Christina Hollis: Winter Draws on...

Compliments of the season!

The weather is cold and blustery here in Gloucestershire, but so far we've only had frost and rain—endless rain, for weeks—rather than snow. The days are short, but we've had some beautiful views of the full moon between the rainclouds.

We don't put up our decorations or tree until Christmas Eve, but this weekend I really must settle down to writing the Christmas cards. It's a lovely task, especially when I've got a cup of tea and mince pies to hand, and some carols on in the background. AntPDC put together a lovely presentation on YouTube a few years ago to accompany Victor Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony. I never get tired of watching it at this time of year. Some of the photos are of the historic York. Now I've visited the city several times, I can recognise some of the places and it makes this film even more special.

If you're still looking for ideas for presents, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol is full of stories and photographs of the brave, clever and resourceful women who helped make the city famous.  Read about Ada Vachell, who drove her parents mad by taking their servants out on day trips to the seaside, or Sarah Henley, who in 1885 survived falling over two hundred feet from the Clifton Suspension Bridge when her long Victorian skirts filled with air like a parachute!

You can buy Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol from Amazon, or direct from the publisher, Pen and Sword Books.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Midwinter, I hope you have a happy, peaceful holiday season.

Christina Hollis: Writing History—Wet Washing and Drying Days

It's been raining cats and dogs here in Gloucestershire for days. While the downpour setting has swung backwards and forwards from "car wash" to "drizzle" it has at least been mild. The winds, though blustery, have been nothing compared to the terrible hurricanes and typhoons suffered in other parts of the world. I love letting the washing dry on a line strung across the kitchen garden, but there's been none of that this week.

My first few weeks back at university have been busy. I've been deciding on modules for this semester and the next, along with my ideas for my dissertation. One of the reasons I signed up for this course in Creative and Critical Writing  was because I found researching Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol fascinating. I wanted to find out more. Where better to do that than in a university? It  has zillions of books, and a huge archive.

I'm working on the effect technology had on women's lives during the twentieth century—specifically, the way it made household chores easier.

Find out more at
mybook.to/BristolWomen

Until mid-December 1930, the wives of miners in the Forest of Dean didn't have one wash-day a week. They had at least five days of hauling water, and heating it on the stove in order to scrub their husband's work clothes. Men came home filthy at the end of their shift at the pit. After stripping off his boots and dirty clothes outside the back door, a man would soak in a tin bath in front of the fire in order to get clean.

Meanwhile, his wife had the mammoth task of getting his clothes clean and dry as fast as possible. That wasn't easy at a time when Forest villages had no electricity supply. There wasn't much money about in those days, so when it came to clothes the general rule was "one on, one in the wash". During the summer, drying clothes outside on a washing line was easy—until it rained. Then, and during the winter, it was a case of living with steaming wet washing draped over clothes horses and fireguards all around the house.

On Saturday, 20th December 1930, Christmas came early for some of those Forest of Dean wives. After months of anticipation, Cannop Colliery opened some state-of-the-art pit head baths. 

Instead of walking home filthy, men stripped off their wet clothes as soon as they reached the surface. They showered in comfort, then dressed in everyday clothes for their walk home. They left their sodden workwear to dry overnight in the bathhouse's specially-designed heated cabinets. From that day on, the women's drudgery of doing laundry after every shift down the mine became a memory. Washday became a task done once a week, usually on a Monday.

Not to be thrown out with the bath water...

In the days before my family bought a washing machine, that was the routine in our rural Somerset home, too.  It was an all-day job. Water was heated in an electric boiler.  Shirt and blouse collars and cuffs were scrubbed before being worked up and down in soapy water. 

Then the washing was rinsed, hauled out of the water, wrung, then put through the mangle (mind those fingers!) 

Even as a tiny child I was involved in every stage. I used to love blowing soap bubbles between my cupped hands. I wasn't so keen on getting wet cuffs, though. Gran would roll up my sleeves but somehow they either slid down again, or the water would run up my arms!

The best things about washing day before automation was the sound and sight of fresh washing cracking and dancing in March winds, or the fragrance of Fairy Snow and Sunlight soap on a hot June morning.

Do you have any memories of wash-day?

Christina Hollis's first non-fiction book, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol is published by Pen and Sword Books. You can find out more about that here, catch up with her at https://christinahollisbooks.online, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Christina Hollis: September—New Starts, Old Friends

I love a quiet life. Writing lets me lead one. When you spend your days in front of a keyboard, the rest of the world passes you by—most of the time.  

My wedding bouquet

Everything changes in September!

For me, this month is on a par with December. There's something going on all the time. Much as I enjoy living like a recluse, there's too much going on over these thirty days to sit at home.

For a start, the birthdays of both my husband and his sister fall this month. When we got engaged, my then soon-to-be husband wanted to marry in September. "That way I'll never forget our anniversary," he said—and he never has.  My sister's wedding anniversary is a few days before us, so there's no excuse for forgetting that, either!

The Society of Authors has a small but lively local group which meets in the next county. I attended a meeting only last week.  I'm also a keen member of the Romantic Novelists' Association. Their local chapter has unmissable meetings too, so I've been to their September session as well. 

I also love cake!

A few years ago, the York chapter of the RNA hit on the great idea of hosting a formal afternoon tea  for people who live in the North of England and Scotland. It isn't always easy for them to make the London meetings of the association. York is much closer for them.  

York's a long way from me, involving a long car journey to the nearest station before a three-hour train journey, but my daughter is very fond of that historic city. She did some of her training as an archaeologist there so three years ago I booked us a weekend break there. She showed me round, and I took her to the York tea. A day's sightseeing followed by cake and fancy sandwiches in great company was a fantastic experience. The RNA tea is now an annual fixture in my diary. 

September is back to school time, of course. In my case it's back to university. I'm half-way through my Masters in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Gloucestershire (you can find out more about that here) and I can't wait to get back to it after the long summer break. I've already been researching some ideas to incorporate in my final modules.

Find out more at mybook.to/BristolWomen

After working on my book, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol, I've become interested in the way the simplest advances in technology have made huge changes in the lives of working people. I've taken out an annual pass for the Dean Forest Heritage Museum, and will be visiting it as often as possible to help with my research. The museum and its archive are stuffed with interesting items and books. They even have a miner's house on the site, decorated and stocked  exactly as it would have been in the late nineteenth century—complete with china chamber pots under each bed!

The final thing written in my diary this month is the talk I'm giving to the Bristol and Avon Family History Society.  I met several members at the Bristol city archive while I was researching Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol. They were very helpful, and friendly. Now I've been invited to their family history fair, and I can't wait!

Have you got anything exciting lined up for the last days of summer? 

Christina Hollis's first non-fiction book, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol is published by Pen and Sword Books. You can find out more about that here, catch up with her at https://christinahollisbooks.online, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Christina Hollis: These are a few of my favourite Apps...

Pic by Gerd Altmann via Pixabay

Back in May I asked for app suggestions for my first smartphone. Thanks to you, I'm now on Instagram as christinahollis8664. 

Although I've loved using my  phone's camera from Day One, I haven't posted anything with it yet. I've been snapping several rarities in the woods around here, and didn't want them tracked down. It took me a while to find out how to switch off the EXIF tracker on my phone. 

The Day Job—
find out more at mybook.to/BristolWomen

Checking my Twitter and Facebook accounts is always fun, but I try not to do it too much when I'm out and about. There's plenty of time for that when I'm sat at my computer. When I'm away from my desk, I'd rather enjoy the face-to-face company of friends  than stare at a screen.

When I'm walking the dog I (quite literally) dip in and out of BBC Sounds, the radio app. Although I can download podcasts and listen offline, live broadcasts lose the signal beyond about a hundred yards/metres from home. It's a case of miss the end of a radio play, or turn round and start for home!

My top favourite app at the moment is definitely Headspace. This was mentioned during a women's empowerment course I went on during June, which was organised by the University of Gloucestershire. The course was amazing. You can find out more about that on my blog. Headspace teaches mindfulness through meditation. I spend fifteen minutes or so each morning using it to calm my mind before another busy working day. 

It's a lovely way to find some perspective.

Christina Hollis's first non-fiction book, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol is published by Pen and Sword Books. You can find out more about that here, catch up with her at https://christinahollisbooks.online, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Christina Hollis: Quick as a Flash!

Pic by Ipicgr via Pixabay

That's how fast the past six months have gone. I'm already well into my second semester at the University of Gloucestershire, yet as recently as last July becoming a mature student was the last thing on my mind.  I picked up a prospectus when I took my son to the university's open day and...here I am, studying for my Master's in Critical and Creative Writing!

Over the past twenty-six weeks I've read what feels like a million books, analysed the living daylights out of the pastoral tradition, developed the idea for a novel about coercive control, and written the first ten thousand words of a non-fiction project on the changing role of women in the countryside. Oh, and I'm also part of the editorial team putting together the university's 2019 collection of new writing. 

Friday12th April was the end of term. I spent the first day of my Easter break recovering! A lie-in until six am, then dog-walking, gardening, and eating. That's my idea of the perfect holiday. Today I'm blogging, then next Sunday I'll be taking part  in the village's Easter Service.  

We're not going away at all for the holiday, but compared to many of the women I wrote about in my most recent book, Struggle and Suffrage In Bristol I don't have anything to complain about.

Find out more at http://bit.ly/PSBristol

In August 1886, social campaigner Mary Clifford wrote of a workhouse treat she organized to the seaside.* A poor one-eyed girl who had been found a position as servant in a lodging house fifteen years earlier was allowed to accompany her old friends on the trip. The annual workhouse treat to the seaside was the sole outing she had all year. As well as putting her helpless mistress to bed each night, she was looking after another old lady of ninety-two and waiting on other lodgers in the house. This poor servant made the most of every minute of her day at the seaside. She gathered a long black tail of seaweed, filled her pocket-handkerchief with pebbles as a souvenir to take back for her mistress, and spent her holiday money on a bunch of country flowers. 

It makes you realise how lucky we are these days, doesn’t it? 

As well as non-fiction, Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women. She has written more than twenty novels, sold nearly three million books, and her work has been translated into twenty different languages. When she isn’t writing, Christina is cooking, walking her dog, or gardening.

You can catch up with her at https://christinahollisbooks.online, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

*Williams, Gwen Mary, Mary Clifford Bristol, 1921 Arrowsmith books.