About Preludes

The Common-or-Garden Blogger
often found lurking around historical areas
looking for gift shops.

People never really stop learning and in the end we're all curious by nature.

When I was young I adored the Horrible Histories series. I hid behind cushions when watching Jurassic Park but greedily devoured all the information I could about dinosaurs, and I filled my head with the wonders of the solar system. As a kid, curiosity is a joy that we take for granted and you've got a lot of time to indulge in it as you grow.

When I was older I was lucky enough to find a love of social and cultural history and to follow it to a Master's level. But no one can stay at school forever and soon enough I shuffled out into the busy 'real world'. Without a chance to practice history formally any more, but still finding myself full of questions, I started this blog to share some of the topics and queries that keep the spark of my curiosity burning.

Like what, you ask?

Preludes updates every Sunday. I try to keep things varied and interesting. Typically you can find:

• Long, more detailed articles
  E.g 'Why do we pierce our ears?', 'The "Wildlife Park" of Chernobyl',  'The wonder of Snottites and the search for alien life' or 'How far can we separate the artist from their art?'
• Personal travel/ event posts
  E.g '  'A visit to Chatsworth house'. 'A trip to Bishop's House in Sheffield' or 'A stroll around the "lost village" of Damflask', 'Remembering Remembrance Sunday'
• Book reviews
  E.g 'Paranormality: why we believe the impossible' or 'Bess of Hardwick, first lady of Chatsworth'
• Recommendations and Resources
  E.g 'Where can I listen to medieval music?' or 'Preludes Recommends PBS iIeas Channel'
• Primary Sources from history
  E.g '"A most true and marvelous strange wonder": The killer whales of Ipswich on the 11th October 1568'
• Short taster posts from around the 'net
  E.g 'No accounting for taste: the painted statues of ancient Greece and Rome' or 'Historical Dopplegangers'

But you know what? We're always growing.

 At the end of the day, I'm a gal in her mid 20s in the UK and what I write about will always be influenced by this. There's no way I can even begin to touch on all of the interesting topics out there. Which is why it mean so much if you get in touch here in the comments. Let me know what you think about the topics and what your experiences are from your side of the world. Most importantly, let us all know what is fascinating for you. If you have something that you're burning to share with the world why not even team up and contribute in a guest post?

On the go? Preludes will even fit in your pocket.

If you want to keep updated but don't want to keep checking back all the time, you can sign up to our newsletter via the right-hand column and get updates straight to your inbox. In the 'Contact Us' section there you'll also find links to all of Preludes' satellite-sites, such as our Twitter page.

Happy reading and, as ever, thank you for the support!