Category Archives: Stories

I had an exemplary kedgeree for my breakfast this morning along with a lovely lapsang souchong tea. Now if you’re reading this in the States, you might be puzzled as to what I ate. And when you hear what it … Continue reading →

She was tall for her age, and lean, a great tree-climber and a magnificent storyteller — Patricia McKillip’s Winter Rose Here in this quite remote Scottish Estate where the nearest town’s a good thirty-five miles away, the group of less than … Continue reading →

I found this charming letter in a bundle of archival material that we were cataloging for the Library this past week. L.L. Littlesworth, Esq., was the Estate Librarian for most of the late Victorian era. From the letters of L.L. Littlesworth, … Continue reading →

Her name was Bronwyn ap Tewdwr and she was our guest judge for the annual pudding contest. ‘A pudding contest?’ you ask. And I say, ‘Why not?’ Real pudding, like real ale, is a long way from the packaged puddings … Continue reading →

Dear Anna, I thought you’d appreciate this copy of Ciaran Carson’s Last Night’s Fun: In and Out of Time with Irish Music, which is the best book ever done on Irish traditional music. I particularly like the chapter on what to … Continue reading →

Let me tell the tale of Irish coffee while I fix you one. It is said the very first Irish coffee was invented by Joseph Sheridan, a barkeep at an airbase located in Foynes, a small town in the West … Continue reading →

The dragon was carved of a local stone in multiple pieces by a local firm after consultation with an artist who sketched out the dragon. It didn’t look like the Welsh national symbol but rather was more akin to a … Continue reading →

It was three in the morning, the time most babies are born and more people die than at any other hour. The Pub was empty but for me and The Old Man writing in his journal as His Ravens looked … Continue reading →

From The Sleeping Hedgehog, date unknown. No idea if it’s a story retold there, or a true story transcribed into written form. Not that it really matters, does it? There, my friend. I am not good company tonight, but if you can … Continue reading →

She was simply dressed clothes of summer colours and she had a traveling bag over her back and a flute case as well. She had a travelling bag over her shoulder, and the Estate cats were following her up the path to the Manor … Continue reading →