Monthly Archives: October 2008

Clare Teal

Posted on October 31, 2008 by John

Apart from Clare Teal’s irrit­at­ing habit of address­ing the audi­ence as “Leeds” which, after Tom Russell’s record num­ber of men­tions of Pock­ling­ton in a single set, was par­tic­u­larly annoy­ing, I enjoyed most of the con­cert at the Venue.  Nobody would … Con­tinue read­ing →

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The Mist, Rain and Poetry Festival (West Riding).

Posted on October 26, 2008 by John

Ah, the West Rid­ing !  All that Pen­nine weather. Actu­ally pleas­ant enough for autumn as we wound into Wharfedale, stop­ping at the Wharfedale Inn at Arthing­ton for Black Sheep and Fish and Chips (and mushy peas, of course).  But head­ing … Con­tinue read­ing →

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Guy Fawkes

Posted on October 26, 2008 by John

Young’s Hotel, which used to provide a mean lunch­time curry back in the 70s, served by two ancient women, pos­sibly twins, who stomped about the place from kit­chen to table com­plain­ing loudly about cus­tom­ers and their own poor feet, has … Con­tinue read­ing →

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Austerity Britain 1945–51

Posted on October 21, 2008 by John

Have just fin­ished this massive volume, 633 pages exclud­ing the notes. And I was fas­cin­ated by every page. It’s an immensely read­able, incred­ibly wide ran­ging, social his­tory of Bri­tain imme­di­ately after the Second World War. The period in which I … Con­tinue read­ing →

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Fin de Siecle — as we cyclists have it

Posted on October 20, 2008 by John

So, the ped­al­lers 2008 sea­son came to an end a few weeks ago with a very gentle ride first to the Fox and Roman, which does good food judging by the well-filled and swiftly emp­tied plates of two of our … Con­tinue read­ing →

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Norway Neglected

Posted on October 19, 2008 by John

Hor­rors.  After spend­ing two weeks in the coun­try, back in August, not a single word has been said. So — a major task here. Ferry from New­castle to Stavanger / Ber­gen.  This is such a won­der­ful way to start a hol­i­day … Con­tinue read­ing →

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Of Kings, of Ice, of Faces, of Costly Little Items

Posted on October 18, 2008 by John

To Lon­don — turned left out of King’s Cross up York Way — no longer the haunt of drug push­ers and whores and small dubious-looking shops you’d want your granny to go in with you for pro­tec­tion. Mostly a build­ing … Con­tinue read­ing →

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From the Rio Grande to Pocklington

Posted on October 18, 2008 by John

Pock­ling­ton used to be a byword for sleepy.  But no more.  In fact for some years now the Pock­ling­ton Arts Centre has been put­ting on a great vari­ety of events, includ­ing some big acts.  I’ve been very late in wak­ing … Con­tinue read­ing →

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I have loved you so long

Posted on October 13, 2008 by John

What a won­der­ful film ! It’s not really about who did what but rebuild­ing a rela­tion­ship after 15 years, when one of the people is ter­ribly dam­aged.  And Nancy, the town, looks OK too.

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Katy Moffatt

Posted on October 10, 2008 by John

Katy M at the Black Swan folk club this time — stretch­ing “folk” a bit maybe, more coun­try I would have said — but she has a vig­or­ous deliv­ery, pays a mean gui­tar that sounds like it’s a bass (some … Con­tinue read­ing →

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