Dr Clifford Parks is my pride and joy - a camellia reticulata with showy deep red informal double blooms. I planted it in mid-1992 as a spindly little specimen from the local nursery. It now is over eight foot high with blooms between 5 and 6 inches in diameter; the leaves are dark green. It … Continue reading In My Garden – Dr Clifford Parks
One Minute Book Review – The Mystery of a Handsome Cab by Fergus Hume
First published in 1886, this detective mystery set in Melbourne became an international best seller, outselling Sherlock Holmes' first appearance in A Study in Scarlet. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab follows the investigation by police detective Samuel Gorby into the murder of well-connected Oliver Whyte which takes him from the mansions of St Kilda … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – The Mystery of a Handsome Cab by Fergus Hume
In My Garden – Dendrobium delicatum
Spring has certainly arrived in my part of the southern hemisphere (glorious one day, high winds and torrential rain the next) and gardens are well and truly in full bloom. Over the next few weeks I will share some of the plants in flower in my garden. Mine is a small suburban garden with a … Continue reading In My Garden – Dendrobium delicatum
One Minute Book Review – Angelica by Arthur Phillips
This is an unsettling novel where reality and the supernatural blend together. Set in London in the 1880s, it the story of a family on the verge of breakdown. Angelica has spent the first four years of her life sleeping in her parents’ room. When her father, Joseph Barton, moves her into a room of … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – Angelica by Arthur Phillips
My Reading – September 2016
Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwen The Scorching Wind by Walter Macken (There are few reviews and I was unable to a detailed review that didn't completely give the plot away.) Still she wished for Company by Margaret Irwin A Room with a View by E M Forster (Spoilers) The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do Save
Irish Heritage – Patrick Connor of Killarney
The Lakes of Killarney I visited Kerry recently , a stunningly beautiful part of the world. One set of my maternal great great grandparents, Patrick Connor and Mary White were from Killarney. They arrived in South Australia in October 1840 on board the Mary Dugdale, as part of of an immigration scheme which selected sober … Continue reading Irish Heritage – Patrick Connor of Killarney
One Minute Book Review – The Darkest Hour by Barbara Erskine
Barbara Erskine is one of my favourite writers of popular time-slip fiction. The modern narrative in this novel concerns art historian, Lucy Standish, who is writing a biography of wartime artist, Evie Lucas, about whom little is known. The historical narrative begins in the summer of 1940 at the start of the Battle of Britain … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – The Darkest Hour by Barbara Erskine
4 June 1940 -Winston Churchill’s Speech to the House of Commons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTw3_PmKtc Short speeches are often the most effective; however, even in lengthy speeches there are often shorter sections which capture perfectly the mood of the time and are remembered long after. Winston Churchill's 'We will fight on the beaches' speech is such a case. Most people think of it only as that half sentence passage … Continue reading 4 June 1940 -Winston Churchill’s Speech to the House of Commons
What’s in a name?
Quite a number of factors need to be taken into account when choosing the names for characters. Some apply to any form of fiction such as ensuring that the character names are distinct and not easily confused with other characters, that they do not sound alike or look similar on paper. Even initials need to … Continue reading What’s in a name?
One Minute Book Review – Still She Wished for Company by Margaret Irwin
The major part of this engaging time-slip/ghost story (choose according to your own preferences) is set in the 1770s and tells of Juliana Clare, the youngest daughter of a landed English family and her initially routine life on the family estate, Chidleigh. When Juliana's father dies and her dissolute brother Lucian inherits the title and … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – Still She Wished for Company by Margaret Irwin
