I’m absolutely delighted to have passed the Windsor and Eton Endorsement Course, and to now be able to guide in Windsor – at the Castle, in the town, and in Windsor Great Park – and in Eton.

Windsor is one of those towns that grew up around a historic building – in Windsor’s case, Windsor Castle, and built on the orders of William the Conqueror at the end of the 11^th century. There is such a wealth of history attached to the Castle from its early days to the time of Edward III and the founding of the Order of the Garter in 1348, to the changes made by King George IV in the 19^th century, and the restoration after the 1992 fire.

And the beautiful parkland in the Great Park – such as Savill Gardens, Virginia Water, Valley Gardens the Long Walk with the Copper Horse statue of King George III at the end – offers the perfect space for walking and getting away from it all. The fields of Runnymede are also a must-see, where King John gave his seal to the Magna Carta in 1215, the event commemorated by the Magna Carta Memorial and which sits alongside the Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial and the Kennedy Memorial, remembering the life of the assassinated American President, John F Kennedy.

Across the Thames from Windsor, Eton is most famous as the home of Eton College founded by King Henry VI in 1440 and with 21 of the UK’s prime ministers being Old Etonians. Eton itself is charming and well worth a walk through the streets – as is a tour of Windsor, with historic buildings ranging from Charles II’s mistress Nell Gwynne’s house, to the historic Guildhall dating from the 1680s, and where King Charles III married Queen Camilla in 2005.

In addition to guiding across Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire, I’m now looking forward to doing walks and tours in Windsor and Eton.

If you’re interested in doing a guided tour in Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire – in any of the cities, towns, or historic buildings – or in Windsor and Eton, please do get in touch.

Thank you to Hanwell WI (Women’s Institute) for being so welcoming yesterday evening. It was lovely to meet you all – and I’m so glad that you enjoyed my talk about A Weekend to Pack.

It was very special, too, to be talking about one of the letters from George’s sister, Winnie – written not five miles from Hanwell WI’s meeting venue at the William Hobbayne Centre in St Dunstan’s Road – albeit written from a distance of over 80 years.

Following the ‘evacuation crisis’ of July 1940, letters were the only form of communication available to the separated families. And while most of the letters sent between the ‘bachelor’ husbands and the evacuees were about life in Hong Kong and all the news from Australia, the families’ lives were set against the backdrop of the home country at war.

There was concern for the progress of the war, concern for families and friends in the services, and increasingly for family and friends back home in the UK, particularly after the start of the Blitz and the German bombing raids in 1940.

Winnie and her husband, George’s brother-in-law, Sid, lived at 83 College Road, Isleworth, and it’s from there that Winnie writes about one raid in November 1940:

 Sometimes I think mentally it is worse for you and Hilda to be separated as you are than for us, Sid and me, facing the bombs together. That looks a bit like heroics written down, but one does feel better together. I find that on ‘home guard’ nights, of which tonight is one, I simply loathe it. I have a friend up to sleep with me, and we are already ensconced in the air raid shelter, hence the pencil. I brought a fountain pen with me, but I was a bit delayed in coming out, and then a Nazi plane appeared and the guns thundered out so I took to my heels and on the way in my haste I dropped it, and as it is past ‘black out’ I can’t look for it ‘til the morning, as they are very fussy over using torches nowadays.

We sleep in the shelter every night, as we have had a lot of bombs dropped in this district, and quite a lot of damage has been done. Practically every night they drop a few round about us, but of course we are not one of the worst districts by any means. I expect the people in the East End would think we have had nothing.

It was lovely to know that so many from the Hanwell WI knew Isleworth well, and College Road – and I’m sure Winnie would have been delighted to know that people were ‘reading’ part of her letter 80 plus years on.

So, thank you again, to all at Hanwell WI for letting me share George and Hilda’s story with you – and some of Isleworth’s Winnie and Sid’s.

The Medieval Hall in Salisbury was the most delightful – and appropriate – setting for the Celebration Evening on Saturday 7 October 2023, marking the end of the South Central Blue Badge training course.

It was a wonderful evening with speeches from Alistair Chisholm – Dorchester Mayor, Town Crier and Blue Badge guide – as well as from various people from the ITG (Institute of Tourist Guiding), and a chance to see again so many of the guides who’d helped tutor and train us during the course.

And it was very exciting to receive our ITG badges, and our certificate from Time Team archaeologist, Phil Harding.

And congratulations to all my fellow new South Central Blue Badge guides!

I’m really looking forward to judging the entries for Southampton Bitterne Library’s short story competition.

The theme is ‘Libraries’ and the closing date is Monday 31 July 2023 – and so if you haven’t submitted an entry yet, there’s still time!

Entries must be no more than 1,000 words and can be hand-written or typed, and submitted by hand or via email to elizabeth.pinchen@southampton.gov.uk or to andrea.withey@southampton.gov.uk.

The competition is part of Bitterne Library’s 60^th anniversary celebrations – and there’s a £25 book voucher for the winner, to be announced at the 60^th Anniversary Garden Party on Saturday 9 September 2023.

This competition is for over 16s, but there’s a children’s writing competition too, and you can find out more information for both competitions at Bitterne Library.

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t belong to a library! As a child we had cardboard tickets, with one inserted into the borrowed book’s docket and kept inside the library, and the return date stamped inside a label inside the book. There were no online renewals, email reminders or self-service check-in and check-outs.

But what hasn’t changed is books on shelves! Whether it’s non-fiction or fiction and whatever the subject or genre, libraries are the most amazing source for information, entertainment, enjoyment. And today’s libraries offer even more with computers and internet access, groups and clubs.

And so much inspiration for those short stories! I can’t wait to read them.