Wallowing in nostalgia – a visit to Newcastle’s Lit & Phil Library

Posted on by Platypus Man

For nearly half a century libraries dominated my life. First as a student, when I spent my days scouring the bookshelves in search of an answer to the latest question posed by my professors, and then as a qualified librarian committed to ensuring that access to culture, information and learning was available to everyone regardless of their personal circumstances. Mrs P is also a librarian – yes, that’s right, we first met in a library! – so it is no surprise that when we are travelling we make a point of checking out interesting local libraries.

The library of the Literary and Philosophical Society definitely proved worthy of a visit, when we recently stopped off in the city of Newcastle-on-Tyne for a couple of days while travelling north to Scotland. The Lit & Phil, as it is popularly known, was founded as a “conversation club” in 1793 with an annual membership subscription of one guinea, equivalent to about £200 (265 USD) in today’s money. Its members were therefore inevitably drawn from the elite of Newcastle society, enterprising and inquisitive souls who were keen to expand their horizons and drive progress.

While the social exclusivity of the original Lit & Phil perhaps feels a little uncomfortable today, at the time the Society was seeking to drive change rather than act as an obstacle to it. It was liberal in its outlook and tone. For example, in a world in which misogyny was deeply ingrained, it is notable that by 1804 women were being admitted as members. It is also notable that in 1820, The Newcastle upon Tyne Society for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in the British Dominions was established at a meeting held at the Lit & Phil. The world was changing and the Literary and Philosophical Society, supported by the resources of its magnificent library, was an agent of that change.

The current library building dates from 1825

In this modern, digital age we have the whole world at our fingertips; copious quantities of information on every conceivable subject – and quite a few inconceivable ones too! – just a few clicks away. We have, I believe, come to take this for granted, and the younger generation in particular finds it difficult to comprehend that printed books were once vital keys to personal learning and development. Nearly 200 years before the creation of the internet, the founders of the Newcastle’s Literary and Philosophical Society clearly understood the importance of printed material, and so it was inevitable that the Lit & Phil’s library would be the beating heart of their grand project.

The legacy of the Society’s founders lives on today in a library that is home to around 170,000 volumes, making it the largest independent library outside London. Some of the books date back centuries, while others were published just the other day. Our visit felt like stepping back in time, and although some users were huddled over their laptops and one or two tapped away at their mobile phones, printed books dominated the show. Mrs P and I felt totally at home there, and could happily have set up camp!

Lit & Phil members enjoy some elegant surroundings!

But the Society has never been just about the books. From the very beginning membership offered the opportunity to meet up with like-minded people, and to attend lectures, debates and demonstrations of ground-breaking technology. That tradition continues. Today an annual subscription of around £200 gives the Lit & Phil’s 1,900 paid up members borrowing rights in the library, and access to a range of events and activities including book launches, concerts, lectures, readings and workshops covering a variety of topics and issues.

The Lit & Phil feels a bit quaint and quirky in our mad modern world, but that is part of its charm. It provides a peaceful safe haven from the ranting and raving of duplicitous politicians, and offers a deliberative and thoughtful alternative to the fast-paced but shallow-minded world of social media and the internet. I have no doubt that if we lived a bit closer to Newcastle, Mrs P and I would happily pay the membership fee and spend many happy hours in the Lit & Phil library, wallowing in nostalgia for a lost world.

A new addition to the Rogues Gallery: Kendal, the mint cake cat

Posted on by Platypus Man

I am standing at the kitchen sink, washing a few pots and pans while idly looking through the window at the chaos we politely refer to as our back garden, when I spot an unfamiliar figure. Cats are regular visitors here. I write often about Milky Bar, Malteser and Caramel, three felines who regularly grace us with their presence, but today an altogether different character has put in an appearance.

The new guy is peering into the pond, no doubt hoping a tasty goldfish will swim into view. But I know for a fact he’s going to be be disappointed – I learned long ago that visiting cats regard my pond as a convenient self-service snack bar, and have installed netting to thwart their ambitions.

But he doesn’t seem unduly perturbed, and sets about exploring the rest of the garden. Glancing up at the window he knows I’m watching, yet doesn’t seem at all bothered. He’s vaguely curious, keeping half an eye on me, but is focussed on finding out what other opportunities our madcap garden might offer him. It seems like he’s intent on sticking around for a while, which suits me just fine – he is, quite simply, adorable.

I call Mrs P, who immediately abandons whatever project has been pre-occupying her and dashes downstairs clutching her camera, keen to capture a few images of the stranger cat to add to our burgeoning Rogues Gallery. She’s been photographing our feline visitors for many years, and quickly confirms my instinct that this is a new cat – the pale blue collar is a big giveaway, a fashion accessory none of our other furry friends possess. He’ll make a fine addition to the Rogues Gallery, but before he can officially take his place he must be given a name.

Our tradition of naming visiting cats dates back to the time when Mrs P had retired from her career and spent most of her days at home, while I was still doing my bit at the office. To brighten my day and improve my mood she would often drop me a short email with news of a feline visitor to the garden, and to avoid the need to revert to descriptions like “the fat black and white one” or “the little ginger one with the bushy tail” we agreed that they should all be named.

How it was that every cat visiting the Platypus Towers estate came to be named after a confectionery item or a biscuit (that’s a candy or a cookie to North American readers!) is lost in the mists of time, but it works for us. As well as Milky Bar, Malteser and Caramel the Rogues Gallery also records for posterity visits by Flake, Oreo, Titan, Toblerone, Mars Bar, Minstrel, Yorkie and Ginger Nut. Who next, we wonder.

After some debate, we agree that our new visitor will be known as Kendal – Ken for short – named after the Kendal Mint Cake. I’m guessing that few people outside the UK will have come across this tasty treat, and even most Brits will be unaware of its surprising history. Kendal Mint Cake is a sugary, peppermint-flavoured confectionery item, said to have originated from a production error in 1869 when a batch of glacier mint syrup was left overnight at a factory in Kendal and solidified into a cloudy, sugary block.

The first confectionery item to visit the summit of Everest! IMAGE CREDIT: Cnbrb, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Mint Cake’s biggest claim to fame is that in 1953 it became the first confectionery item to be taken to the summit of Mount Everest, when it served as an energy bar for Sir Edmund Hillary and his team. But even before then the Kendal Mint Cake was a well-travelled treat, having accompanied Sir Ernest Shackleton on his famed Antarctic expeditions early in the 20th century.

We’re very pleased with the name we’ve bestowed upon our latest feline friend, and hope to see a lot more of him. However, Milky Bar, Malteser and Caramel may well raise some objections. While they tolerate one another in our garden, previous experience suggests that they will be less forgiving of any other cat setting foot on the Platypus Towers estate, even a cat with an illustrious name and natty blue collar.

The next few weeks could get a bit lively! Watch this space…

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday – Elk of Iron

Posted on by Platypus Man

Wordless Wednesday is a simple blog post featuring a photo or photos. It seeks to convey a message or tell a story, but speaks for itself without using words. We came across these sculptures of three Irish elk at Snibston Colliery Park in Coalville, Leicestershire. Sculptor Sally Matthews created them in 1994 from welded scrap metal, old farming equipment and mining implements.

Stowe House – from debtor’s folly to cathedral of learning

Posted on by Platypus Man

Back in the 18th century Stowe House – together with its associated gardens – was one of the finest estates in England, playing an important role in the development of British architecture and landscape design. But the family responsible for its creation also oversaw its spectacular decline. A lavish lifestyle brought them to the brink of ruin, and a costly visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1845 finally pushed them over the edge.

Stowe House – rear aspect

Three years later, in 1848, the estate land and house contents were sold to help pay off the family’s debts. The Times newspaper wrote this of Stowe’s owner, the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos –

‘He has flung all away by extravagance and folly, and reduced his honours to the tinsel of a pauper and the bauble of a fool.’

Ouch, that sounds a bit harsh! On the other hand, the man’s debts were truly extraordinary. At the time these were reckoned to stand at almost £1.5m, equivalent to a staggering £232m (USD 317m) today. He was described by contemporaries as “the greatest debtor in the world”. Well, I guess everyone’s got to be good at something, and the dear old Duke clearly had an unsurpassed talent for spending money he didn’t have!

Top: Front aspect. Bottom: Rear aspect

In 1847 the Duke did a runner, fleeing abroad to escape his creditors. The auction of Stowe House’s contents the following year lasted 40 days, during which time anything of significant value was sold. Although the family retained ownership of the house itself, they no longer had the resources to adequately maintain it. By 1921 they had no choice but to sell up and move out.

Stowe’s future looked bleak, and demolition loomed. But at the last minute the house was saved when it was purchased and converted into a public school. For readers unfamiliar with the way we Brits make mischief with our own language, a “public school” is in fact what our North American cousins would call a “private school”, an exclusive, fee-paying, private institution. In the UK “public schools” are only open to those members of the public who are rolling in money.

The Music Room

Stowe School first opened its doors to pupils in May 1923, with 99 boys on the register. To accommodate them, rooms in the main house were refurbished and turned into classrooms and dormitories, and additional buildings were erected in the school grounds. Today 876 young people between the ages of 13 and 18 are educated at Stowe, including 374 girls. This is how the school describes itself:

“Stowe is the contemporary British independent school. We are a fully co-educational, boarding and day school. Pupils are educated in a sublime environment that produces confident young people. We emphasise academic achievement alongside other learning experiences. Balance is important, for the well-being of pupils and for maximising their academic and intellectual attainment. Stowe’s unique surroundings and unrivalled facilities help in the development of well -rounded individuals.” Source: Independent Schools Council website, retrieved 20 August 2026.

Sounds great doesn’t it, refreshingly progressive. Why wouldn’t you want your kids to attend this great cathedral of learning, spending their days in the magnificent surroundings of an 18th century architectural gem? Well, cost might be a bit of an issue…as per the webpage referenced above, one term’s boarding fee is £15,567, PLUS 20% Value Added Tax. I make that an all-in annual fee of about £56,000 (USD 76,000) per boarding pupil.

The State Dining Room

To put into context the cost of sending a young person to Stowe School, in October 2025 the Office for National Statistics quoted the UK’s annual average full-time salary to be a shade over £39,000. Clearly, therefore, Stowe and schools like it are completely out of reach for most British families.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand why parents who can afford it pay handsomely to send their children to places like this. Parents want to do the best for their kids, and I applaud them for that. But let’s speak plainly here – in reality, opportunities like this are available only to a wealthy, privileged minority, thus helping to perpetuate a class system that has bedevilled English society for hundreds of years. I just hope Stowe’s pupils appreciate how fortunate they are.

From a wider perspective, the primary benefit of Stowe House being turned into a school was that it saved a magnificent building that might otherwise have been demolished, as so many grand mansions were during the period of inter-war austerity. Better still, small parts of the building are now opened up on occasions for viewing by camera-toting tourists like me and Mrs P. We enjoyed our afternoon there, glimpsing worlds that are unfamiliar to us. The best of the architecture is wonderful, although I found it difficult to imagine ever living anywhere so huge and elegant.

Left: The Blue Room. Right: The Library

Nor could I imagine what it is like to spend one’s schooldays at Stowe. I’m sure its pupils receive a high-quality education in various fields, including academic subjects and practical life skills. Let’s hope their lessons also include some simple guidance on domestic budget management, so they don’t follow in the footsteps of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. His extravagance and folly should serve as a lesson to us all, both old and young,

Ten years a blogger!

Posted on by Platypus Man

August 2026 is a significant month for me, marking as it does my tenth anniversary as a blogger. Encouraged by Mrs P, my blogging career began in 2016 with a travel blog documenting our once-in-a-lifetime trip to Tasmania.* Although I was motivated in part by a desire to capture some memories to which I could return in my dotage, it was also a conscious act of rebellion, an opportunity to express my true self at last.

Binalong Bay, on the edge of the Bay of Fires (Tasmania 2016)

You see, for nearly 15 years I’d been writing internal and public reports for a city council, accurate but anodyne prose that was totally devoid of personality. It was the kind of stuff that was painful to write, and that no sane person would ever choose to read. I knew that a travel blog could demonstrate I had more to offer. As well as showcasing the heritage, wildlife and landscape of an underrated part of Australia, writing a daily account of our adventures in Tasmania would be an opportunity to temporarily shrug off my employer’s shackles and celebrate the joy of writing for its own sake.

Tasmania, 2016

I quickly discovered that I enjoyed the process of blogging, the discipline, the creativity, the drive to produce something that was pleasurable both for me to write and for others to read. And, knowing that travel blogs are more accessible when well illustrated, it also offered the opportunity to share some of Mrs P’s excellent photos with a wider audience.

Newfoundland, 2017

Other travel blogs followed, featuring Newfoundland in 2017, Yellowstone National Park – our favourite place in the whole, wide world – in 2018, and New Zealand in 2019. Having retired from work by this stage I recognised that blogging regularly would bring some structure to my life, and help keep my brain active by filling the gaps once occupied by my council’s demanding projects and interminable written reports. And so this blog – Now I’m 64 – was born, also in 2019, and flourishes to this day.

Yellowstone National Park, 2018

Back then, I imagined that the satisfaction derived from blogging was all about the process of writing. I was wrong! Although I still get a buzz when I produce something that is well written (sadly it doesn’t happen very often!), in fact it is the relationships with other bloggers that I now value the most.

New Zealand, 2019

For me, the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with people all across the world, people I shall never meet in person but whom I regard as (virtual) friends, is now what it’s really about. You guys read, comment on and (hopefully!) enjoy my posts, I read, comment on and enjoy yours. Everyone’s a winner. Inevitably, as one gets older, horizons narrow and personal interactions become more restricted, so I am enormously grateful to the blogging community at WordPress for making my life more interesting and connected than it might otherwise be. Thank you, my friends, long may it continue.

* To celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Tasmanian travels, later in the year I’m hoping to republish a few posts first written in 2016. This will be an opportunity for me to relive some of the best moments of that trip, and for many readers of Now I’m 64 to discover them for the first time.

Sandwich terns and the miracle of migration

Posted on by Platypus Man

During a recent trip to the island of Anglesey in North Wales we were pleased to encounter a breeding colony of Sandwich terns at the Cemlyn Nature Reserve. Adult birds were rearing their chicks on little islands in a lagoon behind the beach, occasionally breaking off from parental duties to go fishing. It was such a pleasure to witness – cute little chicks exploring the islands of their birth while their parents looked on caringly or whizzed around in the skies above us, their beaks loaded down with lunch as they returned from fishing expeditions. And all around us, a cacophony of sound as the birds called out noisily to one another.

A Sandwich tern carries home a spot of lunch for its chick

Despite the blustery wind, our morning spent at Cemlyn Bay was idyllic, just the sort of thing that brings joy to a birdwatcher’s heart. But such joys are transitory. In only a few weeks from now the birds we so admired will be at the other end of the world. We’ve all heard of migration, the process by which countless species of bird move from one geographical location to another in search of food or a suitable place to raise their young, but I think we underestimate the enormity of the undertaking.

Soon the Sandwich terns of Cemlyn Bay will be heading off to the coast of west Africa. The most intrepid amongst them will make it all the way to South Africa, a journey of around 10,000km (a little over 6,000 miles). And a few months later they’ll head back again, doing the journey in reverse!

Sandwich terns nesting on an island in the lagoon behind the beach at Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey

So, in just a few short months these guys will fly around 20,000km, and in between those epic journeys they’ll spend a lot of time cruising over coastal waters on fishing expeditions. Their average lifespan of 12 years means that Sandwich terns can clock up over 250,000km (150,000 miles) in the course of their lives. What an extraordinary achievement for a creature weighing in at around 250 grams (9 ounces), and with a wingspan of roughly 100cm (39 inches).

Remember, also, that the UK plays host to four other species of tern during the summer months. One of these, the Arctic tern, breeds close to the Arctic circle, but spends northern hemisphere winters on the edge of Antarctica. Depending on the exact starting and finishing points, and the circuitous route taken in between, it is reckoned that one of these birds may fly between 71,000km and 95,000km (44,000 to 59,000 miles) over a period of 12 months. And Arctic terns are famously long-lived, with a lifespan of up to 30 years. During the course of their lifetime the oldest birds may therefore fly a distance equivalent to taking three round-trips to the moon. Eat your hearts out, NASA and SpaceX!

Left: Sandwich tern Right: Arctic tern, the world’s champion migrator in terms of distance covered (to the moon and back, 3 times!)

I find the numbers quoted above almost impossible to comprehend. Small birds, huge distances! The annual travels of Sandwich terns, Arctic terns and all their cousins leave me in no doubt that bird migration is a miracle worthy of our absolute respect. Way to go, guys.

George Washington did NOT live here, but his great-great-great-great-great grandaddy did!

Posted on by Platypus Man

The US flag flutters happily from one of the flagpoles at the front of Sulgrave Manor. In the garden is a bust of George Washington, while a portrait of the famed American Founding Father hangs in one of the rooms. What’s this all about, we wonder? Why are we celebrating the US in general, and George Washington in particular, in this remote, rural corner of the English county of Northamptonshire? Washington cannot possibly have lived here or even visited, as he never left American soil apart from a brief visit to Barbados. So just what is going on?

Sulgrave Manor dates from the mid-16th century and was built by wealthy wool merchant Lawrence Washington. Nearly one hundred years later the family fell upon hard times, having backed the losing horse (King Charles I) in the English Civil War. A new beginning was called for, prompting Colonel John Washington – the great, great grandson of Sulgrave’s founder – to emigrate to the Colony of Virginia in 1657. Colonel John clearly made a good decision, and just over 120 years later his great grandson George proved himself the ultimate embodiment of the American dream when he landed the new nation’s top job – the first ever President of the USA.

Bicentennial Washington by Avard T. Fairbanks (1897 – 1987)

So what’s the big deal? Why do visitors seek out this building, and pay handsomely for the privilege of visiting it? Sulgrave Manor is an unexceptional Tudor house. Just because a building is old it doesn’t have to be interesting. Sulgrave is not, at first glance, very interesting. Nor, indeed, at second glance either! It has undergone multiple alterations over the centuries. Neither in its architectural features nor in its contents does it bear much resemblance to the manor house Lawrence Washington commissioned around 1539. He would barely recognise it; nor, of course, would the first President of the US, because he never went there!

The Entrance Hall

Historic England, the government body responsible for ensuring that important buildings are protected by law, has given Sulgrave Manor its highest rating – Grade 1 – which indicates a building of “exceptional interest”. I’ve questioned in a previous post whether it is right, or necessary, to protect a building for posterity simply because someone famous once lived there. But in Sulgrave’s case nobody famous lived there anyway, just the remote ancestor of some guy who one day made it big on the other side of the world!

The Great Bedchamber

Delving deeper, however, we learn that there is a better explanation for the attention Sulgrave receives today. In 1911, with the centenary of the ending of the British-American War of 1812 fast approaching, former president Theodore Roosevelt proposed the creation of a permanent memorial to celebrate 100 years of peace between the two nations. Sulgrave Manor was identified as a suitable location, and a fundraising campaign was launched targeting prominent citizens and philanthropists on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1914 the British Peace Centenary Committee purchased Sulgrave at a cost of $42,500. The opening ceremony in 1921 was attended by former President Taft and members of the British Royal Family.

The Oak Parlour

So there we have it. Although the building is old and the historic links with President Washington’s ancestral family are plain to see, international friendship is fundamental to Sulgrave’s significance today. The Sulgrave Manor Trust is an independent charity with two legal objectives:

  • “To preserve Sulgrave Manor (the ancestral home of the family of George Washington, the first president of the United States of America) for the public benefit. 
  • To provide and support education in subject areas relevant to Sulgrave Manor and its historic role in the history of Anglo-American relations, and to the history, literature and institutions of the United States.”

Buried within the Sulgrave Manor website is this sentence: “To this day, Sulgrave Manor continues to serve as a memorial to Anglo-American friendship“. As someone who has enjoyed countless visits to the US, travelling to all 50 states where we were warmly welcomed by our local hosts, I am happy to support the sentiments that underpin the Sulgrave project. All relationships have their ups and downs, but the things that separate the UK and the US are trivial in comparison with those that unite us. Long may it continue.

If the Earth were to have a set of instructions…the wisdom of the Dalai Lama

Posted on by Platypus Man

The Global Birdfair is an event we attend every year, a great opportunity to hear eminent ornithologists and other conservation experts speaking on subjects that are dear to their hearts, and to ours too. One of the stand-out events at the 2026 Birdfair was a presentation by the British zoologist and author Mark Carwardine, which included an anecdote about a meeting in 1989 with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

IMAGE CREDIT: Christopher Michel, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At the time of their meeting, Carwardine was working with novelist Douglas Adams (creator of the wonderful Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) on the BBC’s project Last Chance to See, in which the two presenters journeyed across the globe in search of some of the world’s most endangered species.

As part of the project Carwardine and Adams interviewed the Dalai Lama, hoping to gain a Buddhist perspective on nature, the environment, and humanity’s relationship with animals. Carwardine has previously spoken warmly of the Dalai Lama, describing him as one of the most intriguing and enchanting people he has ever met. It was clear from his Birdfair presentation that this encounter, which took place relatively early in his career, had a profound influence on him and helped shape how he communicates the urgent need to protect wildlife.

For the benefit of his Birdfair audience, Carwardine displayed on the screen his own brief summary of what the Dalai Lama said to him that day. It read as follows:

“If the Earth were to have a set of instructions, they’d be very simple. Much simpler than the instructions for recording a tv programme on a digital recorder, for example. Don’t poison the water – don’t chop down too many trees – don’t let the planet get too overcrowded – don’t touch the thermostat – and don’t kill all the wildlife. It really is a simple as that.”

Now that’s what I call wisdom. I have absolutely nothing to add.