Originally written in Swedish and set in Sweden, these three books deserve their reputation as ranking among the best modern crime fiction. They are dark and at times disturbing to read, dealing with violence, sexual abuse, trafficking of women for … Continue reading →
Mountaineers, climbers, Munro-baggers and walkers are not alone among visitors to the Scottish Highlands to be interested in the pesky midge. This little book, deservedly a best-seller, is now in its fourth edition. The author is an academic who has … Continue reading →
This was my second long-distance cycling book in three months: partly co-incidence and partly because the author, Mark Beaumont, had been on television with a three-part series about cycling the length of the Americas* and this book was on prominent … Continue reading →
Comprehensive, detailed, well-produced and a worthy effort. Will this be the last time this handbook is published in book format, I wonder?
Continue reading →What a pleasant surprise this book was! Despite its messy and rather old-fashioned cover I picked it up in the bookshop because I like cycling and I like food, the two topics which are its raison d’être. Expecting another read … Continue reading →
Like most weeks on an HF Holiday at Glencoe the ascent of Ben Nevis was on the walks programme: this week I had been allocated the job of leading the walk. By breakfast on the day nine guests had signed … Continue reading →
In Autumn 2009 I took a ten-week class at OUDCE on “Modern Movements in Architecture: the Case of Oxford”. As part of this I had to write an assessment of a modern building of my choice. What follows in an extract from my full assignment. Some pictures are after the text.
Continue reading →One of the things I like about Oxford – and I wonder how many of the tourists on the heritage trail notice this – is that dotted among the old buildings there are now many modern ones. Some are easily … Continue reading →
I was never very keen on history at school. All those kings and emperors, treaties and revolutions, popes and prime ministers had me at best confused and at worst bored. In later life I found out that history isn’t all … Continue reading →
19-22 June 2009 Wainwright doesn’t mention midges in his Lake District guides, so I guess the general view that they’re a fairly recent addition to the Lakeland scene is right. But if it’s also true that they don’t fly if … Continue reading →