52 years this week, on Saturday, August 31st, 1968, Garfield Sobers became the first player in the history of cricket to hit every ball of an over for six. I was there and I wrote a book about it, Sobers six hit perfection at Swansea: That was the Day. Sobers was captaining Nottinghamshire that day, in… Continue reading
How to walk the stripling Thames – using only public transport to get there
Extinction Rebellion launched its Hourglass newspaper in September 2019. The newspaper has folded in May, a victim of the pandemic. I contributed a series of simple travel articles, under the heading Whistle Stop Walks. I would take a train to a random station, and walk for between six and 12 miles to another station on… Continue reading →
The first day in our solar future
Aug, 2020 update. Nine years on and the panels have generated 17,818 kWh of electricity. The original estimates of what we would generate have proved to be uncannily accurate. One was 1970.072 kW p.a., so 17,730 for nine years. That was based on the government’s Standard Assessment Procedure for energy rating buildings. The second estimate was based on PVSol… Continue reading →
Does the Stonehenge tunnel have a place in a post COVID world?
Stop Press. Written statement to Parliament, 16 July 2020 Transport update: construction of new carriageway for A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down in Wiltshire. From: Department for Transport Following notification of a recent archaeological find within the World Heritage Site, the deadline for the decision is to be further extended to 13 November 2020 (an extension… Continue reading →
The unbeatable cricket record? – Bradman’s 300 in a day in the Leeds Test Match
On July 11th, 1930, at the Headingley ground in Leeds, Donald Bradman became the first and only batsmen to score 300 in a day in a Test Match. It was at the time the highest score by a Test batsmen – he was out the next day for 334. His score included the fastest ever… Continue reading →
How Danny Boy struck a late night Olympic chord in Turkey
One of my most magical musical moments was at, of all places, Dalaman Airport in Turkey at around 11 pm on the night of Friday, 27 July 2012 – (clue – 2100 BST, UK). Our flight was about to be called, but we were suddenly aware of the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard in an… Continue reading →