Author Archives: Puppetman
Fifty Shards: Confirming England’s fascination with the weather
Day Thirty-three and Thirty-four: See peoples? This is what you call weather. And the proof of it is in the photo. A morning of crystal clarity then a torrent of wind and rain. Temperature: And yesterday, proof it is autumn with an unpleasant wind chill factor thrown in for good measure. Get those scarves out! Greyscale: Charmingly silver then non-existent, the Shard become Tardis-like […]
My museum is better than your museum (plus two shards)
You may have heard of Dennis Severs’ House on Folgate Street in Spitalfields. It’s the small museum that makes a virtue of its crumbly interior, where rooms have been unrenovated and returned to their eighteenth century mood and your tour is provided by candlelight and the insidious smells of the past. It is a fascinating […]
Why does Georgian architecture look even better in the autumn? – plus a Shard
Like daffodils in spring and ice-cold chocolate milkshakes in summer, there’s nothing like a bit of Georgian architecture in the autumn. Light just hits those white-rimmed windows and sets them off, don’t you think? The quieter parts of Holborn are rife with the earlier and far stricter period, that of the 1720s. And just to prove that […]
Fifty Shards: Day 29 and an oppressive grey plume hangs over London
See what I mean? Day Twenty-nine: If you examine closer, you’ll note a brown hue. Fifty Shades of Brown? Hmmm, not really. Temperature: However, as anyone in London will tell you, it has cleared to become a sparkling day of 26c. Well at least that’s what it said in the forecast (the Yahoo one on the iPhone, […]
A London shop devoted to umbrellas and sticks
Umbrellas. Now there’s a commercial opportunity. Unsurprisingly, London has a very well established shop devoted to this much maligned accessory. James Smith and Sons has been around for some time. 1830 to be exact. They sell umbrellas and that other curiosity, the stick. We’re talking walking sticks here. Once, they were all the rage. Now […]
Fifty Shards: Day 28 and not impressed.
Day Twenty-eight: Early September. Dull. Temperature: Promises of sun haven’t quite delivered… yet. Greyscale: Borderline white (as in misty). In E L James’s words: Crap.
A stroll in Regent’s Park (or ‘the Regent’s Park’, as it’s more formally known)
Nothing like a flower arrangement to get this fella in. And Regent’s Park, one of the Royal parks of London, does arrangements rather well. Like a suit you put on once a year, a walk down one of its main arteries provides a formal floral kick that leaves you feeling just that little bit wealthier… […]
Fifty shards: a shard from any angle
Day Twenty-six and Twenty-seven: Two days. Two different shards. And just because I can, a shard taken from a new angle up Hampstead way. Outta control! Temperature: Groggy Greyscale: Three shards of grey. In E L James’s words: Variety is the spice of life. The more variety, the more the spiciness. In fact, fifty spices (I feel a brand extension […]
Jemma Wayne’s After Before is a missive on forgiveness
Pop songs and celebrities have cheapened the way we forgive. Like love, forgiveness is easily made, almost without care it seems. “I forgave my ex.” “Forgive and forget.” “The power of forgiveness.” Everyone’s doing it – but do we really understand what it means? And do we ever ask ourselves why we should? After Before may […]
100 days of Puppetman… plus Day 25 of Fifty Shards
I don’t know why I’m celebrating 100 entries. If it involves a glass of Chardonnay then I’m in. Or Dom Perignon. Now that’s a celebration. Day Twenty-five: Early rise due to work. Temperature: Warm, sultry and slightly uncomfortable, has anyone slept properly this week? Greyscale: Back to being proper grey. In E L James’s words: Look at me! I’ve got […]
Puppetman by Daniel Coupe 