Some of the truth—only lightly varnished! — Hello! My name is John Welford, although I had a different one when I started out. A Short(-ish) Autobiography I was born as Derek Clayton in August 1952 in Falkirk, Scotland. However, my birth was far from intended, with my natural father not being my mother’s husband, so it was a case of…

A short, witty poem that concerns how two people will see the same thing very differently — Roger McGough (born 1937) is a “performance poet” who has been writing and performing for more than 40 years. He hails from Liverpool and was one of the three “Liver poets” who in 1967 published “The Mersey Sound” (in the “Penguin Modern Poets” series), which became one of the best-selling…

Queen Cleopatra has received a gift from Mark Antony, but has a decision to make — Queen Cleopatra had a problem. Her birthday was coming up in a week’s time and a host of presents had already arrived at her palace in Alexandria. She knew that most of them would be from Mark Antony, who was away fighting various battles, and she also knew that it…

Did Harold survive the Battle of Hastings and end his days as a hermit at Chester? Most unlikely! — A small building on top of a sandstone outcrop in Chester (Cheshire, England) has an interesting — if unlikely — legend attached to it. …

One of Europe’s less showy butterflies — The mallow skipper butterfly (Carcharodus alceae) is fairly common in central and southern Europe where it is found on warm, dry, flowery hillsides. Adults fly almost continuously through the summer and may produce two or even three broods. The wingspan is up to three centimetres. The forewings have three small…

Whoever the artist was, this is a highly dramatic painting that tells a story — Christ at the Sea of Galilee is a late work by Tintoretto (real name Jacopo Robusti, 1518–94) that can be seen at the National Gallery of Art, Washington. However, doubts have been expressed as to whether the work is actually by Tintoretto or by a member of his circle. The…

A look at a 17th-century “Metaphysical” poem that sees the soul as having existed before one is born and surviving after one’s death — When John Donne and George Herbert died, Henry Vaughan (1621–95) was only ten and twelve years old respectively. Nevertheless, he still counts as a “metaphysical” poet and he was proud to regard himself as a disciple of George Herbert. Indeed, some of his poems took devotion almost to the point…

Has the mystery surrounding a playwright’s death been solved? Highly unlikely! — It was early in 1593, during one of Will Shakespeare’s frequent home visits to Stratford after he had based himself in London, that the subject of his ongoing career came up in the conversation. “So how’s the playwrighting going?” asked his wife Anne. “It could be better”, Will replied. “I’ve…

A familiar and characteristic butterfly with “scary eyes” on its wings — The peacock (bird) is unmistakable thanks to the “eyes” that are visible when the male bird displays its tail as part of its mating display. The peacock butterfly is similarly unmistakable, although the “eyes” have a different function, namely to frighten off predators when the butterfly opens its wings. The…