WELL  I wondered, as I gazed at the grey, grim remnants of the Blockhaus, Eperlecques, was it from here that a life-threatening rocket  was fired in my direction ? Apparently not, for this fearsome fortress, in Northern France, bombed by the British and Americans was rendered useless for rocket launching in August 27, 1943. And the only V2 that exploded …

  HISTORIAN and hotelier Philippe Gorcynski is a man in love with a tank called Dorothy. Not any old tank but a rusting relic from World War One which I first saw one freezing February morning tucked away in an old barn in the village of Flesquières in Le Nord region of France close to Cambrai. And Philippe was desperate …

IT took a fluffy wide-eyed white charmer called Marvin not only to fulfil Julie Smith’s wish to own a puppy but convince her to form Adorabuddies selling hand-crafted pom pom and felt collectables based on the heads of pet lovers’ cats and dogs. ‘ I never thought I could have a dog because I have allergies until I discovered that …

FOR years its solitary northwest tower has remained virtually unknown, forlornly hidden from public gaze in wooded parkland off the main road to Sevenoaks. Now at long last the future of Otford Palace, forerunner even to Hampton Court, which it matched in size – if not bigger– lies in the hands of the Archbishop’s Palace Conservation Trust. Formed in 2017, …

‘To be or not to be’  behind – or even written – Shakespeare’s works, as some claim. That is the question!. Either way, Canterbury’s ‘Rash Boy’, Christopher Marlowe, has certainly led the literati a merry dance as rumours still swirl around not simply his rumbustious lifestyle but his equally controversial death – or disappearance – aged 29 at Deptford in …

WITH a history stretching back to at least medieval times, quilting is all too often associated with make do and mend and bed covers rather than an ancient craft involving considerable skill and artistic ability. Yet, probably linked to the Latin word culcita, meaning a bolster or cushion, it has been woven into English culture through a variety of techniques …

Look out for those hidden goodies… ONE big concession when the Greater London Boroughs were set up in 1965 was that those such as Bromley and Bexley retained  ‘Kent’ as part of their postal address.   Wisely so, for behind the clichéd ‘leafy suburbs’ are hidden corners every bit as worthy as those further down the line. It certainly applies to Bromley.  Though battered by the architectural …

Ports are places to pass through, which is one good reason why Calais, and the surrounding area have tended to lose out. Now, helped by the World War One commemorations, the full richness of which was once just Nord-Pas de Calais – but now along with Picardy forms Hauts de France – is gradually being recognised for its true worth. …

We all hate change. Even War of the Worlds writer H.G. Wells who raved about his wonderful childhood in Bromley left complaining that the arrival of the railways had turned it into a morbid sprawling commuter town. He also turned down the Freedom of the Town. A wee bit harsh, perhaps, though as chief reporter of the old Bromley & …

Benoît Diéval Public Relations & Marketing, Pas  de Calais writes: John’s extensive knowledge of the Le Nord – Pas de Calais region is reflected in both his Bradt guide to Cross-Channel France and the best selling companion guide to the World War One Battlefields, of which he is joint author. Freed from its subterranean lair, Le Dragon of Calais – …