Greenway House - Torquay

The British Imperialist Crimes of Agatha Christie! (29.12.2023)

As matters stand, the National Trust charges around £35 for a family of four to look around the interior of the house – but does not want the general public to know that anyone can walk around the gardens and exterior of the house free of charge. This explains why each visitor is requested to ‘Book’ a parking-space prior to being permitted to look around the house – and some of the Staff in the house act in a bizarre and suspicious manner when ‘guests’ (which might not be ‘paying’ to enter the house) gravitate toward the front-door of the mansion! Let’s face it, if all these stolen artefacts were given back to their rightful owners – the National Trust would be showing paying visitors around rooms containing only British-made table and chairs!

Busy Doing Nothing!

Greemway Gardens: Encountering the “Robin”! (29.12.2023)

Indeed, within the behaviour of these birds is the history of their interaction with humans and the surrounding the environment. Interestingly, there are photographs on display in the house that record the physical presence of family cats – but I suspect that as the house is so big and the grounds so extensive – these cats probably never ventured very far out of the house and into the gardens. Of course, Gee managed to find a cluster of bamboo shrubs probably planted by Agatha Christie – or at least one of her servants.

Lay Mum's Stair-Carpet 2023!

Paignton: Laying the Stair-Carpet! (27.12.2023)

I say ‘properly’ – but what I mean is doing the job ‘to the best of our ability’ – which is far from professional (but then none of us are carpet-layers or decorators)! The entire job took about three-hours and we did a good job all things considered. Gee interspersed sessions of hammering nails with myself – whilst Paul kept the carpet ‘straight’ and unrolling properly! Manual labour is the essence of social, cultural and political development! None of us are beneath manual labour!

Old Telephone Box - Galmpton

Galmpton Village: A Boxing Day Walk! (26.12.2023)

Although we had booked today (December 27th, 2023) to visit Agatha Christie’s house (Greenway) nearby – we just received an email notification that due to the bad weather – the house is currently ‘Closed’! Although there is a storm blowing – many Agatha Christie enthusiasts have still made their way here – one or two from as far away as Japan! Still, we are not exactly Agatha Christie fans, but we are interested in history and cultural development. Yesterday, the wind and rain stopped for an hour or two and this allowed myself and Gee to walk the dogs through Galmpton Village. It seems to be a place where rich people retire and the envious walk through.

Mao Zedong Stamps 2023

China: Commemorative Stamps Issued Marking 130th Anniversary of Mao Zedong’s Birth – 纪念毛泽东同志诞辰130周年! (26.12.2023)

BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) — China Post will issue a commemorative stamp set on Tuesday to mark the 130th anniversary of the birth of Mao Zedong.

A total of 7.8 million of these stamp sets, with a denomination of 4.8 yuan (about 68 U.S. cents) for each set, can be purchased at designated postal outlets and online shops over the next six months.

Each set contains four stamps, featuring the themes of persistence in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, construction of the Ming Tombs Reservoir, the holding of a global vision, and returning to the Jinggangshan Mountains.

Mao was born on Dec. 26, 1893 and died on Sept. 9th, 1976.

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