The Piano Tuner’s Son

The stiff, shy, blinking man in a norfolk suit:
The martinet: the gentle-minded squire:
The piano-tuner’s son from Worcestershire:
The Edwardian grandee: how did they consort

In such luxuriant themes?

—Cecil Day-Lewis

If you had asked me, I certainly would not have thought this Rondo was composed by Edward Elgar.

There’ll Always Be A London

The Thames and Parliament

As October is upon us, it’s high time I closed out the saga that has been “my summer vacation” with its final installment: a week in London, where, despite the heat, we saw, heard, and tasted a host of quintessentially British delights.

The Hillfort and Modern Memory

Despite our Ordnance Survey map, and though a wooden signpost pointed the way, we could discern no clear path to Caer Caradoc. The day glowered and threatened rain; the path we found, muddy and steep, had likely been forged by sheep. As we trekked slowly upward, one of our number commented (more than once), “it makes you realize how fit they must have been.” She was referring to the Iron Age denizens of Caer Caradoc. I made a mental note, in our defense, that the average age of those denizens was likely less than half our own.