Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of this tragedy. I am sorry that I was unable to organise a commemorative visit to the site of the crash this year as I had hoped. I have previously written of it here and here. A few years ago I was privileged to speak to two eye-witnesses. Included below […]
Author: David Cuthbertson
Sharing my explorations of the world around me, both locally and philosophically.
Yesterday I went for a walk on the wild side in preparation for a special Healthwalk I will be leading on Friday 21st June. The Downs have a different character in the evening. The day-shift is going to bed and the night shift is waking up. My destination for this year’s wildlife walk is Bird […]
On the next leg of my epic journey through France, Switzerland and Italy, I travelled south-east, leaving the Alps behind. My train crossed the flat plain of the Po Valley which is situated on top of a micro-tectonic plate called the Adriatic or Apulian plate. It wraps itself around the limestone mountain backbone of Italy […]
This year marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. A crucial element of our success was an American workhorse transport plane, the Douglas C-47, otherwise known as the Dakota. Some five and a half months after our initial invasion, on Sunday 19th November 1944, a routine transport of mostly American troops from France ended in disaster, […]
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Saxon Balsdean Walk
Still struggling with my lurgy. Even if I do my Saxon history walk on Saturday, I will be cutting it very short. I have therefore chosen to give the walk’s historical content here. It is taken from the book I am currently writing with the support of my mother. Where to start? I will begin […]
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The Battle of Balsdean; 1377
This article is a work in progress. My sources are: This was part of the Hundred Years War. A documentary on television indicated that this whole ‘skirmish’ may have taken place between just two high tides – about 6 hours. In that time several villages and their fields may have been ransacked and burnt and […]
My next walk is this Wednesday and Friday which aptly should include the Black Death. At present I have another man-cold which probably isn’t as bad as full blown plague but certainly helps me empathise. I am writing this in case I decide to cancel my walk if I don’t get any better… Early Medieval […]
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Brighton Rocks! Guided Walk
On Saturday 18th May at 1pm I will be leading an undercliff geology walk starting from Saltdean. A four mile gentle walk and talk along the Undercliff Walk from Saltdean to Brighton Marina – a Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. You will hear about the chalk and flint rocks which give our downland walks […]
The start of my day was in the snow-bound Swiss mountain pass of Bernina, from which the train made its slow winding passage southwards down, round, across and through steep alpine hillsides towards sunnier climes. And if you look very carefully, above the building and behind the trees are the Swiss Alps from whence I […]
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Chalk: 6. Passo del Bernina
I had arrived at the railway station – the highest regular passenger train station in Switzerland. And it was totally deserted! The few icy footprints that were to be seen soon disappeared under deep drifts of snow. I quickly put on the rest of my winter gear. The temperature was literally not figuratively freezing cold. […]
Newmarket Hill 