Thursday, December 27, 2018

Such interesting anecdotes

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‘At court on the Queen’s birth-night, her Majesty dressed in buff satin, trimmed with the sable just made her a present of by the Empress of...
Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Merry Crispness!

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‘It is no exaggeration to say that Quentin Crisp could well be the wittiest man alive. For that very reason, unfortunately but understandabl...

A vicious feast

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‘A vicious feast, wherein I exceeded in meat and drink, for want of circumspection and prudence, a sin against God. . .’ This is from the sp...
Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Diary briefs

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Gran’s sledging journals fetch £150k  - Christies , Fine Books Magazine , The Guardian WWI diary of British POW - Chronicle Live , Great W...
Saturday, December 15, 2018

Not particularly exhilarated

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‘I don’t feel particularly exhilarated - rather the reverse. Just as, during the election, when I was being mobbed in the market & found...
Monday, December 10, 2018

Early days in west Australia

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The Irishman John Fletcher Moore, a colonial administrator and an early sheep farmer in Western Australia, was born 220 years ago today (the...
Sunday, December 9, 2018

An infinity of petty squabbles

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‘All these arrangements gave birth to an infinity of petty squabbles, extremely difficult to settle or even understand. However, I am sangui...
Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Sutter’s Gold Rush

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One hundred and seventy years ago today, President James Knox Polk confirmed to the US Congress that there was an abundance of gold on the w...
Tuesday, November 27, 2018

I love the masses

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‘Evening. Soul-rending melancholy . . . Glory, death, and a prostitute. I left the house exhausted, weakened by unsuccessful work. Nevsky Pr...