Category Archives: Writing

Oliver Cromwell and September the Third

Posted on September 2, 2017 by

Of all the figures from previous ages that I admire, Oliver Cromwell must be the one that comes to my mind most regularly, almost certainly because of what is to me his unforgettable date of death. This man died on … Continue reading →

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The Dark Magic of the Msoura Ring

Posted on August 7, 2017 by

“As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.” Herman Melville, Moby-Dick In the north of Morocco, in the countryside south of Tangier, is an … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities, Magic & the Supernatural, Stonehenge, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Choirboys

Posted on June 21, 2017 by

Last Sunday, my daughter Tanith presented me with a unique and unforgettable handmade card and a very welcome bottle of superior red wine for Father’s Day, while my son Jack bought me a book that had long been missing from … Continue reading →

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Scipio and Leonardo

Posted on June 6, 2017 by

Last Saturday, I was browsing through some books on sale at a stall at Exeter’s Respect Festival, when a historical novel dealing with Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus leapt out at me. I had previously read a trilogy of books dealing … Continue reading →

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The Stonehenge Tunnel – “This is the business we have chosen”.

Posted on March 12, 2017 by

Once this latest farce has run its full course, I would imagine that most observers would regard the saga of the Stonehenge Tunnel to be little more than another short-lived episode in the history of the ruins on the plain, … Continue reading →

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In Honour of William Peter Blatty

Posted on January 13, 2017 by

In the 1970s, when I was a teenager, I became fascinated by both the film and the novel of The Exorcist, while I remain so to this day. I could write at enormous length about why this should be, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Dead Poets, Deep Purple, Diary, Language, Magic & the Supernatural, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Real Books, Fake News

Posted on November 25, 2016 by

Yesterday, I picked up a second-hand copy of John Le Carre’s novel A Most Wanted Man, while I also received – as a belated birthday present – a pristine hardback copy of The Tarot, a non-fiction study of these mysterious, … Continue reading →

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