My photographs in Plumtopia
In 2016, I had the great privilege of visiting the home of P.G. Wodehouse’s grandson to see his extensive family collection of Wodehouse treasures, including drafts, completed manuscripts, letters, and Wodehouse’s own reading library. As you might imagine, I was … Continue reading P.G. Wodehouse exhibition at The British Library
It is not unreasonable to assume that when the assorted dignitaries of Bath bunged off their application for UNESCO World Heritage listing, the fact that P.G. Wodehouse lived here as a boy was pretty high up on their list of … Continue reading P.G. Wodehouse in Bath: The Loafing Years
The beautiful spring weather we’ve been enjoying in Somerset, reminded me that it is nearly always spring or summer in Wodehouse’s world. Yesterday was a day so fine, it could have been written to order by Wodehouse himself. It was … Continue reading A day made to order
This summer I visited the Hampshire town of Emsworth, where P.G Wodehouse once lived. He first arrived at the invitation of Herbert Westbrook, who was teaching at Emsworth House School. Westbrook is described in Sophie Ratcliffe’s ‘P.G.Wodehouse, A Life in Letters’ as “handsome, charismatic, and permanently broke.” He is forever associated in my mind with the character Ukridge and, for some reason, the novel I most associate with Emsworth is Love Among the Chickens (1906). Wodehouse lived for a time at Emsworth House School, run by Baldwin King-Hall and his sister Ella. The school is mentioned in Mike (1909) and … Continue reading A visit to P G Wodehouse’s Emsworth
As an immigrant, rather than a tourist, my Wodehouse pilgrimage has to be managed in small stages, juggled alongside work, parenting and family commitments. Earlier this year I wangled a drive through Guildford, Surrey where P.G. Wodehouse was born. To my delight, I also discovered a few towns of interest in the surrounding area. It was a quick ‘drive by’ photo shoot so photo quality is not the best. Rest assured that I’ll be returning and filing further reports in the fullness of time. It was impossible to get closer on this occasion, but according to Open Plaques the sign above … Continue reading The Wodehouse trail: Birth
It is commonly understood that, far from representing a bygone age, P.G. Wodehouse created an idealised England that never really existed. Yet I remain determined to find fragments of Wodehouse’s world in real life, and last October I immigrated to … Continue reading The four seasons of Wodehouse
Plumtopia 