Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Kinrowan Estate story: Estate Gardener

Though I’m called the Estate Gardener, my job covers far more than that, as it’s been enlarged many times over the centuries. So let me detail what I do. Of course I’m responsible for both the edible gardening and the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on A Kinrowan Estate story: Estate Gardener

Christopher Fowler’s The Victoria Vanishes

The trick to enjoying Christopher Fowler’s The Victoria Vanishes is to avoid thinking too hard about it. Bear in mind that there is indeed plenty to enjoy here, much of it residing in the rich characterization of the members of … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Christopher Fowler’s The Victoria Vanishes

A Kinrowan Estate story: Venison Stew (A Letter to Tessa)

A letter from the journal of Alexandra Margaret Quinn, Head Gardener here in the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria to her friend, who was staying in Constantinople as of this letter. Alex, as she was known, copied her personal … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Stories, Uncategorized | Comments Off on A Kinrowan Estate story: Venison Stew (A Letter to Tessa)

John Fogerty’s The Long Road Home: In Concert

Though Creedence Clearwater Revival was one of the best bands of the Sixties, I’m more fond of the recordings of post-CCR carrier of vocalist John Fogerty. And his best recordings are by far the concert recordings, both the legit ones … Continue reading

Posted in Music, Uncategorized | Comments Off on John Fogerty’s The Long Road Home: In Concert

Paul Harding, Kim Hutchins, Charlotte Orr, and Christopher Pitts (editors) and various Lonely Planet travelers (writers): The World’s Best Street Food

I’ve seen a lot of Europe, the Middle-east, and the now disorganized polities of the former USSR, some as a busker in younger days, lately accompany my wife Ingrid, the Estate Buyer, on her travels on behalf of the Estate. … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Paul Harding, Kim Hutchins, Charlotte Orr, and Christopher Pitts (editors) and various Lonely Planet travelers (writers): The World’s Best Street Food

Heather Arndt Anderson’s Breakfast: A History

So if you’re really interested in all things breakfast down the centuries, Breakfast: A History is ideal for you and why this is so what I’ll detail here. The bio for her in the book says she has the creds … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Heather Arndt Anderson’s Breakfast: A History

Fairport Convention’s Myths And Heroes

Having lived with ‘Myths And Heroes’ for a few days before reviewing, in order to gather various ideas about it, there are a couple of things I think need to be said at the outset. First, the title track – … Continue reading

Posted in Music, Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Fairport Convention’s Myths And Heroes

The New Mastersounds’ Made For Pleasure

The New Mastersounds is a funk and soul-jazz band that came out of the northern English city of Leeds in the mid-1990s. Made For Pleasure is their 10th album, but the first time I’ve heard about them was when a … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off on The New Mastersounds’ Made For Pleasure

Thomas Godfrey’s English Country House Murders

Back some twenty years ago, I went looking for novels that involved murders set in English country houses. It was, in those days before search engines indexed damn near everything on the Net, far more difficult than it would be … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Thomas Godfrey’s English Country House Murders

John Connolly and Declan Burke’s Books To Die For

I’ve been reading mysteries, mostly ones that are set in the British Isles, Ireland, and Europe for well over forty years now. My favourite series are set between The Wars, but I’m willing to read a well-written contemporary ones as … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Comments Off on John Connolly and Declan Burke’s Books To Die For