From from previous post you will know that I am attempting the April A-Z blog. For the letter 'C' I wrote about the Clifton Suspension Bridge,  its origin and how it became Brunel's Bridge. See post at http://bobscotney.blogspot.com/2011/04/clif... Read more

The River Aln skirts the northern side of the town of Alnwick in Northumberland, The remains of Alnwick Abbey with its well preserved 14th century gatehouse is situated within Hulne Park on the river’s bank. In the town the church of St ... Read more

350 years ago on 30 January 1661 Oliver Cromwell was executed; 2 years after his death.   Cromwell died on 3rd September 1658. His body was embalmed and lay in state from 18th October to 10th November before being interred in Westminster ... Read more

Over Easter I spent two days at Bristol - Shame about the weather. While thinking about topics for writing I found the following information on the door of my room at the Rodney Hotel in Clifton. Battle of Les Saintes   The Battle of Le... Read more

[Transferred; written for Feb 14th this year]   "I'll be your Valentine,if you will be mine." Was this once a song or was it, "I'll be your sweetheart if you will be mine?" That was a song remembered from the wartime years. Sixty years ago th... Read more

It was a riddle from my childhood. How many beans make five? The answer was: a bean, two beans, a bean and a half, and a half a bean. Now there's another bean out there that has set us all a target. The Yorkshire Post reported this week [in Septemb... Read more

I once considered putting this on the Arena but chickened out at the last moment.   Whatcha mean? Wanna start a arguement? It dont matter if yew cant spel. We allus txt evryfing. Thier aint oat we cant spel. U just rite the way it sounds. We ... Read more

I'm not really your uncle, but I have often wondered where this saying originated. The catchphrase has been around for a while in the UK and the Commonwealth. Normally its use demonstrates how simple it is to do something - switch the computer on, p... Read more

I wrote this in early 2007 before her centenary. It's past it's sell-by date. But this is what sparked my Houses in Fiction piece. Dame Daphne du Maurier died in 1989; had she lived she would have been a centenarian this year. The middle of three da... Read more