BRITISH PUB PROTOCOL
I must admit I had never thought about British Pub Protocol before, but my excuse is that I was brought up with a pub culture, …
POTHOLES
My favourite “Pothole Watcher”, Stephen, just sent me an update on one of the world’s most persistent irritations. As a follow-up to his report, I …
DAVE ALLEN
I have been a fan of Dave Allen for many years, but I didn’t realise the effect he had on the art of comedy, and …
MARMALADE
This is catastrophic news for the millions of people who love British marmalade. The announcement read “British marmalades may need to be re-labelled under a …
SLY FOXES
Sly foxes have proved over and over again that they can adapt to the most-unlikely environments; for example, there are supposedly more foxes in the …
SATNAVS
I hate to tell you this, but “Satnavs” in your vehicle are not foolproof, even though most of us assume that they are completely accurate. …
RUNES
Runic inscriptions, “Runes”, from the Viking Age, still turn up in Sweden 1,000 years after they were written. They reveal fascinating stories of love, loss …
BLOUGE
I just read an article in the Economist that was devoted to a new discussion in the wine industry centered on “Blouge” wine, which I …
ABBEY LIBRARY OF ST. GALLEN
The Abbey Library of St. Gallen, In eastern Switzerland, is a Baroque hall of globes, manuscripts and curiosities that has survived, improbably, for 1,300 years. …
MUSHROOM
Every year, doctors at a hospital in the Yunnan Province of China brace themselves for an influx of people with an unusual complaint, all related …