Tagged With: Legacies
Mr Atkinson’s Rum Contract – A review
From 2006 to 2018, Richard Atkinson worked as an editor at Bloomsbury publishers, rising to senior commissioning editor and responsible for some of the most successful illustrated cookbooks of the last two decades, including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage series. From 2010, he was increasingly occupied with researching and writing his own first book, a … Continue reading
My Grandfathers’ Chests [part 2]
It seems a long time since I wrote about William Slaughter’s small leather trunk in the December blog post, with Christmas and New Year falling in between. Now it’s 2015, and the anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign falls this year, reminding us that there were many other theatres of war than the Western Front, during … Continue reading
Letters from my grandparents
I have written before on the subject of letters from my grandparents and what they meant to me when I received them and what they mean to me now. I took one out of my writing box – a blue leather case I got for my 13th birthday (how I had longed for it and … Continue reading
(Re)visiting Life- the reason we write family history?
I came across an article recently which had been written earlier this year. As part of my family history research, I also research economic and political themes to gain a perspective on where some (monetary and political) systems have originated and how they have evolved. This is important in understanding the context of my family’s … Continue reading
5 Minutes a Day
At some stage during our last Writing Family History group meeting a suggestion rippled around us that when writing gets difficult, if nothing else, just write for 5 minutes a day. Emails followed and Patrizia committed to the whole group. ‘You can call me on it at the next meeting,’……, and that got me thinking. … Continue reading
Verify! The most chilling word for a historical non-fiction writer
The most chilling word to me in historical narrative non-fiction writing is – Verify! I find some pieces of my writing seem to end up having as large a word count in footnotes, citing sources and giving reasons for statements made that add interest and colour to the writing, as the historical story itself. For … Continue reading
The Last of Her Generation
My mother, Peggy Wise, is 92 and the last of her generation in my family. Her great-grandchildren will never know about her remarkable life and how it has been shaped by the two World wars of the twentieth century, unless her stories are written down. Talking to her about her memories and experiences led me to research into my … Continue reading