Words and Music

EVEN AFTER the Beeching Axe fell in the 1960s, Great Britain still has plenty of trains. Trouble is, the lines are owned by a variety of co...

Guest Blogger Dept. : Looking for ways to combat the winter blahs? Robert Benchley offers an inspiring portrait of what the more adventurous...

From the Recordings Vault Dept. : I’m guessing that it was the Gershwin pieces, which included arrangements of the Three Preludes, that impe...

THERE WAS A CUSTOM that may still persist of welcoming a new year with a concert featuring all six of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. I never ...

Fast Away the Old Year Passes Dept. : Exactly no-one ever has asked me about this, but that won’t stop me from holding forth on a beloved su...

Personal Narrative Dept., Encored: As we’ll be visiting London shortly (in a blog post, that is), here’s a repost of something I essayed a ...

AS THE CAPITAL OF SCOTLAND, Edinburgh is home to the country’s houses of government and its highest courts. It’s also where you find Edinbur...

From the Recording Vault Dept. : Here’s a piece I wrote 35 years ago about a record company while it was in its infancy. A CD company, to be...

THE TWELVE STONE DWELLING-PLACES known as Ravensdale Cottages were built in 1823 as two rows of six facing one another across a small terrac...

 From the Vault Dept. : This originally ran in Metroland , and I posted it to this blog about a decade ago. I think it’s time for a reprise....

Thanksgiving comes but once a year, but it sure takes up a lot of space in the fridge and on counters and stove. Here's today's menu...

IT ISN’T LONG after we struggle upright and walk on shaky legs that we wish we could fly. We see birds in flight; we’ve yet to believe in gr...

From the Dance Vault Dept.: I began my journalism career writing about everything in the arts that appealed to me, including dance. Here’s o...

I BOUGHT A KOBO E-READER for this trip and promised to buy no books. We have made trips to England in the past where I ended up shipping hom...

From the Food Vault Dept .: While we’re on the subject of fish and chips, here’s a look back at a wonderful restaurant in Bennington, Vermon...

THIS PART OF OUR JOURNEY actually begins in 1972. Allow me to quote myself: I was a high-school junior in suburban Connecticut, freshly infa...

In Memoriam Dept. : For quite a few years I wrote for the website knowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom.com, founded and eagerly maintained by Frank Ba...

Guest Blogger Dept.: Before we travel to Manchester, I offer a vintage taste of the town. These are the opening pages of The Manchester Man ...

HISTORY INSISTS that the Duchess of Bedford, on a visit to the Duke of Rutland in 1840, grew uncomfortable peckish as she awaited supper. It...

From the Vault Dept .: Inspired by my voluble chronicle of my recent travels, here’s a throwback piece. It’s chronicles a delightful stop on...