I have been preparing for a talk I am giving tomorrow. I made this collage of some of my Oxtopian castaways who appear in the three castaway books. Some are famous and some not so well known but all are
Yesterday felt like the end of an era. Colin Dexter the inventor of Inspector Morse would have loved his memorial yesterday in Christ Church Cathedral and Oxford Town Hall. It was organised by his fellow crossword compiler and fellow castaway
Pete Hughes of the Oxford Mail did KOA proud today. 2018 is KOA's Golden Anniversary but will also be our final year. http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/16143869.kennington-overseas-aid-to-go-out-with-a-bang-after-50-years/ The post of High Sheriff goes back to the time of the Magna Carta but the role
The Kennington Festival of Arts kicked off with the memorable Peggy Seeger. She had the audience in the palm of her hand and her empathy shobe bright. I can recommend First Time Ever . Many memoirs have too much
Within 10 years it is likely that China will become the largest economy in the world (as it once was) but few Brits know much about Chinese history. This series is brilliant and I hope will spark an interest. Rana
I have just come from the funeral of Roger Bannister. It was a beautiful and moving service in St Mary the Virgin Church led by his daughter the Rev Charlotte Bannister Parker. I thought I knew a lot about him
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-43361276 Oh dear the Emperor has returned ! I titled the epilogue of Brushstrokes in Time : The Changing Face of China. ‘China has had a dynastic government for 2000 years. They may not like that description but the Chinese
http://www.johannahallin.com/review-brushstrokes-time/
Interesting episode of Endeavour on ITV tonight. It was set against real events in Oxford. I had the privilege of ‘casting away the former children’s laureate Michael Rosen and he told me this story…. In 1969, he became a graduate
Sylvia Vetta Gannet are no longer using freelance contributors so my career as a feature writer and exhibition reviewer has come to an end. Gannet always had good value from me because they syndicated lots of my features. You can