Writing began about 5,500 years ago as a way of keeping accounts and records, and later of passing on news, views and stories. Before this, people had to rely on what they could remember, and this was not always very accurate. As people began to trade and travel widely, a more practical and reliable system [...]

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What is bookcrossing? It is the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.
I’ve heard of this before but have never thought about doing it … until now! If you visit the website -BookCrossing - FREE YOUR BOOKS! - you [...]

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One of the major reasons for the spread of plague in fourteenth century Europe was the generally wretched and squalid conditions in which most of the people lived. The vast majority of people were serfs or poor peasants. They lived in small villages of windowless thatched wooden huts.
People knew little of sanitation. [...]

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Physicians at Paris University claimed that the stars had infected the sea, causing it to give off a vapour, which fell as rain. The only way to protect yourself from this vapour was to light huge bonfires; then you had to make sure that you were not rained on, and that you did not [...]

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People in the seventeenth century didn’t know what caused the plague and many believed it was a punishment from God. They did realise that coming into contact with those infected increased the risk of contracting the disease themselves. Cures and preventative measures were not at all affective.
Many doctors, knowing that they could do nothing [...]

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In two weeks, I’ll be on holiday. In two weeks and two days, it’s Christmas!
It has come around too quickly and I’m not prepared. This year, the days are blending together and I’m getting nothing done. It’s frustrating because I have so much to do.
Also, the internet connection at work is playing [...]

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Bubonic Plague was known as the Black Death and had been known in England for centuries. It was a ghastly disease. The victim’s skin turned black in patches and inflamed glands or ‘buboes’ in the groin combined with compulsive vomiting, swollen tongue and splitting headaches made it a horrible, agonizing killer.
The plague started in the [...]

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The Teenage Queen
From an early age, Cleopatra’s family were at war - not only with the people it ruled but with each other. The people suffered under the cruelty of Cleopatra’s father, Ptolemy XII, due to his alliance with Rome, the citizens rioted and chased Ptolemy out of Egypt. Berenice, Cleopatra’s older sister became queen [...]

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If you take a good look at the 18th dynasty and follow it through carefully, you will see how often families intermarried. In a lot of instances, the Pharoah would initially marry a cousin or sister but would then go on to marry his own daughter or grand daughter. It is also rumoured that one [...]

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I’m giving my main character a change of personality and was thinking of making her a loner. This would be ideal for the situation she’s going to find herself in and would be the cause of some major conflict. I’ve been doing some research on “loners” and this is what I discovered [...]

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