Today at the Word Wenches I am blogging about Georgian and Regency Country House pursuits. From sporting activities to needlework and painting watercolours, from card games to shellwork, life in the Regency country house was a great deal less dull than some contemporary writers implied. Drop in to the Word Wenches to see just how [...]
Today on the Word Wench blog we are discussing the what ifs of history! What would have happened if Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo? What would have happened if the Spanish Armada had succeeded in invading England? And then there are the unsolved historical mysteries… Who killed the Princes in the Tower? What happened [...]
England has a reputation for being a cold, wet country. There are plenty of references in literature to the prevalence of rain in the English weather. The Canterbury Tales opens with a line referring to April’s sweet showers – but it also refers to the “drought of March.” It is a surprising feature of the [...]
The Roman period in Britain is an intriguing time and one of my favourite eras to read about. The fact that there are still many Roman sites to visit as well adds depth and colour to research into the period. Last week I visited Chedworth Roman Villa near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, one of the largest [...]
Over on the Word Wenches blog today I am chatting about the visit I made last week to Highclere Castle, the fabulous Victorian mansion that is used in the filming of Downton Abbey. Please do drop in to the Wenches to read all about our visit and get some of the behind the scenes Downton [...]
Today at the UK Historical Authors’ Blog I am talking about the conservation work at Ashdown House and the stunning hard hat tours that are available to visitors this season. My fellow guides and I are now fully trained to take people up to the seventh floor of the scaffolding to view the ongoing restoration [...]
First of all a big thank you to those of you who entered the Notorious contest. The winner is Amy who wins a selection of books and some goodies from Highclere Castle, the home of Downton Abbey. Congratulations, Amy! I’ll be blogging about Highclere/Downton next week. Don’t miss it! Here is Rochester the Guide Dog Puppy with [...]
Happy April! As I sit at my desk looking out over the Oxfordshire countryside it’s a beautiful day with the mist starting to vanish in the sun and the hills a patchwork of green and brown against the blue of the sky. Notorious is published in the UK this month and to celebrate I am holding [...]
Have you ever wondered what people in earlier centuries thought when they discovered the fossilised remains of dinosaurs? I’ve got to admit I hadn’t thought about it – until I watched a fascinating programme on how people interpreted fossils in the days before Darwin’s theory of evolution. Back in the Middle Ages, dinosaur footprints were [...]
Over on the Word Wenches Blog today I am talking about my neighbourhood and the changes it has seen over the past twenty years. And the past two thousand years. Come and drop in to tell me what life is like where you live and how things have changed!