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...I had dinner with Donald Nixon, younger brother of the President, at his luxurious home that was filled with gifts from foreign celebrities when they visited them abroad. There were only six other guests---I am told that normally at least a dozen people sat round the table....
Henry Jackson tells of his meetings with Don Nixon and Don Ameche.
Henry, Britain's oldest weekly columnist, also brings the week's news from London, along with a poem and a dash of history.
I was taking part in a Christmas carol rehearsal at the Cumberland Day Centre yesterday when the lady next to me leaned over in her wheelchair and whispered:
“I want to kiss you!”
I could not believe it so I waited a minute and leaned back and whispered:
“Why do you want to kiss me?”
She looked back and smiled and whispered...
Ah, to find out what she whispered you really must read Henry Jackson's latest newsy letter from London.
(Our sincere apologies to Henry, Britain's oldest weekly columnist. This letter should have appeared in Open Writing on Sunday. Blame the editor - not Henry.)
...Retailers are reporting an alarming increase in shoplifting as the economic downturn begins to bite. Tesco detained 43,000 thieves in the first half of this year, an increase of 36% on last year. Marks and Spencer and Iceland also experienced similar outbreaks. The most noticeable change has been in the items stolen. Previously it had been luxury items like alcohol and perfume; now it is essentials like baby food...
The astonishing 95-year-old Henry Jackson, Britain’s oldest weekly columnist, brings another helping of news from London, along with a poem, a slice of history and reminiscences of visits to California.
To read more of Henry’s columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
...Tangier was not a paradise for tourists and you could get round it in an hour. It contained several mosques and large houses that the tourist books described as palaces and the little alleyways were lined with stylish and mysterious shuttered houses. But it did have two enormous covered markets in an area called the Medina that sold carpets, furniture, camel saddles, pottery and jewellery in every shape and form. We succumbed to the temptation and acquired three packing cases full of treasures but felt cheated when only one of them arrived after we had returned home...
Henry Jackson recalls a visit to Tangier, which followed an overnight stay in Paris at one of the world's most luxurious hotels.
Henry, Britain's oldest weekly columnist, also brings news from London, a poem and a slice of history.
To read more of his lively words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
Some women talk about love
Because they do not understand
That love needs more than words
Or sinks like water in sand,
The indomitable Henry Jackson brings us a poem, an account of a meeting with the Sicilian Mafia, a slice of history and a summary of the main news stories of the week in London.
Ninety-five-year-old Henry is England’s oldest weekly columnist. To read more of his word please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
...An Australian nurse was in charge and like most Australians she was blunt and to the point. She came into the room holding two bottles, held up the first and said: “This is Cure Number One---Quinine. I know it has a foul taste but take a swig out of the bottle at least three times a day---it can work miracles.’’
Then she held up the second bottle and continued: “This is Cure Number Two---old fashioned Scotch whisky. Take a swig as often as you can every day. And if you get drunk so much the better!” And she left with a big chuckle...
The astonishing Henry Jackson recalls his days in Walvis Bay.
Henry, who at 96 is Britain’s oldest weekly columnist, also brings the news from the great city of London, along with a poem and a small slice of history.
...Hillingdon Council in West London has opened Rocket Park, a special playground for disabled children. It includes magic toad swings, talking flowers and specially designed roads for wheelchair users. The park also has yo-yo swings, a roundabout, picnic areas and roads aimed at helping young wheelchair users practise their mobility skills...
Trust Henry Jackson to bring you the interesting and the unsual news from the world's greatest city.
Ninetysix-year-old Henry, Britian's oldest weekly columnist, also brings an extraordinary slice of autobiography, a poem and a smidgen of history.
...Bathing was forbidden because of the large number of underwater predators that included some monster killers. One particular shark came every day and stared at me from just below the surface and I threw stones but he did not move. Then I loaded my huge hand gun and fired six shot into him at close quarters but he did not move an inch...
The unsinkable Henry Jackson tells of life in the Royal Navy. He also brings the week's major news headlines from London, along with a poem and a dash of history.
For more of Henry’s columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
...The number of people living beyond the age of 100 has increased 90 fold, according to new figures just published. In 1911 there were just 100 people who had reached their century but in 2007 there were 9,300 men and women who had celebrated their 100th birthday. I was born in 1912. Hmmm!...
The indominatable Henry Jackson muses on lengevity.
Ninety-six-year-old Henry, Britain's oldest columnist and very much a man of the present day, also brings a summary of the week's most interesting news from London.
...Opera fans will be able to watch the whole of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” from next month after a major redesign of the Royal Opera House website. The performance was filmed earlier this month and will be put on the Royal Opera new site on October 5. Archive material for this site will include first night cast lists going back to 1946, trailers, interviews with artists and documentary footage. http://www.roh.org.uk/
The inimitable Henry Jackson brings us his usual enticing melange of news, personal experiences, history and poetry from the greatest city on Earth, London.
Henry is England's oldest weekly columnist. To read more of his lively writing please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
...After my ship HMS Auricula was mined and sunk at Diego Suarez during the assault on Madagascar in May 1942 I returned in a hospital ship to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and spent some weeks in hospital. When I recovered, including getting my hearing back, the Navy sent me on leave to a place high in the history of South Africa. It was Tschaka’s Kraal, 200 miles from Durban in Natal, the outpost of Zulu culture named after Tschaka, the last king of the Zulus...
Henry Jackson continues his new series in which he describes some of the wonderful places he has visited during his world travels.
Henry, who is Britain's oldest weekly columnist, also offers his usual intoxicating mixture of news, poetry, history and personal experiences.
Continue reading "French Onion Soup, Escalope Milanese and Milles Feuilles" »
I’ve got you under my skin
Dear mechanical Pacemaker,
And can sing with Dolly Parton
Don’t be a little heart braker...
Despite a distressing attack of food poisoning Britain's oldest columnist Henry Jackson makes it to the keyboard to bring another weekly helping of poetry, history and news from the great city, London.
To read more of 96-year-old Henry's columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
Continue reading "London Is The Culinary Capital Of The World" »
...Kazumi is beautiful by any standards, and I hope by Japanese standards, but I don’t know what judgments her home country uses. She is small and compact with a body that is not subdued by travel clothes and she moves quietly but with an almost stealthy rhythm that looks inspired by ballet...
The inimitable Henry Jackson – England’s oldest columnist – tells of another of the women in his life and also brings his weekly pot-pourri of news from London and other delights.
To read more of Henry’s columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
Because if you are in
East Ham, Norwood, Croydon, Totnes,
Bristol, Bournemouth, Tunbridge Wells,
Wales, Wokingham, Nunhead, Pinner,
Denmark Hill, Ross-on-Wye, Bristol,
Bournemouth, Farnham, Portugal,
Munich, Buhlertal, Mallorca,
` Palm Desert, Sherman Oaks, Westford,
Vancouver, Oregon, Hawaii, Culver City,
Dallas, Laguna Beach, Los Angeles.
Christchurch, Osaka, Tokyo
Or even Timbuktu
I will remember you!
Ninety-six-year old Henry Jackson, England’s oldest columnist, presents another delectable mixture of poetry, autobiography, history and news from London.
For more of Henry’s sizzling columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
Ninety-six-year-old Henry Jackson, the world's oldest weekly columnist, brings another remarkable and unmatchable mixture of news, poetry, history and autobiography from the heart of London.
To read Henry's earlier Letters please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
...Judge David Paget flew into a rage at the Old Bailey after being presented with a charge sheet with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. He bemoaned declining standards of written English and described an official from the Crown Prosecution Service as ”an illiterate idiot”. In the papers the official had consistently misspelt the word “grievous” four times accusing the defendant of “greivous bodily harm”....
Trust Britain's oldest columnist 96-year-old Henry Jackson to bring you the choicest snippets of news from London every week.
To read more of Henry's columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
Continue reading "Silence In Court - And Mind Your Spelling" »
...An archeological dig has recovered what is thought to be the remains of a theatre where Shakespeare’s plays were first performed. It is in Shoreditch, East London, and is believed to have first opened in 1576. It was here that a young William Shakespeare performed as part of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men company of players and had his first plays performed...
Our incomparable columnist, 96-year-old Henry Jackson. brings another compelling helping of London news, autobiography, poetry and history.
To read Henry's earlier columns please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/london_letter/
Train tracks buckle and house prices tumble. The pai9ntings of a notorious gangster are sold and the fountains in Trafalgar Square are going green...A record hot day, and house prices. The paintings of a notorious gangster and green fountains in Trafalgar Square.
The inimitable 96-year-old Henry Jackson brings another helping of news, poetry, history and personal experience from the greatest city in the world.
...Michael Williams, of Shoeburyness, Essex, has completed a replica model of Tower Bridge out of 1.6m matchsticks. It took him 10 years, two years longer than it took to build the original landmark...
Ninety-six-year-old Henry Jackson, England’s oldest columnist, brings the latest news from London, and much more – history, a poem and another astonishing helping of aurtobiography.
...“You can have me if you catch me,’’ Madeleine challenged in a low voice so that no-one else could hear, and she plunged into the sea. I tried to be bold and brave and followed her but the cold water knocked the breath out of my body. Madeleine swam like a fish and I never caught up with her...
But there was a sad, sad ending to the life of the ebullient Madeleine.
Ninety-six-year-old Henry Jackson brings another intoxicating and unmatchable mixture of news and autobiography, history and poetry.
...Frank drove at high speed along the narrow roads and a few minutes later we hit a car coming in the opposite direction, hesitated for a moment on the edge of nowhere and toppled into a tiny cornfield 50ft below that skirted a drop of 2,000ft into a valley. It took five minutes for the dust to clear and then I found myself out of the car and on the ground with an aching shoulder. Frank was still in the driving seat and Marie-Francoise, who had also been thrown clear, was lying on the edge of disaster with blood covering her face and mouth...
Henry Jackson tells of another incident in his adventerous life.
In addition there's news from London, poetry and a helping of history.
To read earlier editions of Henry's exhilirating weekly column please click on London Letter in the menu on this page.
Continue reading "It Took Five Minutes For The Dust To Clear" »
...Seven war medals including the VC, the Military Cross and the French Croix de Guerre belonging to a World War One hero were auctioned in London and raised a record £211,725. They belonged to Major Herbert James who died alone in a rented Kensington flat. The VC was awarded for bravery during the Gallipoli operation....
Ninety-six-year-old Henry Jackson, Britain’s oldest weekly columnist, brings another unmatchable blend of news, history, poetry and autobiography.
Continue reading "A VC, The Military Cross And The Croix de Guerre" »
...Strong hot coffee appeared and we struggled to our feet and walked back together slightly unsteadily. Madeleine tucked my hand round her waist and Marie-Francoise tried to rest her head on my shoulder which was impossible.
We were the loving trio and other men from the party stared at us as we passed. In envy...
Ah, but what else happened following that champagne dinner in France.
The irrepressible ninety-six-year-old Henry Jackson brings hope and good cheer to all men everywhere - particularly those of senior years.
To sample more of Henry's unique weekly reports from the world's leading city please click on London Letter in the menu on this page.
...She was striking rather than beautiful with the tanned face and body of an outdoor athlete and she discarded her clothes whenever the sun provided the opportunity to add to the bronze. To her being naked was an act of sun worship and nothing to do with sexuality. But she remained an unconscious sex goddess and the role did not trouble her although it worried every man she met, including me...
Henry Jackson meets a French lady, Madeleine - and the verbal fireworks begin.
Henry, who has just celebrated his 96th birthday, serves up another delicious combination of news, autobiography, poetry and history in the tastiest weekly column to be found on the Net.
...Wine flowed freely and spirits ran high as well. The music boomed and Madeleine began a single file crocodile dance round the dining room and we joined in and tried to dance up the stairs to the gallery but the staff formed a barrier and stopped us because the gallery would have collapsed.
As the music got louder and then out of control the line of dancers moved faster and faster. I was behind Marie-Francoise and held on to her swaying hips which made my heart race. Then she broke the line and made me join up with another line while she held on to my hips and there was noise and laughter and desire...
While taking part in a car rally in France Henry Jackson and his female companion in a large old wooden galleried hotel and were guests of Jacques Mercier, the champagne king of France.
Ninety-five year-old Henry presents another rich mixture of news, poetry, history and autobiography.
...Marie-Francoise came into my life in 1959 as an everlasting reminder that French women are in a class of their own with an unconscious and effortless ability to shatter your heart and capture your innermost feelings. She was a fully-fledged woman at 19, a beautiful woman on the edge of emotional discovery, and with the clumsy grace of a thoroughbred colt. Her perfect imperfect English was sheer music...
The unmatchable Henry Jackson brings another spicey mixture of autobiography, news, poetry and history from the greatest city in the world.
Continue reading "The Clumsy Grace Of A Thoroughbred Colt" »
In a few short days Maggie took charge of my domestic arrangements and in a few long nights she took charge of my private life. But I learned very quickly that it was like living with a caged tiger. She was a brilliant cook,
a brilliant organiser, a brilliant entertainer, a brilliant talker and a brilliant drinker. She dazzled the neighbours and the constant stream of visitors to the house. But her moods changed constantly and occasionally the typhoons thundered.
Ninety-five-year old Henry Jackson, Britain’s oldest columnist whose words never fail to astonish and entertain, presents another choice helping of autobiography, news, history and poetry in his latest London Letter.
...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 date May 4 is printed in heavy type on my brain. Whatever else I may forget I always remember May 4. Why? Because on May 4 1942 I was blown up by a mine during the invasion of Diego Suarez in Madagascar where the Vichy French were allowing Japanese submarines to rest and refuel and attack British convoys on their way to Suez where Montgomery was building up a force to repel Rommel’s Army. I was serving in a minesweeper, HMS Auricula, and we hit a mine as we led the invasion force to the landing beach at Antisirane...
Ninety-five-year-old Henry Jackson, Britain's oldest columnist, brings another dramatic mixture of news, autobiography, poetry and history.
...They were enthusiastic guests and eagerly travelled up from London to the country to eat, sit and drink to the full, but mostly drink. They clustered round my big, well stocked bar in the conservatory like bees around honey. And their good taste guided them towards Chivas Regal when it came to whisky and Plymouth when it came to gin. I drank wine. Others sneaked off to my billiards room with a full size table where they knocked the balls about but the main attraction was another magnificent bar with every known drink.
Of course, many of them did not have cars so we collected them at Sevenoaks Station in my newly acquired Rolls Royce Silver Shadow (PLK 49) driven by a chauffeur who was on the staff of my publishing company...
Britain's oldest columnist Henry Jackson brings another exuberant helping of autobiography, news, poetry and history.
There are many good reasons for getting married. Like liking someone so much that you can’t bear being parted. Like being compatible. Like working in the same company. Like belonging to the same church. Like being in love. All good reasons but I married Copper because I was lonely and she made wonderful tomato soup.
Ninetyfive-year-old Henry Jackson, Britain's oldest columnist, serves up another tasty helping of news, poetry and personal experiences
…Giles drove me to Brampton where we celebrated his 44th birthday and I managed to sink four glasses of champagne from a beautiful fluted glass…
Ninetyfive-year-old Henry Jackson knows how to enjoy life.
Here’s another delectable slice of news, poetry and autobiography in Henry’s latest London Letter.
Ninety-five-year old Henry Jackson, who is probably Britain's oldest weekly columnist, brings us another spicey and unmissable mixture of news, poetry and autobiography.
…The train was crowded with trippers and as soon as we got under way the mothers opened their shopping bags and brought out the food---ham, sausage, pickles, big chunks of chicken and yards of French bread. They insisted on feeding me, too….
Henry Jackson recalls a solo trip to France in 1932.
Ninety-five-year old Henry brings us the latest news from London, memories of steamy wartime encounters with shapely, blonde Joan, a poem….and much more besides.
A poem, reminiscences, famous quotes, today in history, and news, news, news. Henry Jackson sends another hugely entertaining “parcel’’ of words from Britain's capital city.
Continue reading "Old Fashioned Fish And Chips, With Guinness In Tiny Sips" »
Ninety-five-year-old Henry Jackson brings another invigorating juxtaposition of news, poetry and autobiography in his weekly letter from London.
...Eileen came to live in London, studied hard in a beauty school and assembled a private clientele of rich upper-class women who liked to avoid beauty salons and boasted quietly of their own private beauty specialist. I met her outside Charing Cross Station when she was trying to cross the road and ran into her in my cream and green Sunbeam sports car. She was shaken but not stirred and when I found out that she was trying to get to a house off the King’s Road in Chelsea I took her there...
Ninetyfive-year-old Henry Jackson, in his weekly letter packed with hard news and personal experience, begins a new feature, The Women In My Life.
Ninety-five year old Henry Jackson brings us another vivid slice of London life.
Ninety-five-year-old Henry Jackson brings another lively news letter from the heart of Britain's capital city.
Henry's entertaining mixture of news and memories, prose and poetry, makes for one of the best reads in any week.
…The views from the restaurant across the Thames were spectacular and the raising of the bridge to allow the slow passage of a Thames sailing barge added a touch of drama. As darkness fell the lights on and around the bridge lit up and the area became a fairyland of light. We drove back past the turreted Tower of London that dates back almost 1,000 years—the beginnings of history…
Henry Jackson, a mere slip of a lad at 95, still relishes the sights of London, old and new, and takes pleasure in bringing us the city’s news.
Ninety-five year old Henry Jackson, in another lively London Letter, tells us the latest news and also recalls a Christmas week when he perspired day and night.
In another lively London Letter 95-year-old Henry Jackson recalls a Christmas week in which he sweated day and night.
The inimitable Henry Jackson casts his London eye over another week's headlines.
Henry, who is 95, is also introduces a new feature in this week's column - Looking Back.
It takes more than a couple of falls and a stroke to stem the flow of words from a a craftsman journalist and wordsmith.
At any rate it does when the craftsman is 95-year-old Henry Jackson.
Back in September Open Writing ran one of Henry's news letters, The Week In London. The intention was to carry Henry's news hightlights - and keen comments on events - weekly in Open Writing.
Henry has had a rough time over the past few months - but he's back in action again. And his mind has lost none of its youthful vigour!
He begins with an account of what has been happening in his own life in recent times.
Here's a welcome to a new Open Writing columnist. Henry Jackson will be sending a weekly letter highlighting news from Britain's capital city.
Henry is 95. Yes, 95!
He has been in the newspaper trade all his life, starting as a junior reporter on a local newspaper, then working for Odhams Press, the Associated Press of America, the Daily and Overseas Mail, the Sunday Dispatch and The Observer. He launched his own motoring magazine in 1953 and then added more titles which became the Bugle Press Group.
