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Bamber Gascoigne

I met Bamber Gascoigne twice in my life: the first was when I was first reserve of our Magdalene College University Challenge team. Gascoigne had attended  the same college and spoke to us after an ignominious defeat by Hertford Oxford. He was a courteous  man and a clever one too as he composed [...]

February 22, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Godfather (Part Three)

Yesterday, as Storm Eunice made going out so dangerous, I stayed in and – seeking a film to watch – chanced upon The Godfather Part Three. It’s reckoned to be the weakest of the trilogy. Whereas the original Godfather spawned a litany of mafia films and series – notably [...]

February 19, 2022 // 0 Comments

Art & Crime/Stefan Koldehoff and Tobias Timm

Art & Crime is an account of looters, forgers, and fraudsters in the art world by two German journalists. They concentrate on Germany, though a small player in the art market. In 2018 the global art market was valued at $67 billion of which Germany only represented 1%. The book begins with the [...]

February 17, 2022 // 0 Comments

Ruler of the Queen’s Navy/HMS Pinafore

The other day I was sitting next to a fellow over dinner who turned out to be a professional tribunal chairperson adjudicating on military cases. He spent a good deal of time in Plymouth on naval cases. For this he had earned the honorary title of Rear Admiral. This made me think of the humorous [...]

February 12, 2022 // 0 Comments

My art week

Monday evening on BBC 4 is excellent for the arts. Waldemar Janusczak concluded his series on The Impressionists with Georges Seurat, an enigmatic artist specialising in dot painting, who died only 32. Claude Monet in his final years painted the lilies in his pond at Giverny which are to be found [...]

February 11, 2022 // 0 Comments

The parlous state of world sport

Increasingly – it occurs to me – the modern world’s obsession with “wokedom” generally (encompassing gender equality, the whole range of transgender issues, politics in sport including the “cancellation” of non-PC speakers and alleged “rooting out” of any historical figure who [...]

February 9, 2022 // 0 Comments

7 Days in Venice/Gianmaria Dona dalle Rose

I have now finished Gianmaria Dona’s guide to Venice. Although it is just 133 pages this is something of a feat as it is written in Italian – an English translation is in course of being published. Gianmaria is well-qualified to write such a guide as he is Venetian and his family one of [...]

February 8, 2022 // 0 Comments

Sir Edward Elgar

I would lay a penny to the Pargiter tenner that if anyone had to cite the quintessential English composer it would be Edward Elgar. He composed five versions of Pomp and Circumstance and Land of Hope and Glory – written at a low point in the Boer War – is the most stirring of anthems. [...]

February 5, 2022 // 0 Comments

Casting to type – an interesting aspect of modern sensitivities

In these modern times of saturation-coverage of fashionable issues such as  “levelling up”, diversity, equality, transgender rights versus those who argue these affect “women born as women” (if I’m even allowed to use that phrase) – just “wokedom” [...]

February 5, 2022 // 0 Comments

My art week

I cannot really add to Derek Williams’ appreciation of the Tudor Portraits at the Holburne gallery in Bath. I’m not a huge fan of royal portraiture as it constrains a great court painter like Velazquez, but thankfully not Gustav Klimt who left the court of the Habsburgs in the secessionist [...]

February 4, 2022 // 0 Comments

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