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Author Archives: ASWilliams
Shanty Towns in Amsterdam?
A student of mine recently told me an amusing anecdote. One of her Chinese relatives was visiting Holland and while they were sitting in a train my student’s relative looked out of the window and said she thought Holland was … Continue reading
Tips for Aspiring Writers – An Interview with The Word Hut
Tell us something about Susan Carey. I was born in Herefordshire, England. My ancestry is Welsh/English. Some years ago I emigrated to Holland to live with my Dutch husband and I now have dual British and Dutch nationality. Even so, … Continue reading
Meet a Very Foxy Lady
As a farmer’s daughter, I’ve always felt ambivalent about foxes. I grew up in a family that regarded hunting as a countryside tradition that was necessary to reduce the number of creatures that were regarded as little more than vermin. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged country life, cubbing, farmer's daughter, Foxes, Foxhunting, hunt membership, the hunt ban
4 Comments
Into my heart an air that kills
This poem sums up the feelings of returning ‘home’ but then again, never being able to return home. A. E. Housman grew up in Shropshire, a neighbouring county to Herefordshire, where I spent my childhood. Could this poem be the lament … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged A Shropshire Lad, A. E. Housman, Blue Remembered Hills, Expat's Lament, Herefordshire, Shropshire
3 Comments
Many Waters Cannot Quench Love
On a recent home exchange in Chichester, I visited the enchanting village of Bosham, a settlement in one of the sea inlets that make up Chichester Harbour. Chichester is a very pretty town, built within a city wall that has … Continue reading
I’ve been Wordled…
Yesterday, at a workshop in Utrecht given by dedicated and inspiring English teacher, Roy Bicknell, I was introduced to Wordle and its possible uses in vocabulary lessons for business English students. As a writer, it struck me as a fantastic way … Continue reading
Home Swapping – Your Place for Mine
A few years ago I registered as an aspiring home-swapper on Homebase Holidays. Membership is approx thirty pounds a year. I chose this site because of its emphasis on properties in theUK. As an expat living in Amsterdam, home-exchange offered the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Amsterdam, Black Mountains, home exchange, home swapping, homebase holidays, London, Parc Montsouris, Paris, The Good Life, Wales
3 Comments
Food on Wheels in the Westerpark
Thursday 17th May was Ascension day here and a Bank Holiday. To mark the occasion there was a three-day culinary event, ‘de Rollende Keukens’ (Kitchens on Wheels), held in one of my local parks, the Westerpark. This event featured a … Continue reading
Art and Pancakes in the Forest
Veluwe National Park De Hoge Veluwe National Park is the largest conservation area in private hands in the Netherlands. The Park covers 5,400 hectares of woodland, heathland, peat bogs and drift sand. It enjoys a wide variety of plants and animals … Continue reading
An Audience with a ‘Working Girl’
Together with a women-only group I recently followed a tour of the Red Light District in Amsterdam. It was given by former sex-worker and founder of the Prostitute Information Centre, Mariska Majoor. She is a vibrant, warm and articulate woman … Continue reading
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