War

The Grand Duchess, her art and war

The image above is of a postcard in my possession. It is entitled “On their way to war” and was taken from a painting by Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia. Olga apparently painted this artwork in the early 19th century, perhaps at the beginning of World War I. But

Read More

Similar but Different

The early years of the 20th century seem to have promoted conflict in a number of countries, especially in Europe. As I’m typing this, I am travelling on a train from Belfast to Dublin, having spent a couple of interesting days in what is still a walled city. My first

Read More

Family history – we all have a story

The word “history” has its origins in the Greek language, from words which stood for “learned”, “wise man” and “finding out”. One could almost say it is a wise man who finds out and learns about his story. I believe it is important for all of us to find out

Read More