Statistics, Statistics, Statistics In 1461, midway through one of the most extraordinary phases of English history, the battle lines were once again drawn up between the two factions acting out the blow by blow passage of the Wars of the Roses. Much is written about the ‘English Civil War’ which was to come 200 years after the Roses, where King and Parliament fought for the good of the People; but the Wars of the Roses was in many ways just as cataclysmic for the whole population of England. The conflict lasted 35 years and cost thousands of lives. Innocent folk…

It is April Fools Day Wednesday April 1st BBC News carries this story – basically saying that countries around the world were not going to be amused at the possibility of people basing April Fools’ Day pranks on the virus. Quite rightly so, but Wikipedia tells me that whilst the origin of this tradition is obscure; it quite clearly dates back to Medieval Europe, and not a ‘Hello Kitty’ tradition upheld in Taiwan. Below a Taiwanese Ministry post using a cat [edible?] to get the message across. A month ago I was at Wembley watching the League Cup Final amongst…

”Wherever I wander, wherever I rove, the shores of the Highlands forever I love” – Robbie Burns Into Scotland at Jedburgh and out at Gretna 2 weeks later. 1500 miles and almost as many phone pix. Above in Red the squiggled route to the top. Jedburgh Abbey enjoyed a 500 year long Catholic history before the ignominy of being ‘Kirkified’ in the Reformation of 1560. ‘Damned Popery ‘ giving way to Calvinist beliefs. A not-so-random visit to 28 Somerville Road in the naval housing area beside the port of Rosyth. For my co-traveller it was a trip down memory lane…

It had taken us 8 days to reach the wilds of Durness and Cape Wrath Country. 8 days in Scotland and not a drop of rain to dampen our spirits. As we started the long trek south, Terry came out with facts about Durness’s finest. Apparently John Lennon spent a lot of his early life here. Summers away from Liverpool and familiar places that would have seemed so far South. He must have trekked up the A838 ‘Passing Places Only’ route – crossed the Kylesku Ferry and seen the same sheep as us. It’s said that Durness was the inspiration…

I was driving up Norway’s coastal E6 route, through its most extreme northern region; on my way to the little port of Alta. It was a staging post for the route north to visit Nordkapp at the top of Europe. (A popular if not odd thing to do). It was mid-August and already the daylength had diminished to around 22 hours [the other 2 being just dimness]. Scandinavia is strictly 24 hours ‘headlights on’ when driving, but it seemed odd when it was still perfectly light at 11pm. At the head of the last fjord before Alta I passed this…