My family laughs at my interest in the TV series ‘Ancient Aliens’, shown regularly on the History Channel in my area. It has national US and some European distribution. A recent episode included a segment on Gobekli Tepe, an archeological site in eastern Turkey, which I found quite fascinating, so I hope this will explain and excuse a diversion from my normal range of subjects in this blog. Part…
My family has an early connection to Oz in the person of Nathaniel Lucas, a cousin many generations removed who arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788 on the First Fleet. The continent had been discovered and claimed by Captain Cook during his circumnavigation, but was completely unexplored when the British Government decided, on the basis of zero knowledge of suitability, to appoint Captain Philip as Governor in charge…
Kindergarten at Parkfield School in Horsham was followed by proper day-schooling across the road at Springfield Park when I was six. Surviving term reports from 1934 tell me my class results varied from “improving” to “fair” to “very good” in - guess what? – reading and history. Now there’s a surprise. Again it was ‘Mr Linny’ who chauffeured me and my younger brother Rupert to school. He used to…
My father’s 21st birthday party on 19th August 1908 was a splendid occasion at Warnham Court, the estate in Sussex owned by my grandfather, most notable for the astounding array of ladies’ hats. Friends and relations assembled from far and wide to celebrate; and very likely to take advantage of the gathering of male family members to play cricket. Guests at my father's 21st birthday party. Cricket was a…