Posted on August 19, 2009 by lucy
It’s not every day that you get a chance to claim a bit of Scottish literary history! This Friday – 21 August – marks the 90th anniversary of the presentation of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize which was set up by my cousin, Janet Tait Black neé Coats. The awards – one for biography [...]
Filed under: Cultural history, Family history | Tagged: A&C Black, Edinburgh book festival, Edinburgh University, George Coats, Ian Coats, J&P Coats, James Coats, James Tait Black, James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Janet Coats, Laura Marcus, Regius Professor of English Literature | 3 Comments »
Posted on April 17, 2009 by lucy
Ever since Julie Myerson’s book Home: The Story of everyone who ever lived in our house, house history has attracted a growing number of enthusiastic followers.
With a plentiful supply of historical sources to draw on, Edinburgh is an ideal place to pursue this hobby, whether or not it turns into a book or is just [...]
Filed under: Cultural history, Family history | Tagged: Edinburgh Writers' Museum, Gladstone's Land, World Heritage Day | Leave a Comment »
Posted on February 27, 2009 by lucy
I hope Sir Fred Goodwin, former head of Royal Bank of Scotland, reads his Aristotle because he is in dire need of a moral makeover.
Magnificence was a required aspect of all forms of cultural display and therefore expenditure in Renaissance Italy, a perception that was largely founded on the resurgence of Aristotelian ethics in Florence [...]
Filed under: Cultural history, Family history | Tagged: 2000 pounds a day, Aristotle, bankers pension, Coats family, Florence, Fred Goodwin, Fred Goodwin's pension, Goodwin and Paisley, Jeff Randall, magnificence vs excess, Paisley, Philanthropy, RBS, Richard Goldthwaite | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 10, 2008 by lucy
On Friday I was in London at the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the Women’s Military Hospital in Endell Street, near Covent Garden, which was run by the Women’s Hospital Corps (WHC) between 1915 and 1919 and was staffed entirely by women.
The event was organised by Dr Jennian Geddes, a great-niece of Louisa Garrett [...]
Filed under: Family history | Tagged: AS Byatt, David Byatt, Endell Street Military Hospital, Flora Murray, Hugh Byatt, Louisa Garrett Anderson, Olga Byatt, Olga Campbell, Robin Byatt, Women's Hospital Corps | 1 Comment »