…Wedged in the cleft of a branch, fifty or more feet up in one of my favorite beeches, I could forget my overcrowded and tense home life. I could see for miles, and when the leaves were on, no one could see me…
John Merchant recalls playing as a boy in woods that were said to be the refuge of the legendary Robin Hood.
For more of John’s thoughtful and entertaining columns please click on American Pie in the menu on this page.
On a very special day Isabel Bradley pays a moving poetic tribute to her mother.
...A very weird thing has happened and I feel compelled to tell you about it. A strange old lady has moved into my house...
Mollie Mercer is puzzled and tormented by the actions of an "intruder''.
A first flight brings warning cries in this evocative article by Sandy Saunders.
Elaine Lawton presents a series of short poems.
Barbara Durlacher is entranced by the marvelous old workhorses of the age of steam at a festival in South Africa.
...The lifespan of a butterfly is about fourteen days. In the wild it would be far shorter.
They have to be replenished constantly. Some are imported and can cost as much as $15; others are $2 to $3 a piece. That’s six to nine thousand dollars a week worth of ephemeral beauty, not counting the cost of the care of the thousand butterflies and moths raised on the premises...
Lucky Dona Gibbs delights in a visit to a Florida butterfly house.
For more of Dona's colourful columns please click on After Work in the menu on this page.
Continue reading "Hurray, Another Butterfly House Is To Open" »
Yorkshireman Paul Serotsky and his wife Pam take a monumental life-changing decision – to go and live near their daughter and son-in-law in New Zealand.
No sooner have they decided than obstacles begin to emerge.
…An Egyptian rode his bicycle, unconcernedly dressed in a pair of striped pyjamas. Another, sauntering along the crowded pavement, had strapped to his chest, like a Salvation Army Band bass drum, a large brass container. Through its glass top I could see ice blocks floating in lemonade. As he walked he was shouting out, "Lamoonada, lamoonada," and at the same time, holding in his hands small brass drinking cups, which he was clicking with his fingers like Spanish castanets…
John Powell is enchanted by the busy streets of Cairo.
For more of John’s exhilarating autobiography please click on Shalom And Sheiks in the menu on this page.
Rodney Gacoyne tells of summer fun on the canals of London.
Rodney writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Vera Sanderson pays tribute to a marvellous Yorkshireman.
With little planning and an overloaded bike Ronnie Bray goes on holiday to the "Amazon of the North'', Scarborough.
After putting the frighteners on the man who is trying to take over the Rossetti’s family business, hard-man Maudie and Toni Rossetti unwind in a safe house. Though the presence of a couple of bull terriers leave Maudie somewhat on edge.
Peter Lacey continues his crime story which is set in Blackpool.
…A few years before this when Harold was sixteen, his friends and himself would go for long walks on Sundays, dressed in their Sunday best. The young men always wore suits. With it being a manufacturing town, material was cheap. This was long before the introduction of jeans. That material was only used for overalls, for working in the factory to keep your other clothes clean…
Gladys Schofield continues her autobiography.
In this story Betty McKay gets inside the head of a 12-year-old diarist.
Continue reading "James McNeil, aged 12 – His Story - Part 1" »
...I thought the worshippers would be like the enthusiastic Christian teenagers I met at university. They were nice enough but I didn’t appreciate their insensitivity towards non-believers. There was one girl who hissed like a cat whenever anyone said a rude word. It was great fun winding her up...
Lucy Nom de Plume tells of attending an Ascension Day service.
…Refereeing in those days was a pleasure. Most teenage players respected authority, played to the whistle and didn't use foul language, especially within hearing distance of the referee. There were few cautions and sending a player off was extremely rare.
In many ways, society was amazingly naive compared to the present day. I remember the local Referees’ Association recommending that if I sent a player off for using foul or obscene language, I must not repeat the actual words uttered in my report to the Durham Football Association. They suggested that if the player said, "F. . . off,” I should describe the offending word as perhaps, “An old Anglo-Saxon four-letter word beginning with F!” How things change…
Robert Owen recalls his days as a football referee in more innocent times.
To read earlier chapters of Robert’s autobiography please click on Two Rooms And A View in the menu on this page.
Steve Harrison is baptised in the midnight hour.
...At first glance Maggie looks like a tall Chinese woman, an Eastern princess or the cool concubine of a Chinese warlord. At second glance, and there always was a second glance, you realised that all the guesses were wrong and you were confused. Maggie was a tall American woman with short, dark hair, a wide mouth with perfect teeth and slanting eyes and as American as they come from upstate New York...
Henry Jackson presents another intoxicating mixture of news, poetry and personal experiences from the great city of London.
Continue reading "The Cool Concubine Of A Chinese War Lord?" »
The prime minister in Richard Mallinson's tale is a man with a keen appetite - and not for food.
...Though he’d abandoned Communism, like many former members of the Party, he never really believed all men and women were equal. He saw where the main chances in life lay and took them. Number One was always first and that’s why he had risen high in the Party ranks. That’s why he quickly landed himself a well-paid job when the Party crumbled...
But Sergey Petrov is about to discover that there is much more to life than money and success in this splendid story by John Waddington-Feather.
For more of John's satisfying tales please click on Feather's Miscellany in the menu on this page.
...On 15 June, 1953, resplendent in a new suit, I walked up to the reception desk at Mellors, Basden & Mellors: Chartered Accountants. My first real taste of the world of work was about to begin...
Eric Biddulph joins the world of work.
To read earlier chapters of Eric's autobiography please click on The First Seventy Years in the menu on this page.
Paul Serotsky wrote this note to introduce a programme of English music given by the Vancouver Symphony.
For more of Paul’s sparkling words on great music please click on Views And Reviews in the menu on this page.
… Our visit to Cobh, near Cork was interesting for the wrong reasons. We were trying to get to the museum of emigration housed in an old railway station there, but the town was clogged with traffic because the largest cruise ship in the world, the Spirit of Independence, had docked there in its deep harbour as part of its maiden voyage from Southampton. It is huge – people buy apartments on it and live there, I believe. It is also very ugly…
The exuberant Liz Robison enjoys what she sees on a visit to Ireland – excepting that which floats.
Do visit the Web site of Liz’s internationally famous potter husband Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/
...As most small girls I liked to dress up, and remember finding Mum’s small amber-coloured cigarette holder, which she had used when cigarette-smoking became all the rage in the 1920s. I put it in my mouth and was instantly revolted by its horrible stale taste. Since then I have never wanted to smoke. And thank goodness Mum never became an inveterate smoker. She lived to be 96...
Eileen Perrin recalls what life was like in the 1930s.
Eileen's vivid memories are the stuff from which history is made.
….One of their sergeants came and said they'd just found eight Italian men down a well, all with their hands tied behind their backs and shot through the head. As we pushed on we also came to a well and we found another seven men down there who had suffered a similar fate, a gruesome sight. What sort of men were these we were fighting to commit such atrocities as this?...
Jack Merewood was in the thick of the bitter battle for Italy.
To read earlier chapters of Jack’s vivid story please click on To War With The Bays in the menu on this page.
Ronnie Bray, who grew up in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, but now lives in Arizona, presents a glossary of the language still used in the county of his birth.
Pity for the man with the color blind heart and soul, says poet William Burkholder.
To read more of Bill's moving poetry please visit his Web site http://www.freewebs.com/nirvanasgate/index.htm
Valerie Yule tells of the healing and comforting properties of flowers.
Valerie writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
Eric Shackle interviews Frank Pelatowski who, at the age of 100, is still writing lively columns for a newspaper in California.
Master wordsmithBrian Barratt has been looking into the origins of well-known ‘Americanisms’ – with surprising results.
This is the first in a series of three articles. The second in the series will appear in Open Writing next Friday.
For further intellectual stimulation and delight do please visit Brian’s Web site The Brain Rummager www.alphalink.com.au/~umbidas/
...It has been my misfortune to come into contact with many potentials who would benefit from a refresher course in good manners....
Enid Blackburn recalls displays of exceedingly bad manners.
Peter Hinchliffe admits that he would much rather admire a garden, rather than tend one.
Ron Pataky considers the possibility of a new use for Seattle’s Space Needle.
Do visit Ron’s fun-filled Web site http://worlds-premiere-ransom-note-factory.us/
Mike Shaw's Yorkshire characters muse upon political matters.
Andrew Hicks goes climbing on Koh Chang, the second biggest island in Thailand.
Do please visit Andrew's Web sites
http://www.thaigirl2004.com/
http://www.thaigirl2004.blogspot.com/
And visit one of these sites if you wish to purchase his book
www.monsoonbooks.com.sg
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_b/026-5652098-6994033?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Thai+Girl&Go.x=9&Go.y=13
…It goes without saying, if you are travelling alone and have to handle your own luggage you need to pack lightly. Nevertheless, even if you are travelling with another person, never take more than you need. Remember, the enjoyment of any holiday diminishes as the size of your baggage increases…
Eve-Marie Wilson offers sound and detailed advice to older travelers.
Print this column. File it away in a safe place. Then refer to it the next time you are thinking of taking a holiday.
And do go travelling!
In this week's cartoon David Marsh pokes a humorous finger at folk who place sport ahead of culture.
To enjoy more of David's visual fun please click on David Marsh Cartoons in the menu on this page.
David Benny assists David in posting his cartoons on the Net. Mr. Benny also runs a marvellous website http://www.smce.org.uk/ where you can listen to classical music.
...Farming, and rural life in general, has changed so much in my lifetime it's hard to believe. Communications, for example. Radio, TV, telephone. Cell phones, computers. Most farmers have two-way radios, a cell phone, and a GPS unit in their big, sound-proofed, air conditioned tractors. Many use an on-board laptop computer. And everyone has several motor vehicles. We don't live in a four mile an hour world these days...
Jerry Selby muses on changing times in rural America.
…‘Getting on’ was paramount in Bradford and Keighworth. From the cradle to the grave you had to get on and make money to show the world you'd got on and were summat. Those who had nowt were nowt. But those who had summat were summat, and young Clemence made damned sure he was going to get on and be summat at Illingworths…
A younger generation are becoming involved in running Illingworths’ textile mill.
John Waddington-Feather continues his story of a Yorkshire business dynasty.
Peter Wintersgill presents a brief portrait of the noted oratorio and lieder singer Isobel Baillie.
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