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Kimono fashion ~ by Lesley Downer
Kosode with autumn flowersby Ogata Kōrin, 18th century (Tokyo National Museum)‘First the courtesan Kaoru commissioned the renowned artist Kano Yukinobu to paint a picture of flaming autumn on plain...
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Love and longevity
By Susan VincentA few years I was assailed by middle age. As with so many others, it took the form of family history.Being from Aotearoa New Zealand but having settled in the UK, I started by wanting...
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England's Wild West - Sue Purkiss
Exmoor is easily bypassed by travellers to the south-west: most people head straight on down to Devon and Cornwall, to Dartmoor and Bodmin - probably without realising what a varied and beautiful area...
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PROFESSOR PEPPER & HIS MAGICAL GLASS by Penny Dolan
Opening up the draft of my neglected historical fantasy, I step once more into that mid-Victorian setting. At once I am faced by a strand that involves mystery, magic and the development of glass....
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Local History - Celia Rees
Publisher: Amberley Books (Images Jamie Robinson)I was very excited recently to be able to go to a real, live event hosted by wonderful Warwick Books, my closest Indie bookshop. I went to hear Warwick...
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Don't you Dare Forget About Me By L.J. Trafford
An example of a Roman EmperorBeing a Roman Emperor is hard; what with a daily inbox brimming with problems that desperately require solutions; barbarian incursions, military mutinies, revolting...
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Topiarist elves (and a bit of garden history) by Carolyn HughesI was prompted to write this post by a moth. A box moth, to be precise, like this…Photo © David Hughes 2016If you have box hedges and you...
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Roman Honour Killings - Lucretia and Verginia by Elisabeth Storrs
The women of very early Rome were definitely second-class citizens with no rights to vote or hold property. They were known only by one name, that of their father’s in feminine form. As I mentioned in...
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Feed the Crows and Stop the Monstrosity - Michelle Lovric
A close friend had come with me to the Battersea Decorative Antique Fair. She was just a few stands ahead when I heard her calling my name urgently. She was standing with one of my favourite antique...
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From the Nameless to the Nameless by Maggie Brookes
In 1947 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the British and American Quakers for their "compassionate effort to relieve human suffering," which included their work during the Spanish Civil War. It was...
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ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE'S BIRTH YEAR - and why it matters to this writer of...
FOR MANY YEARS it was assumed and accepted that Eleanor of Aquitaine was born in 1122. Several of her modern biographers have stated it as her birth year, but they often tend to copy and cite each...
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Time and the City by Miranda Miller World’s End is a poetically named area of London. In the 17th century, when this remote area lay beyond the village of Chelsea in Middlesex, there was a popular...
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An inspiration for Monet and his waterlilies, by Carol Drinkwater
Here we are (Me, Michel and François to the right) at the confluence, the conflux, of the Lot and Garonne Rivers. The sound of water crashing and engaging was rather...
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Just call me Brother by Laurie Graham
In the late summer of 2021, I gained a new moniker: I became, without recourse to surgery, hormone treatment or religious vows, Brother Laurie of the London Charterhouse. Those who are aware of the...
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Romans in Los Angeles? by Ruth Downie
Rise early, work hard, strike oil. Sound advice on acquiring wealth from the lips of J. Paul Getty, whose own success allowed him to indulge his passion for collecting art. Once acquired, though, what...
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A Mogul Palace in the Cotswolds by Judith Allnatt
Sezincote is an unexpected exotic gem - a mogul palace and garden in the heart of the English countryside. It is unique in Western Europe and quite different from other houses of the period which draw...
View ArticleSharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick - a chat
Eleven years ago, I interviewed Elizabeth Chadwick and Sharon Kay Penman, as part of a series of interviews for the online literary journal BiblioBuffet. It’s about time I shared it with you. It’s...
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AGE OF ELEGANCE ... by Susan Stokes-Chapman
My last blog post focused on Georgian jewellery, the crowning glory of any outfit. Of course, while those finishing touches were undoubtedly all-important we cannot ignore the actual fashions of the...
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Eye Marvels - Joan Lennon
The last year or so I've been eye obsessed, as my cataracts got thicker and my outlook got blurrier. Two operations later (plus some months of having to be patient while my sight settled down) and I am...
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THE REST IS HISTORY. Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook and the best podcast of...
At the beginning of 2021, I was still doing my one hour Lockdown Walk every day. I would come out of my front door, turn left or right and see where the road took me. I wear hearing aids and used to...
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