You’ll love Hilda Matheson if you love Radio 4,
She is the arbiter of what the station stands for.
As the first director of talks, she had her say,
And shaped the programmes we love today,
She founded quality journalism and radio,
So in my book deserves a really stupendous halo.
Lord Hailey took credit and rolled in the hay,
But SHE was responsible for the African Survey…

Princess Khutulun was a terrific girl,
She left most of her suitors in a terrible whirl,
The niece of the Mongol, Kubla Khan,
She was a better warrior than any man.
She told her uncle that she would,,
Marry a man who could wrestle her and win,
Sadly history relates that nobody could.
So this is where her legend does begin.
All those who failed would give her 100 horse,
An exceptionally fair reward for her of course.
It is said that on the day she died,
She had 10,000, unless somebody lied!

My favourite car is a vintage Rolls Royce,

It really is the vehicle of choice,

The company was founded in 1906,

The car of pop stars, kings and bolsheviks.

Chassis only and coach-built  till ’49,

When the Silver Dawn brought everything into line…

The 10, 15, 20 & 30 hp,

Silver Ghost, Twenty, Phantoms I, II & III,

Wraiths, Dawns, Clouds and Shadows, Phantoms V-VI,

Corniche and Spirit, all names that stick.

Bentleys, Camargues, Seraphs and Silver Spur,

These are all cars that belong to the entrepreneur…

In 1998 the firm was acquired by Volkswagen AG,

They renamed it Bentley in 2003.

They acquired its assets, like the Crewe Factory,

And its elegant mascot, Spirit of Ecstasy.

From 1929-35, they made the 20/25,

The car on which my mother learned to drive!

This is my father’s 20/25 drophead coupé

The only car that belongs to the family it was built for to this day…

Cars

chassis only, no R-R built body until Silver Dawn

• 1904–06 10 hp
  
• 1905–05 15 hp
  
• 1905–08 20 hp
  
• 1905–06 30 hp
  
• 1905–06 V-8
  
• 1906–25 40/50 Silver Ghost
  
• 1922–29 Twenty
  
• 1925–29 40/50 Phantom
  
• 1929–36 20/25
  
• 1929–35 Phantom II
  
• 1936–38 25/30
  
• 1936–39 Phantom III
  
• 1938–39 Wraith
  
• 1946–59 Silver Wraith
  
• 1949–55 Silver Dawn with bodies by Pressed Steel Company, Cowley
• 1950–56 Phantom IV
  
• 1955–65 Silver Cloud standard saloon with bodies by Pressed Steel Co
• 1959–68 Phantom V
  
• 1968–92 Phantom VI, chassis by Rolls-Royce  Motors after 1973

the following cars use unitary construction and have no separate chassis

• 1965–80 Silver Shadow standard saloon, totally R-R built car, built by Rolls-Royce Motors after 1973
• 1980–98 Silver Spirit standard saloon, built in entirety by Rolls-Royce Motors
• 1998–2002 Silver Seraph standard saloon, built in entirety by Rolls-Royce Motors

The next Rolls-Royce model, the Rolls-Roycee Phantom was built by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Bentley Models (from 1933) – chassis only

• 1933–37 Bentley 3½ L
• 1936–39 Bentley 4¼ L
  
• 1939–41 Bentley Mark 5
  

Much has been written about the Orinoco,

It is formed by mountain rivers and snow,

It’s 1339 miles long, in constant flow,

Breaking into numerous rivers, waterways, archipelago,

Beware of piranha that will munch on your toe…

The longest river in South America, did you know?

A town I love is Novgorod,

It truly seems like a gift from god,

A cathedral with a golden and silver dome,

Technicolour, not monochrome.

A monastery with domes with golden stars,

Much loved by the successive tsars.

It’s by the Volkhov river on highway M10,

Its Kremlin walls are a shade of cayenne,

It is a beautiful city, a place to admire,

I urge you to visit, it’s sure to inspire.

The truly extraordinary Dunn’s River Falls,

Featured in a Bond film, as memory recalls,

There was a young, handsome Sean Connery,

As Ursula Andress strode out of the sea!*

This waterfall is 180 feet high,

And three times as long, if you want to give it a try!

Numerous tourists climb up it from bottom to top,

But it’s quite a feat and I bet you’ll stop,

To catch your breath and relieve that stitch,

As you do, the scenery is sure to bewitch!

*Ursula Andress played the role of Honey Rider, a seashell collector…

Stone Town is the soul of Zanzibar,

It’s atmospheric, historic, bizarre.

You can wander around the labyrinthine streets,

Where vendors hawk coffee or sweetmeats.

You’ll see life in the raw at every turn,

Schoolkids given suras from the Koran to learn.

Old mansions from the colonial epoch,

With overhanging verandahs set on top.

Women who gossip at the corner store,

A mix of every kind of decor,

Courtyard houses with an Arabic bent,

Indian balconies with a carved pediment.

A  marketplace, an eastern bazaar,

A musician playing acoustic guitar.

You lose all track of place and time,

It’s an existential paradigm.

But you really cannot get lost there,

All alleys lead straight to the main road or square.

Today WordPress sent me a little note,
And I think that it’s something I’d like to quote.
According to WordPress my blog’s one today,
So Happy Birthday to that and a Hip Hip Hurray!

This is at the historic centre of Yaroslavl,
And I don’t want to be a pedant or to cavil,
But it is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites,
And a whole urban district astounds and delights.
The area between Sobinov and Republic Street,
Will make any visit seem quite complete.
Built in the 11th century, it changed its form,
Under Catherine II’s town planning reform.
Built where the Kotorsl and Volga rivers meet,
There’s an architectural gem on every street.
This is one of the cathedrals there,
A stunning, simple call to prayer.
Northeast of Moscow is where this town sits,
And it has a kind of purist urban glitz!