MICHAEL WALSH EX-MARINER: The U.S. space agency NASA once spent millions developing a pen that would write upside down or in a non-atmosphere environment. The Russians replied; ‘we use a pencil.’ A friend once boasted that if you pressed a little button on his new watch the hands […]
Mike Walsh Classical Music Correspondent: If you are looking for rags-to-riches stories, or dismiss the tale of Cinderella as being impossibly fanciful, think again. Russian-born (1971) Anna Netrebko is increasingly regarded as heiress to the Crown of Maria Callas and not without good reason. The American-Greek legendary opera […]
PLEASE HELP AS WE ARE TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON READERS DONATIONS keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com MICHAEL WALSH DISSIDENT HISTORIAN: The Norwegian author Knut Hamsun (1859 – 1952) was deserving of the Nobel Prize in Literature awarded in 1920. A handsome and debonair gentleman, quite unlike most people’s idea of a poet and […]
MICHAEL WALSH has been putting pen to paper for over 60 years during which time he has earned awards and international recognition for his media columns, news stories – and his poetry. Until his poetry – and other literary works were banned by Amazon and LULU online publishers, […]
MICHAEL WALSH COLUMN: There was a time when tipping a waiter was a matter of choice. If you thought the service was good you would leave a gratuity. If the meal or service left a bad taste in your mouth you didn’t. This kept the cook and the […]
These days few boys have meaningful relationships with male mentors and father figures, men who can teach and inspire growing boys. Many boys grow up without having been taught by a male teacher or are taught by teachers who have no life or work experience outside of a classroom. In Britain, 85 per cent of school teachers are women. The boys in many a modern British home may have several ‘fathers’ over time. How times have changed.
Like Japanese infantrymen emerging from Far Eastern jungles Britain’s tabloids remain convinced that WW2 still rages. For most of us it is a fading memory but never to be forgotten the four women singers who evoke the troubled period like no other.
Was there ever more elegance and style than when women wore fur stoles, veils and dress gloves? I am reminded of U.S. President Reagan’s wife Nancy Reagan when being received by the Pope. Wearing a veil this otherwise ordinary lady is transformed into an almost saintly figure.
One of the most surprising discoveries for me was to learn that Franz Lehár, whose operas and waltzes compare with those of the Strauss family, lived and worked in my lifetime. Much as I love the melodies and waltzes from The Merry Widow and Wiener Frauen (Viennese Women) I was ignorant of the fact that Lehár was a contemporary of The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
Although 23 years have passed since I missed that telephone call, I never forgot the message left on the answering machine. The caller was one of the world’s most successful balladeers. Charlie Landsborough’s voice was unmistakable as he thanked me for the impact my poetry had on him.
Michael Walsh Stories and Books 
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