Travel guides and biography
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An Ambler's Guide to Rhodes
The first in a series of travel guides for those that like to get off the 'Via Turista' and see what's really there.
This book provides a set of snapshots, in pictures and words, of Rhodes Town and environs, plus two popular day-trip destinations reached from Rhodes’ tourist harbours. The intention is to provide ideas for things to do and places to see. It is not intended as a conventional guide, such as the Rough Guide series, and does not pretend to any sort of inclusiveness – we try not to follow the herd, though in the Old Town you get little choice if you want to see many of the sights. Instead, we meander – aimlessly, some might say, us included – and let serendipity do whatever serendipity does. We generally enjoy ourselves.
It is, then, a window into what an average couple of late-middle-aged holidaymakers, with hearts set on experiencing the sights, sounds and tastes of their destination, find to do. It is about us and what we like the look of. Indeed, the photos are all ours, taken whilst ambling around not doing much in particular but seeing a lot whilst we were about it.
You can do a lot of ambling in Rhodes Town because it is that sort of place – a town of two halves, plus a couple of significant quarters. There is the Old Town, enclosed by its medieval castle walls, the New Town, where – hard to believe now – all the nightlife was at the turn of the century, the harbour area, where the Colossus of Rhodes is supposed to have stood, and the residential suburbs, which hold a couple of surprises.
If you are into clubbing and chilling on the beach, then stop reading because this guide will be of no use. Probably. We are usually tucked up in bed by 21.30 and the beach is something to sit next to with small bottle of retsina and free meze – crisps or nuts in the more touristic establishments, but better quality the more off the beaten track you go or the better the locals get to know you; cheese, ham, olives, dolmades, pickled cucumber, etc. Nightclubs are simply places to avoid. If, on the other hand, you are curious and like the sound of ambling about doing not very much and seeing a lot, read on...
It is, then, a window into what an average couple of late-middle-aged holidaymakers, with hearts set on experiencing the sights, sounds and tastes of their destination, find to do. It is about us and what we like the look of. Indeed, the photos are all ours, taken whilst ambling around not doing much in particular but seeing a lot whilst we were about it.
You can do a lot of ambling in Rhodes Town because it is that sort of place – a town of two halves, plus a couple of significant quarters. There is the Old Town, enclosed by its medieval castle walls, the New Town, where – hard to believe now – all the nightlife was at the turn of the century, the harbour area, where the Colossus of Rhodes is supposed to have stood, and the residential suburbs, which hold a couple of surprises.
If you are into clubbing and chilling on the beach, then stop reading because this guide will be of no use. Probably. We are usually tucked up in bed by 21.30 and the beach is something to sit next to with small bottle of retsina and free meze – crisps or nuts in the more touristic establishments, but better quality the more off the beaten track you go or the better the locals get to know you; cheese, ham, olives, dolmades, pickled cucumber, etc. Nightclubs are simply places to avoid. If, on the other hand, you are curious and like the sound of ambling about doing not very much and seeing a lot, read on...
Keith Dockray's Road to Oblivion: Personal Letters & Their Value, 2008 to 2018
The long-awaited follow-up to the 2008 autobiography, Memoirs of a Yorkshire Bastard.
Keith Dockray's Road to Oblivion chronicles the life of a reclusive, manic-depressive, retired, gay, medieval historian/author and is a follow-up to the 2008 autobiography, Memoirs of a Yorkshire Bastard. It covers Keith's life from pension age (as was) to the grand old age of 75, or, in Keith's terms, the years of being a '...knackered, old bastard.'
Part of being a knackered, old bastard involved outsourcing of what was meant to be another autobiographical work to his next-door neighbour. So, this is literally next-door to an autobiography! It's a cheery, little read and the icing on the cake is that it’s probably a road map for many of us, once we reach a certain age.
As for a clue to Keith's opinions, the following quotes probably tell you a lot:
Part of being a knackered, old bastard involved outsourcing of what was meant to be another autobiographical work to his next-door neighbour. So, this is literally next-door to an autobiography! It's a cheery, little read and the icing on the cake is that it’s probably a road map for many of us, once we reach a certain age.
As for a clue to Keith's opinions, the following quotes probably tell you a lot:
2003: "Now, after four decades of heavy smoking and drinking, I can contemplate a no doubt premature death with equanimity. Progressing to an inevitably lonely, and probably decrepit, old age in an ever more materialistic, technology-obsessed and paranoid society has no appeal whatever. My...fear is of an arrogant and over-powerful but philosophically bankrupt medical profession single-mindedly yet pointlessly dedicated to the preservation of life, of however poor a quality, at all costs. Euthanasia has got to be the better option; I hope, when the time comes, I have the nerve to take it."
2009: "40+ years of hedonism are now definitely beginning to take their toll [but] even if young again, I’d still reject the option of a healthy lifestyle...I’ve avoided doctors like the plague for most of my adult life, and certainly don’t fancy the largely pointless existence now prescribed for elderly wrecks by the NHS..."
2018: "Now in my 75th year, I’m strongly inclined to trust only doctors who are both humanists/atheists and firm believers in the right of the elderly to choose their own time/manner of death. Presumably, this means the NHS might well prove of no use to me whatever!"
Yes, it's a cheery, little read.
See the author's Spotlight page at Lulu.com to view all books that are printed on demand, or otherwise available as eBooks.
© 2009 - 2021, M. C. Jones, trading as Bristol Folk Publications. The Record Press, Diogenes Academic Press and Burnham Priory are imprints of Bristol Folk Publications.