As most people know organised crime was behind the early days of the gambling edifices erected in Las Vegas in the ’50s and ’60’s. And mob history continues today in perhaps a less violent form and style. Having an interest in American history, old movies, and other aspects of American life I was pleased when […]

Everything in Las Vegas is big. The buildings, the illuminations, the casinos, the food – and the prices! We did have a little gamble yesterday. Won a little bit – then lost a little bit more. Yesterday, to avoid the crowds – and the casinos (more difficult) we thought we’d make a trip out of […]

We arrived in Las Vegas yesterday evening. My young friend thought I was being a bit silly because during the whole of the 2 hour flight between Tampa and Las Vegas I kept my hand over my nose for the entire journey, having still not got rid of my bad cold in no way did […]

I think our bad colds are beginning to ease. Hopefully. Yesterday evening we were invited to dinner by a charming couple I hadn’t seen for nearly twenty years – Michael and Sandra Ashington-Pickett. They live in a beautiful house in Orlando. I first met them when they owned a small mansion – Wells View – […]

We’ve been in Florida for five days now and unfortunately we’ve both caught some sort of bug. For the last two days it”s been hacking coughs and sneezes and generally feeing wiped out and weak. Hopefully things will improve tomorrow as we’ve bought tickets for Sea World and the following day to Universal Island of […]

We left England on Thursday in freezing weather – but just before the snow that might have disrupted our flight, and here we are in Florida expecting lovely warm sunshine. And what happened? The beautiful hot days they were experiencing last week changed abruptly to a measly ten degrees this morning! Nevertheless my young friend […]

2013 already! I’ve never known time go by so fast. It gets faster all the time. Edward De Bono – the great lateral thinker – gave the answer. If, for example, you are a small 5-year-old boy and ask your mother for a toffee and she says you can have one in half an hour, […]

That was the scene last night in London. We weren’t there as we celebrated the arrival of 2013 at Jilly Adam’s house, together with friends Brian, Jane, and Peter. Jill lives in Wattle Cottage – a truly bijou residence right next to the river in Henley. This is us last night. (My young friend took […]