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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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The Ferré family of Tourcoing – part two
By Christine Swan In my previous post, I had outlined my research of the Ferré family, as far as I knew. Last Saturday, I travelled to Lille by Eurostar train from St Pancras International.…
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The Ferré family of Tourcoing
By Christine Swan I have been travelling back another four hundred years this week, to investigate the Ferré family, who were another of my Huguenot ancestors from north eastern France. Ferré can be spelled…
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The War on Slugs
By Christine Swan I have a recently acquired greenhouse and have to confess that it has reignited my love of growing plants from seed, potting on and nurturing beautiful plants. I have a wonderful…
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