On the 5th November 1821, two hundred years ago today, the sailing ship the Mariner made its way up…Family folklore said that John Edward and Mary Ann sailed for Australia the day after they were married, but this does not appear to be…Nov 4, 2021Nov 4, 2021
Republished with permission from the Southern Highlands Newsletter #243, July-September 2021…NORTHERN LIGHTSOct 2, 2021Oct 2, 2021
What’s in a name?On the 12th October 1839 the Sunda, a British merchant ship, was wrecked on the coast of Hainan, on its way to Canton, China. Lloyd’s…Oct 24, 2020Oct 24, 2020
The most expensive restaurant meal in the Universe.Last year a combination of doubt and curiosity led me to investigate a plot line in the movie “Mary Poppins Returns.” A story line which…Aug 25, 2020Aug 25, 2020
Workers of the galaxy, unite!There is an established sub-genre of literature known as the ‘industrial’ or ‘social conditions’ novel. It is epitomised by novels written…Jun 19, 2018Jun 19, 2018
Have you heard of Nellie Bly? Elisabeth Bisland?Most people will be familiar with “Around the World in 80 days”, a novel by French author Jules Verne published in 1873 in which his main…Jun 3, 2018Jun 3, 2018
“There are no heroes of the French Revolution” — discussMy French language teacher and I were discussing this possible essay topic recently and I decided to put my thoughts in writing. This piece…Apr 21, 2018Apr 21, 2018
From the Summoner’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the Canterbury Tales written between 1387 and…“You wished you had our labour all for naught. But the High God, Who all this world has wrought, Says that the workman’s worthy of his…Mar 28, 2018Mar 28, 2018