Our first Duke of Burgundy was born in 1342, a son of John ‘the Good’. There were so many dukes of this region of France that the theory…
Author: Dean Swift
‘Dean Swift’ is a pen name: the author has been a soldier; he has worked in sales, TV, the making of films, as a teacher of English and history and a journalist. He is married with three grown-up children. They live in Spain.
The Pony Express
Though it lasted only two romantic and dangerous years, the Pony Express lived up to its name. It was horse-borne mail delivery, operated by the Missouri freight company…
Georgia (West Asia) & Georgia (USA)
Asian Georgia is separated from Russia by the Caucasus Mountains. It has a coast on the Black Sea, shares a border with Turkey to the west, and has…
A (politically correct) state of affairs
Government, politics, wars and spying are subjects in which evasion and deceit are common and vulgar; hypocrisy is paramount and prudery prominent. The survival of politicians in politics…
The twelve basic tenses in English (British or American)
Present: I work = I work hard all day Past: I worked = I worked hard all last year. Future: I will work = I will…
Scipio, Aemilianus (Africanus Numantius)
This extraordinary Roman general was born in 185 BC, and was later adopted by Publius Cornelius Scipio. One must be careful to avoid confusion, because both adoptive grandfather…
Intereconomía
This broadcasting company has radio and TV channels and business channels run by experts. Beyond doubt this communications group helped Spanish people make up their minds about the…
Antarctica
This is one of the planet’s biggest and most unknown continents. It surrounds the South Pole, and lies almost entirely to the south of latitude 66º 33’ S….
A brief history of jockey’s colours
It is undeniable that the jockey’s jacket or blouse, worn only during horseracing, is an inseparable part of the mystique of this Sport of Kings, and indeed it…
Another modest proposal: Gibraltar
The spiky old issue of Gibraltar is digging Spanish and British statesmen in the most tender part of their well-fed anatomies – what to do with Gibraltar? Ever…