Friday, 30 June 2023

If he ever went after the role of an emperor, the price of the second favourite a the audition would be 33-1 and drifting

›
His [Viv Richards] demeanour at such moments has been described as insouciant, but regal might be nearer the mark. The downward curve of the...
Thursday, 29 June 2023

Miller is as an Olympian god among mortals

›
To young eyes, quickest to perceive the things that make cricket, Miller is as an Olympian god among mortals. He brings boys' dreams to ...
Wednesday, 28 June 2023

Dick Turner had long since coined the word 'teetotal' and the exponents of that ghastly creed were preaching misery throughout the land

›
Another factor which contributed to the falling demand [for sherry] was the changing moral attitude towards drink. By the 1880s Victorian sm...
Tuesday, 27 June 2023

During the regicide disgrace of the Protectorate, sherry suffered a short-lived eclipse

›
During the regicide disgrace of the Protectorate, sherry suffered a short-lived eclipse but this arose more as a result of matters in Spain ...
Monday, 26 June 2023

Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, who discovered Florida, was the son of a Jerez wine grower

›
All his [Columbus'] efforts, his intrigues with the Church and the monarchy, his triumphs and disappointments, the elaborate preparation...
Friday, 23 June 2023

Most English people didn't 'give a blow about art' and considered it sissy.

›
In the book Lord Clark, as he became, described his life (1903-1983) as 'one long, harmless confidence trick', a reference to what h...

Alexander the Great needed four months to capture Multan in 325 BCE ... It took Ben Stokes three and a half days

›
Alexander the Great needed four months to capture Multan in 325 BCE, and was hit by an arrow that nearly killed him. It took Ben Stokes thre...