One cannot spend six weeks in England and not eat a full English breakfast, right? Well, perhaps one might eat such a meal at a bed and breakfast, a country restaurant, or a pub. It struck me as odd, even ironic, that I found myself ordering the full English breakfast at Côte brasserie. Actually, I ate… Read more

On Tuesday, July 25, I made my first trip to the Hampshire Record Office (HRO) in Winchester. I had hoped to go sooner, but due to my service obligations and research at Chawton, I didn’t get around to making my way over until the 25th. While it is easy to get a day pass to look… Read more

On Tuesday evening of last week, Adam and I visited our new friend Nancy’s house. Nancy is friend to Sarah, our former Alton host, and as Nancy lives in Winchester, she encouraged Adam and me to call on her when we made it to her hometown. Nancy made us American-style tacos that were yummy, and… Read more

When I volunteered last Wednesday morning at JAHM, I was pleased to interact with so many children. You might think that kids in a museum like this would be bored. What’s there to do? Well, for starters, when children enter the museum, we immediately ask them if they would like to play a game. We… Read more

Winchester Cathedral has Evensong on its schedule every evening. What a treat to those coming from near or far! On Thursday night, we attended a service. It was packed–see? Just kidding. It was not crowded at all. We sat farther away from the vestibule than I would have liked to have sat, but we could… Read more

As usual, I volunteered at Chawton House Library on Monday. In the morning, I opened the house and blogged (my blog will be featured on the CHL website next month). Then I sat in the Lower Reading Room and read a fabulous story by Maria Edgeworth called “The Good Aunt.” It was not what I… Read more

When I was walking through Kingsgate in Winchester and stopped at the bookshop, I found a series of drawings of famous sites in England. One of these sites, to my delight, is a lighthouse. As a Mainer, I love lighthouses. I visit them as often as I can. I even have a sweatshirt with all… Read more

In 1956, Johnny Cash wrote his famous song, “I Walk the Line,” backstage in a small Texas town. He once said in an interview, “I was newly married at the time, and I suppose I was laying out my pledge of devotion.” Recently, I walked the line, but for a different love (JA), and in 2017… Read more

July 22, 2017 Welcome to a Day of Exhibits: “Jane’s Winchester: Malady and Medicine,” “The Mysterious Miss Austen,” and “Educating Boys and Girls in Jane Austen’s England 1775-1817.” Two of these exhibits were housed in one building: the Winchester Discovery Centre. The last can be found in the Winchester College treasury. I will begin with… Read more

On Friday, July 20, Adam and I visited Oxford. The purpose of this trip was twofold. First, Adam had a meeting with a colleague’s colleague who works at U of Oxford. Second, I wanted to visit the “Which Jane Austen?” exhibit. The words shown above in the picture open the exhibit. After snapping this pic,… Read more