Dylan Thomas – poet and pub-lover
To listen to this post, click here – On this day in 1914 Welsh poet Dylan Thomas was born. Now I know that they say he only wrote in English and that when he recited... Read More
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On This Day
with audio
Charles Dickens invents the soap opera
To listen to this post, click here – On this day in 1859 Charles Dickens published the last weekly instalment of A Tale of Two Cities. The book remains the best-selling novel of all time.... Read More
Yukio Mishima – Japan’s extreme self publicist
To listen to this post, click here – On this day in 1970 the Japanese poet and writer Yukio Mishima committed ritual suicide. Considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century,... Read More
Poetry Blog
Poetry Therapy for the Inner Child
When Paul Gauguin painted his famous masterpiece ‘D’où Venons Nous / Que Sommes Nous / Où Allons Nous’ (Where Do We Come From, What... Read More
William Dalrymple, Historian, Presenter and Chronicler of Djinns, Jains and Jesus (and so much more)
The genial yet commanding figure of William Dalrymple has been a regular feature of the wonderfully unique Beyond Borders International Festival at Traquair House, Innerleithen... Read More
The Rapid Growth of Addiction
When did addiction start and is it a problem that is still increasing? To answer that fully, we need to look back four hundred years... Read More