On Saturday, 19 September 2026, my son Kevin suggested a trip which involved little walking but with a few hours driving around north Somerset’s villages. The Somerset Miners’ Welfare Trust has commissioned a series of metal silhouette collier sculptures, (artists Dave & Kate Speed), which have been erected at the roadside near relevant Mendip villages to commemorate the rich mining history of the region and to mark the 50th anniversary of the closure of the last two coalmines in Somerset. As far...
I am pleased to correct information which appears on page 13 of “The DUTCHMEN” – brassmakers of Bristol, Warmley, Keynsham, Bath & District. This reads: “Joseph, born 1755, John and Jane’s second son married...
“Go All In” Bristol Libraries Challenge to read nine books from different genres for National Year of Reading, 2026. I have had a continuous library card since I was aged 7 or 8, Staple...
Does anyone have a contact for Peter Davies of Brislington? During the time of compiling the account of Brislington in World War 1, Mr PETE DAVIES contacted me and visited me several times regarding...
“They are forc’d to spread it upon a Board and so pick out with their hands the trash and stones that remain.” In a previous blog, I wrote about a Lindegaard family visit to...
They say that in the Navy the girls are very fine Some like Betty Grable and some like Frankenstein No! I don’t want no more a Navy life Gee but I wanna go, but...
On 16 June 2026, out of the blue, I received this email from the Girl Guides Association of St Lucia, an archipelago in the Caribbean. Good day, I do not wish to be a...
Hello, I just wanted to let my readership know that I am alive and well and writing copiously. It’s been ages since my last blog but rest assured I am still working on new...
In the Beginning was the Word. I have always soaked up random knowledge like a sponge, which explains a slavish devotion to University Challenge, (pride in my infinitesimal contribution of right answers), and perhaps...
It may seem strange to start with an obituary, but this is the way I first came across Helen, when I was filling in the background to our Irish holiday, April 2025. For Helen’s...
I have been researching the social history of the West Country for 50+ years. During this time I have collated information on a wide range of people living and working in the West Country including miners, ethnic minorities, petty criminals, sailors, tommies, benefactors, brassmakers and many more. The thing that I find amazing is that ordinary people always lived extraordinary lives. I hope you like my blog that brings together my lifetime of research.
Correction: Attention Fray researchers!
22 October 2026
BOOK BINGO! Dear Reader – “I went all in!”
21 October 2026
Correction: Attention Fray researchers!
Oct 22, 2026BOOK BINGO! Dear Reader – “I went all in!”
Oct 21, 2026