Category Archives: Uncategorized

One of the highlights of my recent trip to southern India was  to  visit the botanic gardens  in a place known now as Udhagamandalam, (officially  at least) although I didn’t hear anyone anywhere call it that.  Instead they all talked … Continue reading →

I’ve just returned from a trip to southern India where one of the most amusing incidents was being taken to Banana Street, a narrow alleyway that led off the main fruit and vegetable market in  Madurai. The 40 or so … Continue reading →

  All that talk of seaweed and photography by Anna Atkins in last week’s post reminded me that, like fern collecting, seaweed collecting was a very big thing in the mid-19thc and taken up by many middle class women as … Continue reading →

Today’s post is about another woman you’ve almost certainly never heard of but definitely should have done. She was a botanist and  almost certainly  the world’s first female photographer, yet she didn’t use a camera to make her images because … Continue reading →

Choosing a successful wedding present can often be difficult but in 1816 the British government made a pretty good guess.  Princess Charlotte, George IV’s only child and the heir to the throne was to be married to Prince Leopold of … Continue reading →