Cultural gems

The delights of being on holiday include the chance to listen to Test Match Special.

I had to chuckle at Blowers and Boycott – strange bedfellows indeed. Two that stand out from yesterday’s offering were: “He’s batting with a stick of celery!” and “Flock of pigeons looking for something to eat. Haven’t seen many pigeons here at Cardiff.” Then they asked some poor devil to look up the last team to get to 400 without anyone scoring more than 70. (For the record, I think they discovered it was New Zealand in 1992).

I went to Chedworth Roman villa the other day. It has special resonance for me because as some of you know, one of my ancestors discovered the site while he was out rabbiting (he was a gamekeeper in the service of Lord Muck of somewhere). They’ve built a mini theatre with one of those wobbly films on a loop to detail the history, and the old boy appears as a Victorian cartoon figure in a deer stalker and handlebar moustache. It was very hard to resist to temptation to turn round to the assembled school kids, point and say: “That’s my great, great grandad that is.”

I’m pleased to say that it belongs to the National Trust… and well worth a visit. Of course, with all those mosaics on show, er, I found the flora more photogenic. What intrigued me most was a swallow’s nest on the floor of a Roman bath but there wasn’t enough light to get a good shot. Snaps in the usual place.