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Vertigo
Nothing gives me more pleasure than coming up with a post that combines two of my great passions: history and art. I wasn’t searching for Vertigo by the German journalist Harald Jähner, but came across his book in a search on another topic. Although I’ve read a great deal about the interwar period, this is… Read more
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Trouble At Th’ Mill OR Something Lost; Something Found
“Trouble At Th’ Mill” is the title of chapter 14 of a book I’m currently reading, Northerners, A History, the story of the North of England from the Ice Age to the present day (HarperCollins, HarperNorth, 2022). The expression is also the title of one of my very favourite Monty Python sketches, Trouble at The… Read more
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Sonny’s Blues
“I read about it in the paper, in the subway, on my way to work. I read it, and I couldn’t believe it, and I read it again. Then perhaps I just stared at it, at the newsprint spelling out his name, spelling out the story. I stared at it in the swinging lights of… Read more
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Modesty + Gratitude: A Stellar Combination
I hadn’t planned on this post until coming across the following Youtube excerpt from last Sunday’s Actor (SAG-AFTRA) Awards: Harrison Ford, in accepting the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Life Achievement award for 2026, demonstrates a rare combination of honesty, modesty and gratitude. It’s a thank you well worth sharing widely. In just over eight minutes,… Read more
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Ukraine: A Victim of Russia’s Decline
Back to reality. Since I began publishing this bi-weekly blog back in June, 2020, it’s had a subtitle of: ‘A Reading Life and A Writing Journey’. In other words, it’s been focused on The Ravenstones series, on books in general, on reading, on being an author and, finally, on what goes into that experience. However,… Read more
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A Winter Interlude
I know I promised to post no more than every two weeks, but, hey, the Winter Olympics are on now, presenting a rare opportunity for the world to put aside dire thoughts and engage in friendly sports competition. Anyway, who knows where you or I will be in four years time. This may be my… Read more
