Category Archives: Uncategorized

Well, we’ve had two unrelated stories that hint at there having been more contact between Rome and contemporary cultures in China, Korea and Japan. Personally I tend to dismiss this. Roman mirrors and glass have previously turned up in graves … Continue reading →

Some time ago I read a novel set in Moscow during the Russian civil war which mentioned people drinking carrot tea – something I had not come across before. Google was not much help – the most I could turn … Continue reading →

Almost a year since I started with Ernesta Drinker Bullitt’s Uncensored Diary from the Central Empires, I finally got around to reading my Indian print on demand copy, and if you are interested in such things it was worth the … Continue reading →

       Some time ago  I wrote about the slightly unusual provenance of the Beechworth gun. Well there’s another Krupp 75mm gun close by in Chiltern, and as you can see from the photograph, it was one purchased directly … Continue reading →

When you have an old wooden house, as we do, you don’t really have an old house. Unlike a brick house, like the 1860’s terrace we had in England, wooden houses have boards replaced, floors relaid, possibly several times in … Continue reading →

As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m currently reading Judith Flanders’ book on the Victorian creation of crime and crime fiction, and I came across a reference to a sprawling nineteenth century three volume novel, Not Proven, by Christina Broun Cameron, which … Continue reading →

To Wangaratta, to see Bell Shakespeare’s production of Othello. When we lived in Canberra, visits by Bell Shakespeare were must do dates in the calendar, so when we found that they were coming to Wangaratta for a single night, it … Continue reading →

I like detective stories. Always have, always will. In fact I have a deep affection for those set in medieval or classical times, even though I know they’re complete bollocks. Not the point, it’s a way to chill out, to … Continue reading →

As I’ve said earlier, J and I have abandoned Canberra for rural retirement in country Victoria. Being literary arty people we of course read books, go to the theatre and son, things which are still amazingly possible, with major theatre … Continue reading →

Since we’ve moved to Beechworth we’ve been making some use of the streaming box that our ISP included in the bundle, and one of the things we’ve been watching is 1864 Denmark’s War about the second Schleswig war. Now, I know … Continue reading →