Out of the mouths of babes 😂 Told Manchester City (😬) supporting, football mad 5-yr-old grandson that Pep Guardiola is leaving because he needs a rest. His response “But he’s always sitting down” #PepGuardiola #ManchesterCity

Some quiet time before daughter & grandson arrive for Sunday tea. Beginning #DCIRyan No11

Dialling down life with nature at RSPB St. Aidan’s. Heard the booming bitterns but they remained elusive. #RSPB #WestYorkshire

The unexpected bonus of a #OnePlaceStudy I was sent a cast photo from the #Batley St Mary’s Amateur Operatic Society’s 1950 production of The Gondoliers. I knew from previous research my dad & uncle were in the show. Now I have photographic proof! #OnePlaceWednesdsy #LocalHistory wp.me/P4Cet3-67W

Jumping for joy this afternoon. A real personal breakthrough as I managed my 1st ever bend, on the 1 draw though rather than the 4 draw. Still to nail the latter. #Harmonica

More stone carving examples, these from #Hartshead parish church. From a stone mason’s headstone with a fitting demonstration of the artistry & craftsmanship of that occupation, to a tablet in the vestry wall listing 5 churchwardens in 1713, & carving over the south porch #WestYorkshire #StoneMason

The Walton Cross, a Grade II* listed scheduled monument. The huge base of this Anglian High Cross survives in situ, with its Celtic & Norse influenced carvings still visible. It is thought to date from around AD900 #WaltonCross #ScheduledMonument #Hightown #SpenValley #LocalHistory #WestYorkshire

Is this a sketch of Anne Boleyn by Holbein? An interesting use facial recognition technology for artworks. #AnneBoleyn #Tudor www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

April was a mega-month for the #Batley St Mary of the Angels #OnePlaceStudy with a huge donation of school photos, & 12 new posts packed with names bringing the total to 442 & including a very special WW1 women’s post. 3 more were updated. Full details with links below #LocalHistory wp.me/p4Cet3-66g

Haworth looking rather splendid in the sunshine today #Haworth #WestYorkshire #BrontëCountry

Using Ireland’s 1926 census for client research this afternoon, and finding what I need. #FamilyHistory

Here’s the Batley St Mary’s & Birstall St Patrick’s April parish history Bulletin snippets…with some additional information too #Batley #Birstall #LocalHistory #OnePlaceStudy wp.me/P4Cet3-65t

There’s a new #Batley St Mary of the Angels post about a Mayor’s tea in 1915 for women & dependent widows whose husbands & sons were in the military. It names them & I’ve spent ages trying to establish which were St Mary’s. It has helped identify more serving men too #OnePlaceStudy wp.me/P4Cet3-5X0

Next book on my reading pile. #Bookworm #LottieParker

Emails like these make me realise my #Batley St Mary of the Angels #OnePlaceStudy is appreciated: “Congratulations on your excellent blog. It’s an inspiration & a marvel: imagination, dogged research, clear exposition make it invaluable. You can be sure that it will make a lot of people very happy.”

Just finished my final Asthma + Lung UK body breathing course session. I’ve looked forward to these Wednesday morning sessions. Lots of helpful techniques to rebalance, ground the body & mind & regulate breathing. Not only useful for asthma, but everyday life.

Historic 1926 census shows Protestant population drop in Irish Free State #FamilyHistory #Ireland #Census www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Are you a Charlotte? Do you know a Charlotte? If so, this event on 25/26 April is especially for you #Brontë #BrontëSisters #JaneEyre #WestYorkshire #DayOut brontebirthplace.com/210-charlott...

Exploring the 1926 Census of Ireland. My direct family lines left by the early 1920s, but I’m finding wider family links & exploring the changes in the areas my family had lived between 1911 and 1926. The census is free to view. #FamilyHistory #Census #Ireland nationalarchives.ie/collections/...

1st run through of my @sogorg.bsky.social Brontë Connections for Family History talk this aft. Overall went really well including timings. And it has made me see their novels in a totally new light #Brontë #FamilyHistory #LocalHistory #BrontëSisters #WestYorkshire portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/2...

I needed a couple of final slide photos for my 25 April Brontë talk for the Society of Genealogists. A perfect excuse to pop across to Haworth. #Brontë #FamilyHistory #Haworth #BrontëSisters Talk booking details: portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/2...

In my #OnePlaceWednesday news I’ve been given an amazing bundle of old Batley St Mary’s school photos for my #OnePlaceStudy. I’m in the process of sharing them to try to put names to faces. It’s probably going to take several months to post them all, but 3 done so far wp.me/P4Cet3-63K

Working on the final iteration of slides & notes this week for my #Brontë #FamilyHistory themed @sogorg.bsky.social online talk on 25 April. I may just share my Brontë connections quest outcome! And, bonus, I should be over my Covid this week & able to sneak in another Haworth visit!

A very local stop off this morning in search of my Brontë history links. This was Roe Head, the school attended by the Brontë sisters, and where Charlotte went on to teach. #BrontëSisters #Mirfield #RoeHead #Brontë #LocalHistory #WestYorkshire

Well all I can say is I wish Arriva Yorkshire buses covering the 10 miles from Heckmondwike to Leeds ran to timetable like the Artemis II Integrity to earth round trip distance of circa 695k miles did #ArtemisII #Integrity #ArrivaBuses #WestYorkshire

Wow, just WOW. I’ve been given a pile of #Batley St Mary of the Angels school photos dating from what looks like 1950s and 1960s. No idea whose on them. I’ll be adding them to the #OnePlaceStudy over the coming weeks & months #LocalHistory

A Village at War, a documentary about #Kirkburton and #Highburton during World War Two, on tomorrow at 6pm, 11 April 2026 at Kirkburton All Hallows Details below #WestYorkshire #WW2 #LocalHistory #Film www.eventbrite.com/e/a-village-...

Today I’m working on my 25 April SoG Brontë talk about finding connections for family history researchers. It’s looking like a case of working out what to leave out! portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/2... #FamilyHistory #Brontë #Talk

Definitely outgrowing the view space on my sewing frame. Cross stitch comparison between 3 and 10 April 2026 #CrossStitch #BothyThreads #Fox #RachelFroud

Easter Monday in Haworth - steam trains & Brontë history including a ‘Banksy’ type piece of wall art from last year’s Bradford City of Culture #Haworth #Brontë #SteamTrain #BrontëSisters #WestYorkshire

My latest blog post is about a unique literary history location in West Yorkshire, pivotal to the lives of the Brontë Sisters. You can even sleep in the same room the sisters slept in over 2 centuries ago. #Brontë #BrontëSisters #WestYorkshire #BrontëBirthplace #BronteCountry wp.me/p4Cet3-61H

The Grade II* Listed Birstall St Peter’s. Charlotte Brontë based Briarfield Church in Shirley on the old church. Mainly rebuilt in circa 1870, the lower part of the Norman tower does remain. Her friend Ellen Nussey is buried here #Birstall #EllenNussey #Shirley #CharlotteBrontë #ListedBuilding

It’s now getting too big to view it in full on my sewing frame. Cross stitch comparison between 27 March and 2 April2026 #CrossStitch #BothyThreads #Fox #RachelFroud

If you’re looking for an Easter outing I can recommend a unique literary history location in West Yorkshire, pivotal to the lives of the Brontë Sisters. It’s not Haworth, though you could easily combine both in a day #Brontë #BrontëSisters #Thornton #BrontëBirthplace #BronteCountry wp.me/p4Cet3-61H

Introducing my new reading corner companion, all the way from Wales #Ewemoo #Footstool #Sheep

Time for the Batley St. Mary of the Angels update for 1-31 March 2026. The big news is there’s a new subject area, along with 3 new posts, signposted so you can find them. It means there are now 430 parish history pieces. #Batley #LocalHistory #OnePlaceStudy #OnePlaceWednesday 👇🏻 wp.me/p4Cet3-61w

The Brontë Birthplace April What’s On Guide. Located at Thornton, 6 miles from Haworth, it’s a fantastic community initiative & a must visit for any #Brontë & local history enthusiasts. A perfect Easter holiday day out. Please do share. #WestYorkshire #BrontëSisters 👇🏻 brontebirthplace.com/events/

The March 2026 Batley St. Mary’s and Birstall St. Patrick’s parish history bulletin pieces are now online #OnePlaceStudy #LocalHistory #Batley #Birstall 👇🏻 wp.me/P4Cet3-615

Another visit this morning to Thornton, the birthplace of Charlotte, Emily & Anne Brontë. The house, with such a central role in this country’s literary history, is a must for any Brontë enthusiasts. It’s near #Haworth, so easy to combine the two. #Thornton #BrontëSisters #Brontë #WestYorkshire

Hadn’t realised it has been quite so long since my last cross stitch update, but to be fair I’ve not had much free time for sewing. As you will see from the 6 Feb to 27 March 2026 comparison #CrossStitch #BothyThreads #Fox #RachelFroud

Next book up is The Killing Time by Elly Griffiths

New Batley St Mary of the Angels #OnePlaceStudy Post about a St Patrick’s Day concert in 1901 #OnePlaceWednesday #Batley wp.me/P4Cet3-61a

Musketeer d'Artagnan's remains believed found under Dutch church www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Snowflake is spaced out, but thankfully back home (not that she seems to know where she is!) She’s spent today at the vets for bloods, heart scans & lung x-rays, requiring anaesthetic. Someone will be spoiled rotten tonight by human mum & dad. Hope the heart tablets work. She means the world to me.

That magical crossing #HolyIsland #PilgrimsWay #Causeway #RefugeBoxes #Lindisfarne

The latest Batley St. Mary’s one-place study post takes the parish back to 1952 & the schoolboys’ production of The Bohemian Girl. Laurel & Hardy get a mention too! #OnePlaceStudy #Batley #LocalHistory wp.me/P4Cet3-60I

It’s a must do for any Holy Island visit - watching a Lindisfarne Castle sun rise. There is a palpable change in atmosphere as the sun emerges on the horizon to signal the start of a new day. #Sunrise #HolyIsland #LindisfarneCastle #Lindisfarne

Sun setting over Pilgrim’s Way #Sunset #HolyIsland #PilgrimsWay #Northumberland #Lindisfarne

Holy Island statues of St. Aidan and St. Cuthbert #HolyIsland #StAidan #StCuthbert #Northumberland

The iconic Lindisfarne Castle, a building which for many represents Holy Island #LindisfarneCastle #HolyIsland #Lindisfarne #NationalTrust #Northumberland