Author Archives: dgm

I’ve been puzzling over the labels on a lot of old bottles, mostly of aromatic oils, I’ve been documenting down at Chiltern. I was assuming that because some of the bottles looked to be nineteenth century (the glass had a … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago I wrote about using a Linux based laptop for research and documentation. At the time I suggested that you could use a local install of Notable to keep work in progress notes – I suggested Notable … Continue reading →

Last night, J and I started watching the David Tennant version of ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’. It’s a complete romp, and very enjoyable for that, ideal Sunday night viewing. It’s been years since I read the book, but … Continue reading →

A few days ago I retweeted the following from the Yorkshire Post Rare book laced with poison found by Leeds librarian who came across a list of toxic tomes https://t.co/7AI9BOnpMd pic.twitter.com/quBi44l9QM — doug moncur (@moncur_d) October 30, 2022 Strangely, I … Continue reading →

I was looking at the Facebook paleography group recently and came across the following post Now I’ve seen the reverse N before in old grave markers in country areas in Scotland. If you look at the inscription you can see … Continue reading →

Recently I reread a couple of early Len Deighton novels – the Ipcress File and Funeral in Berlin – which I ‘d picked up cheaply online. I always thought that Len Deighton was underrated as teller of spy stories as … Continue reading →

I have an interest in Egyptology, or more importantly the impact of the re discovery of ancient Egypt on the culture of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Europe and America, from patent medicines with vaguely pharaonic packaging through buildings … Continue reading →

While we were in the Kimberley, I read a book – The woman in the library by Sulari Gentill. Like a lot of my recreational reading it’s a murder mystery, but this one got under my skin a bit. Most … Continue reading →

Off and on I’ve been puzzling over Henry Thomas Hill, who was J’s great^n grand parent who appeared with his wife Anne in Castlemaine in 1848. His history prior to then has been a puzzle to me and is hopelessly … Continue reading →

Back at the end of June I tweeted a link to a story from South Africa about the looting of the Avalon cemetery in Soweto, and that’s certainly one view of how cemeteries end. But there’s another one. Australia, and … Continue reading →