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 bother (you), but I’ve been trying to locate a photograph of Mrs Dorothy Vinter and wondered whether you could help me do so. I am reaching out to you because, like her you are involved in documenting the history of your community. Mrs. Vinter started the Girl Guides...
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...
This is one of those blogs which starts off with one subject and lands up with another, connected, but completely unexpected. Whilst I was drawn to the desolate beauty of the island, surrounded by...
During research to complete my series “Wanton Wenches & Incorrigible Rogues”, I came across this amazing and valuable piece of work. As several of my current protagonists – ones in whom I have a...
In our house, Valentia Island is iconic. If you knew the hair-raising, but much mocked, story of George’s first visit there, more than 70 years ago, with his Mum to buy a pig’s head...
The picture above is me with my man George at Big Pit National Coal Museum, Wales for my birthday treat 13 June 1986. I wish we were young again, but I think I’m still...
The railroad comes through the middle of the house. The railroad comes through the middle of the house. The trains all come through the middle of the house Since the company bought the land....
The Newgate Calendar of Prisoners, 1785-1845 contains a notice of Harriet’s crime, the theft of three silver spoons valued at 20 shillings (£1), a sum of course, far greater in value then than today....
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.
Miracles take a little longer: Dorothy Vinter and me.
29 August 2026
I’m still here and writing – more to come soon!
11 April 2026
Bristol Women – Helen Blackburn, 1842-1903
01 December 2025
