I was inspired by an Instagram post I read recently from a fellow-author. She said she was warming up with a cup of coffee at the Dorchester Curiosity Centre in Dorset, while waiting for her MOT to be done, and ‘contemplating how cover design has developed over the decades’. She was looking at an entireContinue reading “The Lure of a Country House Library”
Category Archives: architecture
Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #14 High Views of Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland
This is the fourteenth and final Highlight. What better than some panoramic views from a great height? So we ride up to the Skypoint Observation Deck on the 77th floor of the Q1 Building, Surfers Paradise. We took lots of photos of the fabulous views and had Tacos and salsa for lunch in the bistro.Continue reading “Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #14 High Views of Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland”
Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #10 Leura, The Blue Mountains, and the Gold Mining Town of Sofala, New South Wales
This is my tenth Highlight; we have arrived in the beautiful town of Leura, full of quirky shops, white blossom trees, pretty houses and cafes. Here we stayed for two nights. We were now in the Blue Mountains, with majestic views of cliffs and rainforest canopy. At the lookouts – Echo Lookout and Sublime PointContinue reading “Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #10 Leura, The Blue Mountains, and the Gold Mining Town of Sofala, New South Wales”
Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #8 An Odyssey Through New South Wales – Manly and Sydney
This is the eighth in my Highlights series. It opens in Manly, lively, buzzing beachside suburb of northern Sydney, where we stayed in the Quest Apartments overlooking the Harbour. Taking the boat from Manly to Circular Quay was delightful and although I have visited Sydney a few times before in the past this time IContinue reading “Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #8 An Odyssey Through New South Wales – Manly and Sydney”
Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022:A Travel Diary #7 An Odyssey through New South Wales – Boonah to Newcastle
This is the seventh post in my Highlights series. Today we begin our exploration of New South Wales, from Boonah in Queensland, through the Border Ranges National Park on the Lions Road, passing through Kyogle, Casino, Coffs Harbour and staying our first night at Sawtell. Then on the next day heading to the city ofContinue reading “Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022:A Travel Diary #7 An Odyssey through New South Wales – Boonah to Newcastle”
Cover Reveal: Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire, due out from Amberley on 15 April 2022
Today I’m delighted to be able to share with you the Cover Reveal for my new non-fiction book, which will be published on 15 April 2022 by Amberley Publishing. On the front cover, from top left, you will see a statue of Warwick’s hero Guy of Warwick; the Bear and Ragged Staff insignia, whose originsContinue reading “Cover Reveal: Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire, due out from Amberley on 15 April 2022”
A Visit to Compton Verney, Warwickshire, in December 2021
Compton Verney in Warwickshire is one of my favourite places; an elegant Georgian house set in a glorious landscape. A visit here and a walk through the Capability Brown parklands always gives me a feeling of bliss and tranquility. Capability Brown knew what he was up to when he rode through the grounds of theseContinue reading “A Visit to Compton Verney, Warwickshire, in December 2021”
The stories of people who believe they have had strange experiences
Recently I visited one of the locations in my current work-in-progress, Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire to be published by Amberley Publishing in 2022. The subject matter of the book varies widely but is largely about curious events in the physical world, based in known fact; however, the first chapter is devoted to strange and spookyContinue reading “The stories of people who believe they have had strange experiences”
A Visit to Stourhead National Trust: a Perfect Vision of an Idyllic Landscape and Lake; an Infamous ‘Romantic’ Encounter in the Temple of Apollo
Before visiting the gardens at Stourhead, Wiltshire the other day I looked forward to seeing for myself this ‘living work of art’, for I had created a brightly coloured, stylised copy of a photo of that iconic view just last year, during the first UK lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic. When we visited the garden,Continue reading “A Visit to Stourhead National Trust: a Perfect Vision of an Idyllic Landscape and Lake; an Infamous ‘Romantic’ Encounter in the Temple of Apollo”
Naturewatch in St Nicholas Churchyard Kenilworth
Last Sunday St Nicholas Church Kenilworth held a ‘Naturewatch’ in the churchyard. The church is close to the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey and Abbey Fields, which feature in my book Paranormal Warwickshire. The Naturewatch took us on a walk around the churchyard identifying a variety of beautiful and curious things – flowers, trees, gravestones,Continue reading “Naturewatch in St Nicholas Churchyard Kenilworth”
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