Category Archives: customs and tradiitons

Getting Ready for October: The Screaming Skull of Bettiscombe Manor

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Regina Jeffers

Bettiscombe is a small village and civil parish in west Dorset, England, situated in the Marshwood Vale 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Beaminster. Dorset County Council’s 2012 mid-year estimate of the population of the civil parish is 70. This … Continue reading →

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The Christmas Eve Truce of 1914

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

The Christmas truce (German: Weihnachtsfrieden; French: Trêve de Noël) was a series of widespread but unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front around Christmas 1914. In the week leading up to the holiday, German and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange … Continue reading →

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UK “Real” Estate: The Isle of Portland and Nanny Diamond Fairies

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

The Isle of Portland and Nanny Diamond Fairies The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, 6 kilometres (4 mi) long by 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) wide, in the English Channel. Portland is 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of … Continue reading →

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Celebrating Christmastide

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Celebrating Christmastide Christmastide (also Christmas or the Christmas season) is one of the seasons of the liturgical year of most Christian churches. It tends to be defined (with slight variations) as the period from Christmas Eve to the Epiphany. This … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Regency era | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Open Christmas Letter 1914

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

In the lead up to Christmas 1914, there were several peace initiatives. The Open Christmas Letter was a public message for peace addressed “To the Women of Germany and Austria,” signed by a group of 101 British women suffragettes at … Continue reading →

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Do You Speak Jane Austen? Part One

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

I have run this series previously, but it never hurts to revisit a “good thing.” Part I: Do You Speak Jane Austen? When my son was about three years of age, he shocked several onlookers at the mall by saying, … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Regency era | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

The Etiquette of “Visiting” and How Jane Austen Used the Tradition as a Plot Device

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

The Etiquette of “Visiting” and How Jane Austen Used It as a Plot Device In the 1800s, morning calls or visiting upon a household developed a certain protocol, and those who broke protocol were often shunned. First a calling card … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, Advocate for Protestant Principles

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, 5th Earl of Nottingham (1791–1858) was an English politician known for duelling with Prime Minister Wellington. Hatton, born at Kirby Hall, Northamptonshire, on 19 May 1791, was grandson of Edward Finch-Hatton, and son … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, dueling, George IV, Great Britain, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, military, real life tales, religion | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

“Memento mori,” or “Remember to Die”

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Memento mori (Latin ‘remember (that you have) to die’), or also memento mortis, “remember death”, is the Latin medieval designation of the theory and practice of the reflection on mortality, especially as a means of considering the vanity of earthly … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, Elizabethan drama, gothic and paranormal, Great Britain, legends and myths, medieval, mystery, real life tales, religion | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Adder Stones? Hag Stones? Witch Stones? Magical Powers or False Hopes?

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Adder Stones, Hag Stones, Witch Stones…Do You Know These? Adder stones are usually glass stones with a naturally occurring stone in them. Archaeologists have found them in both Britain and Egypt. In Britain, they stones are also called hag stones, … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, gothic and paranormal, legends and myths, Living in the UK | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments