Denis Lipman's Blog, page 8

Bonfires of the Martyrs

In the better-late-than-never category, here is a spectacular photo of the Lewes Bonfires sent to us by our friend Gareth at What England Means to Me (some of you may have read the essay I submitted to this site). The bonfires at Lewes are quite famous and probably the largest in England, and I believe they combine several commemorations into one explosive sight.
Have a great photo of England? Send it to us at aprodigaltourist@gmail.com.

Time for a quick drinkie...

Momentarily confused, our waitress quickly regained her composure. I told her to lead the way and together we managed to get Kate and her stroller downstairs without waking her. We sipped wine and ordered lunch in a surprisingly airy cellar restaurant, blissfully devoid of cigarette smoke. We had half an hour to go before we had to pry my parents out of the pub. Time to be alone and relax. Kate woke up, a bit groggy, but after a change and a bottle, she obligingly went back to sleep while we ...

Last of the currant jam

Lew busied himself making tea while Mum sorted out two jars of her better-than-Harrods jam. Marvelous. Mum did not think she would be able to make it anymore. Picking the berries had become a very hard chore for them both.
"All that bending. Too old for it now, son. Not worth it," Lew explained.
"Still, never mind, eh?" Mum was happy to move on and leave jam-making behind, somewhat resilient to the limitations age placed upon her.
"How's the blackcurrant bush doing?" I inquired, smiling, trying ...

Calling all directors and helpful friends...

Okay, everyone, I've been asked to supply a photo for a large poster that will be displayed in a bookstore (!). So we took a bunch of photos and narrowed it down to these four.
What do you think? Should I go friendly like the top ones (with/without glasses), or more author-y like the lower ones (with / without glasses.
We all have a different favorite, so please help! What do you think? We'd appreciate some input... or should we scrap these and start again?

We have winners...

Before we get to our giveaway winners, I wanted to say how much I appreciated the comments about the What England Means to Me posts (see below). I had never really spent much time (any time) thinking about it, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out, so I was delighted to see that a lot of you enjoyed the piece and saw themselves or their situation reflected in it. So, my thanks to all of you who left me such heartfelt. even moving comments.

Now, to business!
We ended up with 36 entries for the ...

What England means to me, part II

(The following is the first half of an essay I wrote for What England Reads to Me. For Part I, see previous post.)

And yet...
Once I got settled, the pull of England, the occasional tugs homeward, became more frequent. I found myself listening to more Vaughan Williams, more Britten and Holst than ever before. And I rediscovered meat puds and toad in the hole; even beans on toast made it back on the menu. I started to garden. To garden! (The world may think all Englishmen are itching to leap out...

What England means to me, part I

(The following is the first half of an essay I wrote for What England Means to Me.)
I left England at time when gainful employment was not all that easy to gain. Mind you, I was quite happy to gad about surviving on the odd song royalty or the occasional writing job. Reaching the dangerous age of thirty, I suddenly realized I had better try and get that thing I had, until then, steadfastly refused to search for: a proper job. Besides, several adventurous but potentially lucrative projects in m...

Generation gap—or culture shock?

"Oooh-oooh! It's Nanny! Hello Katie! Hello Katie!"
Morning brought forth the sun, and Mum was ebullient in bright pinks and smiles. Kate took a running jump at Jessie's legs, gave her a big hug, and started tugging, dragging her towards the patio.
"Where's your mother, where's your mother?" asked Jessie, a little nervous in the face of Kate's exuberance. As Kate tottered after a ball, Jessie tottered in the opposite direction.

Ready for a lovely weekend!

Even though it was raining hard, I was looking forward to going somewhere different for a few days after a hectic week of hosting. It would be a time to unwind, negate the responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring, and entertaining. For a few days at least, I intended to play the unencumbered tourist, gliding through any visit Frances had planned for us.

Hurray, a giveaway!

We've been very remiss about visiting everyone lately, but we have been a little crazed! We promise to catch up soon, and hope you all forgive us—and, in the meantime, help us celebrate. We finally got our new website up (well, mostly)—and we're finally done with proofing! Hip, hip... So we wanted to share our excitement (and relief!) with all our bloggy friends. And how better to celebrate than with a giveaway? A couple, actually.
Great British Journeys by Nicholas Crane
Residents of the US a...