Curly's Capers

" Greetings from The Manse. Autumn has made its appearance here, as I glance through the study window and notice the fallen leaves on the ground. The log-fire is roaring, thanks to the ministrations of my man Baxter, as I sip my cocoa,  malted biscuits and reflect on times present. I have new company with me; namely two pugs 'Algy ' and ' Pugwash, ' bought for me by the Memsahib to encourage exercise of the walking persuasion .  They are pleasant chaps and like me are rather slow in locomotion mode. Fortunately,  Baxter has taken a shine to the pugs and can often be seen ruminating with them around the estate. Good show. Baxter is still upset these days, for two main reasons: He badly wanted independence for Scotland, which would have happened, if others had followed his beloved Glasgow who voted Yes. Secondly his  team, Glasgow Rangers are, he fears in deep trouble; being nine points behind the leaders Hearts,  and not yet in the top division and also...

" I quit thee with pleasure, and hope never more to revisit thee! I believe I may aver and be agreed with, that Cheltenham is the dullest of public places; the look of the place is sombre, the lodgings dear and pitiful, and no inns or stabling fit for the reception of gentlemen or their horses. " ( A Literary Tour of Gloucestershire and Bristol- David Carroll [ 1994 ] ) So wrote the Hon. John Byng on 27th June 1781, regarding Cheltenham Town. Well here's the thing: I was born and apart from eleven years with a sojourn in Dursley, I have lived all my life in the town, so you would expect me to have a rather biased view of the place . I have always found it inviting, commodious, and rather cosmopolitan in its breadth and outlook. Furthermore, I venture to suggest  that the spaciously planned Promenade, is one of the most amenable streets in the country. Here we see  from the bottom of the Prom looking at its pedestrianised  section. No...

Danny Baker at Chelltenham The Cheltenham Literary Festival (3 - 12 October ) which is staged at Montpellier and Imperial Gardens  ( see above )  concludes this weekend. I was fortunate last Wednesday ( 8 / 10 ) to be given a ticket from my friend DM to see Danny Baker that evening. The man was in tremendous form, as he always seems to be. He really is a pollyanna of a person, who knows almost everyone in the celebrity circle, through his writing,  radio and television work. He simply seems ' to follow his nose ' and expect a lucky break. He spends everything he makes, but never worries about future events. Recently,  within the last two years he was diagnosed with cancer; but as he said  "I figured I would lose about 8 months, but never for a moment did I believe the disease would triumph. " and so it proved. He looked healthy and cured. The one thing I will  take away from that night, amongst all the stories told, was Danny saying " we keep ...

Eye-catching Spanish Street Art. Valencia is a beautiful city, as I mentioned last week; but  as with most places it carries a darker secret. It was fashioned by the Borgias and if you look closely enough, you can glimpse their past here. The bottom picture shows the lay-out of the city by the Borgia's. Borgias aside,  Valencia has a special type of vibrancy about  it and also shows enterprise in sorting out problems. Nothing demonstrates this better than the diverting of the River Turia. Here it is eloquently described by ' Wikapedia ' : After a catastrophic  flood in 1957  which devastated the city of Valencia, the river was divided in two at the western city limits ( Plan Sur de Valencia ). The water has been diverted southwards along a new course that skirts the city, before meeting the Mediterranean. The old course of the river continues, dry, through the city centre, almost to the sea. The old riverbed is now a verdant sunken...