by David West | Feb 27, 2023 | News
The latest edition of Red Herrings arrived today. It’s the bulletin of the Crime Writers’ Association, or CWA for short. I love that crime writers have a bulletin rather than a newsletter, how appropriate. There are some interesting articles. Anne Penketh has written...
by David West | Feb 24, 2023 | News
Today I finished reading The Young Richelieu. Elizabeth Marvik wrote a magnificent psychoanalytical biography of Cardinal Richelieu, chief advisor to Louis XIII. Having now read her biographies of both men, I feel equipped to move onto the next stage of Book 5 in the...
by David West | Feb 19, 2023 | News
I have reached page 169 of 213 of Young Richelieu, by Elizabeth Marvik. You will remember that I read her biography of Louis XIII last year. Her biography of his prime minister is equally useful. So far I have learnt that Richelieu inherited a sharp legal brain from...
by David West | Feb 16, 2023 | News
We watched episode 1 of The Piano last night on Channel 4. Claudia Winkleman is the host, Lang Lang and Mika are the judges. The format is that a piano is placed in a public place and people can have a go at playing it. Everyone played excellently. I don’t know how...
by David West | Feb 14, 2023 | News
For the thirty-fifth time, I think, Claire and I exchanged Valentine’s Day cards today. Valentine’s Day is a huge industry, worth around $20 billion dollars a year I read, but where does the association of Saint Valentine with lovers come from? From the academic...
by David West | Feb 10, 2023 | News
In my post at the weekend, I said I’d let you know how we got on when we got home. Getting home wasn’t as straightforward as we’d assumed, there was a rail replacement coach service from Reading. I’ll get around to Figaro, but we’ll start with footballers. Blue Harlem...
