It was a bad winter that year. Rationing had ended in Britain only a few years before, but food was still scarce. Coal was in short supply and the snow was piled high in the streets, driven by Arctic blizzards. Stoically, folk went about their business as they always did, clearing the pavement in frontContinue reading “Blog 120. A Little Story for Christmas”
Author Archives: Commander Shacklepin
Blog 119. The Plum Pudding
We started on the sauce at 1100: an hour before the sun was over the yardarm, but – hey – it’s Christmas. By ‘sauce’, of course, I refer to the Harvey’s Medium Dry Sherry that we were quaffing, our traditional tipple while decorating the Christmas tree. Yes, it’s that time again. We acquired the treeContinue reading “Blog 119. The Plum Pudding”
Blog 118. Here Comes Santa Claus
“Don’t be a grump. It’s payback time”. Thus spake Mrs Shacklepin as we transited from a windswept overflow carpark, trudged through mud and gravel, and overtook droves of yummy mummies pushing prams to the entrance of The Big Garden Centre. Naturally, I terminated my mild verbal observations immediately and pondered on the reference to ‘paybackContinue reading “Blog 118. Here Comes Santa Claus”
Blog 117. At Bertram’s Hotel
In Agatha Christie’s At Bertram’s Hotel, the author describes a hotel that is still run as good hotels were years ago: plenty of smart, polite and attentive staff; roaring fires; comfortable rooms and armchairs; excellent food; an absolute delight to visit. Our experience with staying at the Victoria Hotel in Sidmouth, Devonshire last monthContinue reading “Blog 117. At Bertram’s Hotel”
Blog 116. God Save the King; God Save the Prime Minister.
“So let me just get this clear in my mind: you want another prime minister? What did you do with the last one we gave you? Oh, she’s no good despite her winning the month-long selection and election process laid down by the Conservative Party? What’s that – you want to do the whole thingContinue reading “Blog 116. God Save the King; God Save the Prime Minister.”
Blog 115. The Man From Del Monte
It is quite simple really: I pay money to a private contractor, a water company in this case, to provide me with clean, potable water and to take away and treat the sewage and grey water that I produce. It is a contract. I don’t want to hear the contractor’s sob story of how itsContinue reading “Blog 115. The Man From Del Monte”
Blog 114. It Felt Good To Be Out Of The Rain
The heat was hot and the ground was dry, as the tautological lyrics by the pop group America say. And, behold, the British establishment and its media have found something else to terrify us with. Yes, the UK has experienced a ‘heat wave’ and we are all doomed. Health warnings are broadcast, schools are closed,Continue reading “Blog 114. It Felt Good To Be Out Of The Rain”
Blog 113. Mercy Mistress.
The memsahib has taken to wearing horn-rimmed spectacles instead of her usual gold-rimmed designer pair, and I am finding the new headmistress look to be very threatening, intruding on my safe space. I feel I should complain to somebody, though I am not sure to whom. The headmistress appearance reminds me of Miss Fair, theContinue reading “Blog 113. Mercy Mistress.”
Blog 112. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Fog. Thick, cloying, damp fog, silent and sinister, surrounded us. Despite being only few hundred yards from Dartmouth castle, we immediately felt as lost and isolated as if we were in the middle of the Atlantic. And it was not a nice feeling. We had taken APPLETON RUM away from her moorings for a shakedownContinue reading “Blog 112. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”
Blog 111. Janet and John Go On Holiday
We forgot the napkins and napkin rings. I know, I know: how could we forget such a fundamental addition to our luggage for a self-catering holiday? We had remembered the Self-Catering Attaché Case with its chopping board and moulded slots for the Sabatier cook’s knives, the corkscrew and the essential herbs and spices; but weContinue reading “Blog 111. Janet and John Go On Holiday”
"A Very Vintage Chap..." 