It’s a Dog’s Life

      A pig in shit…………….. An Informal Apologia. Much of this piece is based on personal experiences of long ago and, since I neither kept a diary nor have been blessed with a formidable memory, there are bound to be inaccuracies.   Further, since many of the events took place forty years ago, it is inevitable that a…

INTRODUCTION As winter begins to bite and the train timeable has been amended to the disadvantage of those who travel from our local station, I am reminded of my contemporaneous thoughts when the ‘Beast from the East’ rendered rail travel even more miserable than usual. TRAVELLING BACKWARDS As memories of miserable morale sapping train journeys…

“Hell is very likely to be modernisation infinitely extended” – Tom Stoppard A dog food company’s TV advertisement tells us that it offers “over a million” menu variations. Many might feel it is hard to imagine that there is a need for such a wide choice. So, is the demand for such extravagant options led by dogs? Has…

As the son of a middle ranking Naval Officer it might be assumed that such humble beginnings meant that there would be few opportunities for name dropping or even exploiting its more useful relative – nepotism. To make matters worse, Dad was a Plumber (aka an Engineer Officer) and so, generally regarded by the elite, such…

Background As a minimal consumer of books, it is easy for me to remember those that I have enjoyed and this is one of them: The Captain – The Life and Times of Simon Raven – Michael Barber. This Review first saw the light of day at least a decade ago and it is to be…

We are told to expect another Beast From The East this is my reaction to the last one……….. TRAVELLING BACKWARDS As memories of miserable morale sapping train journeys to and from Waterloo abate, the time may now be right to take a more objective view of UK rail travel in the 21st Century.  Even with…

  “Can’t the b—– fools at home realise that we are fighting against a perfectly glorious army led by real generals and soldiers, and nothing but the best is of any use whatever.”                                                                                                                                                    Brigadier-General Henry Wilson, 1914 Introduction The study of leadership consumes much of the Services’ time-in fact to such an extent…

Background.  This piece is based on an article published in the early 1980s.  Aside from a few textural amendments, it is re-produced here in its original state.  That being the case, it needs to be recognised that the Army has changed much since the article first saw the light of day. Readers, if any, should…

Background Having just passed out from the Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) soon after World War 1, my Dad (aka Nick) was sculling around awaiting a Posting Order as a Seaman Officer. With little else to occupy his time, he attended a presentation from an Admiralty team which claimed that the age of sail had truly…

ST EDMUND’S (FOR ME) FROM 1952-57   BACKGROUND [More photographs to follow] As a consequence of recently attending a most pleasurable OSE reunion at the City Club in London, I resolved to activate an outstanding promise of some years ago – namely to record my recollections of my days (and nights) at St Edmund’s from…