The Sincerest For Of Poetry
Apprenticed To My Mother
Walking Into Trouble
Dead Flies and Sherry Trifle
The Last Will Of Sven Andersen
Booms And Busts
Buster & Moo
Salisbury Square
My Father and Other Liars
Life In A Conversation
Life, in a Grain of Sand
Life In A Flash
Category Archives: WW1
Being Generous: Thoughts On All’s Quiet On The Western Front
Two things had me thinking today. The one year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine and watching the much lauded film, All’s Quiet On The Western Front. I read the book at school and it was too heavy going then. … Continue reading
Posted in history, miscellany, thought piece, WW1
Tagged history, thought piece, WW1, WW2
42 Comments
November 11th And Giving Thanks To A Small Statue And Many, Many Men And Women #remembranceday
My brother, the Archaeologist wrote this piece for my blog back in 2014 when we were thinking about the 100th anniversary of the start of that god-awful conflict. On this day of days, a unusually mild and beautiful November here … Continue reading
Posted in family, France, memories, WW1
Tagged family, Gordon Le Pard, Joan of Arc, memories, November 11th, Perry Francis, remembrance day, WW1
38 Comments
How Martin Fisman Played A Small But Important Part In Rebuilding Europe #flashfiction
Martin Fisman grew up unaware of life beyond the farm in Wiltshire. His life followed the seasons. One summer afternoon, in 1912, he was ploughing the high field when the ground gave way and he found himself in a dark … Continue reading
Posted in creative writing, flash fiction, miscellany, WW1
Tagged creative writing, flash fiction, WW1
23 Comments
To End All Wars? A Personal View
My father was born on the eleventh November. As a child that was Dad’s birthday; it contained nothing more resonant than that. At some point however, and I wouldn’t have been very old, I realised it was also Remembrance Day … Continue reading
Posted in family, memories, miscellany, WW1
Tagged memories, Military Medal, st Pol, the great war, thoughts, war, willi dyson, World War One
70 Comments
Looking up, looking down #justthinking
I walk the jolly streets of South London a lot, taking Dog, or him me, on many a ramble. We end up in various parks, woods and other green spaces. Once such, Brockwell Park is a favourite. As I walked … Continue reading
Posted in memories, WW1, Youth
Tagged Benjamin Geary, Brockwell Hall, Brockwell Park, edward dyson, Percy Francis, willie dyson
25 Comments
And Will We Remember Them?
I cannot help reflecting, following Remembrance Day yesterday, how we still seem incapable of learning lessons from the past. In the aftermath of the terrible events of WW1 the victors took their revenge on Germany. In doing so and in the … Continue reading
What happened next?
I have referred to the Archaeologist on several occasions in this blog. One of his many notable characteristics is his extraordinarily wide range of interests and the depth of his knowledge in those areas. A conversation with him may start with … Continue reading
Posted in literature, miscellany, politics, WW1
Tagged 4th August 1914, postcard, Southsea Pier, WW1
13 Comments
TanGental 