At the weekend i went to Long Buckby in Northamptonshire. I have been here once before a number oif years ago, and Long Buckby is a nice place that is well worth a repeated visit. The town has a very nice church, a number of thatched cottages and buildings and even a castle... though the latter is just a few mounds!
You can see my photos of Long Buckby here.
Alan Jenkin's book covers the decade which started with the West beginning to recover from the First World War and ended with the seeds sown for the next one History, society and popular culture are all covered with a plethora of period photographs and illustrations.
I would have liked to see a bit more on the silver screen perhaps but this book is a general history and not a movie one. Of course it is better to watch 1920s films rather than just read about them. The Bishop Murder Case, The Unholy Night and The Voice of the City are three films i recommend you tracking down on YouTube.
Interestingly, the last of those three films was the one Al Capone, that icon of the 1920s, was watching when he was arrested!
We start at Woking, a busy transport hub in Surrey and pass through beautiful Surrey and Hampshire countryside, visiting towns and villages like Aldershot, Bentley and Farnham before arriving at Alton.
The line does continue here for a while as part of the preserved Watercress Line but that is another story. This is another interesting volume in Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith's series on country railway routes.
As usual the book includes period maps and photographs plus "modern day" photographs (though these are from the late 1980s when this book was published). Some of my more up-to-date photographs can be seen below.
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| Aldershot |
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| Bentley |
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| Farnham |
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| Alton |
This was a popular story in it's time and was said to have been Stanley Baldwin's favourite story. The story revolves around the murder of a rich merchant (Leavenworth). Suspicion falls upon his two nieces and a mysterious man. An investigator and a lawyer tackle the case.
Quite why this story was so popular is the true mystery (sorry Mr Baldwin!) I found the story a bit slow and tedious though it is undeniably pretty well written, but by the time you find out who was the murderer you may have largely lost interest.
The story also suffers from a bit of over the top melodrama like many Victorian novels. Still maybe Mr Baldwin liked a bit of melodrama, he was a politician after all!
The stories are accompanied by photographs taken by the author of the various locations. A lovely book that includes well known Derbyshire towns like Bakewell and Chesterfield and also more obscure and little known villages too.
I do enjoy books like this, i have a number of similar books in my collection. The only thing this book could do with is a map of the locations included but that is a minor criticism.
The influences and origins of the serial are also discussed, i found this most interesting. I'd never heard of the 10-20-30 melodramas popular on stage in the 19th century before and how they influenced the early serial.
Much of the book is taken with a discussion of what happened in various serials. Many now lost, it is interesting that Charlie Chan first made his on-screen appearance in a late 1920s serial. Many more films were to follow in the following decades.
I enjoyed this book immensely, it is well illustrated with poster, lobby cards and on-set photographs from dozens of silent movie serials. A great book to introduce you to the serial, many of which can be seen on-line these days.
I reviewed a few silent movie serials on my old movie review blog. These include The Mystery Airmen and The Son of Tarzan.
At the weekend i went to Narborough in Leicestershire. I have been once before, though quite a few years ago. That one time before i went in the Winter as well, if i come to Narborough again in future hopefully it will be in warmer weather! Narborough is a nice village near to Leicester itself. The church is lovely of course and there are a number of lovely old buildings too. Well Leicestershire is lovely itself of course, one of my favourite counties!
You can see my photos from Narborough here.
However, the last actual war the People's Liberation Army took place in was around the time this book was published (against Vietnam, and China didn't do very well!)
This is an enjoyable period piece. China was building a lot of weapons back then too though they were largely copies of already ageing and often obsolete Soviet types instead of the weapons they build today which are as good as (and who knows maybe in some ways superior) to the West's.
Not much detailed in this book therefore will be relevant to today. However, if you have a nostalgia for Soviet era weapons and Cold War armies then this look across the Bamboo Curtain is very enjoyable.
If you are not familiar with the 365 Days volumes, they had an entry for every day of the year (natch) on a specific subject, the daily subject often having a tie in with what the relevant date is.
The Golden Age of DC Comics: 365 Days is on DC comics, home of the iconic Superman, Batman and a galaxy of other heroes, this book covers DC from its pre-costumed hero days (when it literally was Detective Comics) to the post-war when westerns and sci-fi periodically knocked the men (and women) in tights off their perches.
Most people will have heard of the main characters like Superman and Batman of course and they feature heavily here, though what is particularly enjoyable are some of the lesser-known and nowadays pretty much forgotten heroes like Air Wave, who apparently combated villains by roller-skating along telegraph wires and Fatman, who wore a lampshade as his mask.
To be honest i think some of these guys would make for better films than some of the recent subjects like the Green Lantern (but considering the rate of which Hollywood is plundering the comic universe i suspect films about Air Wave and the like are probably only a few years off).
In fact that is the only criticism of this excellent volume, i wish there was an easy way to read the rest of some of the obscure stories featured in here! Its a chunky volume you will be dipping into all the time, a superb piece of work!
This book covers the Midland Main Line between Derby and Chesterfield (of twisty church spire fame) in the usual Middleton Press style crafted by Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith.
A history and map of each station along the line (some stations having now been closed) is presented along with a number of images, historical and (fairly) modern day, showing how the stations have evolved and what kind of trains you might see at them.
The book covers Duffield, Belper and Ambergate along the way which are all still open and stations i am very familiar with and it was nice to learn more about the stations' histories. Another interesting Middleton Press volume.
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| Derby |
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| Belper |
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| Ambergate |
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| Chesterfield |
It includes a number of comic stories. Unlike boy's comic stories which usually involved war, space and especially war in space, the stories in Judy cover areas like the supernatural, school adventures and family drama. To be honest a welcome change from endless alien invasions.
The real fun in this annual though is the other stuff. The lives of Roger de Courcey and Rod Hull are hilariously dramatised in comic form. There is also a rather strange feature on the National Exhibition Centre!
A fascinating look at a very different age.
In this story the hunt for a rare piece of furniture designed by a well known 19th century architect leads to a number of murders.
A fun and easy read on the whole and a well structured story, though sometimes the art and design history can make your eyes glaze over a bit (and i like history!) However, the crime itself and the sleuthing are very enjoyable.
This book is a collection of scores of photographs of the National hard at work with many different bus companies, the National Bus Company themselves and many others. If you like Leyland Nationals (as i do) then there are many photos here to enjoy.
So, that all seems great of course but there is a problem with the book in that the selection is a bit all over the place. The book might be better if there was more of a theme followed. That is a small criticism though. This is a lovely collection of photographs of one of the best buses.
How about a few photographs i have taken of Nationals?
At the weekend i headed over to the other side of the Malvern hill from Malvern itself to the Herefordshire village of Colwall. I did venture into the footpaths and nature reserve near the station though it was a bit muddy to be honest, i need to come back in the Summer and venture further on. Colwall is a nice village that is well worth a visit. You can see my photos here.
In the Land of No Tears, written by Pat Mills and drawn by Guy Peeters, our heroine is Casey. She is a disabled schoolgirl who cynically takes advantage of her disability to get her own way. She actually doesn't want an operation to correct her leg but when it does happen something goes wrong and she is transported into a future dystopia. Here she finds herself in a land of extreme body fascism where any disfigurement or imperfection causes revulsion and even fear. Casey finds herself a Gamma girl, brutally repressed by the superior Alpha girls, especially the vicious Perfecta. Casey helps bring together a group of fellow Gammas to challenge the supremacy of the Alphas in a sporting contest.
This is followed by The Human Zoo by Malcolm Shaw and again drawn by Peters. This is an alien abduction story which uses the set-up to hammer home a pretty overt animal rights message. Twin sisters Shona and Jenny are taken to an alien planet where they are considered no more than any other animal and are exhibited and exploited in a zoo! The girls suffer many obstacles, including experimentation and being hunted, as they try and prove to the aliens that they are thinking, feeling creatures too.
Both stories are very well written and drawn and highly enjoyable classic science-fiction tales, using a futuristic setting to comment on our present day. As these were originally published in weekly episodes there is some repetition but that doesn't get too much in the way.
Unfortunately, the prototype was underwhelming. It could not achieve supersonic flight but a redesign of the fuselage and wing did bring about the desired performance and eventually 1,000 were built. The F-102 was ultimately eclipsed by Convair's follow-on the F-106 Delta Dart but the F-102 had a solid career. As well as guarding against Soviet bombers it also saw some action in the Vietnam War, often it roles for which it was not designed.
A good book about an aircraft type which is sometimes overlooked these days. This has the usual mixture of informative text, illustrations and photographs of an Osprey publication.
This is a small village drama set in the Interwar Period. A lot of time is spent establishing various characters in the village. You certainly can say the characters are well fleshed out, though unfortunately few of the characters are that sympathetic especially the leads!
The book has a slow start but builds to an excellent climax. You just need a bit of patience and it will be worth it.
With a wealth of imagery (though more from earlier decades, as the book states - imagery of ambulance trains from the First World War outnumber the Second by quite some margin due to the popularity of picture postcards at the time) and informative text, this book covers the topic very well. The book is easily worth an entry in any transport or military book collection.
Well i have both.
St Peter in Wootton Wawen is Warwickshire's oldest church and one of the county's oldest free standing buildings. Parts of the tower are of Saxon origin, dating from the 11th century or earlier. However, much of the current church dates from the 12 and 13th centuries with the nave and chancel being rebuilt from the original state. Other additions like the porch were added later on in the following centuries.
The church contains a well preserved example of chancel screen-work, regarded as the best preserved in the county, and chancel seats dating from the 16th century. The oak pulpit is of a similar vintage as are a number of monumental brasses.
The original church was destroyed sometime in the late 10th century or early 11th. The current church of St Peter was established by the Anglo-Danish landowner Wagen (Wawen). Although a number of other stone churches were built in the late Saxon era Warwickshire, only St Peter's church retains any substantial masonry from that time.
Due to bad weather at the weekend and some personal stuff getting in the way, my weekend rail adventure was pretty modest and on a Sunday too! I went to Redditch which is the station at the very end of my local line. It is in Worcestershire so i was able to update my photographs of that station for my next book. I also had a walk around the town.
The book describes the organisation, training and equipment of the hoplites of the two sides and how they matched up in a number of battles. The book is full of good information and lavishly illustrated with photographs of ancient Greek statues and vases and modern day illustrations and diagrams.
Bill Aldridge has collected together vehicles from the earliest days of telephony to (close to anyway) the present. Some of the vehicles are highly specialised and can be a bit wacky and wonderful. Others are superbly mundane. Nostalgia is guaranteed.
A brilliant book.
Despite the appearance of Gnasher on the cover, he does not appear in any of the comic strips (though does in the extra material) which means that the stories pre-date 1968 as that is when Gnasher first appeared in the Dennis comic strip.
The stories are fun, though can be a big repetitive. Dennis gets into trouble and causes mayhem, and the story usually ends with him being beaten - often in a rather strange manner, such as by an elephant!
It can get a bit samey after awhile (which is why the Bash Street Kids collected stories work better in annual form), of course not a problem when the stories were originally published as you had a week's wait between them!
Its still a fun read.
Many excellent photographs, most of them in colour, are well re-produced here. All the favourites are here, the Class 25s, 26s, 40s, 86s. It is a British Rail scene i was just about to experience in the early 1980s before it all changed for good.
A wonderful book.