In Town
The Tower of London – Palace or Prison Camp?
They’re commonly known as “Beefeaters”. However their real title is “Yeomen Warders of His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London” They are the men, and now women, who appear in uniform, guiding visitors around the Tower of London. However there is a lot more to them than providing those tours. The body…
The Ghost Whisperer Walks
Around Durham City you will occasionally see a tall man, in a dark coat, wearing a black top hat. He is followed by a group of people who hang on his every word. He’s not leading a funeral cortege, he is Andy Ross, Ghost Whisperer. With a long time interest in in the paranormal, he…
Hadley’s, Whitby
Recently I was in Whitby. Every time I visit I get so annoyed at the parking charges imposed by the council. They are punitive to say the least. It is almost as though they don’t want visitors from out of town, but I ignored their pirate type behaviour and paid the fee. That said, there…
Let’s Walk Around Durham
I recently discovered a superb YouTube channel called “Let’s Walk“. The channel owner takes the viewer on a narrated walking tour of places across the country and provides an almost first hand experience, explaining items of interest along the way. The Best Cathedral on Earth Bill Bryson, Author and Former Chancellor of Durham University The…
The time the TV went off and didn’t come back on
It was the 10th August 2021. The people of the UK had gone through a really terrible 18 months previously due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some were about to get yet another kick in the teeth when there was an unprecedented outage of TV services. At approximately 1:30pm that day the TV went dark.…
Halifax Big Cat Sighting
Back in November 2020 there was a little bit of excitement over a big cat sighting in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Staff at Piece Hall in the town released some CCTV footage that appeared to show, quite compellingly, a big cat prowling around the empty venue. You may recall me talking to Big Cat Expert, Andy…
The sea has no mercy
The sea. It holds all the power of nature and has no mercy. If you don’t treat it with the utmost caution, it will chew you up and devour you. You cannot begin to talk about the sea and its power without considering safety. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) have stations housing their rescue…
That Big Old River
I always liked this song by Jimmy Nail. It reminds me so much of my younger days living in Wallsend on the north side of the River Tyne. You couldn’t move in Wallsend without some sort of connection to the river. In you couldn’t see it, you could hear the traffic moving along it. It…
An Unusual Alarm Clock
Yesterday wasn’t a good day. Working odd hours, I need to grab my sleep when I can. This involves me shutting myself off from the outside world until my alarm drags me back to the land of the living. However, when the local Constabulary decide to take to the skies the chances of sleep disappear…
