astrantium publishing – ebooks – prints

Giving Gutenberg a Go

8th April 2018 Karon McBrideWork

WordPress 5.0 is on its way and rumour has it that it will include a new editor called Gutenberg a new way to WordPress. So far so good: I installed the beta plugin, fired up a[…]

Christmas Voucher Websites

30th November 201730th November 2017 Karon McBrideBlog

Try our Christmas voucher website hosting and design service. Astrantium Hosting is based in Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland and specialises in websites for small local businesses. If you sell things, you can use a one page voucher website to[…]

The King Penguin

25th April 201730th June 2017 Karon McBrideCommon Record

From St James’s Gazette – Saturday 07 December 1901 The ’Cutest Thing in the Zoo.’ I had a chat the other afternoon with the keeper of my favourite creature at the Zoological Gardens — the King[…]

1832 Fire at Cleish Church

27th September 201627th September 2016 Karon McBrideCommon Record

From the Edinburgh Evening Courant – Saturday 17 March 1832 Fire. — On Sunday last, the parish church of Cleish, Kinross-shire, was accidentally set fire to by the stove-pipe communicating with one of the beams,[…]

Peace! Peace! Peace!

21st September 20162nd October 2016 Karon McBrideBlog

So good they named it three times, ‘Peace! Peace! Peace!’ has been used as a headline as long as newspapers have existed. It is probably a translated quotation from the 128th poem of ‘Canzoniere’ by[…]

Queen Victoria’s Return

20th September 201621st March 2017 Karon McBrideCommon Record

On Tuesday, 20th September, 1842, the Liverpool Mail reported to safe return of Queen Victoria from Scotland along with several humorous articles related to the visit scavenged from other newspapers. We start with the straightforward[…]

Piracy off the coast of Islay

19th September 201620th September 2016 Karon McBrideBlog

The Scottish isle of Islay (pronounced eye-luh) is a peaceful place, hardly one associated with piracy, but in the late eighteenth Century, things were very different. From the Caledonian Mercury – Saturday 28 October 1780[…]

Victoria Leaves the Fair City

7th September 201621st March 2017 Karon McBrideCommon Record

From the Northern Warder and General Advertiser for the Counties of Fife, Perth and Forfar – Tuesday 13 September 1842 WEDNESDAY [7 SEPTEMBER]. DEPARTURE OF HER MAJESTY FOR THE HIGHLANDS. Although it was well known[…]

Queen Victoria’s visit to Perth in 1842

6th September 201621st March 2017 Karon McBrideCommon Record

From the Perthshire Advertiser – Thursday 08 September 1842 THE QUEEN’S WELCOME TO PERTHSHIRE. Daughter of kings, with graceful mien, Thou when Earth wears loveliest green, And forest leaves are glittering sheen. All gaily clad, to greet a[…]

Cartoon engraving signed by C. Hentschel

Carl Hentschel, engraver

5th September 201610th September 2016 Karon McBrideBlog

[su_button url=”http://www.redbubble.com/people/astrantium/works/23048056-how-to-fall-out-of-a-hammock” target=”blank” style=”soft” background=”#c886d2″ center=”yes” icon=”icon: shopping-cart”]Buy the Hammock print[/su_button] The cartoon illustrated above – My Hammock, And How I Got Into It – is signed by Carl Hentschel, 1864 – 1930, who was[…]

Fireworks Explosion – Marvellous Escape

3rd September 20163rd September 2016 Karon McBrideCommon Record

From the Fife Herald – Thursday 08 September 1842. St Andrews. – Explosion – Marvellous Escape.—Mr Gyngell, the celebrated constructor of fire works, who has entertained the folks here on several occasions, having received an[…]

Queen Victoria visits Leith

3rd September 20163rd September 2016 Karon McBrideCommon Record

From Leaves from the Journal of our Lives in the Highlands, 1848-61, Edinburgh, 1868 Saturday 3rd September. The view of Edinburgh from the road before you enter Leith is quite enchanting; it is, as Albert said,[…]