Paul Jenkins

Ivor Gurney – The forgotten poet of the Great War One of the best books I read last year was Dweller in Shadows, Kate Kennedy’s excellent biography of the First World War poet Ivor Gurney.   It is a very moving story which still haunts m…

A blog for Remembrance weekend on Ivor Gurney the forgotten poet of the Great War. ybrumro.wordpress.com/2025/11/07/i...

A visit to Herculaneum today. While much smaller than Pompeii it is just as impressive. A sense of a prosperous seaside town until the tragedy of the eruption of 79BCE.

The three magnificent Greek temples at Paestum dedicated to Poseidon, Hera and Athena. A particular privilege to be able to go inside the first two.

Despite the crowds the wonder which is Pompeii. Few other places which can make you feel so close to the past.

Really delighted to be joining @powertochange.org.uk as a Trustee to support their mission to promote community business as an agent of social and economic change.

Bacchae | National Theatre Indhu Rubasingham (The Father and the Assassin) directs Nima Taleghani's (Heartstopper) version of the classic tragedy to the stage.

Thoroughly enjoyed last night seeing the new version of the Bacchae at the National Theatre. Perhaps a bit more Aristophanes than Euripides but definitely making the case for the ongoing relevance of Ancient Greek drama. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/...

A moving visit this morning to the cemetery at Huisnes sur Mer (near Mont St Michel) where 11000 Herman soldiers from World War Two are buried. A timely reminder that there are victims on both sides in every conflict.

Had the chance to visit en route the beautiful Gothic cathedral in Dol de Bretagne dedicated to the 6th C Welsh saint Samson. The previous Romanesque Cathedral was burned down by King John’s army in 1203 but in a fit of religious remorse he paid for the replacement.

I’ve had a tradition of trying to photograph as many war memorials as I can when I am out cycling. Here’s four from Brittany. Just the same variation of design from village to village as in Britain. Really striking how many names there are. France had twice the rate of casualties as Britain.

Another four gems today on our cycle tour of historic Suffolk churches - Debenham, Earl Stonham, Felsham and finishing with St Peter and St Paul in Lavenham.

Followed by St Michael’s Framlingham. Famous for housing the tomb of the Duke of Norfolk but for me the highlight was a wonderful medieval wall painting of the Throne of Mercy.

A great start to our Suffolk church crawl. St John’s Market Needham - an unimposing exterior which hides a spectacular medieval hammer beam roof.

Perhaps my all time favourite artefact from the ancient world. The Vindolanda tablet of the letter from Claudia Severa the wife of the commander of a fort near Vindolanda inviting her friend Sulpicia Lepidina to her birthday party on this day 1900 or so years ago. Such a fond window into the past.

Fantastique!

And with a rather special Neolithic long barrow - Wayland’s Smithy- thrown in for good measure.

A brilliant story - especially in its Scottish scenes. Can still hear that haunting catch phrase from the series - “we need your body print”.

What’s better than one Iron Age Hill Fort? It’s two Iron Age Hill Forts - Lillington Castle and Uffington Castle (of White Horse fame) both in today’s stretch of the Ridgeway.

There’s few things more impressive than a good Iron Age hill fort - Barbury Castle in Wiltshire.

How wonderful!

In his own words I have just finished reading a memoir written by my father in the late 1980s. I had known it had existed, and it was one of the documents I inherited after his death nearly seven years ago.  W…

My latest blog on the fascinating and moving experience of reading my late father's memoir
ybrumro.wordpress.com/2025/08/25/i...

Seen on the North Downs Way yesterday the remains of Kit’s Coty prehistoric burial chamber near Maidstone c2000BCE.

St Mary’s and All Saints at Fotheringay in Northamptonshire. A real gem of a perpendicular church. Richard III was born at the castle here and Mary Queen of Scots executed.

A really important step in the development of the Welfare State.

Spent last week staying in the grounds of Plas Newydd the former home of the Marquess of Anglesey and now owned by the National Trust. The mural in the house by Rex Whistler wowed when I first came here in 1979 and did so again this time.

The statue of Tom Ellis in Bala. One of the stars of Welsh Liberal politics at the end of the 19th Century and ally of Lloyd George. Died at the age of only 40. Might well have gone into greater things.

It’s so reassuring to know I am not the only person who does that 😀😀

Visited Bryn Celli Du on Anglesey this morning. A neolithic burial chamber which exudes a beautiful sense of connection with the past.

Around the City in fifteen days A couple of weeks back I completed the last leg of the London Loop, a one-hundred-and-fifty-mile footpath around the perimeter of London.  It was the culmination of a series of fifteen walks o…

My blog celebrating the joys of walking 150 miles around the edge of London. ybrumro.wordpress.com/2025/06/29/a...

109 years since the start of the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles in history. Here lie some of the young men killed on that day. A reminder in more uncertain times of the horrors of war.

Around the City in fifteen days A couple of weeks back I completed the last leg of the London Loop, a one-hundred-and-fifty-mile footpath around the perimeter of London.  It was the culmination of a series of fifteen walks o…

Round the City in Fifteen Days - my latest blog on the joys of walking the London Loop. ybrumro.wordpress.com/2025/06/29/a...