Sitting next to Agatha? Why did it take so long to put up a statue to her? It took Wallingford a long time to recognise the tourist pull of long term resident Agatha Christie. I wonder why? Is it because
All Souls is a wealthy graduate college of Oxford which opens to the public on just one day a year- today-for Open Doors Oxford. The view of the Radcliffe Camera from the quad is exceptional. It has an impressive library
My book group chose to read Isabella Bird’s A Lady’s life in the Rockies. https://www.virago.co.uk/titles/isabella-l-bird/a-ladys-life-in-the-rocky-mountains/9780860682677/ Born in 1831, Isabella, daughter of an English clergyman took a solo trip from San Francisco to the Rocky Mountains. It’s likely that the producers
Kennington is a large village situated on the edge of Oxford. Unlike our neighbour, Kennington is an unassuming almost private place. Oxford and the nearby Cotswolds team with tourists - you won’t find any in Kennington. We like it that
A small group of us walk in nature together and write poetry inspired by what we see. My artist friend and author of, Nature Unlocked, Diana Bell, took us to Dry Sandford last week. The previous day, a public
On Wednesday, the London Launch of Food of Love, cooking up a life across gender, class and race was in the Nehru Centre (The Indian High Commission) in Mayfair . I was assisted by the delightful actor/singer Kamal Khan. His
Yesterday I attended the Pharos lecture at the Sheldonian theatre. (Lord) Jonathan Sumption talked on the subject ‘The New Roundheads: Politics and the Misuse of History.’ At the end of his eloquent address, I knew that the label ‘roundhead’ applies
We need to talk about Scientific Racism https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jan/10/the-us-and-the-holocaust-review-unmissable-ken-burns-doc-reveals-how-hitler-was-inspired-by-america? I watched this distressing but important 3 part series. It begins with the legacy of Eugenics .The origin of this racist so-called science was the UK. It spread to the USA and
Great minds think alike or how to pinch a good title? https://membership.theguardian.com/event/kenan-malik-not-so-black-and-white-4 Nancy Mudenyo Hunt and I were not sure whether to be upset or flattered when we saw the title of Kenan Malik’s book. Not so Black and
So many brave young people are fighting for their liberty at the moment, in Ukraine, in Iran and now in China. There was a time of protest with a real possibility of hope that occurred in China in 1979. The