Month: January 2018

Crossing the Line

Reggie was good company yesterday morning. We walked from his home in Parsons Green across Putney Bridge and then up the river to Richmond. Except for a short stretch at Barnes he was off the lead until we got to Richmond.

Published
Categorised as History

A Gentleman of Leisure

There are 1,321 boys at Eton and 821 at Harrow. Of course this fluctuates as boys come and go, sometimes under a cloud. Even after allowing for the greater number of Old Etonians it is apparent that the number of fictional Old Etonians exceeds fictional Old Harrovians by a big margin.

The Golden Bottle

Mrs Hudson came in without knocking while I was having forty winks. I awoke to hear Holmes expostulating “Dear Mrs H, please desist from wipin’ your hands on your apron – so common”. I knew that her intrusion must be warranted.

High Rise Rubbish

I walked from Barons Court to Southwark Bridge on Thursday morning (two hours). It was a sunny day and snowdrops and crocuses were out in the parks.

York Scratchings

During WWII the domestic staff employed by the Dorrien-Smiths on Tresco were diverted into war work. The family have leased the island from the Duchy of Cornwall since 1834. The Mrs D-S of the day was asked if this wasn’t rather inconvenient. Not at all she said, I dress up in the maid’s uniform and… Continue reading York Scratchings

Holland Park

Lord Holland joins us today because of my invitation to lunch on Tuesday. Don’t be silly, he din’t ask me, he died in 1840. But here’s a clue; before lunch we walked around Holland Park.

River Views

If you google “expensive fish restaurant Barnes” up comes Rick Stein.  By its own admission, Rick Stein, Barnes,  has limited tables with views of the river but maybe you are lucky enough to secure one.

Chacun à Son Goût

Usually readers here are, more or less, on the same wave length as me. At lunch yesterday a friend said that she doesn’t read if my daily dose is about money and another said that she gets incredibly annoyed if it’s about politics.  That’s absolutely OK but what about this?