A novelist in Burma when it was a colony of Britain

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AT PRESENT I AM revising and editing my latest book, which is about travelling in India and will be called “Road To Heaven – A passage through India “. While writing the text I came across a quote by the author George Orwell. I am incorporating this in my forthcoming book. The words come from Orwell’s novel “Burmese Days”, which I decided to read.

The novel is set in a small town in Burma while the country was still part of British India. The author provides the reader with an exciting story that is also a jaundice view of the behaviour of the British, the Burmese, and the Chinese living in colonial Burma.

The story’s hero is Mr Flory, who loves Burma but finds it difficult to get on with the few repellent sounding Brits with whom he has to socialise at the town’s ‘whites’ only club.

“Burmese Days” contains many ingredients that make for a good story: romance, unrequited love, intrigues, treachery, rebellion, adventure, and good evocation of ‘atmosphere’. Based on his own experiences in Burma, it is also Orwell’s criticism of the British colonial system. Published in 1934 while the British still controlled Burma, it must have been frowned upon by many British readers when it was published.

I enjoyed the book, and found it difficult to put down.

Two sundials on a church in Hitchin (Hertfordshire)

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HITCHIN IS A delightful place to visit in Hertfordshire. It has a pleasant town centre with plenty of picturesque old buildings. Near the town square, stands the church of St Mary, which was constructed during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Its tower has two sundials.

The two sundials are next to each other but face in different directions: one southeast, and the other southwest. The southeast dial carries the date 1660 and the words “Anno Salutis”. It celebrates the year that the monarchy was restored after Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth ended and Charles II became King of England.

I wondered why the church has two sundials next to each other. From what I could glean from the Internet, it seems that one dial catches the morning light better than the other, and the second one works best in the afternoon light. A website (https://sundialsoc.org.uk/wp_bridol/pages/S4/S4036.html)  explained that the dial bearing the date 1660:

“Shows time 5am to noon in 30 & 15 min marks. Noon marked with cross.”

The other sundial, that facing southwest, comes into its own after noon. There might be other examples of paired sundials, but this is the first I have spotted.

Trying to handle Handel at London’s Barbican Centre

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LAST NIGHT WE attended a concert performance of “Serse” by Friedrich Handel (first performed in 1738) at the Barbican Hall.

The music was beautifully performed, the singing was great, and the acoustics excellent. The surtitles were quirky and colloquial, rather than faithful translations of the Italian.

Despite all the positive aspects of the performance, I felt something was lacking. That was not only the scarcity of acting but also something else. I think that attending the performance live at the Barbican Hall was only slightly better than hearing a recording of this piece played on a good hifi system.

Finally, I must mention that the number of toilets at the Barbican is totally inadequate to cope with the vast audience that attends shows in the hall.

20 June 2026

Canvases filled with colour at a gallery in London’s Kensington Gardens

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DURING MY FIRST visit to an exhibition of paintings by Cecily Brown (born in London in 1969) at the Serpentine South Gallery (until 6 September 2026), I was not much taken with her works. On that occasion, I do not think I was in the mood for looking at art. Realising this, I revisited the show today, 19 June 2026. I came away from it satisfied with what I had viewed.

Cecily’s education in art was at Epsom School of Art, then at Morley College, and later at the Slade School of Art. She did well, receiving various awards. And since completing her studies, her works have been hung in many prestigious museums and galleries in Britain, the rest of Europe, and the USA.

Apart from a collection of pen and ink drawings that resemble illustrations for children’s books, most of the works on display at the Serpentine are canvases. Each of them is covered by what at first sight looks like a riot of colour. However, closer examination reveals that within these seemingly chaotic collections of sweeping brushstrokes, there are many details, such as people embracing, plants (flowers, trees, and bushes), animals, ponds, letter boxes, buildings (including an aerial view of the Serpentine Gallery), and more.

Although I enjoyed seeing these pictures during my second visit to the gallery, I cannot place Cecily Brown amongst the modern and contemporary artists whose works please me most.

An unfortunate symbol on the pocket of my school blazer

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BETWEEN 1960 AND 1965, I attended The Hall School in London’s Swiss Cottage district. This private preparatory school for boys had uniforms that were pink and black. The blazer was pink with black trimmings and had a black Maltese cross on its chest pocket.

The Maltese cross on our blazers not only looked like the German Iron Cross, but also could be found on planes in Hitler’s Luftwaffe.

I used to travel by bus between Swiss Cottage and Golders Green, which was near our family home. At Golders Green, there were often children from many different schools on their way home. I remember that on at least one occasion, some schoolboys who saw me in my Hall School blazer, shouted, having noticed its Maltese cross:

“Here come the Nazis“.

I had largely forgotten about this until recently when I came across a photograph of me in my blazer, standing in our garden. I am not sure that I was much disturbed by what these boys had shouted, but I knew enough history to realise it was not meant to be friendly.

A church in London: twice destroyed and twice recovered

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FOREST FIRES ARE often spontaneous and followed by new growth and renewal. London has been destroyed by fire twice (not spontaneous!), in 1666 and in 1940, and each time it has undergone regeneration. After the earlier conflagration that destroyed many of the city’s churches, new ones were built to the designs of Christoper Wren (1632-1723). One of these churches, which was damaged by bombing and fire in 1940, and restored to its former glory after WW2, is St Lawrence Jewry.

The church was first built in the twelfth century (c 1136), close to London’s Roman amphitheatre and the early mediaeval Jewish ghetto. It was destroyed during the Great fire of London in 1666. A new church, designed by Wren, was constructed between 1670 and 1677 on the site of the first church. This spacious, lofty church was destroyed during the Blitz on 29 December 1940. And in 1957, it was restored by the architect Cecil Brown to Wren’s original design. Like the legendary phoenix, it rose from the ashes.

The church stands near London’s Guildhall, and hosts regular lunchtime concerts on Tuesdays. We attended one today, 16 June 2026. The Norwegian baritone Jan-Magnar Gard sung lieder and other songs accompanied by the pianist Niall Townley. Both these accomplished musicians are postgraduate students at the Guildhall School of Music. It was an enjoyable experience hearing them perform within the well-maintained, beautiful, almost square nave of the church, under its decorative ceiling.

St Lawrence Jewry was so-called because of its proximity to the place where Jewish people were permitted to live and trade. Not far from the church, in a street called Old Jewry, there is an interesting memorial plaque. It reads:

“The Great Synagogue stood near this site until 1272.”

King William I (1066-1087) is believed to have encouraged Jewish people to migrate to Britain. However, English prejudice and agitations against the Jews increased gradually until it reached a peak in the thirteenth century. For this reason, the synagogue closed in 1272. And soon after 1290, Jewish people were expelled from England. It was not until the 1650s during the Commonwealth of England headed by Oliver Crowell that they began returning to this island.

Facing the river Thames from beneath one of its bridges

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THE BRIDGE THAT traverses the River Thames closest to London’s Tate Britain Gallery is Vauxhall Bridge. When viewed from the river’s embankments, this structure with 5 spans (arches over the water) can be seen to be adorned with statues on each of its four piers on both sides of the bridge, four facing downstream, and four facing upstream. These sculptures cannot be seen when you are on the bridge.

The bridge was opened for use in 1906. At that time, there were no sculptures on it. While it was being constructed, many prominent architects considered it to be too functional, not sufficiently appealing to the eye.  It was decided by many including the renowned architect Richard Norman Shaw (1831-1912) to put up bronze statues on the bridge’s piers.

Two sculptors were chosen to create the sculptures:  Alfred Drury (1856 – 1944), who made the pieces that face downstream, and Frederick W. Pomeroy (1856 – 1924) whose figures face upstream. Installed in 1907, the bronzes are depictions of persons representing Science, Fine Arts, Education, Local Government, Agriculture, Architecture, Engineering, and Pottery (see: https://thetidalthames.com/2022/02/06/the-vauxhall-bridge-statues/).

Today, the bridge carries much traffic, and is overlooked on both sides by tall buildings erected in the last few years. Their simple lines and functional designs make a sharp contrast with the relatively decorative bridge with its eight sculptures. Close to the northern edge of the bridge, next to a block of flats, there is another sculpture, which was made by one of Britain’s leading twentieth century artists, Henry Moore.

Curving walls and a cafe in Kensington Gardens

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THE LATEST TEMPORARY pavilion erected next to the Serpentine South Gallery in Kensington Gardens is made mainly with bricks. Designed by Lanza Atelier, a Mexican architectural practice.

The pavilion’s curving ‘crinkle crankle’ walls are not merely decorative. The curvature adds stability to the walls, and thus reduces the number of bricks required to keep the wall standing.

Although the bricks form part of a functional structure, the pavilion is itself quite sculptural. When we were in Bombay in late 2025, we visited the Sakshi Gallery, and viewed works by Teja Gavankar. She used bricks to create sculptures which are architectural in sentiment, but completely functionless. The pavilion lies somewhere between pure sculpture and functional construction. Seeing it reminded me of Gavankar’s artworks.

As is usual with the Serpentine Pavilions, this latest one houses a counter where refreshment s can be purchased. The pavilion will remain in the park until 25 October 2026.