Tag Archives: Diaries

Real Things – Kathleen Jamie

Posted on August 30, 2024 by Brian

I’ve recently discovered the writing of Kathleen Jamie and have been moved and stimulated by her book Surfacing.  A passage encapsulates the experience of mining my diaries for this blog. ‘The old notebook retrieved, I closed the box… I had … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 68: Greece 2007

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Brian

Stone House, Kardamili, 10th July 2007 We set off at 7.15 after an early breakfast and headed south to Areopolis, then onward into the Deep, Mesa, Mani with Patrick Leigh Fermor (Mani – Travels in the Southern Peloponnese, 1958) as … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 64: Wales 2006

Posted on October 29, 2023 by Brian

Or’eira, Llanfacherth, Dolgellau, 9th May 2006 Portmeirion:  a curious place.  Clough Williams-Ellis designed and started building it in 1925, supposedly ‘to demonstrate how a naturally beautiful site could be developed without spoiling it.’ Accordingly, it is charming, harmonious and of … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 39: France 1999

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Brian

Le Clos du Pausa, Thillombois, 29th March 1999 We drove east from Thillombois to Bouquemont in fog and followed the Meuse north towards Verdun.  The river was still and grey, patterned with the ghostly reflections of skeletal trees.  Each rise … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 37: Cuba 1998

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Brian

Las Cuatros Palmas, Varadero, 10th May 1998 Awake early, I look out from my balcony across the palms and thatched roofs to the silent sea and a sharply defined horizon under plumbago sky.  Scores of dark amber dragonflies describe circles, … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 31: France

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Brian

Ferme Bellengez, Grandcourt, 1st April 1996 A day touring British and Commonwealth World War 1 cemeteries: Serre Road Nos 1 and 2 (9,553 burials); Ovillers-la-Boiselle (3,440); Gordon Dump (1,680, including a lone Sikh from Hodgson’s Horse); Redan Ridge Nos1, 2 … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 30: Ireland

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Brian

Talbot Guest House, Dublin, 14th March 1996 Eight–thirty breakfast – black and white pudding – before last morning exploring. Across the Liffey by the Ha’penny Bridge and into Temple Bar, where a huge effort is going into a new arts … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 27: Italy

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Brian

Casa Elisabetta, Castra, 23rd September 1994 San Gimignano the town of towers.  It seems to be full of noisy Germans, Americans and jackdaws.  Coaches drop off visitors, who stream in waves up the Via San Matteo. In the cloister of … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries: 26 Cyprus

Posted on April 10, 2023 by Brian

Poseidonia Hotel, Limassol, 4th February 1994 Out on the fast road to Larnaca in the white Suzuki Samurai at 8 o’clock, the sunny landscape of south east Cyprus zipping by: lemon groves and ancient olives; dry valleys and ravines; Stavrovouni … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries: 25 Scotland 1993

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Brian

31 Crovie, Banff, 22nd September 1993 A dour day dawned with distant leaden cliffs beyond a sullenly unwelcoming sea.  After breakfast we walked round the bay to Gardenstown – an easy well-made path, then across a stretch of beach by … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 24: France 1993

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Brian

Inter Hotel, Montpellier, France, 24th June 1993 I bought a 31f ticket for the 11.15 to Aigues-Mortes and boarded the bus at the Gare Routier.  We left with a full load, out past the Hotel de Ville and the creamy … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 23: France 1993

Posted on March 21, 2023 by Brian

Hotel Novanox, Boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris 2nd April 1993 The Le Grande Axe in Paris runs straight for over four and a half miles from the Arc du Carrousel via the Arc de Triomphe to La Defense Grande Arche.  Too … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 20: United States 1991

Posted on February 18, 2023 by Brian

Sheraton Hotel, Key Largo, Florida 24th October 1991 A long drive down the Overseas Highway to Key West – breakfast at Brian’s in Marathon – around 100 miles.  The town at the end of the Keys was an extraordinary mix … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries 18: France

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Brian

Hotel Sully, Rue des Ecoles, Paris, 5th May 1990 7.30 am.  Down on the street an old woman is bending over a dustbin going through old clothes.  Close by a waiter has washed down the pavement and is putting out … Continue reading →

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Mining the Diaries: 16 Northumberland 1988

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Brian

Dunstan Hill Farm, Embleton, Northumberland 28th August 1988 Craster harbour.  Two sides are formed by natural rocks; piers have been added to create a protected harbour, uncommon among villages on the Northumbrian coast.  The south pier ends in a gloomy, … Continue reading →

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