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The Despaigne family of Lille
By Christine Swan Last year, I visited Lille at Easter. It is one of two French cities that are very easy to reach from the UK. The entire journey only takes about ninety minutes…
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Cable Street the Musical review
By Christine Swan Some theatre is enjoyable, but not personal. Some is frivolous fun, but lacking in a deeper message. Having East End ancestry, Cable Street has a legendary status but maybe it has…
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Albert Taylor – The patient’s friend
By Christine Swan My grandfather died in the nineteen seventies. I remember him as being a wiry man with a full head of white hair, arms covered in regimental tattoos and stubbly chin. On…
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Daisy Betts – Nanny
By Christine Swan Some of my earliest memories are of visiting my grandparents in Walthamstow. Every Saturday, my parents would drive my sister and I from south of the river to the north. There…
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Thomas Mallyon – Agricultural labourer
By Christine Swan I have previously written about my familial links with the small village of Castle Camps in Cambridgeshire. My terrifying great grandmother, Martha, who chased her grandchildren around the kitchen with a…
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These are a few of my favourite things
By Christine Swan A week ago on Monday was, allegedly, the most depressing day of the year. Christmas and New Year are now distant memories, and summer days are a long way into the…
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Six months of theatre trips – July to December
By Christine Swan I love the theatre. Apart from my hobby of Kung Fu, visiting theatres comes a very close second. In 2025, I managed to squeeze in twenty nine theatre visits. I have…
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2025 in review – the finale
By Christine Swan I had booked a theatre weekend not realising that I was due to be teaching all day. This necessitated a rush to Birmingham New Street station to hot foot it down…
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2025 in review – part 3
By Christine Swan The summer of 2025 was glorious. I had booked two outdoor theatre visits, and the weather was wonderful for both of them. The summer seemed to be filled with blue skies…
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2025 in review part 2
By Christine Swan In April 2025, I decided to explore one branch of my Huguenot and Walloon ancestors by travelling to Lille in Northern France. This is a very easy journey from London St…
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2025 in review – part one
By Christine Swan As has become my custom every year, I end it by reviewing my travels and significant events. January is usually a month of unpredictable weather so I tend not to stray…
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Christmas in Rosebery Avenue revisited
By Christine Swan When I was very small, I lived with my family in Whitecross St, in the heart of the City of London. At some point my dad acquired an elevated position in…
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Awful Rigours and Wretched Pay 