Writing historical fiction is time consuming to say the least. Each scene that surrounds a character must be true for the reader, and the easiest way to make this scene true, is research and more research. You cannot afford to be wrong, unless of course you do it deliberately, because you are writing an ‘alternate […]
Waterfall & Potatoes We decided to visit Fitzroy Falls because the last time were visited the falls was in 2006 and at that time the falls were covered in mist. The above is the river that feeds the falls and as you see it is not very ‘active’ due to it being the end of […]
A few years ago Maureen & I and three other couples had a seven week holiday of self catering, self drive around the UK. We hired a mini-bus and stayed in farms and apartments – all self catering. We were a mix of three ex Poms, three Australians, a New Zealander and a Russo – German. […]
I’ve managed to trace my family back to John Woodland, who was born around 1610, near Newport Pagnell. His grandson, Richard, married Mary Exon, a girl from Ware in Herts , which is 50 miles (80 km) from Newport Pagnell. The distance today is less than an hours drive, so to marry someone so far away in […]
In 1945 the Americans bombed the real bridge on the river Kwai. The centre parts of the bridge (the flat bits) are new, and the original part of the bridge has the curved sides. We could walk on the bridge; it is a rail bridge only, and not available for road transport. There was a […]
While researching Prince of Wales Island (now called Penang) for the sequel to Ice King (aka Triangle Trade) I came across details of the German cruiser SMS Emden, which had links to Penang. Maureen often says that I am more interested in the research than the act of writing, which to an extent is correct. Little […]
Perhaps A Brief Encounter should have been the title of this blog. Celia Johnson & Trevor Howard in a 1945 romantic drama, which might have links to Punta del Este. A British lady, Margaret Elizabeth Douglas, was born in Punta del Este in 1918. Her mother was Anglo – Argentinian and her father was Canadian […]
It’s Always You Bing Crosby sang it to Dorothy Lamour, in Zanzibar of course . . . Christmas Day 1964 – we arrived off Mombasa and berthed alongside the Chakla, another Company ship. Also, in port was a BI passenger ship named ‘Karanja’ and this name had a family link for me. My father was […]
I’d been out East for just over a year and the Company decided that I should start making my way home. I signed off the Chanda (black & white picture above) and made my way to a hotel in Karachi called the Beach Luxury Hotel. This hotel was much better than the Bristol Hotel in […]
We arrived off Mystery Island and anchored. The island is uninhabited but local people from another island arrived by boat to set up vendor stalls. The local name for the island is Inyeug Island and is a few hundred meters wide and about a kilometer in length. For me it had the feel of pirates […]
The first commercial wet dock in the world was opened in Liverpool in 1715. It was known originally by the engineer’s name Thomas Steer’s Dock, but later, as other docks were built it became known as the Old Dock. This Old Dock was infilled in 1826. When Liverpool One was being created they found the Old […]
I’ve always loved North & Mid Wales, perhaps because my mother was Welsh and only when the family moved from Caernarvon (Carnarfon to be PC) to Birkenhead, when she was thirteen, did she start to learn English. When my mother spoke of the move she would comment that she moved to England, which sounded strange to me as […]
The first commercial wet dock in the world was opened in Liverpool in 1715. It was known originally by the engineer’s name Thomas Steer’s Dock, but later, as other docks were built it became known as the Old Dock. This Old Dock was infilled in 1826. When Liverpool One was being created they found the Old […]
The normal high standard of Princess cruising has, in my opinion, slipped somewhat, but for us it started last year when we sailed in the Majestic Princess from Rome to Singapore. We have completed a total of nine cruises, seven of which were with Princess, so I think we can judge when standards are falling. […]
