Hotels

THE ALFRISTON

In the many years (I know, I don’t look !!!) that I have been reviewing English country hotels I have seen a massive change in them. Twenty years ago they were little more than upmarket “bed and breakfasts”, but – as exemplified by The Alfriston (in the pretty village near [...]

January 19, 2026 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/Cannizzaro House Wimbledon

The main assets of Cannizaro House are its gardens and the white palladian villa. Its location is on the west side of Wimbledon Common within walking distance of the buzzy village. Wimbledon’s (District Line) Tube station takes you into central London and its rail station is one stop away [...]

June 10, 2025 // 0 Comments

Towards Zero and White Lotus

These TV dramatisations on BBC and Sky Atlantic reflect the great divide between the two broadcasters. Time was when the BBC drama department produced such cutting edge plays as Cathy Come Home and TV playwrights like Dennis Potter, but Towards Zero was sterile. Having read every Agatha Christie [...]

March 12, 2025 // 0 Comments

Chewton Glen Hotel

I had a traditional, typical Xmas – i.e. a ghastly one. Our son Tarquin, now married, stayed with his wife Hyacinth and their two young children. Our other son – Humphrey – arrived with his new girlfriend Bracken. Bracken, a moody, pouting girl, made it quite clear that she did [...]

January 3, 2025 // 0 Comments

First day in Madrid

Picking up where Nancy left off we arrived at Madrid’s Barajas airport without incident. I would note that security at Gatwick was oppressive with the staff delighting in confiscating liquid items such as Bob’s perspirants and shaving foam. I also noted that dress standards had dropped. Time [...]

November 16, 2024 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/Tea at the Grand Brighton

In all the years I have been reviewing for The Rust I have never covered afternoon tea though it is now a popular though not inexpensive experience: Bob Tickler’s charming P/A Polly once paid £200 for tea at a high end London hotel. This may be as hotels are still recovering financially from [...]

November 1, 2024 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/The Pig on South Downs

I have visited this restaurant several times and yesterday went there with an old friend in the advertising industry who knows his food and wine. From the moment we arrived at the attractive hotel in Madehurst near Chichester he was impressed. There was a mix up with the booking dates (my fault!!!) [...]

September 26, 2024 // 0 Comments

Stamford

After a relaxing and enjoyable stay with some old friends, I decided to visit for the first time the Lincolnshire town of Stamford. Stamford was originally the refuelling place for the coach and horses trip to Scotland. It also has the palatial home of William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth I’s most [...]

July 2, 2024 // 0 Comments

London/2024

Ten years ago I made the momentous decision to leave London for the south coast. A good friend at the time advised me that if it did not work out – as clearly he thought it would happen then – I would be back within 2 years and have to deal with increased property prices. In fact, [...]

June 21, 2024 // 0 Comments

Seven Days in North Africa

About a month ago – after a frenetic period of activity and incoming commitments, several of them originally unplanned and/or ‘imposed’ at very short notice by third parties both family and otherwise – She Who Must Be Obeyed and your author decided that we were desirous of “stepping [...]

July 31, 2023 // 0 Comments

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Sussex sport

January 20, 2026 // 0 Comments

Last night I watched Brighton HSFC draw 1-1 with south coast rivals Bournemouth in a game sometimes labelled El Coastico. The Seagulls started brightly but it was the [...]
THE ALFRISTON

January 19, 2026 // 0 Comments

In the many years (I know, I don’t look !!!) that I have been reviewing English country hotels I have seen a massive change in them. Twenty years ago they were little [...]
Biographies

January 17, 2026 // 0 Comments

I recently moved from reading fiction to biography. Why do readers like biographies? The obvious explanation is the desire to know more about the subject and the times in [...]
Manchester United 1 Brighton HAFC 2

January 12, 2026 // 0 Comments

Tom Hollingsworth called it right on giantkilling. . I’m old enough to remember Brighton in the old 4th division and buying Spurs double winner centre forward the burly [...]
FA CUP LIVES ON

January 11, 2026 // 0 Comments

That strange British eccentricity’ hss allowed the FA Cup to live on despite weakened teams, moved kick off times and even days and overseas players and head coaches [...]