Category Archives: Uncategorized

Just Because X, Doesn’t Mean Y

One thing I cannot stand is something I’ve started to call ‘black and white’ thinking’. This may not be exactly the best term for it – ‘blinkered’ thinking might be a more accurate term perhaps – but it’s what I call it when people don’t know a lot about a topic, but seize on oneContinue reading “Just Because X, Doesn’t Mean Y”

Nuancing Some Stereotypes

This is being posted on Commonwealth Day, so, Happy Commonwealth Day! Have a read of my previous post on here about the Commonwealth if you want to know more about that. This post, though, is about my favourite Commonwealth Realm: Canada. There is so much I would like to say about Canada: we’ve already hadContinue reading “Nuancing Some Stereotypes”

De-mystifying the Monarchy

This post is the second half of a two-part look at two topics which are very important to me, both closely related and both inadequately understood: the Commonwealth, and the Monarchy. I am far from an expert in this subject; I am still learning about the monarchy, for two reasons: the country I am fromContinue reading “De-mystifying the Monarchy”

Clarifying the Commonwealth

This post, and the one which will shortly follow it, are more ‘how it is because’ posts rather than ‘how it was’, because these are two closely related topics which are very current. I’m talking about the Commonwealth and the monarchy. For context, I live in the UK but am from Canada, and have familyContinue reading “Clarifying the Commonwealth”

A Shorte Introduction of Grammar Schools

I have been interested in the history of education for years now. I have also felt drawn to learn about the early modern period (c. late fifteenth to mid-seventeenth centuries) and English history, so now early modern English education has become my particular area of interest. This post will address a few of the mostContinue reading “A Shorte Introduction of Grammar Schools”

‘I Shall Find It On The Map’ – Part 2

In the previous post, we talked about the street names in York, particularly some of the more obscure names. These were, in many cases, streets which have been around, in generally the same place, for centuries, preserving a flavour of the layers of York’s history. Street names show the occupation of a place over time,Continue reading “‘I Shall Find It On The Map’ – Part 2”

‘I Shall Find It On The Map’ – Part I

One of the first things I bought when I moved to York was a street map. Never mind that we have google maps, or that I would eventually live here long enough to not really need a map – my soul needed the map, I suppose. The same goes for Victoria: one of my favouriteContinue reading “‘I Shall Find It On The Map’ – Part I”

Churches, Vanished and Decayed

I love to imagine how a place once looked. This is particularly the case for cities I know well: if I were to walk through York, for instance, x number of centuries ago, would I be able to find my way around? How different would it be? Thinking about all those layers of history isContinue reading “Churches, Vanished and Decayed”