Category Archives: Inspiration

Blanched Bones or Human Life?

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 211. When visiting a country such as Italy, with so much to take in of historical interest, it is perhaps all too easy to only have eyes for the ancient ruins and ignore everything else. The following inspirational quote is … Continue reading →

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Generous and Humble Hospitality

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Quick Quotes 33. The following quote is from Experiences of a Little Traveller, by Elisabeth Leonard Chapin, edited by her sister and published in 1898. Volo, Greece, May 28, 1891. I have just finished a most interesting trip of two … Continue reading →

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Japanese Artistic Talents

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 206. Recently we have been looking at a few choice quotes from Notes of a Nomad, by Canadian author Lady Harriet Julia Jephson, published in 1918. For the most part it is a journal of her travels, but it starts in … Continue reading →

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No Change for a Greenback

Posted on April 18, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 197. John Muir (1838-1914) was a celebrated naturalist known as “John of the Mountains”, a key figure in the push for the establishment of National Parks in the USA. The following quote is taken from his account of A Thousand … Continue reading →

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Watch out for Lizards!

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 192.  In 1900 American writer Laura G Collins published a collection of letters from her various travels around Europe, titled By-gone Tourist Days: Letters of Travel.  Although many of them are relatively dry descriptions of tourist destinations, at times she … Continue reading →

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Revolutionary Tech, 1904

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 186.  An early publication concerning audio technology was The Talking Machine News, a monthly magazine for “users and makers of talking machines”; in other words, phonographs, or what we would now term “record players”.  By 1904, technology was marching … Continue reading →

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The Spark of Inspiration

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 181.  In 1817 Henry Matthews went on a “tour in pursuit of health”, and wrote about his experiences in Diary of an Invalid, in 1820.  In Florence he visited the Palazzo Pitti, taking a keen interest in the art, … Continue reading →

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A Painful Journey

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 178. We have previously looked at a few snippets from Forest Scenes and Incidents in the Wilds of North America, by George Head, published in 1829.  Head was the assistant commissary-general of the commissariat of the 3rd division of … Continue reading →

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Happy New Year of Peace

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 176. One hundred years ago today, when people wished each other a “Happy New Year” it was a wish for a year of peace, after the Great War that had been waged since 1914 had finally come to an … Continue reading →

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The Post-War Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Christmas History 38. Christmas 1918 was a time for thanksgiving, relief and perhaps taking stock, because the Great War had come to an end. Kaiser Wilhelm had abdicated on 9th November, and Germany had signed an armistice on 11th November. However, … Continue reading →

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