by David West | Feb 4, 2026 | News
Well Venezuela has been in the news recently, and on the 4th of February, 1992, Hugo Chávez led a coup against Venezuelan President, Carlos Andrés Pérez. Claire and I have visited several South American countries including Chile (en-route to Antarctica), Peru,...
by David West | Feb 3, 2026 | News
On the 3rd of February, 1637, Tulip Mania collapsed in the Dutch Republic. I have recently been asked for investment advice by a friend who had invested heavily in various crackpot investment schemes, followed by rental properties which didn’t work for him. He is now...
by David West | Feb 2, 2026 | News
Grand Central Terminal in New York City opened on the 2nd of February, 1913. Claire and I want to cross the Atlantic on the Queen Mary II. In fact we bought tickets to do the round trip with an afternoon in New York, but then Covid struck and we got a refund. We still...
by David West | Feb 1, 2026 | News
History need not be defined by battles, leaders, exploration, or adventure. I choose as my topic today, the Oxford English Dictionary, of which the first volume (A – Ant) was first published on the 1st of February, 1884. Claire gave me the two volume Shorter...
by David West | Jan 31, 2026 | News
The Battle of Gembloux was fought on the 31st of January, 1578, during the Eighty Years’ War. The Spanish forces were commanded by Don Juan, Duke of Austria. Regular readers will know that the Eighty Years’ War was the conflict in which my ancestor, Sir Anthony...
