Monthly Archives: May 2021

Evensong on the M5

The traffic was light and the sun was shining. The Gloucestershire countryside stretched away in both directions. It seemed an afternoon for BBC Radio 3, something that would not jar. Choral Evensong from Westminster Abbey was just beginning – a … Continue reading

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Harold Bennett’s van

In latter years, Harold Bennett drove a Bedford van with sliding doors. Such vehicles seemed to be the workhorse of tradesmen in the 1960s. Yet that model of van cannot have been the one in which my mother and her … Continue reading

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Pluck to the scientists

No matter how good the news, there seems a scientist awaiting an opportunity to cast a dark shadow over the moment, to predict the imminent demise of the entire human race. There are moments when it is tempting to turn … Continue reading

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White horses

There is a white horse in the field beyond my family home. Of course, white horses aren’t called white, are they? They are greys. Except this one isn’t, it seems a brilliant white against the lush green of the field. … Continue reading

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Aerial memories

It is some thirty years since my maternal grandfather died. It is from him that my mother has inherited an encyclopaedic memory of history, a capacity to recall the oral traditions of the family, and a wide range of recollections … Continue reading

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