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Cruising gently along the Rhone – Part Two Vienne to Lyon

January 7, 2020 VickyP

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Leaving Vienne and its Roman links, we sailed through the night, past Lyon where we would eventually return and, joining the River Saône, made our way into Beaujolais countryside, past villages well known to wine lovers.  Hopefully we would be enjoying their produce later. Today’s visit was to be Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy. […]

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Modern Collectibles – Trench Art

January 7, 2020 VickyP

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On my desk at home is a small brass receptacle in which I have always kept my paperclips. It is brass, of circular form and has a domed brass lid engraved, a little crudely, with the arms of Derby, and with the word Derby below it. The top fits the base with wonderful accuracy, and […]

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One Man & His Coe

January 7, 2020 VickyP

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Some men when they retire build themselves a shed where they can happily pursue their hobbies, or chat with their pals.  When Terry Haughton of Middleton-by-Wirksworth retired, he made a bid for a couple of fields at the top of his property. Possibly his idea was to do a bit of small time farming, but […]

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Celebrity Interview – Les Dennis

November 25, 2019 VickyP

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After an amazing year in which he made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut‭, ‬the all-round entertainer is preparing for a season in panto and he can hardly wait to return to Nottingham‭, ‬a city that has so many fond memories for him‭.‬ When we spoke on the phone Les held nothing back as he told […]

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On a Wick & a Prayer

November 25, 2019 VickyP

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As places go‭, ‬Tissington is a picture-perfect crowd-pleaser‭. ‬From the minute you pass the towering lodge gates and meander along the lime tree lined avenue‭, ‬there’s a sense you have discovered a magical village that time forgot‭. ‬ Tissington’s popularity‭ (‬as many as 35,000‭ ‬visitors during well dressing week‭) ‬explains why a village with around […]

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The Isles of Scilly

November 25, 2019 VickyP

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T‬he Isles of Scilly form an archipelago of five inhabited islands‭ (‬six if Gugh is counted separately from Saint Agnes‭) ‬and numerous other rocky islets‭ (‬around 140‭ ‬in total‭, ‬lying 45km‭ (‬28‭ ‬miles‭) ‬south west of Land’s End‭. ‬Access is by the Scillonian ferry from Penzance across a notoriously rough section of the North Atlantic‭.  […]

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Cruising gently along the Rhone

November 25, 2019 VickyP

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Part One – Arles to Vienne ‭T‬ravelling with Midland Mainlines meant we arrived at St Pancras in good time for the mid-morning Eurostar to Paris‭, ‬Gare du Nord‭.  ‬What should then have been a quick ride to Gare de Lyon seemed to take an age‭; ‬Parisian traffic was as bad as I remembered it‭ ‬from […]

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Taste Derbyshire – The Porcini Remained Elusive

November 4, 2019 VickyP

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Foraging for food in the Derbyshire Peaks may sound idyllic but, when the clouds are ominously heavy with rain, there is only one thing in nature’s larder which could drag me from my bed on a Sunday morning. In short, you can leave sweet chestnuts and sloe berries to the birds and bees. I want […]

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Modern Collectibles – UK WW2 Propaganda Booklets

November 4, 2019 VickyP

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When I was quite small in the late 1940s, I recall leafing through some paper bound booklets of quite substantial length, packed full of pictures of the war at home, on land, on sea and in the air. I was riveted by them, fed by tales of how it all felt, for it was very […]

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Celebrity Interview – Rick Wakeman

November 4, 2019 VickyP

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At the age of 70 most people probably think about taking life a little bit easier. But not Rick Wakeman. Even after three heart attacks because of an unhealthy lifestyle and at one point being given only 24 hours to live, the keyboard virtuoso is still going strong. He’s just finished his first solo tour […]

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