VE Day, 8 May 2020
Today we hang out the Union Jack, dress up and sing patriotic songs – it VE Day! Unlike Russia, which celebrates Victory Day on 9th May, here it is commemorated on the 8th. It was on this day 75 years ago that Winston Churchill officially announced on the radio that Germany surrendered and the war […]
The Paul McCartney Rose
We have a Paul McCartney in our garden – it’s the lovely rose created by French rose breeder Alain Meilland in 1988. It was paid for and named by EMI, the record company that issued all Beatles records in the 1960s. This was EMI’s 50th birthday present to Sir Paul a few years later. The […]
May Day
With the sun shining brightly, today is the day to welcome the summer! People have been celebrating this since the Roman times. Floralia, a Roman festival lasting a week around this time, celebrated Flora, the goddess of flowers and fruit, with theatrical performances, spectacles, throwing beans and seeds and hares and goats running around. Later […]
Haughmond Abbey
Today, it is only me, sheep and cows at Haughmond Abbey. However, in Medieval times this was a flourishing house of Augustian monks. It started life as a small religious community in the thick forests between the Upper Severn and the Roden rivers. From the early 12th century it was under the patronage of wealthy […]
Battle of Shrewsbury
A famous savage battle took place on these picturesque fields on 21 July 1403, – the Battle of Shrewsbury. The leaders of the rival armies were King Henry IV and Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy, the son of the Earl of Northumberland. The Percys were an influential family of Northumberland nobles, who had supported Henry Bolingbroke, as […]
Mummers’ Play
We were very lucky yesterday to see a performance by Croxley Mummers. A Mummers’ play is a long standing English tradition of amateur actors performing short plays, often associated with Morris dancing, at festivals, events, pubs or even people’s homes. Traditionally there are two opponents having a fight, and the doctor character revives the fallen opponent […]
Admiral Benbow
As Lilia and I wondered around the Shrewsbury museum, we heard a song playing from a little room adjacent to a passageway, and went to investigate. This is the song, shown on a screen there, with the story of the Admiral Benbow song on the walls – Lilia instantly remembered that Admiral Benbow was the […]
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is an ancient market town in Shropshire, about 3 hours drive from London. Its streets were quiet and relaxing, when we visited on Easter Sunday. During the Roman occupation, this area was an important centre, with many Roman finds now on show at the local history museum, which is now in an old Music […]
Book Review: Maximum Volume: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin, the Early Years, 1926-1966 by Kenneth Womack
George Martin is an enigmatic figure for Beatles fans. Our favourite group’s meteoric rise to the heights of popularity and creativity is well documented, and everyone knows about George Martin’s role as a producer of Beatles records. But do we really know what kind of person was he? Where did he come from and what […]
Nothe Fort, Weymouth
Nothe Fort crowns the little Nothe Peninsular, guarding Weymouth and Portland Harbours. It was built in the middle of 19th century, when the British got worried about the built up of the French navy. Its circular sides had casemates for cannons, covering the two harbours. The fort came into its own during World War II, […]
