…on scaffolders and volume

7th August 2020
In view of the present need for massive vocal projection in open air concerts when the amplification system suddenly fails, I think it is time to investigate the training methods at the renowned School for Scaffolders – obviously the building trade’s best kept secret. There is a team of graduates from that institution working several hundred yards away from my very own Stately Pile and around a corner or two, but I can still hear every yell and expletive with alarming clarity, even above the clang of falling poles. It really is most impressive.  And they were even willing to pose as I surreptitiously pointed my camera at the structure in passing.  Please don’t be distracted by Tarzan in the foreground and miss the effort at first floor level.

19th August 2020
What have the Irish ever done for us?  Named and described our current rulers it seems! ‘As a political term, Tory was an insult (derived from the Middle Irish word tóraidhe, modern Irish tóraí, meaning “outlaw”, “robber”, from the Irish word tóir, meaning “pursuit” since outlaws were “pursued men”) that entered English politics during the Exclusion Bill crisis of 1678–1681’