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The first three months of 2025 in theatre visits
By Christine Swan So far, this year has shaped up to be another vintage of theatre trips. My first foray of 2025, was to The Hampstead Theatre to watch a production of Tom Stoppard’s…
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Preserving the past
By Christine Swan This week I objected to the latest proposed plans to ruin Liverpool Street station, the deadline for which was today. As I was writing my witty but pointed piece, I started…
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Emily Ann Humphreys – homemaker
By Christine Swan I never knew my maternal grandmother. Sadly, she passed away when I was just a few months old. My mum frequently told me what a lovely person she was and how…
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Personal growth
By Christine Swan About eight months ago, we bought a greenhouse. It wasn’t my idea. It involved concrete smashing, the hire of a special drill, lots of dust, noise and mess. Then new concrete…
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William Henry Bull – Later life
By Christine Swan William Henry Bull junior, his wife Emily, and their three children, Emily, Rose and Ada, travelled back to England between 1898 to 1899. I cannot deduce what drove the family away…
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William Henry Bull jnr part one – Pioneering spirit
By Christine Swan My late parents visited the United States of America on several occasions. Every time they did, my father would continue in his quest to locate our American cousins. He would scour…
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At Harvington Hall
By Christine Swan Having lived in my current location for over thirty years, it is rather a mystery why I have never visited Harvington Hall before now. It is a rambling, red brick, stone,…
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Wonderful Witley Court
By Christine Swan As far back as 1967, Procol Harum used the ruins of Witley Court as the backdrop for their video accompaniment to their hit “A whiter shade of pale”. When I first…
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A morning of beautiful things at the V&A
By Christine Swan The weather last weekend was beautiful. I had booked a weekend in London to watch two plays and to fill the rest of my time as I pleased. I caught the…
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A day at Shelsey Walsh hill climb
By Christine Swan There are some things, such as tea parties, the changing of the guard, double decker buses, arguing about the order of cream and jam on scones, and queuing, that are the…
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Two Museums in Kensington
By Christine Swan I find London endlessly fascinating. I watch a large number of theatre productions and, as I no longer live there, I tend to stay for a whole weekend to make the…
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On the trail of the Gallemar family of Valenciennes
By Christine Swan I had planned a visit to Valenciennes as part of my recent short stay in Lille. My Gallemar, or Galmar, ancestors made it their home in the sixteenth century, so it…
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Awful Rigours and Wretched Pay 