I love genealogy. It delivers me history and plots all in the one package. The novel that I am working on (in between short stories that is) is the fictionalised story of one of my ancestor couples. Note I said fictionalised. Part of that fictionalisation is name changes. I have many reasons for making the... Continue Reading →
Like many of you, I am enthralled with the television series Victoria. And while I know about being careful with historical accuracies on both the small and big screen, I think we are all aware that the relationship between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is always said to have been a great and loving marriage. But in... Continue Reading →
Okay here comes another one of my assignments. This one is from my 'Certificate in Genealogical Research'. We were asked to review a relevant lecture or presentation. I chose to review An Afternoon of Irish Research with Greg O'Connor, which was conducted on 21st August, 2010 at The Bowlers Club, York Street, Sydney. Yes, it was... Continue Reading →
I research stuff. I just do. Research is necessary for my writing but I also do genealogy. And I also have, "I wonder ....." moments on other things. I love it - most of the time. But sometimes, I don't like the results of that research at all. Take the other day for example. I... Continue Reading →
I wasn't looking for anything on any sort of slavery. I was simply looking for a suitable Irish Catholic name from the 17th century that I could use for Padraig's friend in my tale on 'The Parting Glass" (now called Goodnight - and God be with you all). I came across a fascinating post written by a... Continue Reading →
The Black Death - we all know the term. And we all know the basic story: if you got the plague you got horrible boil things that were black and puss-filled, and you dropped dead quickly. And I guess that is it in a nutshell. But there was way more to it than that. The... Continue Reading →
This is our beautiful dog, Bella. Unfortunately, Bella has terminal cancer and each day is a bonus. We had our third "Oh God, this is it" moment with her this morning. Luckily, for the third time, (and following a dose of big-time pain killers), she is much more comfortable and interested in the world again.... Continue Reading →
Today, I put up our Christmas tree. I always put it up on or by the first weekend of December. Not before December. Always before the end of the first weekend though. Tradition is tradition - particularly for a genealogist and writer of historical fiction stories. Every year, for about two weeks before I put... Continue Reading →
