A look at a series of books I have just discovered, by Steve Higgs. Also an autumnal photo gallery featuring animals, plants and fungi.
I have recently found a highly readable series of detective novels by Steve Higgs (I have read a number of them, and will be on the lookout for more). This post looks at this series.
THE BASIC STORY
A long retired detective superintendent, Albert Smith, sets out on a round Britain trip with the intention of learning how to cook all his favourite foods. His constant companion is a former police dog, who has allegedly been disposed of because of his bad attitude, but another hypothesis emerges as the series progresses: he has been got rid of because he makes his handlers look bad.
Smith’s visits are invariably interrupted by crimes which he and his dog then help to investigate. As the series progresses it becomes clear that the crimes are all linked, and in the some of the later volumes we see things from the side of the perpetrator, moving the books on from simple whodunnits to questions of will he get away with it? Smith’s three children are all themselves serving police officers, and they reluctantly come to see that he is on to something, and discreetly provide him with assistance.
I highly recommend these books.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
A riot of autumn colour in Kettlewell Lane Park this morning.An unusual sight this late in the year – a red admiral.
My second post in the series about my holiday in Arisaig, dealing with my birthday itself.
Welcome to post two in my series about this year’s holiday. My birthday this year (the same number birthday that Bilbo Baggins missed due to other events on the day of his arrival by barrel at the shore of the Long Lake) fell on a Sunday. The birthday meal was booked for Mingary Castle (there is also a Mingarry that has a good restaurant, but we were going to Mingary, we where we had eaten last year) at 1PM. Therefore we set off at 11AM.
THE OUTWARD JOURNEY
To get from Arisaig to Mingary Castle we had to go east, south and then west rather further than we had started, since this castle is quite near the western end of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. Along the way we crossed the river Shiel by a stone bridge that I remembered with crystal clarity from an earlier Scottish sojourn. We then had a long run west along the northern shore of Loch Sunart, passing Salen (a place I first saw way back in 1993), Glenborrodale, site of a nature reserve, the Ardnamurchan distillery, and sundry viewpoints. The turn off for Mingary Castle is just east of (i.e before) Kilchoan, and we arrived there in good time, but not ridiculously early.
THE MEAL
It did not take long to identify two courses I wished to eat (a pork terrine starter and slow cooked beef with Yorkshire pudding, carrot, broccoli and triple cooked potatoes) and a suitable beverage to accompany them (Dark Mile, brewed by the local Glenspean brewery). The food was excellent, and the surroundings pleasant (I was one of at least three people that day who had come for a birthday meal). After I had finished I did some walking around outside the castle and got some photographs.
THE JOURNEY HOME
We went home by the same route we had come, which enabled me to get pictures of places I had missed on the way out (I sat in the same seat, the non-driver’s side rear seat, for both journeys, so was facing opposite sides of the road each way). Thus as you will see from the gallery the outbound journey was light on pictures from Loch Moidart, which was on the wrong side of me that way, and heavy on pictures from Loch Sunart, while the homeward journey was the reverse.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
The crossing of the river Shiel on the outbound journey – only the third picture I took because I was on the wrong side for most of the good early scenery.Mingary CastleThese woolly creatures are not the local sheep – I reckon they are alpacas, and as such a long way from their native Andes.Here as well as the possible alpacas there are two ordinary sheep for comparison purposes.The images from the drive back start here.The Bridge of the River Shiel – compare how many pictures there are still to come with how few there were before the first picture of this crossing.A couple of pictures of parts of the Glenfinnan Viaduct.Beasdale is such a minor station that is actually a ‘request stop’ – if you intend to alight there you must notify the conductor.
A brief account of James and Sons’ April Auction and a photo gallery.
On Tuesday James and Sons had a small auction featuring militaria, ephemera, books and postcards.
THE AUCTION
I arrived at James and Sons at about 8:30AM and started to get the IT set up for the auction. All went comparatively smoothly, and we began exactly on schedule at 10AM. Some of the Militaria sold well, and there were occasional highlights from elsewhere in the sale as well. Even some of the books sold. The last lot went under the hammer at about 12:30, and I then spent the rest of the day flitting between helping with picking out sold items from the auction and working on the next sale, a big stamp and postal history auction that will happen at the end of June, and for which I intend uploading a full catalogue to both our online platforms in the last week of May, immediately before I go on holiday for my birthday. I won a couple of postcards, one of The Rookery, Streatham Common, and one of the fort at Margate. I worked yesterday as well, since I had an annual health check booked for today (it went very well indeed, starting with a blood pressure reading of 120/78, very healthy for a 50 year old), hence the fact that I am blogging today.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
This damselfly was a most unexpected find given that I was walking along Gayton Road having got off the bus at the hospital, and was about 50 yards from crossing Queensway when I spotted it (five pics)
A brief look at Radagast the Brown and his role in events at the end of the third age of Middle Earth. Also a photo gallery.
Here in Norfolk spring seems to have arrived. Certainly the photo gallery at the end of this post, which other than the first four pictures all comes from today suggests as much. In this post I look at a minor character in “The Lord of the Rings”, the wizard Radagast.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE ISTARI
The Istari were five of the Maiar, beings who rank above elves but not quite as divinities, sent into Middle Earth by the Valar (gods) to combat Sauron. They were Olorin (known in various parts of Middle Earth as Gandalf, Mithrandir, Tharkun and Incanus), Curumo (Curunir/ Saruman), Aiwendil (Radagast) and the two blue wizards Alatar and Pallando who seem never to have acquired names in Middle Earth. Of the five Olorin clearly fulfilled his brief to the letter, Curumo equally clearly failed badly (to the extent that the Valar allowed him to die in Middle Earth), while there is nothing to go on regarding Alatar and Pallando though the likelihood is that any part they played in the events at the end of the Third Age of Middle Earth was on the side of Sauron, since all we are told of them is that they went straight into the uttermost East. That leaves only…
AIWENDIL/ RADAGAST
Radagast played no direct part in the War of the Ring, and it is often considered that his fondness for the birds and the beasts was such as to amount to an abrogation of his duties in Middle Earth. However, it is quite clear that Radagast’s heart was always in the right place – although he inadvertently sent Gandalf into Saruman’s trap by causing him to head to Isengard to visit Saruman he also heeded and acted on Gandalf’s request that he ask those of the birds and beasts that were friends of his to help by reporting on events, which brought Gwaihir, lord of the eagles, to Isengard to rescue Gandalf from his confinement at the top of the tower of Orthanc. There is no hint of a suggestion that Radagast ever intentionally aided evil or that he ever sought any position of power in Middle Earth (as Saruman, the several times over traitor, certainly did). One final aspect of Radagast’s role needs to be presented: he was the choice of Yavanna, whose personal area of responsibility was precisely the birds and the beasts. Thus it was right that he should be fond of those birds and beasts.
In an English or Welsh court where the only verdicts that can be rendered are ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ I would, though unhappily, find even the blue wizards ‘not guilty’, since there is no actual proof of guilt. A Scottish court, with the additional verdict of ‘not proven’ would offer a way out in their case. Even in a Scottish court I would happily acquit Radagast.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
The first butterfly of 2026 – a tortoiseshell.a bee (three pics)
A brief look at the Museum Detective novels of Jim Eldridge and a photo gallery.
This is a series of novels by Jim Eldridge. There are ten books so far in the series.
THE DETECTIVES
Daniel Wilson is a former Scotland Yard detective, sergeant under inspector Abberline during the investigation into the ripper murders. Abigail Fenton (later in the series Mrs Wilson) is a Cambridge educated archaelogist specialising in ancient Egypt. This partnership investigate crimes at various museums, hence their and the series’ title. Often, though not always, they are working in parallel with Scotland Yard. Superintendent Armstrong, a bully of such unpleasantness as to make Edward Marston’s superintendent Tallis look saintly by comparison (and lacking Tallis’ great virtue of actually being good at the job), does not like the pair at all, though inspector John Feather gets on well with them, recognising unlike Armstrong that they have a common goal.
THE CASES
Daniel and Abigail first overlap at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, and other non-London venues to feature are The Ashmolean, The Manchester Museum and the Louvre, in which last case Abigail finds herself a suspect at first. The London museums to feature are in chronological order The British Museum, The Natural History Museum, Madame Tussauds, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The National Gallery and the Tower of London (yes, among its many guises the Tower is London’s oldest museum). Sometimes the crimes involve museum personnel and sometimes not, but invariably the scope of the investigation widens beyond just the museum. Abigail is a fan of the then fledgling underground system, and they often use the Inner Circle (we are talking about the 1890s, so only the Metropolitan, District and their central combination, then known as the Inner Circle, and the City and South London Railway, then serving a mere six stations and unconnected to the others, are in existence, though the Metropolitan has already reached the furthest from Central London that any of the lines that became London Underground ever will -Brill in Buckinghamshire, 51 miles from Baker Street). Nevertheless, with the Wilson’s living within walking distance of Euston Square, Scotland Yard being near Embankment and one or too other useful locations appearing opportunities arise. In “Murder at The Tower of London” they have to chase up a witness in Loughton, then served by the Great Eastern Railway (this branch is now the eastern end of the Central line, but that development was almost half a century away when the action in the book was happening). The books are all splendid reads.
A look at Tim Sullivan’s DS Cross novels and a large photo gallery.
These are among my more recent and successful library finds. The first one I borrowed was “The Teacher” (they all have two word titles referring to the murder victim), and I have subsequently also read “The Patient”, “The Cyclist”, “The Monk”, “The Politician” and just recently “The Bookseller”. The one title in the series I have yet to read is “The Dentist”. This post looks at these novels.
DS GEORGE CROSS
The main focus of the novels is Detective Sergeant George Cross, who is autistic, often difficult to work with but has the best conviction rate in the force by a good margin. Though just as prone to exasperation at Cross as anyone else his boss at the Bristol Major Crimes Unit, Detective Superintendent Ben Carson, knows that Cross’s detective skills are unmatched, and makes allowances from him that some don’t approve of. Cross’s regular partner while investigating cases is Josie Ottey, who in the most recent offering, “The Bookseller” has just been promoted to DI, so she technically outranks Cross, which of course changes the dynamic between the pair, though Ottey tries to minimize the extent to which this happens. We also learn a fair bit about Cross’s family along the way, and about his regular organ practice.
THE CRIMES
The crimes generally look quite straightforward on the surface and various people are eager for quick arrests (except in “The Patient” where by way of variation the common reaction to the case is to dismiss it as one of death by accidental drug overdose), but developments soon reveal that all is not as it seems. The solution eventually emerges. There are invariably side stories as well. In “The Bookseller” the case of former DI Robert Warner, a deeply unpleasant character who has perpetrated at least three rapes and one attempt thereat, generally of female work colleagues, is finally resolved, with his conviction for these offences. Warner’s connection with Cross’s unit as that he was briefly seconded there to help with an investigation. It was there that his crime spree ended and he was finally arrested. His would-be victim there not only pressed charges for the attempted rape but persuaded two of the earlier victims to join her in pressing charges. Near the end of the latest offering in the series Cross submits his resignation because he wants to be able to take care of his seriously ill father, though his father does not want him to resign. My suspicion, given that Cross had been persuaded to think further about that resignation, is that he is not done just yet, and I look forward to reading about more adventures of his.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
A Charles III £1 coin – not especially the splendid reverse. The individual pictures from which this composite was made appear later in the gallery.An unusual juxtaposition – a mute swan, a freshwater bird, and a cormorant, more usually a sea bird, side by side in a pond in North Lynn.This swimming rodent was moving too fast for me to capture it, though I tried.The reverse of the £1 coinThe obverse of the £1 coin.
The vernal equinox, the official start of spring in the northern hemisphere, is still three days away. However, by any reckoning other than the strictly official spring has already come to Norfolk this year. This brief post is solely for the purpose of sharing photos, mainly from Monday and yesterday, but with a couple from today as well…
This is the inside front cover picture of “The Murder of Crows” by Stephen Done, part of a series of novels set on this railway featuring Inspector Vignoles.
An account of a long morning walk, which was planned for a specific purpose. Includes a photo gallery.
I have an important meeting to attend on Friday at a location just beyond the western end of the road bridge across the Great Ouse, and with the weather much less brutal than it was a month ago I am of a mind to walk to and from the venue, although it is a fair walk from my home in North Lynn. It was with a view to that that I planned this morning’s excursion.
PART ONE: THE LIBRARY
I had 14 library books out this morning, only one fewer than the permitted maximum for a single borrower, which made the library an essential port of call. Of course having returned the books I had out I naturally had a scout for new ones to take out. I found two by a recent find whose work I am really enjoying, Helen Cox. Her series based in and around York features a librarian who doubles up as a private enquiry agent. I also found a trio of north west Norfolk based crime novels by someone named Andrea Bramhall which I am looking forward to reading. This part of the walk was accomplished largely without recourse to main roads, save for a short stretch of London Road, from the end of The Walks to the library.
PART TWO: HEADING FOR THE GREAT OUSE
From the library I headed through Hillington Square and down to the Great Ouse, reaching the river front a few hundred metres before the Nar outflow and the structure I have dubbed ‘Cormorant Platform’. which as you will see more than lived up to my name for it on this occasion.
PART THREE: LOCATION CHECKING
The bright, sunny weather helped to maintain my resolve to extend my walk to the industrial estate on which WNAG’s meeting room/ office space is located, and I duly did so, ensuring that on Friday morning, when I will need to arrive in good time, there will be no mishaps.
PART FOUR: BACK VIA MORRISON’S
My route home followed my route out in reverse as far as All Saints Church, at which point I diverted slightly, away from the crossing of Millfleet and towards London Road instead. I crossed London Road, and left it by way of the Broadwalk, then looping round by way of the Vancouver Garden and the path out of it to St John’s Walk. I got to Morrison’s, did the little bit of food shopping that had to be done today and then headed home. I had been out for about two and a half hours. My bag will be lighter on Friday, and I will have the duration of the meeting to recover from the outbound leg, so I am now confident that walking is the way to go for this meeting.
PHOTOGRAPHS
This gallery features exclusively pictures taken this morning.
This book (three pics) is one I have read on bus journeys to and from work, and I highly recommend it.I am guessing that this chimney has some sort of protected status.
A look at a category of book I have enjoyed discovering during 2024 – modern retellings of mythology. Also a large photo gallery.
It is no secret to readers of this blog that I am a voracious reader. One oeuvre that I have discovered in 2024 is modern retellings of mythology. This post looks at some of those books.
THE STARTING POINT
I have had an interest in mythology for virtually as long as I have been capable of reading. Thus when I saw “Daughters of Sparta” by Clare Heywood on the shelves of King’s Lynn library it was pretty much automatic for me to select it as one to borrow. This retelling of the stories of Helen and Clytemnestra from their own perspectives proved to be even better than I had dared to expect, and I soon found myself keeping an eye out at all three of the libraries I regularly visit for similar books.
MY EXPLORATIONS OF THIS THEME SINCE THEN
That was the start of an ongoing exploration of retellings of these myths which has gone to encompass Natalie Haynes (“A Thousand Ships”, “Children of Jocasta” and “Stone Blind” (Medusa’s story from her own perspective, rather than that of Perseus), Jennifer Saint (“Ariadne”, “Elektra”, “Atalanta” and just recently “Hera”, which provides the feature image for this post, Madeline Miller (“Circe” and “A Song of Achilles”), Laura Shepperson (“Heir of Venus”), Phoenicia Rogerson (“Herc” – the story of Heracles/ Hercules told from the perspective of everyone except the hero himself), Pat Barker (“Women of Troy”), Lauren JA Bear (“Medusa’s Sisters), Claire North (“Ithaca”, “The House of Odysseus” and presumably a third volume to come, telling the story of Odysseus from Penelope’s perspective), and from a different oeuvre of mythology Sophie Keetch (“Morgan is my Name”, “Le Fay”, and I know there is a third volume to come in this series). All of these books have been very enjoyable to read, and I cannot pick a favourite.
PHOTOGRAPHS
This gallery does not include the feature image, but does include all three elements of that composite image. Remember that all pictures can be viewed at larger size by clicking on them…
An account of England’s victory over West Indies at Edgbaston and resultant 3-0 series triumph, plus a photo gallery.
Yesterday I put up a post just as England were moving into a first innings lead over West Indies in the third test match of the series at Edgbaston. This post looks at the events that have unfolded since that one.
ENGLAND SURGE AHEAD
Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes extended England’s lead at a rapid rate. Smith just missed out on a maiden test century, but his 95 was a command performance, beginning with England still very much in jeopardy and ending with them in complete control. The scoring was not quite done even then – Gus Atkinson belted a couple of sixes coming it number ten, and England ended with a first innings lead of 94, and West Indies had an awkward mini-session to get through with the bat.
EARLY WICKETS FOR ENGLAND
West Indies did not make as much of a Horlicks of this mini-session of batting as the 1994 England side had in Trinidad, but the experienced Kraigg Brathwaite fell early, and Kirk McKenzie completed a truly miserable series (33 runs at 5.50 in six innings from a supposed number three) by doing likewise.
WOOD WASTES WEST INDIES
The West Indies had a respectable morning, though they needed far more. Mikyle Louis who had previously produced a succession of scores in the 20s completed a maiden test 50, and Kavem Hodge also reached 50. However, the lunch time score of 151-5, with da Silva batting in company with Hodge held out little hope for them, being a lead of only 57. The end of the West Indies innings was swift and brutal as the pace of Mark Wood was simply too much for them. Joshua da Silva had been somewhat fortunate to survive two LBW appeals from Wood when he was given out at the third time of asking and did not review it. Six runs later Alzarri Joseph had his stumps comprehensively shattered, and then at 171 came the killer blow for such hopes as West Indies retained, Hodge edging one through to Smith who made no mistake with the catch. Three balls later Jayden Seales’ off stump was sent cartwheeling. Number 11 Shamar Joseph creamed a four through the off side but the second ball of his innings was fast, full and straight, took the edge of his bat and flew to Brook in the slips. West Indies were all out for 175 and Wood had figures of 5-40 for the innings.
STOKES SLAMS HOME ENGLAND’S SUPREMACY
Zak Crawley was having a scan on an injured finger, which means that England needed someone else to open. However with a target of only 82 (three runs fewer than has ever been successfully defended in the fourth innings of a test match, and that match in 1882 was incredibly low scoring – the highest of the four individual innings was Australia’s second innings of 122) this was unliekly matter much. Rather than ask anyone else to do the necessary Stokes donned the pads himself and opened the innings with Duckett – two left handers answering to Ben opening the innings together. It was soon apparent that Stokes intended the match to be over before the tea interval – before the innings was two overs old he had struck four boundaries, and he continued in that vein, overshadowing Duckett, not generally noted for being a shrinking violet with the bat. Stokes reached 50 off just 24 balls, the quickest ever for England in test cricket (four balls quicker than Botham v India during the 1981-2 series), and two balls outside the all-comers record by Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan. Stokes finished things by belting the second ball of the eighth over for six to give England victory by ten wickets with two days and a little more than a session to spare. Wood’s blistering spell to terminate the West Indies second innings saw him named Player of the Match, while Gus Atkinson with 22 wickets at 16.22 each in the three matches was named Player of the Series. The West Indies have a promising bowling attack, but their batting is indubitably weak and lacking in depth. Playing Holder at six and da Silva at seven requires a much stronger top five than West Indies currently possess – Louis batted well today, Brathwaite is experienced but no ones idea of a great test opener and Hodge has been impressive, but Athanaze has played only one innings of note in this series, and I have already mentioned Kirk McKenzie’s shocking series. A full scorecard for this match can be seen here.
PHOTOGRAPHS
A little bit of a preamble to today’s gallery, relating to the first picture in it: one of my fairly recent library finds is Rachel McLean’s ‘Dorset Crime’ series, several volumes of which I have now read. I highly recommend this series, in which I have read books 1,3,4,5,6 and 7 to date. The seventh book, “The Blue Pool Murders” features a map showing all the locations (LJ Ross in her Northumbrian crime series does the same thing, as does Rebecca Tope in both her Lake District and Cotswold series). Preamble done here is my usual sign off…
