The story comes from Hanmer in Flintshire in the seventeenth century and concerns Elinor Evans who was a maidservant. She had injured her ankle and a surgeon named William Jones was called. She had financial assistance from her friends and neighbours to pay for treatment. It cost 30 shillings. You can judge for yourself whether she got…
Author: gbadmin
Wales is Weird
It won’t come as a surprise to you to learn that Wales is one of the strangest countries in the world. And it is official – paranormal investigators say so. We are surrounded by the unexplained. The message is clear. If you want to be puzzled and bewildered then come to Wales. The place is…
The Holy Grail
Did you know that the Holy Grail, used by Christ at the Last Supper and then later to gather His blood from the Cross, is in a secret bank vault in Wales? Trust me, Indiana Jones got it spectacularly wrong. The story is quite straightforward.The Grail was brought to Glastonbury by Joseph of Arimathea and closely…
Cover to Cover
I went to Mumbles today to the lovely bookshop, Cover to Cover on Newton Road (just up the hill from Oystermouth Castle) to sign some books for the owner, Sarah Rees. It is an excellent place, a proper old fashioned bookshop where the books are loved and the customers respected. As featured in The Independent’s list of 2010…
Charlotte Wood
Those of you who have seen my pieces in Welsh Country Magazine will know that the artwork for them is provided by Charlotte Wood. She is an extremely talented artist and the illustrations that she provides add a huge amount to the overall effect of my stories. In fact often the pictures are better than…
Ancestors in the Attic
Fellow- contributor to Welsh Country Magazine, Karen Foy, has a new book. It is called Ancestors in the Attic and shows how you can use those unconsidered trifles and random memorabilia in your attic to help your research into your family history. It is full of handy hints about what to do do with old legal documents…
Sweaty Feet
I have found this helpful hint in the notebooks of a policeman from 1859 – PC 207 Lewis Jones from Gorseinon. Perhaps it works, perhaps it doesn’t, though probably if you use enough of it you will stop worry about whether they are sweaty or not. One ounce of salts desolved in a pint of boyling…
Welsh Country Magazine – January
I received my copy of the January 2013 edition of Welsh Country Magazine. It is edition 50 and another impressive publication. It contains some excellent art work from Charlotte Wood and Ditta Szalkai who have both supplied illustrations for my next book, Swansea Murders. My piece is about Ernest Willows from Cardiff, aviation pioneer and celebrity, 1886…
How to Buy
I have now installed a simple How to Buy page on the website where you can order any of my local history books and pay for them via a link to Paypal. Let’s hope that it works! You will find the page at the top of the menu
Swansea Then and Now
I was pleased to see that the book reached number 4 in the Waterstone’s Top Ten Best Sellers just before Christmas! Clearly this year’s must-have present. The comments I have received about the book have a common theme – that the archive pictures I have used show a much more interesting and attractive Swansea. The…