Giles Coren, the mischievous Times columnist, wrote recently about objects which gradually vanish from familiar use, either because they are outdated in the modern world, or because they were always…
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‘Why we’ll all miss the shipping forecast’ – Libby Purves
The long-wave shipping forecast reaches its centenary in 2024, though it’s not much of a celebration given that LW itself, ‘at the end of its life as a technology’, will…
Libby Purves on child-friendly cruising skills
Wisely, a recent issue of Yachting Monthly addressed the practicalities of making your boat child-friendly: indeed many sensible adjustments are good for all, since adult humans too get clumsy and…
Why the old skills belong in a museum – Libby Purves
The Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood gave me a shock when I went there to interview curators and admire the ancient toys and equipment of bygone infancy. There, in a…
Why sailors love a good problem – Libby Purves on problem solving at sea
Never underestimate that for some boat-owners (though not necessarily their crews or partners), it is the maintaining and problem-solving that form half the satisfaction. Especially the latter: a puzzle is…
Libby Purves podcast – January 2015
‘In this boat-free season of family gatherings, here’s a fine new holiday game…’ In Swallows and Amazons, the children endearingly name creeks and inlets, islands and bays: Wild Cat Island,…
Are electronic gadgets compatible with the vast, soggy ocean?
Electronic gadgets are proliferating every aspect of our lives, Libby Purves questions whether they are truly compatible with the vast, soggy ocean, December 2014
Libby Purves podcast November 2014
While hardier souls are out braving the wintry elements, some of us give in to fantasy boat-shopping, in the dry...
Libby Purves podcast: If you want to stress-test a marriage, there’s no better way than to put them on a boat and point them at a marina…
Libby Purves - podcast October 2014
Libby Purves podcast: For some, like Libby, the spinnaker is little more than a Bag of Fright, even if it does produce record-breaking runs
Libby Purves - podcast September 2014