA DIARY: Elaborate and extensive catacombs in Malta and a Punic tomb recently discovered probably dating back to 500 BC
ALBERT FENECH e/mail – Facebook: My Blog: The Carthaginians ruled Malta before they were ousted by the Romans in about 250 BC...
Can you trust our government with its future EV plans?
IAIN ROBERTSON Within what seemed like minutes of winning last year’s General Election, states Iain Robertson, the UK government was promising that 2035 would be the ‘termination’ date for...
Quid pro quo is a 40 years old quad pro quattro for Audi
IAIN ROBERTSON It is astonishing, explains Iain Robertson, how an invented word can become 4×4 synonymous with a German motorcar brand that also formulated a non-translatable expression, ‘Vorsprung durch...
A Trio of Cathedrals
Photos by Rob Tysall, Tysall’s Photography. Ann Evans tells us about her home city of Coventry and its three cathedrals. Most people are aware that the City...
Karl’s Chronicles 31; Tunisia, Small Land, Big On Diversity
Tunisia seemed to epitomise the bargain holiday destination for all-inclusive deals, those guaranteeing, sun, sand and long lazy days working up a King Midas tan, slipping casually back and...
Jean Cocteau and the French Riviera, an ever-lasting love story – Meanderings through France n° 216
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric Mouren Although Jean Cocteau died 57 years ago he still is a source of inspiration for present artists and beloved by many...
Dream trip with Robert Louis Stevenson in the French Cevennes
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny It all began with a broken heart in 1878. That autumn 28 years old Scottish author R. L. Stevenson decided to go...