Book Review – The Somme Stations

This is a book in the Jim Stringer series of ‘Steam Detective’ novels by Andrew Martin. In this book, Stringer is in the army during World War I.

This is as much a book about the conditions in the First World War at the time of the various campaigns around The Somme as it is a crime novel. In fact Jim Stringer has someone confess they performed the crime in question but this doesn’t stop the Military Police accusing Stringer of the crime later in the book.

The great and small details in the book are excellent. The conditions the soldiers endured during The Battle of the Somme including the number of ways in which they were in danger are graphically illustrated. The shells fired by the Germans didn’t always contain High Explosive. Sometimes shrapnel shells cut people in half. The intricate details of how narrow-gauge steam engines of the time were operated by the driver are also lovingly provided by the author. This combination makes the war scenes compulsive reading as I learned things I didn’t know.

Oliver Twist’s London spotlit in new exhibition and walking tour

The Charles Dickens Museum opens new display, which will encourage visitors to follow in the author’s footsteps around the nearby sites that inspired the novel

My return to the Fens and their coast – a land of brooding intensity

Revisiting childhood haunts around Skegness and Mablethorpe, the epic landscape surrounding them is a good place to be alone yet still connected.

From Factory Records to Oasis: a musical tour of Manchester

A new exhibition on the seminal Manchester label is the start of a musical homage taking in the roots of Joy Division, the Smiths et al

Happy holiday memories of Portrush: the world feels expansive here

The draw is the Antrim coastline and its stunning beaches, but now the seaside town that serves them is getting a long overdue facelift

‘Morecambe was never a kiss-me-quick place – it’s a proper seaside resort’

With natural wonders like Morecambe Bay and the Trough of Bowland close by, it’s no surprise a seafront Eden Project North is in the pipeline

Book Review – The Anglo-Saxon Age by John Blair

This book is a brief introduction to the political, social, religious, and cultural history of an age when so many basic aspects of modern England were formed ranging from government institutions to the landscape and language.

Little is known of England before the 540s as the only substantial work from the time is ‘The Ruin of Britain’ written by Gildas a rant against the evils of the day. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles – a summary of events in the southern kingdoms of England – only become reliable after 570.

The written tradition was started by the Venerable Bede of Jarrow monastery, who completed his masterpiece Ecclesiastical History of the English People in 731.

The book starts with post-Roman Britain and the shadowy figure of ‘King Arthur’ and continues with Raedwald (probably buried at Sutton Hoo), Penda of Mercia, the Synod of Whitby, Offa of Mercia, The Danish Invasion, Alfred, Athelstan, Cnut and finally the lead up to the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest, though it has to be said the Normans used a lot of Anglo-Saxon ideas and institutions (including the outstanding land records) during their reign.

There is an extensive Further Reading list, should the reader need to find out more about a particular topic.

You don’t come on holiday to Blackpool for a good night’s sleep

The resort still offers fun and naughtiness, but now has an arty B&B and some classy food if, for some reason, you don’t want cod and chips

Folkestone’s seafront has been transformed by art in the past decade

Four Folkestone triennials have drawn thousands of visitors to the once-deprived town, bringing a creative energy and new food and music venues

Great Yarmouth: mixing Victorian seaside charm with a renewable outlook

The Norfolk resort, like a ‘half-baked Naples’ for our local writer, has been refreshed and now has its own London Eye-style ferris wheel