Penelope J. Corfield is a historian, lecturer and education consultant. She currently serves as the President of the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ISECS).
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MONTHLY BLOG 169, GREAT CLOCKS OF THE WORLD
/in Monthly Blog, Time/by Penelope J. CorfieldMy theme for 2025 is Time – the universal subject. So to kick-start the year, here are seven great clocks of the world – my personal selection out of the myriad of possible candidates. These are all on public display (there are countless more in museums) – and drawn from all quarters of the globe.
MONTHLY BLOG 168, ANTWERP DIAMONDS: THREE BEAUTIFUL ASPECTS OF ANTWERP – DIAMOND CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
/in Civics, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldWell, I didn’t get my diamond ring. But, better still, I became acquainted with a great and enchanting city- which I’d never visited before. The Conference that I attended in Antwerp on ‘Time and Prophecies’ was productive and stimulating. And my partner Tony and I extended our stay in order to have some extra time to enjoy the city life. Here are my three personal diamonds …
MONTHLY BLOG 167, HICKORY DICKORY DOCK!
/in Monthly Blog, Time/by Penelope J. CorfieldWhile last month’s Conference in Norwich was evoked by the genially-smiling ‘Man in the Moon’, this month another meeting in Antwerp set me chanting ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’. The words are absurdly simple. The mouse ran up the clock! The clock struck the hour! And then the mouse ran down again!
But this basic rhyme records the perennial human fascination with telling the Time; and it illustrates, specifically, how adults sought to familiarise young children with the steady rhythms of a ticking clock…
MONTHLY BLOG 166, WHY DID THE MAN IN THE MOON – WHO CAME DOWN TOO SOON – ASK HIS WAY TO NORWICH?
/in Monthly Blog, Personal/by Penelope J. CorfieldSong historians like to point out hidden messages in such traditional verses, designed to amuse the adults who sang these songs to their unsuspecting offspring. Yet, in this case, the experts conclude that the words of ‘The Man in the Moon’ probably do not convey any secret meaning. They are simply agreeable nonsense, in which the City of Norwich features primarily to rhyme with ‘porridge’…
MONTHLY BLOG 165, HOW DID BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DISCOVER THE POWER OF LIGHTNING?
/in Monthly Blog, Personal/by Penelope J. CorfieldDuring the summer months, I’m getting through big task after big task. I’m feeling increasingly happy. But right now I don’t want to compose a long BLOG. After all, there are no rules that specify how long a BLOG must be…
MONTHLY BLOG 164, COPING WITH MULTI-PRESSURES
/in Monthly Blog, Personal/by Penelope J. CorfieldThis BLOG records my super-busy time in May/June/July 2024 and my tactic for coping. Before departing for a mini-break in western Ireland, followed by the annual ISECS-EC meeting – this year in Maynooth, near Dublin – every research task that I had ever placed in the ‘Futures’ pipeline came to fruition simultaneously and unexpectedly. My head span. I was psychologically upset.
MONTHLY BLOG 163, DO PARTISAN IDENTITIES ADD A PLEASANT FLAVOUR TO DAILY LIVING – OR DO THEY REALLY CONSTITUTE A TRAP THAT UNDERMINES TRUE HUMAN SOLIDARITY?
/in Civics, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldThe truth is that all individuals have more than one identity. They can be classified under many headings – whether by age, citizenship, class, education, ethnicity, gender, intelligence, language, region, religion, or sexuality …
MONTHLY BLOG 162, HAPPY CANVASSING MEMORIES
/in Civics, Monthly Blog, Personal/by Penelope J. CorfieldPolitical activists have a very mixed reputation, as has the political process itself. Door-to-door canvassers are sometimes seen as pests. Or as cravenly kow-towing to the voters. The image of Charles James Fox, the Whig reform candidate in Westminster election in 1784…
MONTHLY BLOG 161, DO LOCAL PEOPLE CARE ABOUT THE DIRE STATE OF WANDSWORTH PRISON?
/in Civics, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldDo local people care about the dire state of Wandsworth Prison, as currently reported by reliable sources? Yes, they do. Perhaps surprisingly, but certainly encouragingly, they do…
MONTHLY BLOG 160, WHO MADE THE CLAPHAM OMNIBUS SO FAMOUS?
/in Current Affairs, History, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldIn mid-March, I was delighted to give an illustrated talk to the Clapham Society. The packed audience kindly laughed at my jokes – and asked great questions. And the event was held in a venue, wittily named The Clapham Omnibus. Which set me wondering about the origins of naming ‘The Man on the Clapham Omnibus’ as the (fictional) embodiment of a ‘reasonable citizen’.