Some work journeys are dull, but some aren't. And yes I did bribe @george-station-cat.bsky.social to get an audience. Many thanks to his human servants for letting me have a meet and greet.

a man wearing sunglasses and a hat with the words we 're putting the band back together ALT: a man wearing sunglasses and a hat with the words we 're putting the band back together

You're putting the BAND back together?!

Petition: Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills Apply energy intensive industry relief (Supercharger scheme) to the ceramics industry to help cut soaring industrial energy costs & support ceramics businesses, which are at the risk of imminent colla...

Please help save #DenbyPottery, thank you petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...

But where are the bears?!

My trip to Antwerp By Christine Swan As I posted previously, I recently discovered that I had ancestral routes in the Belgian city of Antwerp. However, I wanted to discover what else the modern city had to offer. Thi…

This week's blog post. Apologies for the very inspiring title: awfulrigourswretchedpay.com/2026/04/16/m...

I loved it so much, I filmed it .....at about 4am

It would be helpful. I've been fed up with all of the companies that now won't deliver to the UK. I have to keep going to Europe to buy decent chocolate!

Corneille Le Sedt – Belgian textile dyer By Christine Swan I love exploring the places where my ancestors lived and worked, and it has been a great pleasure to discover my links with the mainland. Last week, I set off for Antwerp to resea…

I spent the week before last in Antwerp to explore the sixteenth century world of Corneille Le Sedt, textile dyer: awfulrigourswretchedpay.com/2026/04/11/c...

Esther Deighton – death’s companion By Christine Swan In another time, Esther Deighton would perhaps have trained as a nurse. Throughout her life, she served others, sometimes at the very end of their lives. How do I know this, you m…

Two blog posts - the first tells the story of Esther Deighton, who appears as the informant on more death certificates than any other of my ancestors awfulrigourswretchedpay.com/2026/04/01/e...

That was a lovely moment and completely appropriate naming

A traditional Flemish building in Antwerp with a stepped gable and stone-framed windows. Many date from the sixteenth century.

Thank you. I have just returned from Antwerp on my latest piece of research of my Huguenot/Walloon ancestors, in this case, the Sedt/ Le Sedt, and Serré families.

The roof of a grey stone building with a golden heron statue on top

Behold! A golden heron seen on the Antwerp skyline. I snapped it just for you.

The interior of Antwerpen Centraal station with a stone staircase, curved ceiling, ornate windows, and grand, gilded station clock

Antwerpen Centraal station side view of main concourse with a patterned tiled floor, curved windows with marble support columns

Another view of Antwerpen Centraal concourse showing a Pret a Manger cafe, more ornate windows and columns. It also shows the upper roof windows.

The exterior of Antwerpen Centraal with a fairground big wheel outside. The building is just as ornate on the outside and fits well with other traditional buildings.

I'm just back from Antwerp - just check out this station!

Definitely cute

Say what?? This is a must-read headline

The osteopath spotted the burns and said"gosh, that must be very sore". I honestly couldn't feel it. The back pain overtook everything. It's terrible. Please send my best to your wife and I hope she gets a swift resolution.

I was prescribed very strong pain relief - but only 1 tablet per day. I took it in the morning. By the evening, I was climbing the walls. I went back to non-prescription that I could tailor to my level of pain. I also found a hot water bottle very effective, except, I burned the skin on my back

Your wife sounds like an incredibly resilient person and deserves swift treatment. I send her ( and you) my best wishes

That's ridiculous, I'm so sorry. I believe we will see outcomes worsen. We need more doctors and nurses, and definitely not AI bots or diagnosis via phone.

I'm no expert but won't this result in more patients bypassing their GP and going straight to A + E? We have seen this with lack of access to a dentist.

Perhaps a rival to Paris' Café Bleu? Thank you!

Thank you, I see that the MAS has a martial arts exhibition so that's a must for me 🙂

Thank you, I will definitely snap a photo of that one. I found this one last week in Rivington St, Shoreditch

Brilliant, thank you!

That's good as I am travelling by train - thank you!

Off to Antwerp on Wednesday, just because. Apart from researching my family tree, what should I see?

Absolutely! That's a rather lovely mural - where is it please?

When helplines fail to be helpful By Christine Swan I had no intention of writing this piece today. In fact, I had another post in planning but events have rather taken over. I want to talk to you about customer service helplines. …

This week's effort - born in frustration with automated helplines awfulrigourswretchedpay.com/2026/03/27/w...

I know

John Thomas English – Carman from South of the River By Christine Swan There is a little house in Curtain Road, Shoreditch, that I walk past every time I visit. Much like Ebenezer Scrooge’s house, it appears as if it ran up Curtain Road as a li…

This week's blog focuses on my great grandfather's half-brother John English. This little house in Curtain Road is where I believe that my great grandfather was born.

awfulrigourswretchedpay.com/2026/03/13/j...