Saturday, 2 March 2024

The Caveman's Lament

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I haven't posted for quite a long time because I've been very busy with other things (and also we've just moved house) but this ...
7 comments:
Thursday, 24 August 2023

Empire of the Sun

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EMPIRE OF THE SUN is a novel written by J G Ballard and published in 1984. It is semi-autobiographical and based on his own experiences as...
6 comments:
Thursday, 3 August 2023

Rabbit-Proof Fence

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Rabbit-Proof Fence tells the true story of three mixed-race Aboriginal girls who, after being forcibly removed from their families, are ship...
6 comments:
Wednesday, 5 July 2023

Artist of the Month (6): Edward Hopper

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Edward Hopper was probably the pre-eminent American realist painter in the years between the wars. Although he had made several trips to Pa...
4 comments:
Tuesday, 27 June 2023

The Pinball Wizard has played his last concert in the UK

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7.6 million people watched Elton John on UK TV performing at Glastonbury last weekend. He claimed this would be his last ever UK concert - b...
6 comments:
Thursday, 15 June 2023

Ghent, Belgium

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We have just returned from a few days in Ghent in Flanders, in the north of Belgium . We have visited there several times before but this wa...
6 comments:
Friday, 5 May 2023

The Coronation of Charles III

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  Tomorrow is the coronation of King Charles III in Westminster Abbey where our monarchs have been crowned forty times since 1066. I’m not...
8 comments:
Friday, 7 April 2023

Artist of the Month (5): Dutch Tobacco Poster Artists

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It's hard to believe but there was a time when the full implication of the health risks of smoking were not known (or were ignored).  Ad...
11 comments:
Sunday, 2 April 2023

John Donne: No Man is an Island

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The phrase No man is an island is often assumed to be Shakespearean or from the Bible but it’s neither. John Donne (pronounced ‘Done’) was ...
7 comments:
Thursday, 23 March 2023

Sea-Fever by John Masefield

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I was once asked what, apart from my family, would I want to save if my home was burning. I realised then that my most treasured possession ...
10 comments:
Thursday, 16 March 2023

Artist of the Month (4): Ronald Searle

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RONALD SEARLE (1920 – 2011,) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comic artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is ...
6 comments:
Thursday, 9 March 2023

Artist of the Month (3): Frida Kahlo Self-Portraits

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FRIDA KAHLO (1907-1954), was born and raised near Mexico City and was unhappily married to the painter and muralist Diego Rivera . She had ...
9 comments:
Thursday, 2 March 2023

London's Green Parakeets

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The ring-necked green parakeet is the UK's only naturalised parrot and the most northerly breeding parrot in the world. ring-necked par...
13 comments:
Sunday, 26 February 2023

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THE SECRETARY BIRD This crazy-looking creature is a large African bird of prey. At first I didn’t believe it was real so I had to check it...
12 comments:
Monday, 20 February 2023

Some more funnies!

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I have always enjoyed laughing in general and puns in particular. Five years ago I was invited to be an administrator on the Tim Vine Joke A...
9 comments:
Wednesday, 8 February 2023

Artist of the Month (2): Banksy

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Robin Gunningham aka Banksy...or is he? Banksy , commonly believed to be Robin Gunningham of Bristol, in the west of England, is the most p...
9 comments:
Tuesday, 10 January 2023

University of the Third Age (U3A)

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Founded in 1982, the UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE ( u3a) is a UK-wide movement loosely based on the original French version. It consists of...
9 comments: