Historical newspapers are a treasure trove of information about the ways people lived in the past. The Wanted Ads can provide us with information about everything from the types of jobs on offer, the people offering services, the range of accommodation, and the wide variety of goods traded and sold, not to mention the infinite … Continue reading Handy Household Hints – The Art of Making Do
Book Review – West of Santillane by Brook Allen
Blurb Desperate to escape a mundane future as a Virginia planter’s wife, Julia Hancock seizes her chance for adventure when she wins the heart of American hero William Clark. Though her husband is the famed explorer, Julia embarks on her own thrilling and perilous journey of self-discovery. With her gaze ever westward, Julia possesses a … Continue reading Book Review – West of Santillane by Brook Allen
My Reading – April 2024
Flesh in Armour by Leonard Mann Through the chill blur of an afternoon early in August, 1917, the figures of two men in long, tawny greatcoats, lurched wearily out of the London throng and seated themselves on the stone railing in Trafalgar Square with their backs to the classical portico of the National Gallery and … Continue reading My Reading – April 2024
Wordless Wednesday – Whiskers
The First Anzacs
Often we think we know our country’s history, particularly if we are only one degree of separation from those who made that history. Many people of my age had grandfathers who fought in World War One. We have some of their stories, though often highly sanitized if they were told to us as children. I … Continue reading The First Anzacs
The Viola Factor by Sheridan Brown
Today I’m delighted to be presenting Sheridan Brown’s recently released novel, The Viola Factor, as part of a blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club. Book Trailer https://youtu.be/yrtEyjFaC5A Blurb The Viola Factor takes place at a time when the country faced division and growth after the American Civil War. Viola Knapp Ruffner (1812-1903) … Continue reading The Viola Factor by Sheridan Brown
Wordless Wednesday – In My Garden
Excerpt – The Dartington Bride by Rosemary Griggs
Today I’m delighted to be sharing an excerpt from Rosemary Griggs’ newly released novel, The Dartington Bride, as part of a blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club. Is the The Dartington Bride is the second book in Rosemary’s Daughters of Devon series telling the stories of the forgotten women of the Tudor … Continue reading Excerpt – The Dartington Bride by Rosemary Griggs
My Reading – March 2024
The Moods of Ginger Mick by C J Dennis Jist to intrajuice me cobber, an’ ’is name is Ginger Mick—A rorty boy, a naughty boy, wiv rude impressions thickIn ’is casu’l conversation, an’ the wicked sort o’ faceThat gives the sudden shudders to the lor-abidin’ race. Digger Smith by C J Dennis “Before the war,” … Continue reading My Reading – March 2024
Book Review – Bandy by Craig R Hipkins
Blurb Isaac’s only friend is a passenger pigeon named Bandy. He deludes himself in believing the bird talks to him. Bullied, he is resigned to a life of being the misunderstood bookworm by neighboring boys until a disastrous fire kills his parents and little sisters, sparing only his younger brother, Thomas. He and Thomas are … Continue reading Book Review – Bandy by Craig R Hipkins
Catherine Meyrick 