As stated in a previous post, I will be forcing my family to live of WWII rations for a little while. It will be a great learning experience for the children and may even end up with us being happier,… Read More ›
england
Where the convicts come from
A dear old Australian lady, many years ago, won Tatts’ lottery. She was asked if she would take a trip to England. “England!” she shuddered. “Certainly not! Why, that’s where the convicts come from!” — Bill Wannan’s Come in Spinner… Read More ›
Books I Read in October 2011
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen The Hot Zone by Richard Preston The History of Lesbian Hair by Mary Duggar Come in Spinner by Bill Wannan Rooms by James L. Rubart Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult Frankie by Kevin… Read More ›
Beside the Sea by Veronique Olmi
Beside the Sea is a translation of a French book Bord de Mer, the first novel from acclaimed dramatist Véronque Olmi. First published in 2001, this novel has been translated into all major European languages. On the surface, this seems… Read More ›
My Story, My Tudor Queen, The Diary of Eva De Puebla, London 1501-1513 by Alison Prince
Synopsis: 4th November, 1501 I hardly like to make a mark on the beautiful, blank pages of this book, but I must. Mama gave it to me as a parting present so that I could write about this journey from… Read More ›
my siblings had it easy
I am the eldest of three siblings. And I don’t like it at all. As the eldest, I was the experiment. Everything got tested out on me first – rules, parenting tips, new foods – everything. Being the eldest, I… Read More ›
Books I Read in July, August & September 2010
Australia: A History in Photographs by Michael Cannon The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne Fat, Forty and Fired by Nigel Marsh Stolen Angels by Shaun Hutson Australian Ripping Yarns II by Paul Taylor The Righteous Men by… Read More ›
The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent
Opening Sentence: In 1630 Governor Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony took a small group of men and women from the old England to the new. Synopsis: November 17, 1752 I pray that with this record you will understand, and… Read More ›
Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
Opening Sentence:It is over. Synopsis:Lady Jane Grey was born into times of extreme danger. Child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother, for whom she was merely a pawn in a dynastic power game with the highest stakes, she… Read More ›
A Rose for the ANZAC Boys by Jackie French
Opening Sentence:At 10 a.m. the street was empty. Synopsis:It is 1915. War is being fought on a horrific scale in the trenches of France, but it might as well be a world away from sixteen-year-old Midge Macpherson, at school in… Read More ›
Joe Queenan in ‘Balsamic Dreams’
“Honestly, is it absolutely necessary for every single person in this society to be reading exactly the same book at exactly the same moment?” —Joe Queenan in ‘Balsamic Dreams’
The Black Death by Philip Ziegler
Opening Sentence:It must have been at some time during 1346 that word first reached Europe of strange and tragic happenings far away in the East. Synopsis:A series of natural disasters in the Orient during the fourteenth century caused the most… Read More ›
For the Fallen
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free. Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal… Read More ›
Mother England
Some quaint and unusual English village names: Askham Bryan Barton in the Beans Blubberhouses Compton Pauncefoot Cow Honeybourne Frisby on the Wreake Great Weeke Gussage All Saints Little Snoring London Apprentice Maggots End Mappowder Martyr Worthy Nempnett Thrubwell Nether… Read More ›
Ash Road by Ivan Southall
Synopsis:To the children living on Ash Road it was a bewildering and fearful day from the very start. First, the unnatural heat of early morning, the searing north wind that played on everyone’s nerves, and the smell of smoke across… Read More ›
Rafferty's Rules is Closing Down 