Improve Mind and Mood by Reading Fiction
Would you believe that reading books like Moby Dick and The Lord of the Rings can help improve our brains and creativity? No expensive course, or attaching yourself to the electricity grid for a boost. Just open a good book to improve mind and mood. My husband died in...
Lady Katherine Grey: A Tragic Gothic Love Story
Why does Lady Katherine Grey lie above her husband in Salisbury Cathedral? Discover the tragic Tudor love story behind this remarkable tomb
What We Bury: Why Gothic Fiction Speaks To Us
A Gothic Misconception Picture a midnight corridor, a flickering lamp, creaking floorboards, and walls that whisper long-held secrets. Gothic fiction has a certain mood, and it can be easy to dismiss it as mere shadow and spookiness. But gothic fiction isn’t about...
The Whispering Wind: A Gothic Motif in Classic Literature
Why the wind? From rattling shutters to howling moors, the wind is one of the most evocative elements in Gothic fiction. It slips under doors, moans through corridors, and sweeps across lonely landscapes, reminding characters, and readers, that the world around them...
7 Timeless Reasons We Tell Stories
(And How Your Journal Can Too) Storytelling and journaling are two sides of the same page - one gives voice to the world around us, the other gives voice to the world within. Together, they help us make sense of who we are and where we’ve been. We have always told...
The Glade That Sparked a Legend: Tolkien Roos
It was raining on and off as I drove home through the quiet village of Roos. The sky was shifting between slate grey and sudden brightness, the kind that makes you pause. I thought I might take a picture of the 13th-century church under the dramatic clouds, and maybe...
The Journaling Journey: From Overwhelm to Clarity and Peace
Have you ever sat down with a journal and not known where to begin? Maybe your mind is too busy, or you’re simply exhausted. Maybe you’ve tried journaling before, but gave up because it didn’t give what you hoped for. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many...
Creating a Cosy Journaling Routine
Simple Steps To Get Started Journaling can be a powerful tool for self-reflection, stress relief, and personal growth. But to truly make it a habit, creating a cosy, inviting space can turn your practice into a ritual to look forward to, rather than a task that has to...
The Legend that Inspired a Bestseller
Black Dogs and Devon’s Dracula What’s the link between The Hound of the Baskervilles and Buckfast Church in Devon? How does a legend spring from people’s perceptions? There is a legend that attracted Arthur Conan Doyle’s interest, so much so that he visited the...
Resistance, Resilience and Inner Peace at Helmsley Castle
From Helmsley Castle to Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire History can feel irrelevant nowadays - just interesting stories for entertainment - but we can learn from the resilience of people in the past, There’s no doubt they were a lot like us, faced with challenges...