Twain on the Murray I wish that Time could bring again To Letters—and so give to Art— The healthy humour of Mark Twain, The kindly scamps of poor Bret Harte! —Henry Lawson, 1908 Off the plank of the Warrimoo, Stepped Samuel Clemens’ polished shoe, Daughter Clara, arm and arm, His first impressions of Sydney’s charm— […]

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Jamestown, Virginia, was the first permanent British settlement in the Americas. It was named in 1607 after King James I, son of Mary, Queen of Scots, King of England and Ireland, who also reigned as King James VI of Scotland. A more damned crew Hell never vomited.            —George Sandys, Virginia Company treasurer The three […]

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Alcoholic Nose Rhinophyma, subtype of skin condition, rosacea, chronic inflammation, swollen nose, red and bumpy, once thought due to alcoholism— that theory debunked. Definitive cause a mystery. Evidence points to genetics, in family members of English, Scottish, ethnic Eastern European descent. For those with rosacea, alcohol worsens symptoms, enlarging blood vessels, creating a flushed look— […]

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There has been great public fascination with the story of the Plantagenet super-dynasties, and particularly, the House of Tudor, since William Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII (also known as All Is True) and its infamous performance in 1613 when a special-effects cannon-shot started a fire that burned the Bard’s Globe Theatre to the ground. Samuel Johnson […]

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I'm glad friends encouraged me to persevere with the five-part HBO dramatisation. Indeed, I now consider it one of the most important works I have seen this year, despite facts being bent and characters presented as other than their real-life selves. Those quibbles aside, it remains a drama much greater than the sum of its parts

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Helios of Rhodes for Peter Schipperheyn   Its sculptor, Charles of Lindos, took his own life when shown                        a single flaw on the brow of                           Helios of Rhodes.                                             Thirty metres high it towered much taller still it rose                                    than the bronze Zeus at Tarentum,                 Helios of Rhodes.                                 A brilliant skin of brass plate […]

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We were homeward bound one night on the deep, Swinging in my hammock, I fell asleep. I dreamed a dream, and I thought it true, Concerning Franklin and his gallant crew.                     —“Lady Franklin’s Lament”, a traditional ballad How did the HMS Terror, a Vesuvius-class bomb ship, built in Devon, which fought during the War […]

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The mini-series charting to path to war in 1914 isn't without its faults, but they are minor. As one reviewer noted, “this three-parter is little short of a triumph—gripping, complex, superbly performed and as clear as clear could be. On this rare occasion, history is better served by drama than documentary'

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I do not think it at all likely that we shall again have the bad luck to strike a man who combines a blameless record, first-rate linguistic abilities, remarkable gifts as a writer of fiction, and no sense of responsibility in using them!                           —Sir Stewart Menzies, “C” of MI6, 1943 Mrs Wilson is a […]

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    I prefer to think of myself as being inside a tangled knot; tangled knots fascinate me. It’s necessary to recount the tangle of existence, both as it concerns individual lives and the life of generations. Searching to unravel things is useful, but literature is made out of tangles. —Elena Ferrante   My Brilliant […]

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