Strachey, Bloomsbury, and Charleston.

Of all my literary heroes from the past, I haven't heard the name of Lytton Strachey mentioned for quite some while. Maybe he is simply 'out of fashion'; if indeed he was ever 'in'.

I first came upon him whilst still at school. I was doing a project about the role of Florence Nightingale in world medicine, and discovered his book 'Eminent Victorians' (in which she featured). Strachey's writing, and highly individual perspective, made him appeal at once.

These days I associate Strachey with Charleston; the Bloomsbury group home on the other side of The Downs from Brighton. Strachey didn't actually live there but was a frequent visitor to Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, and others. This portrait of LS (below) is by Dora Carrington.

Much later I bought Michael Holroyd's rather heavy-going biography of Strachey, which I still have; and occasionally browse.

In many ways LS was a man of 'fringe importance'. He appealed to a specific audience, and his critical writings only appeared in 'fringe publications'. Regardless, there is something essentially 'English' about his writing. Very 'Bloomsbury'.

LS lived in Wiltshire, at Ham Spray House, near Marlborough (below). The photo shows L to R Carrington, Frank Partridge, and LS himself.

I think Strachey is now ripe for a revival. A BBC biopic maybe. Or even a Bloomsbury Romcom? I would, of course, play the part of scruffy painter Duncan Grant.

This (below) is me back in 2022 in France, reading a letter from Virginia Nicholson (co-author of the ultimate Charleston book I'm holding). She had written the book with her father Quentin Bell (son of Clive and Vanessa Bell), but he sadly died just before its publication. She wrote to me "From one of the authors, and in memory of the other, best wishes, etc". The book, and her kind letter, is one of my treasured possessions.

The Bloomsbury Group were certainly people about whom there is plenty of scandalous subject matter. It would make 'essential' viewing (Channel 4 maybe?).

Mojtaba Khamenei

 

Regular visitors here may remember that I wrote about Mojtaba Khamenei (above) back on 3rd Feb this year.

He's a charming fellow. Son of the late supreme leader (now with his 72 virgins), he had access to unlimited funds to amuse himself, wherever he fancied; mostly in London. I see that his late father, the fragrant Ayatollah, managed to amass a 'fortune' of between $95 and $200 Billion. All this whilst many of his people could hardly afford a loaf of bread.

It must be strange to have access to unlimited money. If he sees a £40 Million house that he fancies, he just says "Send the bill to Iran", and it's his! And he moves on to the next one.

The big question is (as with so many Islamic leaders), where does all the money come from?

Arafat was the first leader I'd heard about who 'commandeered' vast amounts of his people's money. Since then almost every Hamas senior figure has managed to acquire a few dodgy £Millions or even £Billions; Yahya Sinwar having even deposited his stash in a Jewish Bank in Tel Aviv. The bloody cheek! 

It's well known that these people steal money that belongs to the citizens of Iran, Syria, Gaza, etc, and they have no shame in doing so.

The latest I heard of Mojtaba himself, was that he MIGHT have lost a limb, and MIGHT be in a coma. News is sketchy. As with most of these people; their stolen £Billions don't do them much good! You can only spend so much.

Mojtaba is of course a Cleric, like his father before him; but does The Koran not teach that one 'Should not steal'? Surely a Cleric should know better. 

Wine from The Red Sea.

 

I've drunk wine from many parts of the world.

France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Australia, the USA, Argentina, Greece, Chile, Peru, Portugal, Morocco, S Africa, and a few other places that I've probably forgotten. But I'd never tasted an Egyptian wine.

With Kimbo and Suzie just back from their short jaunt in Egypt, I was presented with a bottle of 'Shahrazade' Cabernet/Merlot wine. 

On the back label it promises that the wine is 'Rich with the blessings of the ancient Nile terraces'; whatever that means.

It's a light red at 12.5% alc, and offers 'A flavour of red berries and spices, mingled with jammy ripe fruits; complimented by silky smooth tannins'.

As you know, I do like to assess new tastes and flavours, so I put on my sommelier's hat, and went to work.

Verdict: 2/10 (they lied)

If you have always wondered why Egyptian Wine isn't more popular; I suggest you try 'Shahrazade'.

Jack Hargreaves

Many people these days will NOT know the name Jack Hargreaves, but when I was a wee Whipper-Snapper he was one of my great heroes.

He had a TV programme called 'Out of Town', where he sat in a garden shed, and talked about all things bucolic. It was one of those very relaxed programmes that taught you so much, without really trying.

He didn't dress-up, he sucked on an old pipe, spoke with a country drawl, and he fiddled with bits of string. He was the epitome of an easy-going countryman. Here he is driving his Horse and Trap; not unlike the one we had as children in my native Surrey village of Lingfield.

Many years later, here I am (in about 1975) outside my original Farmhouse in S W France (below), driving a very similar Horse and Trap.

The Trap was mine, but the Horse (Joe) belonged to some friends who were visiting in an old Gypsy Caravan. They were travelling from the North to the South of France; an eco-trip.

When our friends reached the South Coast of France, after SIX months on the road, they sold both Horse and Caravan. If I'd known they were going to sell, I would have made an offer.

The Caravan had been bought in Ireland, and was of the type knows as 'An Open Lot', the Horse came from London, and had been working as a Rag-n-Bone-Man's Horse. He was a Welsh Cob, and behaved perfectly.

This below is the Caravan that Joe pulled, with me and our first two small children. Jack Hargreaves would have approved!

Still proclaiming.

I recently heard this song being used as the backing for some BBC Radio play (I can't remember what it was).

The Proclaimers were a strange phenomenon on the music scene. Scottish twin brothers, Craig and Charlie Reid from Auchtermuchty, sand alluringly old fashioned songs that became huge hits. Their songs 'Letter from America', and 'I'm gonna be' (I would walk 500 miles), took them to the top of the UK charts.  

This particular song 'Beautiful truth' is amongst their best. A beautiful relaxing melody.

 

The Cancelling of a National Hero

It's a sad day. Churchill's portrait is to be removed from our £5 banknotes. Instead we are to have some more acceptable cute cuddly Woke animals.

They (?) are chipping away, and airbrushing our history, bit by bit. They topple statues, detest Remembrance Day Poppies, ban certain history books, throw their hands in horror at any mention of 'Empire', spray over important monuments, and re-name offending streets; all in the name of Woke-ism. 

Most countries celebrate and cherish their history, but not us. The heroic past of our nation, our greatest achievements, and our history, is being slowly 'cancelled'. Our current crop of Woke Lovies see much of Britain's past as unacceptable, and they work hard to remove anything that offends their Woke credentials.

Anyway, there's nothing we can do about it. We have to accept what they do without complaining. We are powerless, and must wait for a different government with more backbone to reverse matters.

However, just for fun, I'm showing this delightful photo again (below) of a very young Lady Magnon (bottom left) sitting patiently listening to Winston Churchill at our Embassy in Washington. The great man will NEVER be whitewashed in this house!

Making it someone else's problem!

I don't get into town much these days even though the main shopping area is only a few hundred yards away. Brighton is also quite 'hilly', which I find a problem. It's easier for me to go out of town by car, and do all I need there!

As such I don't see much of any homelessness there may be, although I have mentioned previously about a few people who lived in tents in the Park.

However, having seen this headline (above) in my Msn News Feed, I am presuming that there is still a problem. Usually at this cold time of year, the 'homeless' stay at home; one is more likely to see them in Summer when the weather is better.

Unlike our Government who dither over everything (except raising taxes), our Labour Council is grasping the nettle, and dealing with the 'homelessness' problem by sending Brighton's nomads over to Eastbourne; known everywhere as 'God's Waiting Room'.  

I'm not sure what the elderly population of Eastbourne will make of this. They are used to their quiet, uneventful, OAP-filled, seaside town; NOT having a bunch of drugged-up scruffy individuals, sitting on the pavements with their hands out.

No doubt they'll soon all walk back along the coast to the town they love, and which offers them a much more pleasant lifestyle.

Good try Council, but don't start celebrating too soon.