I’m Joy and, in another life, I’m a tour guide.
I’ve shown visitors around parts of Europe for over ten years- 2020 was supposed to be a big year for my business, that hasn’t exactly worked out! Instead I’ve decided to embrace the fact I won’t get to do the tours I normally do, and tell some of stories I don’t always get to tell.
I love slow travel, stained glass, cycling and tiny dogs.
When it comes to history I prefer the parts that don’t always make it into the classroom. If you want to read about army officers war rooms or kings on battlefields you’re in the wrong place.
Check out Wild Women for stories relating to the female of the species, Wild Adventures for tales of my outdoor pursuits, and Wilder than Fiction for reviews of the books and films that took their inspiration from the past, or a deeper look at the truth behind the Hollywood version!
Recent Posts
In Review: Llama Drama by Anna McNuff
Drama Llama is available now! Wheeeeee crack bounce urrrrghgrrrrrgrrrrrgrrrrrrgrrrrrrgrrrrrrgrrrrrrgrrrrrrr “Oh dear” was not the phrase that went through my head as my bicycle made that set of noises on Thursday night, as I was whizzing a long a narrow country road with lots of twisty turns, still 5 miles and …Read More »
Swimming Statues
On 7th June, during protests against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd, a statue of Edward Colston in Bristol was toppled, rolled through the city and dumped in Bristol Harbour. It has provoked a number of opinions. There is a lot to unpack with this. There are many …Read More »
First Solo Bivvy
As much as I love curling up with a good book, getting outside and being able to put myself in the footsteps of history is one of the great things about living in the UK- it’s all so close. Getting outside, away from computers and other people, is also something …Read More »
The Scandalous Lady W by Hallie Rubenhold
You know when you’re reading a book and everything is happily coming together for the protagonists you’ve bonded with, when you realise that the fact there’s still 85 pages to go means something terrible is going to have to happen? I had the opposite problem with this book. I was …Read More »
A Wild History of Mouthwash
Hygiene is important, especially during global pandemics; right now all the memes and government advice bulletins are focused on hand washing but if I see one more version of the 20 seconds hand wash poster or video of kids poking bowls of wet pepper I’m going to go full Lady …Read More »
Wild Woman: Mary Seacole
I’ll be honest with you, this entire enterprise was in inspired (in part) by ComedyCentral’s Drunk History. History can be funny, irreverent, full of swears, and still (generally) accurate. It can be enough to give an overview, and maybe inspire someone to look further. So that’s what I did. I’ll …Read More »
What’s in a name?
I grew up in an area called Waterloo, near Liverpool. Lovely place. Seaside town, plenty of parks, a fabulous community cinema. The kind of place that has been absorbed into the suburban sprawl of Liverpool without much difficulty. Since 2007 it has been the home of Another Place by Antony …Read More »My Manifesto
History is a vast early warning system Norman Cousins. What is a manifesto? A public declaration of policy and aims. [1] Does a blog need one? Probably not. But you know how in school your teachers would tell you to make sure you answer the question that’s being asked not …Read More »