In 1875, my illegitimate grandmother was born in a workhouse, a place that truly epitomised the negative undertone of the word “Dickensian.“ They were the choice of last resort for those in society least able...
Do you remember old traditions and superstitions relating to funerals? Many have been handed down for generations, and if you are told them when young, they tend to stick in your brain and become undeniable...
How long a person lives for doesn’t necessarily determine their impact on the world: Mozart was considered a genius at the age of five, Greta Thunberg changed the civilised world’s attitude to climate change by...
In the film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” an affable and wise angel called Clarence Odbody tries and manages to save the life of George Bailey, the earnest but apparently unsuccessful head of the Bedford Falls...
As with all humans, the Panaceans died. They didn’t believe they would truly die but if they did, then come the Day of Revelation they would live again. On that day they would not rise up...
Never heard of him? Well, he and his cousin George made up the “Western Brothers,” a clever and slightly subversive act that was popular for decades and had as one of its fans, no less...
When we think about old English folk traditions what comes to mind first of all are things like dancing round the maypole or wassailing, and then there are the heroes such as King Arthur, Robin...
People love to chat, to gossip, chew the fat, banter, exchange pleasantries or argue. It’s what humans do to pass the time of day. We put the world to rights but also just comment on...
Do you, like me, sometimes think how sad it is when you look carefully at the words on an old headstone and think to yourself that there’s something important that’s missing? Perhaps you look at...
We often have a stereotypical view of all things Victorian. In photos, the men are straight-laced with fashionable muttonchop whiskers, dark clothes and have an aura of high seriousness. The women are silent and anonymous,...