Monthly Archives: March 2008

Tarot – history, art and mysticism

My first job was ‘employment for the otherwise unemployable’ – as a punched card tabulator programmer for a company that was a memebr of the De La Rue Group. One year, we all received a Christmas present of an unusual … Continue reading

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François l’Olonnais – a truly bloodthirsty French buccanneer

Since I used the name Freebooters for this site and its predecessor, I owe you at least one French pirate story. Here it is. If you check the website for the Biscay resort town of Les Sables d’Olonne, you will … Continue reading

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The Troglodyte Cave Tour: hobbit-holes in Saumur, Loire Valley

Vivienne Mackie takes notebook and camera round homes buried in a hill. Imagine caves without a single stalactite or stalagmite. Picture caves formed, not by water action, but by human hands. And now imagine those caves along the banks of … Continue reading

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After the election

Well, we didn’t win any seats, but we got 35% of the votes. Now I understand why established minorities like the British Liberal Party keep rabbiting on about proportional representation. We also created a free ‘spectacle’ for the members of … Continue reading

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Local Politics

A month ago, an unknown car came down our untarred country lane and pulled up outside our house (it couldn’t have gone much further – the lane peters out into a bridle path a hundred metres further on). I went … Continue reading

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