Category Archives: History

Mintaro & Martindale

Posted on 26 August 2021 by sheg4184

Only eleven kilometres off the Horrocks Highway that sprints through the Clare Valley, Mintaro is a tiny, rural village that has been tucked into the hills since Adelaide was a toddler. In 1984 it was declared a State Heritage site, … Continue reading →

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Victoriana

Posted on 29 October 2020 by sheg4184

I love, love, love Victorian kitchens – and I don’t mean the state of Victoria, so troubled with Covid restrictions, but Queen Victoria and the era of huge basement kitchens, à la Downtown Abbey. Deep within the British stately home … Continue reading →

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‘Conspicuous Consumption’

Posted on 23 August 2020 by sheg4184

Ayers House, now run as a museum by the National Trust, illustrates one of the early success stories in the history of South Australia. Situated on North Terrace, a tree-lined boulevard in the city of Adelaide, Ayers House is an … Continue reading →

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Windmills

Posted on 31 August 2019 by sheg4184

Patience. The windmill never strays in search of the wind.’ Andy J. Sklivis It’s been the perfect weather for ice-cream this past couple of weeks. The summer days have been long and gloriously warm. On our hill, 35 metres above … Continue reading →

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Operation Pied Piper

Posted on 11 July 2019 by sheg4184

Remember the childhood fairy tale about a man with a flute, who lured all the children of the village away from their parents, after the townsfolk failed to honour their promise too him? With the best intentions in the world, … Continue reading →

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Of Battenberg Cake & Coronation Chicken

Posted on 3 July 2019 by sheg4184

I have spent a long morning immersed in English history in the Great Hall at Carisbrooke Castle, trying to untangle the web of European connections that is the British Royal Family. What better way, then, to blow away the cobwebs … Continue reading →

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Glorious Gardens

Posted on 16 June 2019 by sheg4184

Spring is rolling into summer, and although the weather may not be participating, the fields and hedgerows are lush and green – even more so, perhaps, thanks to days of heavy rain. It wasn’t exactly what we were expecting though, … Continue reading →

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Carisbrooke Castle

Posted on 5 June 2019 by sheg4184

“It is my earnest hope and desire that with the help and co-operation of others, I may be able to form a full collection of objects of historical interest connected with the Island.” ~ Princes Beatrice of Battenburg When I … Continue reading →

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“‘Tis the Season to be Jolly”

Posted on 13 December 2018 by sheg4184

Trelissick House is a three-hundred acre country estate just outside Truro in Cornwall. Built in the 18th century by the Lawrance family, has had a chequered history, having been bought and sold several times over the intervening centuries.  Today it … Continue reading →

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Ibsen’s Norway

Posted on 24 July 2018 by sheg4184

‘The pillars of truth and the pillars of freedom – they are the pillars of society.’ ~ Henrik Ibsen Oslo in July. Boats and blue skies. A mad modern opera house, designed to look like it was rising from the … Continue reading →

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