Human life

When the light at the end of the tunnel winks out – a somewhat sad story

Some weeks ago, I was at Marstrand. Most of you have never heard of this little Swedish gem, but should you ever make it to Sweden, I would recommend a visit. An hour or so north of Gothenburg, Marstrand was once a heaving, bustling place, an important harbour city that thrived due to the herring. …

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The matter of an infected Scottish marriage and its consequences

I wrote this post several years ago, but it remains a favourite of mine, mainly because the idea of mary Queen of Scots and John Knox working together as marriage counsellors is so…wow? Impossible? So, I give you Mary and John and their efforts to save a failing marriage! These days, we tend to have …

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I do, I do – until I don’t.

This year, hubby and I will be celebrating thirty-five years of marriage. OMG!!! I’ve been married to the same guy for almost as long as my PT has been on this earth.  Given that close to 50% of all marriages end in divorce, hubby and I deserve a badge of some sort. I did a …

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Precious, precious love

As a writer with a huge soft spot for romance, the word love tends to summon forth images of kisses and soft whispers in the dark, gentle fingers trailing down a naked back, a giggle that ends with a gasp as someone nibbles a sensitive earlobe. Love, of course, is much more than that. Now, …

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A man and his women – meet abolitionist John Brown in Susan Higginbottham’s book!

Today, I am hosting a stop on Ms Higginbottham’s Coffee Pot Book Club Tour featuring her excellent book John Brown’s Women. I knew who John Brown was – like many of you, I’d grown up singing about him – so I was pretty intrigued when I was asked to host this tour. I was, however, …

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Why it is important to choose your dining companions with care

My sister shared an interesting little story with me about a well-travelled man who decided to drop in on a tribe of cannibals – not my first choice of people I’d like to have dinner with, let me tell you. Apparently, the first major hurdle in getting to Cannibal Land was to find someone to …

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Ring out the old, ring in the new – YES PLEASE!!!!

New Year’s Eve is a date imbued with hope. It is also host to a variety of traditions, all of them meant to ensure a happy future—or at least give us a glimpse of what is to come. Eating twelve grapes at midnight is one of those “let us hope things go well next year” …

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The bride wore white for the first time ever. Meet a15th century trendsetter

Quite some time ago, I wrote about Margareta of Denmark, a rather impressive woman who ended up as the de facto ruler of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. When Margareta died in 1412, her adopted son Erik of Pommerania took over the reins of government, and I suspect this thirty-year-old man was more than thrilled to be …

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When life becomes a numerical exercise

Today, I am stepping out of my comfort zone (historical posts with a little Anna spice) to share something rather personal. Oh, God: I can see some of you yawning at the thought—as you should, perhaps, seeing as my life is not exactly the stuff of which novels are made. Well, okay, I once balanced …

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Dying for his king – or how a would-be Parliamentarian ended up a dead Royalist

There is a picture in the National Portrait Gallery that I have always been particularly fond of. Originally, I was drawn to it more because of the formal garden in the background than the sitters in the foreground (this was when I was thinking BIG when it came to garden design), but every time I’ve …

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