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A brief stopover in Paris
By Christine Swan I adore Paris. That will not be a surprise to any visitor to this amazing city. For this reason, when planning my summer holiday, I chose to have a one night…
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La Vie en Rose
By Christine Swan There are so many things I love about France, it isn’t any wonder that I am drawn back every year. I love every part of France, but tend to be drawn…
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A day trip to Birmingham
By Christine Swan My car is now twenty years old. MOT day is always rather stressful but last week, we journeyed a few junctions up the M5 motorway to Birmingham, and I gritted my…
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The illegitimates
By Christine Swan One of the biggest challenges faced by genealogists is that of researching ancestors where you only know half of the story. I recently read an article in Who Do You Think…
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Theatre trips -April to June
By Christine Swan In April. I returned to Southwark for my next theatrical foray. More precisely, I watched the musical Lifeline at the Southwark Elephant, in Elephant and Castle. I knew this to be…
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Jane Vincent – The Other Woman
by Christine Swan Daniel Crudgington married twice in his lifetime that I know of. He was transported to New South Wales in 1834, aged just nineteen. He was granted his certificate of freedom and…
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A quarter year of theatre trips – January to March 2026
By Christine Swan I love the theatre. I love London. Combining the two for a weekend is sheer bliss. My job is hectic and doesn’t fit into the working week. I have always had…
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A week on a hot planet
By Christine Swan In a week that saw both daytime and nighttime temperature records smashed in the UK, we need to take a long, hard look at ourselves. I make no apologies for this…
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Thoughts on a social media ban
By Christine Swan I don’t often write about my day job in the blog, but I felt compelled to write down my feelings and reactions to the announcement of a ban on under sixteen…
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Beautiful Brum
By Christine Swan Sorting through papers recently, I found a form that I had completed early in my teaching career, when I was under threat of redundancy due to reorganisation. I had always believed…
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Working life
By Christine Swan Reflecting on the news headline that an increasing number of young people are NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), this week, I thought about work and all that it means.…
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A Day Trip to London in the Sunshine
By Christine Swan I can’t remember the last day trip I took with my son. One thing that prospective parents are never told is how your relationship with your child grows as they become…
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Awful Rigours and Wretched Pay 