Updated, Feb 2019. Was the language and invention of The Hobbit inspired by JRR Tolkien’s time at the University of Leeds? ” Bilbo found it… in Gollum’s cave.” Friday, December 12, 2014, marked the end of a very long journey. It was the day the third part of the (some would say cynically elongated… Continue reading
Take the Conan Doyle tour to find the real Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was first published in The Strand Magazine in 1891, but the publication of twelve short stories, in 1892, brought the detective and Dr Watson to the masses. In a VisitEngland survey, 43% of respondents said they were interested in visiting locations associated with the writer. And, as VisitEngland points out, it all… Continue reading →
King Arthur? His last battle was probably quite near you
Ah, King Arthur. I’m sure he was here. Somewhere. I’m standing high above Southern England on the west end of the Marlborough Downs at dusk searching for a Dark Ages super hero. Everyday life continues far below me, in the evening deluge of traffic up and down the M4. In the distance a late… Continue reading →
How two men from a small town in Poland devised cornerstones of international law
Book review. East West Street, by Philippe Sands This is the best book I read in 2018. You might initially mistake it for a wartime thriller, with a Shakespearean twist. A mysterious woman from Norfolk travelled to Vienna in the summer of 1939 to pick up a one year old child and deposit her in… Continue reading →
Which football club tops the green league?
Feb 8th 2019 Arsenal FC became the first UK football club (late 2018) to install a battery storage system, which will store enough electricity to power the club’s 60,000-seater stadium for a 90-minute match. (This could potentially include renewable energy, such as solar and wind power.) The system enables the Arsenal to cut electricity bills… Continue reading →
Early risers walk easy on Turkey’s newest long distance path
Long-distance paths. Now aren’t they a particularly British thing? Not really. France has a most intricate spiders web of ways, the Chemins de Grandes Randonnées, threading throughout the countryside, marked with regular flashes of colour painted onto rocks, on buildings, posts, or anything that stays still. Spain draws the various converging arms of the St… Continue reading →