This bloody town’s a bloody cuss, No bloody tram, no bloody bus, And no one cares for bloody us, Oh, bloody bloody bloody! The bloody roads are bloody bad, The bloody folks are bloody mad, They even say — You… Read More ›
london
Clean Towel
— Herbert V Prochnow & Herbert V Prochnow Jr. in Jokes, Quotes & One Liners Volume 2
Threadbare
— Alan Marshall quoted in Bill Wannan’s Come in Spinner
Tourist
Tourist: Have you lived here all your life? Old Londoner: Not Yet —Herbert V Prochnow & Herbert V Prochnow Jr. in ‘Jokes, Quotes & One Liners Volume 2’
‘Don’ts for Husbands’ & ‘Don’ts for Wives’ by Blanche Ebbutt
In 1913, women were expected to wear smotheringly hot full length dresses in order to be considered decent. Most women did not work outside of the home, being expected to be happy in their role as wife and mother. In… Read More ›
Beside the Sea by Veronique Olmi
Beside the Sea is a translation of a French book Bord de Mer, the first novel from acclaimed dramatist Véronque Olmi. First published in 2001, this novel has been translated into all major European languages. On the surface, this seems… Read More ›
My Story, My Tudor Queen, The Diary of Eva De Puebla, London 1501-1513 by Alison Prince
Synopsis: 4th November, 1501 I hardly like to make a mark on the beautiful, blank pages of this book, but I must. Mama gave it to me as a parting present so that I could write about this journey from… Read More ›
Books I Read in November 2010
A House full of Men by Pauline Marrington The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway The Beach Road by Sarah Diamond
Kathy Lette in ‘How to Kill Your Husband (and other handy household hints)’
“Fish are in schools. And they’re not learning Anything…” ~ Kathy Lette in ‘How to Kill Your Husband (and other handy household hints)’
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Opening Sentence:A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories. Synopsis:Into the neatly programmed ‘Brave New World’ of test-tube babies and drug-controlled happiness, misfit Bernard Marx brings the innocent Savage… Genre:Science Fiction Rating:@@@@ Pages:213 ISBN:o-582-06016-8 Year:1991 Format:Hardcover Comments:Aldous Huxley first published… Read More ›
For the Fallen
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free. Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal… Read More ›
Books I Read in April 2009
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman Nightbloom by Herbert Lieberman The Life of Riley by Steve Wright Shadows by John Saul Stone Cold by Robert Swindells The Waitress by Sinclair Smith Mummies: Unwrapping the Past by Rosalie David The Way-Paver by Anne… Read More ›
The Great Plague: The Story of London’s Most Deadly Year by A. Lloyd Moote & Dorothy C. Moote
Opening Sentence:They were all there at the beginning. Synopsis:In the winter of 1664-65, a bitter cold descended on London in the days before Christmas. Above the city, an unusually bright comet traced an arc in the sky, exciting much comment… Read More ›
Books I Read In March 2009
The Dark Room by Minette Walters Gerald’s Game by Stephen King (50 pages) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner The World’s Greatest Crimes of Passion by Tim Healey The Pilot’s Wife… Read More ›
The Dead and the Gone by Susan Pfeffer
Opening Sentence:At the moment when life as he knew it changed for ever, Alex Morales was behind the counter at Joey’s Pizza, slicing a spinach pesto pie into eight roughly equal pieces. Synopsis:A tsunami taller than a scyscraper Downtown New… Read More ›
Mother England
Some quaint and unusual English village names: Askham Bryan Barton in the Beans Blubberhouses Compton Pauncefoot Cow Honeybourne Frisby on the Wreake Great Weeke Gussage All Saints Little Snoring London Apprentice Maggots End Mappowder Martyr Worthy Nempnett Thrubwell Nether… Read More ›
My Story, Bloody Tower, The Diary of Tilly Middleton, London 1553-1559 by Valerie Wilding
A great way to get kids interested in History.
Rafferty's Rules is Closing Down 