Category Archives: England

George Washington In London

Several years ago I was waiting for Brock Dundee in Trafalgar Square in London. Tourists were mounting the four lions at the foot of Lord Nelson’s Column for photos and art lovers were queuing before the National Gallery to view the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition, while busy Londoners strode across the square for various rendezvouses […]

DARK ALLEY by Peter Nolan Smith

Not many alleys in America survived the urban renewal of the 60s and 70s, because most cities eradicated these curious traces of Indian trails and cowpaths as a danger to the public safety. Liberty Place used to be Little Green Street, Coenties Lane ran to the East River, and the infamous Mudd Club was located […]

A Journal of the Plague Year

I just read Daniel Dafoe’s A JOURNAL FROM A YEAR OF PLAGUE. The epidemic ravaged London, but ended for good in 1666 and spring came with flowers. Same as this year. First Paragraph: “It was about the beginning of September, 1664, that I, among the rest of my neighbours, heard in ordinary discourse that the […]

Up The Monarchy

THree years ago Britain voted on whether to exit or remain in the European Union. The Exiters won the referendum by 5% on the strength of Old England’s disdain for Europe, for as the well-worn adage says, “Asia begins at the Channel.” The Royals have stayed out of the fray. Queen Elizabeth has said nothing […]

The Dusk of Britain

The English completely dominated the British Islands and Ireland by 1745 with the defeat of Scotland at the Battle Of Culloden. The Crown sent out merchants and armies across the globe to traffick in slaves, opium, and raw materials, thereby creating a commercial network touching ever continent on Earth on which the sun never set. […]