” “Notes

Jun 9, 2023 | calitreview.com | Peter Bridges |” “Notes

It is of all the Celtic kingdoms the greenest and most beautiful. Palms, wisteria, and camellias grow in Cornish gardens. Bluebells and small wild orchids bloom beside the coastal path, that winds along meadow edges above the cliffs and surf. One can imagine King Arthur’s cavalry, fifteen hundred years ago, trotting along these narrow lanes between high hedgerows. What I cannot imagine is me driving any sort of vehicle up these lanes. I leave that happily to our hosts in their Land Rover.

Apr 23, 2023 | calitreview.com | Peter Bridges |” “Notes

Jack Aubrey, co-hero of twenty sea novels by Patrick O’Brian, was played admirably by Russell Crowe in the 2003 film “Master and Commander.” Aubrey’s sidekick, the naval surgeon and naturalist Stephen Maturin, was another fine actor, Paul Bettany. Many who saw the film hope for another chance to see Aubrey and Maturin on the screen–perhaps this time with Keira Knightley, who lost out when in the end “Master and Commander” was made all male, sans maidens or consorts.