I recently visited Beachy Head, East Sussex, with a friend and my two teenage children. As we walked along the cliftop, we all agreed: Where in the world could we go that’s more beautiful than this? Beachy Head, together with the Seven Sisters Country Park and Birling Gap are all protected by The National Trust and theyContinue reading “Gazing Out to Sea: The Beauty of the English Coastline”
Category Archives: places of inspiration
A Golden Field, a Short Life That Touched Many Hearts, and a Poignant Moment in a Country Churchyard
This photo was taken on Milverton Hill, Leamington Spa between St James’s Church Old Milverton and the Saxon Mill, Warwick. At about 4.30pm on Friday 7 June I walked with my two teenage children through the churchyard to reach this field. A late summer afternoon in the English countryside is such a quiet, luminous, poignant time. And it’s one of theContinue reading “A Golden Field, a Short Life That Touched Many Hearts, and a Poignant Moment in a Country Churchyard”
Controlling Women in History and Life: Bess of Hardwick and Tudor England
Controlling women are a recurring theme in my life. Add to this a love of history. And so when I found the book Bess of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth by Mary S. Lovell, I felt impelled to read it. It is said that only when a lesson is learned, does an issue stop recurringContinue reading “Controlling Women in History and Life: Bess of Hardwick and Tudor England”
Mystical Circles Romance and Psychological Suspense Free Promotion Bonanza!
Mystical Circles is on free giveaway to Goodreads members for the next month! Five copies of the paperback second edition are on offer. Goodreads Members, get on over there and sign up for the giveaway! Mystical Circles is also FREE ON KINDLE FOR 5 DAYS STARTING NOW! ROMANCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE IN THE HEART OFContinue reading “Mystical Circles Romance and Psychological Suspense Free Promotion Bonanza!”
The Curious Tale of a Rediscovered King, a DNA Trail and What It Tells Us of the Nature of Truth
“There were a lot of nasty rumours spread about me,” says Horrible Histories actor Jim Howick in his hilarious portrayal of King Richard III. “Tudor propaganda, it’s all absurd. Time to tell the truth about Richard III.” Who was he? “That King they found in the car park in Leicester”. This will have been theContinue reading “The Curious Tale of a Rediscovered King, a DNA Trail and What It Tells Us of the Nature of Truth”
A Pilgrimage By Steam to The Shrine of a Martyr in Canterbury Cathedral
“This world nis but a Thurghfare ful of wo And we ben Pilgrimes passinge to and fro.” So says Chaucer’s Knight, towards the end of his tale as recounted by Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of The Canterbury Tales. Gloomy those words may be, but they totally belie the racy, colourful and much-loved tales told byContinue reading “A Pilgrimage By Steam to The Shrine of a Martyr in Canterbury Cathedral”
Youth, Time and Soul – Old Photographs & Memories: Coloured Rags or Treasures?
Birthdays and old photographs. How they arouse our emotions! So many words have been written about time, and our attitude to it. Memory is a crazy woman that hoards colored rags and throws away food said Austin O’Malley. How much is concentrated in this deceptively simple remark: far more than a comment on human fallibility, Continue reading “Youth, Time and Soul – Old Photographs & Memories: Coloured Rags or Treasures?”
Darkness into Light: Celtic Spirituality
Heart of Darkness, Sharing the Darkness, embracing the darkness – the archetypal theme of darkness versus light is ever-present in our lives, through books, movies, media, faith, life experience. Last week – on the night of the full moon – I was at a Celtic Christian service in the 13th century church at Morton Bagot,Continue reading “Darkness into Light: Celtic Spirituality”
The Heavenly Choir, Voices of Lothlorien, and Glimpses of Eternity
The most profound emotions, the deepest experiences of the human spirit may be evoked by the sound of a heavenly choir. There has often been debate about which is the greatest musical instrument. And of course each of us will have different favourites. It has been said, for instance, that the grand pipe organ isContinue reading “The Heavenly Choir, Voices of Lothlorien, and Glimpses of Eternity”
A World of Wonders at Leavesden Studios
On a recent visit to the Harry Potter tour at the Warner Brothers Studios in Leavesden, I was moved. Not simply by the moment when I and my two children first stepped into the Hogwarts Great Hall, or by the moment when I first came upon the model of Hogwarts Castle, or when I firstContinue reading “A World of Wonders at Leavesden Studios”
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