by Valerie | Jul 19, 2017 | General interest, history, people, travel, Uncategorized
When driving through the patchwork of green fields and grazing sheep in North Yorkshire this weekend, I marvelled at the hard simplicity of the stone walls. Once these hillsides and valleys crossed by fast-flowing rivers must have been as strewn with stones as the... by Valerie | Jul 14, 2017 | art, Fashion, General interest, history, people, travel
‘Is Iran a police state?’ I asked Ali, our excellent guide. He hesitated. The organisers of our tour of Iran asked us not to name anyone we would like to meet there as we are requested to do on our visa application. Any meetings should be arranged through our guide.... by Valerie | Jul 4, 2017 | art, Fashion, Fifties, General interest, history, museums, people, travel
Tehran, we were warned, would be characterless. It was. There was no heart to the town which seemed like a lot of villages which had spread and amalgamated into an amorphous mass. I remember endless streets that all looked the same as we went from one museum to... by Valerie | Jun 27, 2017 | General interest, history, people, travel, Uncategorized
Whenever one wonders where the idea of a garden started, one finds that the Garden of Eden was first realised in Persia and travelled the world woven into prized carpets. That must explain why the gardens in India, from Kashmir to Agra, were created by Muslim... by Valerie | Apr 12, 2017 | General interest, people, Uncategorized, writing a novel
An unsafe upholstered armchair, an old microwave and kitchen cooker, old utensils, chairs and curtains consigned to the rubbish tip. Books in piles on the floor beside framed pictures leaning against walls, all awaiting their fate. The removal van is coming in two... by Valerie | Mar 21, 2017 | Fifties, General interest, history, people, travel, Uncategorized
The year has come round with the Annual General Meeting for the Friends of our local country house. Officers for the coming year were re-elected unanimously as so often happens, but no treasurer. I wanted to suggest paying a local accountant to help a volunteer as few...
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