Category Archives: History

Catford Literary Festival

The weekend of 1 and 2 October saw the inaugural Catford Literary Festival. I missed events on the first day, but I was part of the second day where I chaired two panel discussions and met many lovely people. The Catford Literary Festival was set up by Natasha Clarkson of the Abbottshall Healthy Lifestyle CentreContinue reading “Catford Literary Festival”

Festival of Sleep

Working as a Museum Director brings many privileges, not least the surroundings and the sense of history. Each day is an occasion. Each visitor’s reactions and responses are fascinating. Museum of the Home, where I have the joy to work, is a fascinating place. Set within former almshouses, the gracious 18th c proportions are domesticContinue reading “Festival of Sleep”

Partition and the British Identity

It’s absolutely true to assert that Partition is as central to modern identity in the Indian subcontinent, as the Holocaust is to identity among Jews; branded painfully onto South Asian consciousness by memories of unimaginable violence. Yet the identity never examined is that of the British then, and now. There has been – in BritainContinue reading “Partition and the British Identity”

Home: Telling it like it is

Home is a complex subject, and that’s why it makes a good topic for conversation. In this podcast, playwright, cultural leader and polymath Chinonyerem Odimba takes us on a quest to find the meaning of home.

Telling It Like It Is: Technology

Technology is increasingly manipulating our minds. What we think we want might not be what we actually need. And this is making us sick. So, what can we do about it? Take a look or listen to the podcast with my guest, Ian Douglas.

The Historical Presence

Until we claim the future with positivity and hope, the past will always be our stumbling block. The story of Robert Aske, The Royal Africa Company, profits from slavery, and how they funded the Haberdashers’ Aske’s schools.

Telling history like it is

A conversation with Professor Corinne Fowler of the University of Leicester, and Director of ‘Colonial Countryside: National Trust Houses Reinterpreted’