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  • Thetford – Thetford Grammar School

    Thetford Grammar School is, as the plaque notes, one of the oldest schools in the country. It has been educating children for over 1,400 years, which is quite a claim for any educational establishment to have.

    The actual date of the school’s foundation is rather unclear, which is inevitable given the sort of periods of history that are being referred to. There are some who claim it was founded in 631AD as it’s known that Sigebert, the King of the Angles, wanted a school creating in his court.

    Some date the school to the late eleventh century and relate the school to being run by Herbert de Losinga. He is an important figure in Norfolk as he was the first Bishop of Norwich, but he had previously been the Bishop of Thetford. The Cathedral of Thetford, which is a strange concept to write, existed from 1072 to 1094 and Thetford Grammar School was built on the site of the building.

    The school had some turbulent times around the period of Reformation, but it continued in operation in its one room until the late eighteenth century. The facilities were improved at that point, in conjunction with the Victorian Girls’ Grammar School which was opposite, with the two schools later merging.

    Perhaps one of the most well-known of the school’s former students, and I’m sure many would disagree, is Thomas Paine. A controversial figure who went from a quiet upbringing in Thetford to being one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, before he upset lots of Americans with his religious views.

  • Thetford – Captain Mainwaring Statue

    This statue of Captain Mainwaring from Dad’s Army was unveiled in 2010 and it was located next to the Anchor Hotel in Thetford, where many of the actors stayed when filming. This was a wonderful (although admittedly a little run down) eighteenth century building which appeared in the opening scene of the first episode of Dad’s Army, so it was a very suitable location.

    There had been a hotel and pub on the site for 400 years, so Breckland District Council bought the site and knocked the hotel down. The site is now home to a bland Travelodge, but not to worry, they’ve put a plaque up in the hotel to note the area’s history. And at least the area is decently landscaped now.

    A close-up of the statue and visitors to the area can sit next to it on the bench. The statue was unveiled in the presence of Bill Pertwee, who sadly died in 2013, who played the ARP Warden Hodges in the series.

  • Dublin – Number of Irish Pubs

    A fascinating fact from the EPIC Irish Emigration museum in Dublin….. Which I incidentally think is confusing as there are around 7,000 pubs in Ireland, so this must mean the number of Irish pubs who have signed up to the Global Irish Pubs Directory. Which suggests the Global Irish Pubs Directory isn’t signing up very many Irish pubs in Ireland.

    So, more a confusing fact than a fascinating one perhaps…

  • Dublin – Red Squirrel on Tara Street

    I didn’t realise the concept behind this mural on a wall on Tara Street when I saw it, I just thought it was a spectacular piece of artwork. The concept is that it’s primarily made of rubbish, as in literally, which has been discarded in the city.

    The designer is Artur Bordalo and the reason for the image being a red squirrel is that they’re under threat because their habitation is changing and the grey squirrel is vastly outnumbering them. Bordalo is a Portuguese artist who says that “I create, recreate, assemble and develop ideas with end-of-life material and try to relate it to sustainability, ecological and social awareness.”

  • Dublin – Abbey Court Frontage

    I have nothing to say about this other than I like the effort made to decorate the frontage of the building (which is a youth hostel) and it certainly stands out. The artwork is apparently by Brutto, an artist from Rio de Janeiro who currently lives in Dublin.

  • Dublin – Ha’penny Bridge

    The city’s ha’penny bridge which was built over the River Liffey in Dublin in 1816. It was originally known as the Wellington Bridge, which the locals would be unlikely to entirely appreciate now. I say appreciate now, but it seems the locals didn’t even appreciate the name at the time, and it was rarely used. The Duke of Wellington was born in Dublin, but colonial links made that a difficult name to use after Irish independence and in 1922 the bridge was renamed the Liffey Bridge.

    The bridge was cast in Shropshire and is 43 metres long and 3.6 metres wide. The bridge takes its informal name from the ha’penny toll which was allowed to be charged for 100 years to enable the construction of the project to be paid for.

    The bridge from the other side…. The authorities have had problems with people placing love locks on the bridge which is causing problems with the structural integrity of the crossing, and any locks are removed. There has been a recent restoration of the bridge, although it’s estimated that around 85% of the metalwork is original.

    And a seagull.

  • Dublin – Fake Frontage at Ormond Quay

    I tried to find out the backstory to this frontage, but the only architectural web-site I could find mentioned that this area was new build and the building had a fake frontage to enable it to fit into the local area. Situated looking out onto the River Liffey it’s an intriguing sight with the pillars and empty windows. But, to be honest, I can’t entirely see the point in keeping a frontage if there’s no effort made to keep anything behind it.

  • Dublin – Porterhouse Central

    Porterhouse is a small international chain with four bars in Dublin (of which I’ve been to three), one in London and one in New York. There’s also a Porterhouse Bar in Gorleston, which fortunately is not part of the chain. This outlet has had numerous incarnations over the last century, as Kidds bar, Jammets fine dining restaurant, a Berni Inn and as a Judge Roy Beans.

    My visit to the pub was in January 2018 and it’s fair to say that it wasn’t particularly busy. The service was typically Irish which is to say it was conversational, friendly and engaging. The customer base seemed to be a mix of locals and Americans, but it was all rather convivial.

    There’s a wide range of beers at every Porterhouse outlet and also a food menu. I didn’t eat anything on this visit, although I know from previous experience of this chain that their fish and chips is quite marvellous. The beer list has hundreds of beers from around the world, although I’m entirely satisfied that they have four or five of their own stouts on draught.

    The Oyster Stout which actually does contain oysters to try and make the beer a little sweeter. I quite like this as a light drink, despite its colour and ABV of 4.6% perhaps suggesting otherwise, with no strong aftertastes.

    Given the central location of this bar the prices are reasonable and it has plenty of character. The owners say that this is perhaps the longest bar in Dublin and it’s certainly a large location which seems easily able to cater for most size groups.

  • London – Forgotten Streams by Cristina Iglesias

    This photo dates back to January 2018 and it’s an art installation by the Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias which is located at the relatively new Bloomberg HQ in London. It’s designed to mark where the Walbrook River once flowed, a river which was covered over relatively early on, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

    The art installation is made from cast bronze and there are strands of this material used throughout, so the water flows to create small pools.

  • Grand Canyon – Buckey’s Cabin

    This cabin is the oldest building which is still standing on the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was originally a tourist office, which then became part of a hotel and then later on became part of a lodge. It’s one of those structures where chunks of it likely aren’t very original, but nonetheless, it’s an interesting building.

    An information board about the cabin, which was built in 1895 by Buckey O’Neill. O’Neill was a gambler and he later became a captain in Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders voluntary army, in which he died in battle in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, a conflict I’ve rarely seen mentioned during my visits to the United States.