Memories of Japan Irasshai-mas-ehhhh....! It is 10.30am in Ginza, Tokyo’s fashionable shopping precinct. The Hanyu depato - department store - has just opened. A dozen assistants assemble on the ground floor to greet the first customers of the day. They form a line. Bow politely. The last syllable of their welcome elongates and fades to …
Category: Travel
Lost Edinburgh
"In growing from a huddle of huts round a fortress on a volcanic rock into an international and cosmopolitan city, Edinburgh has had to change." Not only is Edinburgh one of my favourite cities but it's one I thought I knew really well - that is, until I picked up the book my sister gave …
Mataoka's Last Journey
'Tis enough that the child liveth.' Rebecca's Tale (Part Three) by Andrew G Lockhart Wahunsenacawh did not attend his daughter’s wedding. Instead, he sent a brother-in-law and two nephews ‘to see the manner of the mariage and to doe in that behalfe what they were requested'. According to some accounts, he also sent Mataoka a …
'for the good of this plantation'
'... Pokahuntas. To whom my hartie and best thoughts are ...' Rebecca's Tale (Part Two) by Andrew G Lockhart Heacham is a holiday resort in the county of Norfolk. Situated on the shores of the Wash, it is the English centre of lavender farming and distilling, and boasts 100 acres under cultivation. The village was …
From Jamestown to Gravesend
'... the Kings most dear and well-beloved daughter ...' Rebecca's Tale (Part One) by Andrew G Lockhart Somewhere in a quiet churchyard in Gravesend, on the south bank of the River Thames, lie the remains of a young woman called Rebecca Rolfe. Gravesend dates back to ancient times. It has its own entry in the …
The Road to Fotheringhay
In the Footsteps of a Queen by Andrew G Lockhart Fotheringhay hides its past well. The village comprises a few dwellings, a charming hostelry and an historic church. The River Nene meanders through its fields on the way from the Grand Union Canal at Northampton to the North Sea. From time to time, a narrow …
