Holed up in the Bodleian
When the stygian gloom of January bears down on you there is no better place to hole up than the Bodleian Library in Oxford. And so it was, my January was very busy with researching, reading, and writing notes; and consuming buckets of coffee and plates of cake. Hours of fun spent scanning zillions of databases and getting distracted by interesting snippets that you happen on like an account of a skirmish in the Indian Mutiny reported in the Cornishman newspaper in 1858.
Oh, and then there is the joy of calling up old manuscripts and books from the stack. I could spend forever getting lost in there, like Alice in Wonderland but there are books to be written.
What better time is there to go on a course to learn to write novels. I learnt about finding the narrator’s voice, the role of the author, and the problem of siting the narrative. 
I’m getting the hang of this so I’m about ready to pick up my writer’s pen for the two books in the pipeline. But, I haven’t done the Christmas cards yet. Too late.
So Chinese New Year cards will have to suffice, and then it’s the books, and maybe some more courses.
Old Lady by the Sea 
Sounds like a lovely way to spend a dreary January! What about the skirmish from 1858? Was it excitement that led the Cornishman to report on it?!
Love the blogs Old Lady BTS xx
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Thanks very much for the kind comments; please stay tuned-much good stuff is in preparation. As for the battle report in the Cornishman, it’s a good example of the practice of syndicating news from other sources to save costs on journalists. In this case the Times is the source. It drew on the field officer’s dispatch to army HQ in Calcutta which was then sent to London army HQ where the Times picked over the newsworthy items. Not bad for the 1850s and the practice has stood the test of time!
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