by Valerie | Mar 4, 2015 | art, General interest, history, people, travel
I am writing this while contemplating the evening sunlight on the Minster. This winter there have been many sunny weekends, but paths are muddy and National Trust or English Heritage sites and country houses are closed for spring cleaning. What a blessing it is to... by Valerie | Feb 17, 2015 | people, travel, Uncategorized
For some years I used to go twice a year on lecture tours of the USA. It was a very pleasant way of seeing friends from the summer courses I had led in Cambridge and in Tuscany for UCLA and Berkeley. It was also a chance to travel all over the country and meet many... by Valerie | Feb 2, 2015 | Uncategorized
I’ve just finished the second revision of chapter 1. Rewriting has started. I’ve decided to seed references to current events and see how they grow. My current reading helps me to stand back and reconsider. Having not read a book by Colm Toibin for some time, I... by Valerie | Jan 26, 2015 | General interest, history, Italy, people
Days are getting longer, very slowly. I’m told it begins on my birthday, 29 December. The sun is setting every day nearer to five. When it sets at five I begin to feel the first intimations of spring. I note there are a few tiny yellow crocuses peeping up through the... by Valerie | Jan 19, 2015 | childhood, General interest, history
Days before the Paris tragedy, for some reason I was thinking about the teddy bear incident in Sudan some years ago. It must have been because Daniel, aged 5, was looking for a name to give to ‘Lisa’s child’. Lisa is his favourite cuddly toy, a lamb who has rapidly...
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