by Jo Hodgkin | Nov 9, 2023 | Amateurs in Eden
Where did the troops stationed in Egypt during the Second World War chose to spend their leave? Where did ‘men fresh from sandy months in Egypt’ find ‘fresh greenness a welcome change’? . Where did they go for its ‘sunny Mediterranean atmosphere, its smart modern...
by Jo Hodgkin | Mar 30, 2023 | A Good(ish) Man in Burma
Advice for invaders: when planning to take over a sovereign state, it’s a good idea to frame it as a ‘rescue mission’. At the height of the imperial era, the British knew this well. By 1885, when they were getting ready to take over Upper Burma, a...
by Jo Hodgkin | Mar 14, 2023 | A Good(ish) Man in Burma
The day Harold Fielding Hall died was not short on drama. Just hours before drawing his final breath, he wrote, or dictated, a new will which left everything to the four year old daughter of his cousin. His wife and children were to receive nothing. It’s a bit of a...
by Jo Hodgkin | Mar 10, 2023 | A Good(ish) Man in Burma
In July 1905 a remarkable short story appeared in Temple Bar Magazine. Its author, Harold Fielding Hall, was well known for his book on Burmese society and religion, The Soul of a People, which was on the way to achieving almost cult status among Edwardian readers....
by Jo Hodgkin | Mar 6, 2023 | Quakers in Love
A few days ago a friend sent me a photograph of a small watercolour, painted almost 200 years ago. He wrote ‘I have been given a floral watercolour miniature from my aunt Rachel’s house on which she noted on the back that it was painted by Sarah Rickman in 1830....
