Recent Posts
Jenner ‘the spy’
Jenner ‘the spy’. In times of international tension or war, fear sometimes leads to panic and suspicion. Anyone with a ‘foreign name’ can face hostility, even if they have lived in the communi... Read More
Rain in Cumbria
Rain in Cumbria: a rainy day read, with a wry poem at the end. ‘For the rain it raineth every day…’ Feste’s song at the end of Twelfth Night could have been written for 2023-24 – at least fo... Read More
Carlisle Journal & Thomas Gibson Cant
The Carlisle Journal, Carlisle’ first newspaper, was founded in 1798. A liberal weekly, it advocated civil and religious liberty and free political comment (source). And in 1873, some of its comment... Read More
Palm Sunday & carlings
Palm Sunday may be a ‘big day’ in the Christian calendar, but ‘only’ in church. As a child, I remember walking home from Sunday school clutching a palm cross – handed out after we were remin... Read More
Isabella Dalton – an unusual life
My post on Wilson Towers includes the information that for 14 weeks in 1904, he employed a housekeeper called Isabella Dalton – who then went back to live in Wigton Workhouse. Her story is unusual, ... Read More
Thomas Gibson Cant : a fishy tale
Thomas Gibson Cant, a Penrith solicitor with strong convictions about Justice, stood up for ‘the ordinary man’ against Penrith police. Part one of his story can be read in this post, but it ... Read More
Shrove Tuesday customs
Shrove Tuesday = Pancake Day. That is pancakes as in crêpes, not American-style. Served with sugar and lemon juice. Or maybe Nutella, if you have a sweet tooth. Or flambéed with alcohol, for the gro... Read More
Debauchery in Penrith
Debauchery in Penrith is part 1 of a series on a local Victorian solicitor, but also the story of a young woman shabbily treated by her boyfriend. Thomas Gibson Cant Thomas Gibson Cant, a Penrith soli... Read More