Desertion Stories

It's true, we really needed a new village hall. The existing building was just too small, and desperately in need of renovation. We had tried everything — jumble sales, fêtes, appeals in the local newspapers, but the amount of money we had raised was woefully short of what we needed, even for the most pressing repairs. It was at a meeting of the Parish Council, of which I was chairman, that it was suggested — I forget by...

The love of a long soak in hot water is an ancient pursuit, and one not only enjoyed by humans but by other primates, as wildlife films have shown us. The Romans had their elaborate bathhouses like the one at Bath. Separate Turkish baths for better-off men and women were common in many towns and cities in Victorian England, as well as the more basic public bathing establishments for the poor, and many modern Japanese pref...