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South of Granada, by Sue Purkiss
I’m afraid this is another holiday post – about Spain – so look away now if you’ve had enough of them! I have been to Spain before, but only very briefly. The first time was when I was a teenager, and...
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THE INVINCIBLE HENLEY by Penny Dolan
A week or so ago, browsing my ragbag poetry shelves, I opened up “Criminal Minds”an anthology by Anne Harveyand found this poem, a version of a poem by Villon. The canting style reminded me of cockney...
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Scotland decides today by Elizabeth Laird
Elizabeth Laird is one of our doughty Reserves. Today she agreed to take Celia Rees's 18th of the month slot, because of the referendum and her ancestry. Today's the day. Scotland decides.And I'm...
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Dial 'M' for Murder: the role of the telephone in 20th century film and...
Having just published a novel – Line of Sight (Arbuthnot Books, 2014) – in which the telephone plays a key role, I’ve been thinking about the significance of this particular piece of technology,...
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'The Skull Beneath The Skin: The Nearness of Death in History' by Not A L...
My husband has a cold. The house reeks of eucalyptus, the bins are full of tissues, and the air is loud with complaint. My sympathy of Day One has eroded into the irritation of Day Four, and it’s only...
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Ightham Mote by Imogen Robertson
Where has she taken us now?One of the best holidays I had before I left home was when my brothers were travelling far afield and Mum and Dad offered to take me to Shropshire in the caravan. They...
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The Angels of Mons by Kate Lord Brown
The commemorative service at Mons during the summer reminded me of an interesting tale from WW1 that I came across researching the work in progress. As ever, much of the research has hit the cutting...
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FAT IS A HISTORICAL ISSUE by Leslie Wilson (with a footnote about attacks on...
Writing in the Guardian about the increase in obesity recently, Rosie Boycott, food advisor to the Mayor of London, said (in the middle of some very sensible talk about school dinners) 'Go back fifty...
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MOOCHING IN MUSEUMS: A photo roundup by Elizabeth Chadwick
Over the last couple of months I've had occasion to be out and about at various appointments and events that have brought me to London. Whenever I'm in in the capital I always make sure to have my...
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BLAME IT ON THE BUILDINGS by Eleanor Updale
Now, does this theory hold up? Sometimes, when things go wrong, we end up blaming the buildings in which events take place, rather than looking at the human behaviour at the heart of the problem.I was...
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The Song of the Whale and my Visit to Biarritz by Carol Drinkwater
Many years ago, in a period of my life that is almost history now, while I was filming the TV series All Creatures Great and Small, I was invited to take part in a Save the Whale rally which was to be...
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Women of the Warsaw Uprising, by Clare Mulley
This month marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Warsaw Uprising. By the summer of 1944 the tide of the Second World War had turned. The Soviets, now Allies, had reversed the German advance, and...
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If you want to know the time, ask a policeman by Susan Price
This is a lovely post from one of our History Girl Reserves, Susan Price, about a once well-known Music Hall song...If you want to know the time, ask a policeman. The proper Greenwich time, ask a...
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Due to circumstances beyond our control, we were unable to bring you our scheduled guest yesterday. Very sorry. I did not find this out till 25th.(But we did have a lovely post from Sue Price about...
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Hidden treasures by Mary Hoffman
A month ago I was in Tuscany, staying near a tiny hill town called Pari. Pari, on the Siena to Grosseto roadIt chanced that my husband's oldest friend, known since they were both twelve, was staying...
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George Orwell and the Civil Wars by Claire Letemendia
Claire Letemendia has just joined us - welcome! From November the regular spot of the 2nd of each month will be taken buy another newcomer, Gillian Polack.As a new member of The History Girls Reserves,...
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KINGSTON PENITENTIARY, by Y S Lee
When giving people directions to my house, I sometimes say, "Turn right at the Penitentiary." They usually think I'm joking, but in fact I'm entirely serious. I live within view of Kingston...
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Written in stone - Katherine Langrish
SunkenkirkAs a children’s author, I make occasional school visits to talk about ‘where ideas come from’ and the stories behind the historically based fantasies which represent most of my output so far....
View ArticleA Chairy Tale - Joan Lennon
I was thinking about the first time my dad took me to see Norman McLaren's film Neighbours, among other Canadian Film Board films, and remembering how appalled I was. I can't think I was very old -...
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Maximum meaning, minimum means by Lydia Syson
Sometimes it feels that a day doesn’t go by without another author penning another set of rules for writing. But if I were ever to pin a maxim above my desk, it might not be a writer’s rules, but a...
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