Taking a Dig at The French

The English and the French are well known for their long lasting friendship built on mutual esteem, or maybe not. The Entente Cordiale is but a thin veneer over the gulf that separates the two countries. But indeed, there is a lot of fun to be got out of a situation playing the French against the English.

The Thief Who Learned Magic

Enter the world of fantasy writers: Althalus was a thief, a crook, and an occasional murderer; he was probably the best thief in the world. And this fantasy story book is all about his adventures in a world of make believe. Or it should be about his adventures, but a few things went wrong along the way. That might seem normal for any story worth writing about. But a few things went wrong with writing the book itself. Which makes it either a bad book, or an interesting one. It depends on your point of view.

Government Fraud and Cover Up

Whereas Guy Fawkes failed to blow up parliament, a woman succeeded in doing so if virtually. Heather Brooke is the journalist who had the unprecedented cheek to question the expenses of MPs (that's member of parliament). By doing this, she managed to blow up 649 fraudsters in the Commons including all cabinet ministers and the complete shadow government as well as several hundred in the Lords. Good show.

Murder Mystery in Kenya

1941, Josslyn Hay, Earl of Errol, was shot dead in Kenya. The death of the debauched jet-setter at the heart of Kenya’s Happy Valley set gave the tabloids a heyday and headlines to spare. Rumors were ripe, contradictory, and mostly completely false. The murderer was never apprehended. A new book tries to pin down a new suspect.

Earl and Countess of Errol

Christopher Lloyd and Great Dixter

Chatto & Windus published Christopher Lloyd: His Life At Great Dixter by Stephen Anderton. What started out as a biography of a great gardener became a double biography of Christopher Lloyd and his mother Daisy. But there is reason and system to this.

Christopher Lloyd