The Ballad of Reading Station

BY PAUL T HORGAN Were it not for the office blocks dominating the southern, more populous, side of Reading Station, it would be an imposing piece of railway architecture. The building’s striking feature is its wide concourse, mounted above the eight platforms aligned with the Great Western Main Line. Much like Joseph Bazalgette, who built London’s sewers with four times the required capacity, this escalator-and-lift-linked … Continue reading The Ballad of Reading Station

countrysquiremagazineAugust 28, 2025August 27, 2025

Films

Retour en Alexandre

BY ROGER WATSON I have never ‘retoured’ to Alexandria. I went once and will never forget it. Fuelled with images from Lawrence Durrell’s masterpiece about post World War II stories in The Alexandria Quartet, I envisaged a bohemian city of bars and clubs, licentious and gay (in the modern sense of the word). Instead, I found a dusty, chaotic dump in the grip of Islamic … Continue reading Retour en Alexandre

countrysquiremagazineMarch 22, 2025March 23, 2025

Travel

Plastic Paradise?

BY ROGER WATSON I have never managed to connect with South Korea despite several visits. I suppose that the fact these have all been business visits and mostly in winter when it is cold almost beyond belief has not helped. Also, I have only been to Seoul which is a huge traffic-jammed place. I don’t like Korean food, and I find the formality – the … Continue reading Plastic Paradise?

countrysquiremagazineMarch 1, 2025March 8, 20253 Comments

Technology

Tech Grandpa

BY ROGER WATSON I am sure that I am not alone. My life is dominated by series of electronic devices which include a MacBook, an iPad, an iPhone (providers other than Apple are available) and a Kindle (Country Squire passim). It is not so much the fact that my whole life is on these devices, having fallen totally for the convenience of the digital age, … Continue reading Tech Grandpa

countrysquiremagazineJanuary 11, 2025January 6, 20251 Comment

Books

Noble Sentiments for an Exile

BY JAMIE FOSTER Stephen Pax Leonard’s Noble Sentiments for an Exile and Other Writings is a captivating collection of travelogues, vignettes, and lyrical essays that transport the reader to the remote corners of northern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Leonard’s writing is deeply evocative, skillfully blending personal experiences, historical context, and philosophical reflections to create a rich mix of sound, place, and memory. The … Continue reading Noble Sentiments for an Exile

countrysquiremagazineDecember 12, 2024December 11, 2024

Travel

Travelling in Italy

BY ALEX STORY Sicily, Goethe once wrote, is the key to everything. Italy, then, is the door which that key opens. The country is peppered with towns and cities filled with historic treasures. Amazingly, given her tumultuous history, much of Italy’s inheritance, artistic, architectural and civic, lives and breathes. In Trieste a two-millennium old theatre sits comfortably next to a Mussolini era municipal building. Turn … Continue reading Travelling in Italy

countrysquiremagazineNovember 4, 2024November 4, 2024

Thoughts

Embracing Deafness

BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN My great-grandfather was completely deaf (or pretended to be so), yet he managed to help keep the Conservatives in power for many years, despite a brief interlude under Ramsay MacDonald. His daughter, my grandmother, was also profoundly deaf. In her later years, she walked around with a portable microphone linked to her hearing aids, which she innocently placed in the middle of … Continue reading Embracing Deafness

countrysquiremagazineMay 27, 2024May 26, 2024

Travel

Travel Prepared: The Importance of Carrying a Car Jack on Road Trips

When preparing for a road trip across Britain or even venturing abroad, safety and preparedness are essential. From the scenic routes of the Lake District to the bustling streets of London, British roads offer diverse experiences, but they also present potential challenges. One of the key concerns for any road tripper is vehicle trouble, and a flat tyre is one of the most common issues … Continue reading Travel Prepared: The Importance of Carrying a Car Jack on Road Trips

countrysquiremagazineMay 1, 2024May 6, 2024

countryside, International

Urban Peasants

BY ROGER WATSON In China it appears you can take the peasant out of rural areas, but you cannot stop them being a peasant. Early in the last decade China initiated a project to move 250 million people from rural areas to the cities; from shanties and small houses to the high rise apartments that characterise so much of their urban environment. In fact, since … Continue reading Urban Peasants

countrysquiremagazineNovember 3, 2023November 3, 2023

Travel

Not to be Missed Plans in New York

A trip to the height of New York, without a doubt, deserves planning that includes the best plans, of all kinds, that you can do in the city. Obviously, it is too big a place to do everything that is considered essential or typical, which is why we always say that you should dedicate time to it. In any case, knowing how long you’ll be … Continue reading Not to be Missed Plans in New York

countrysquiremagazineOctober 18, 2023October 18, 2023