Category Archives: Memoir

Passchendaele

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Roger Gosden

Whatever the etymology of Passchendaele, the little Flemish village sounds to me like “Valley of Passion” in English. In 1917, it was a valley of mud and cordite, steel and fire. The dirt was burned and scoured of life, except … Continue reading →

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Lady Marion Fraser

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Roger Gosden

A light went out in Scotland on Christmas Day. Marion Fraser passed away. In a cynical age we have low expectations of “virtue” in our public figures whose ranks often seem unattainable except to those with the privileges that come … Continue reading →

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How British Dentists Created Heavy Metal Generation

Posted on December 17, 2016 by Roger Gosden

At my first dental examination in North America the Montrealer with a deep knowledge of the ethnography of decay leaned back from my chair and holding his pick aloft declared, “You have British teeth.” His tone was grave, like a … Continue reading →

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The Berkeley Thanksgiving

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Roger Gosden

It will be missed by no one on this side of the North Atlantic that Thanksgiving Day 2016 falls on Thursday. Yet, some Virginians mindful of another tradition already had their Thanksgiving a fortnight ago. They resent the hegemony of … Continue reading →

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Carving for the Ages (Petroglyphs)

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Roger Gosden

A slab of yellow sandstone larger than a dinner plate lay at the foot of an old maple tree close to a woodland trail in the Allegheny Mountains. The shadow of an inscription on its flat face made me pause … Continue reading →

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