Category Archives: Life
Beat Isolation Boredom With the Wildlife Trust’s Live Cams
Although I’m self isolating and have been since 10th March, I’m lucky enough to have both a front and a back garden. They are only small, but they give my husband and I the opportunity to take in some fresh … Continue reading
Who Would Want to Teach a Child This Nursery Rhyme?
When my youngest son was two, he could recite every nursery rhyme I knew. So, I visited my local library to find some new ones I could teach him. Although I did find a few more that were suitable, my … Continue reading
How Observant Are You?
I’m not very observant! How do I know this? It was brought home to me one day, many moons ago, while out shopping on my own. Minding my own business walking to the next shop I wanted to visit in … Continue reading
Will My Determination Pay Off?
As an author, the million dollar question is how do you get more people to read your books without giving them away free. I’ve read about some authors who spend tens of thousands of pounds promoting their book, and I’m … Continue reading
An actual account of life in Wigan at the time of George Orwell’s study!
ELIZABETH (ALKER) SMITH 1918 – 2012 – AN ORDINARY WOMAN LIVING IN EXTRAORDINARY TIMES. During the Great Depression, in the same 1936 year George Orwell was conducting his social study in Wigan, Lancashire, Elizabeth, just 18, discovered she … Continue reading
Those Dreaded Words – “You Need to Diet!”
“I’m on a diet”. How often we hear these words spoken nowadays, yet as a nation we’re all becoming increasingly heavier. Could we be the victims of faulty reasoning? When we hear the word “diet” we automatically think of all … Continue reading
A Great Compliment? No, it’s a Put-down
We always had great fun with our oldest granddaughter when she was little. Her mum went back to work when she was six months old and we looked after her two days a week from 7.30am until 5.30pm. We … Continue reading
An Unusual Holiday Souvenir
Many years ago, when my children were small, I bought a chunk of land. It is land of great historical importance as it’s the land where William the Conqueror’s army first set foot on English soil. I say … Continue reading
Is Our Obsession With Appearance Ruining Relationships?
Appearance Most of us like to look our best for special occasions, like parties, weddings, and Christmas. We believe our looks dictate how others see us and we’ll sometimes go to extreme lengths to improve our appearance and prevent our … Continue reading
It’s a Miracle!
Our Fifty-Fourth Wedding Anniversary Miracle Today, we’re celebrating our fifty-fourth wedding anniversary and we are the ones who are most surprised we made it. No, not because we don’t get along, have huge rows, or hate each other’s guts. Our … Continue reading
How Difficult is it to Trace Ancestors Whose Surname is SMITH?
RESEARCHING MY SMITH ANCESTORS When I first thought about doing some research on my family tree, I thought it would be an almost impossible task because my maiden surname was SMITH, a really common surname. My brother’s marriage confirmed to … Continue reading
The Day I Met The Other Me.
Happily browsing in a particularly long, narrow aisle of a clothing store, I was concentrating on the display of numerous tops and blouses. Carefully examining each one, I got about halfway down the racks when my path was blocked by … Continue reading
HITTING BRICK WALLS
HITTING BRICK WALLS IN FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH I spent over 14 years researching the many branches of my family tree and then reached so many brick walls, I decided to give up for a while and write the books I’d … Continue reading
Her Secret Family Means a Christmas Dilemma
Julie Simpson is finding out that Christmas invitations are even more complicated when you’re leading a secret double-life. She has two sets of parents; the ones who lovingly raised her and her recently discovered birth parents who informed her she … Continue reading
Creating a ‘Specific Friends’ List for Facebook Posts
To keep profile posts private from your other ‘friends’ eyes, you can create a ‘Specific Friend’s’ list. Here is how you do it:
Author -Carole Parkes 
CAN FACEBOOK WORK FOR YOU?
Small businesses and self-employed people like authors, artists, and craft-workers depend on social media for getting the word out about their products. However, if their posts are only seen by a small number of people, they are wasting their time … Continue reading →