Inspiring Excitement and Passion about History and the Humanities
Recently on a train trip from Gatwick to Cirencester, I passed through Swindon. Swindon, in general, isn’t a huge tourist attraction. In fact, Jasper Fford seems to have built a website dedicated to taking the piss out of Swindon as a tourist attraction (pointing out the double helix carpark as a major sight). One thing Swindon does…
So let me tell you a story about a weekend in Cornwall in 2000. I had just moved to the UK about 4 months before, and one of my dear friends was having a party in Cornwall. He rented out a farmhouse, and was going to have a massive end-of-summer party with a DJ, tee-pee’s…
This past week I’ve been reading two books, one of which, by the previously-blogged-about-and-Monty-Python-esque Howard of Warwick was a murder mystery set in a monastery near Lincoln, and the other, a fairly scholarly book about King Oswald and Britain around the time of Bede, was mind-numbingly boring, though based on the Amazon reviews, I’m clearly…
The church I go to is called St. Richard’s of Chichester, and so on one of my trips to the UK I felt compelled to spend some time getting to know St. Richard, and his town. Fortunately for me, it’s a nice place to visit, and I was also able to get some work done…
Let me tell you about a weekend trip I had to Bournemouth a few years ago, which has made it become one of my Favorite Places in England. I was ridiculously behind on work, and I wanted to get out of London and go somewhere quiet where I could catch up and relax. Hubby was…
When I lived in the UK when I was in my early 20’s post-college figuring-life-out phase (which I never really grew out of), I used to go to random tourist places based on British folk songs, or throwing darts at maps. Or showing up at the train station and picking a place that sounded interesting….
I regularly read Dorset Life on my ipad. It’s a local magazine all about Dorset, which I first picked up on a trip to Bournemouth a few years ago. Completely opposite to men who read Playboy “for the articles,” I freely admit to reading Dorset Life for the pictures. In each issue they have a…
Many of you know that I geek out on Renaissance English History. I still have a “bucket list” to do to get an advanced degree in it, but for now, I do what I can with books and travel. If you haven’t checked out my Renaissance English History Podcast yet, please do. And tell a…
I lived for several years in the UK, and it’s still one of my favorite places where I spend much of my time. Some of my dearest friends are in London, along with some of the most special and meaningful spots for me. One of those places is Glastonbury, which is a mystical new-agey sort…