Few may have heard of the village of Lyndhurst in Hampshire; and perhaps fewer still will have heard of one of its residents, Miss Alice Liddell. But many will surely know the book she was supposedly immortalised in - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. On a summers day in 1862, whilst accompanying Alice and her two … Continue reading ‘How long is forever? Sometimes, just one second.’
I have been watching a lot of Carl Sagan's Cosmos lately. Astronomy is something which has always been a great interest of mine. It's a comfort to me to look at the night sky, searching for the constellations and planets that reveal themselves night by night, as we wind our way across the elliptic on … Continue reading It’s written in the stars
As we approach the end of the year, I am feeling reflective over the journey I've had in 2018. I was going to write a post about it but as I started, I realised it's pretty complex and probably not all that interesting anyway! The high level overview is simply that I underestimated the impact … Continue reading A New Year
My local war memorial in Etchingham is in a terrible state at the moment. I have watched it deteriorate slowly over the course of the year, and it saddens me. The names are now barely legible, with some completely faded. It's been reported via War Memorials Online, which is a quick and easy way to … Continue reading A link forged in stone
I'm currently reading 1915 by Lyn Macdonald and shared a small passage about Italians leaving London when Italy joined the war with an Italian colleague of mine, as the stereotyping made me chuckle (he assures me all the wildly emotional Italian stereotypes are indeed true). When we think of 1915 we may think of the … Continue reading Italy decides…
"It would have been utterly impossible for us to have waged a successful war had it not been for the skill and ardour, enthusiasm and industry which the women of this country have thrown into the war." - David Lloyd George British Prime Minister David Lloyd George was clear about how important women were during … Continue reading Glory of Women
I'm no artist but I've always enjoyed being creative with pencil and ink in particular. Sketching aspects of the Great War is something which helps me to feel connected with Them when I'm away from the Western Front. In 2019, I'm hoping to take this a little more seriously with a talented friend of mine … Continue reading Inked
Over the weekend I booked my first trip of 2019 to the Western Front. I couldn't wait any longer than January! It's just an over night visit, but it'll be enough time to visit some special places and we're staying at Talbot House in Poperinghe. Staying at Talbot House is something I've wanted to do … Continue reading Toc H – Part 1
This weekend a wonderful item came into my possession. My Aunt runs a local charity shop and generally saves me anything Great War related that comes in. My heart soared when I found among a large pile of books an old edition of 'The Complete Works of Rupert Brooke' Whilst many people may not have … Continue reading A book on Brooke…
Here we are then, the centenary of the Armistice has been and gone. The 11th hour, of the 11th month 100 years later, arrived in Flanders and on the Somme as it did in London and Burwash and many other places dear to my heart. Soon, it was 11.01, and a little after, 11.15, then … Continue reading There are no endings, only new beginnings
Lucy Betteridge-Dyson 