Christmas in Monmouthshire promotional video

Christmas in Monmouthshire - Out Now

"Sing a mournful song of Christmas, we have no Christmas now" stated the Monmouthshire Merlin of 1836. In the early 19th century Christmas was almost non existent, then in 1848, the London Illustrated News printed a picture of Queen Victoria and her family around their Christmas tree. The popularity of Christmas would soar again, but why had it fallen out of favour in the first place? What was Plygain, the Mari Llwyd, and Watch Night? How did the rich of Monmouthshire celebrate? What did the poor do at Christmas? How did people decorate their homes? What did they do for entertainment? Discover the answers to this and much more in Christmas in Monmouthshire.

Out now in paperback from Amazon or as a download to Kindle

Christmas in Monmouthshire: The Christmas Truce and Beyond

Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, and on Christmas Day that year many men from Monmouthshire found themselves in the trenches.  The 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment witnessed the Christmas Day Truce.  I know this from a letter my Great Great Uncle William Jones sent home.  He described attaching a copy of the Pontypool Free Press to a rifle as a flag of truce and spending a couple of hours talking to the Germans.  Others wrote home of the same experience.  Back at home fundraising efforts were taking place over the four war Christmases to provide food and clothing for those still fighting and those taken to Germany as prisoners of war.

This is the final chapter of Christmas in Monmouthshire and it will be available by the end of October 2015

Christmas in Monmouthshire - Twelfth Night

The penultimate chapter in my new book.  Twelfth Night or Old Christmas Day as it was sometimes known falls on the 6th January.  Before the Calendar Act in 1751 Christmas was celebrated on the equivalent of the 6th January by our modern calendar.  Mentions of Twelfth Night in Monmouthshire's old newspapers tend to concentrate on the celebrations at Tredegar house which were marked with extensive hospitalities by Sir Charles Morgan.  Races took place in the park between amateur jockeys and in the evening principle families from Monmouthshire were invited to a grand fancy dress ball.  Supper was laid out on a table with elaborate decorations and the centrepiece was the Twelfth Night cake.  The poor were also not forgotten and left Tredegar House with warm clothes provided by Sir Charles Morgan in 1831

Christmas in Monmouthshire - New Year

Can you imagine spending New Year's Eve in silence?  No counting down, no cheering, just silence.  It was called Watch Night,  It was a service held in churches and chapels, mostly Wesleyan to begin with but had spread to others by the end of the 19th century.  Its main feature was to spend the last few minutes of the old year in silent prayer until the meeting point of the old year and new year had passed, then everyone rose to sing a hymn.  The Mari Llwyd was also a feature of New Year in Wales and in 1838 it was said to be still entertaining the young and old alike in Pontypool, Govilon and Abergavenny.  Church bells rang to announce the New Year and if they did not do so, colliery hooters took their place.  On New Year's Day, bands of musicians played in the streets and people enjoyed sporting events.

Christmas in Monmouthshire - coming soon

Christmas in Momouthshire: Boxing Day

If Christmas Day was a day for going to church and staying in feasting, then Boxing Day was a day for getting out and about and indulging in all kinds of sports and entertainment.  Skating on frozen ponds and canals was popular, so too was shooting competitions, foxhunting, pigeon shooting, rabbit coursing and rugby.  In 1888, there was a rugby match in Newport against the 'Maoris', a large number of people attended even though the rain had made the ground wet. Special trains ran up and down the valleys to transport people to this event. 1906 a rugby match was played between Monmouth and the Springboks in Newport.  If you didn't like sport there was always the theatre.  Concerts were held with leading vocalists and musicians, Eisteddfods took place and also bazaars and sales of work.

'Christmas in Monmouthsire' will be available soon!

Christmas in Monmouthshire: Christmas Day

By far the largest chapter in this new book of mine.  Christmas dinner being provided by employers on Christmas day, presents hung on the tree and raffled off at charity events, the Squires and Lords of the county taking responsibility for the welfare of the poor at Christmas,Christmas day in the workhouses and almshouses, plygain and the Mari Llwyd.  Just some of the topics covered.  It was much more communal, that is evident, there was little emphasis on materialism and more on enjoying the day simply for what it was and for giving to the poor.  Good food, music and dancing, two or three church services and no alcohol. Homemade decorations using whatever nature provided, evergreens etc  It would of course all change eventually.

Christmas In Monmouthshire - Christmas Eve

A quiet day on the writing front, the dog ate my pen for a start then I had to go shopping but managed later to write out chapter three which is all about Christmas Eve and the Plygain services.  These took place in the early hours of Christmas morning and were well documented in old Welsh newspapers.  Lots of carol singing in the towns and bands marching through the streets as well as drunkenness and fighting.  Tomorrow I hope to get chapter four finished and typed up.  :)

Christmas in Monmouthshire - charity

Another 12 hours of writing and typing and chapter 2 is completed.  This one looks at Christmas charity.  It touches briefly on the Poor Law Amendment Act which basically attempted to change the way in which the poor were given help. Prior to 1834 they could receive help in their own homes but change meant the only way to get help was through the workhouse. It was meant to be a deterrent to the workshy but by mid century it was the old, sick, and vulnerable, unmarried mothers and children confined to these institutions. As a result people relied on charity, especially at Christmas where, if it wasn't for charity, there would be no Christmas.  Newspapers such as the Monmouthshire Merlin describe the desolation many faced and records the acts of kindness towards the poor by local people.

Christmas in Monmouthshire

My next book is going to be a look at  the history of Christmas in Monmouthshire.  I started the research for it back in June and since then I've spent a few hours a day collecting news stories from Victorian local newspapers such as the Monmouthshire Merlin.  The cover is a work in progress I might change it completely by the time the interior of the book has been typed up.

     

Chapter one has been typed up today, it looks at preparations for Christmas.  Cards are already in the shops as I'm typing this but in the Merlin of 5th December 1829 there was no mention of Christmas whatsoever. It had been banned in the time of Cromwell and the after effects were still being felt. Christmas really did exist just in name and was another working day for the majority.  Of course as the century went on it grew in popularity especially after the drawing of Queen Victoria and family celebrating around their tree in the London Illustrated News of 1848.  Christmas commercialism really took off then, with shops all vying for attention culminating in Christmas shopping carnivals in places like Newport in 1910.  A different story though if you were poor and that's the next chapter.

Poems n Pics 1

The End of Love

I had this poem published back in 2003 in an anthology called 'The Language of Love' published by Anchor Books.

She watched the end of love

Abrupt as a storm in summer

Loneliness of silence poisoned the air

Like fog in the chill of winter

Memory taunted her tormented heart

Waiting words he'd never known

Kept concealed like snow in clouds

Now she pined with her thoughts alone.

Allowing shadows to creep

Where once was colour and light

Leaving herself the wishful green

Of a cold and envious sight.

Truth entered and built itself

A self-piteous altar of pain

Where dreams as wishes that will not be

Paint his face in her life once again.

Lives entwining, suffocating themselves

Fading with every heartbeat

Burning inside like molten rivers

Freezing in the ice of grief.

copyright 2003 carol ann lewis

New Book - Edina Green In The Afterlife

I started this story a few years ago, I had the idea to write a time travel story but it had to be different from other time travel stories.  I hope I have achieved this with Edina Green.  I combined my interest in past lives and time travel to create a situation where Edina slips from one kind of existence to another.  She has no special powers, no time travel machine.  Her ability to travel in time is a natural part of her new existence.  I enjoyed writing it and hope others will too.  She has many more adventures to come.  :)

A Tale of a Bet

I have submitted this little tale to hopefully be included in the forthcoming book by Cwmbran Writers Group which should be out for Christmas.

Many years ago, back in the days when stagecoaches travelled the well worn tracks that were the country's roads, there was a man who lived in the county of Glamorgan. He was well known to local people for having won many bets and that bet was that he could allow the stagecoach to pass between his legs. Many people had been foolish enough to take up this offer of a bet and so the man was making quite a good living.

One day, a stranger arrived in the man's village and he sensed another opportunity to make some money, by betting that he could allow the stagecoach to pass between his legs. The man approached the stranger and the stranger accepted his offer, thinking that he too would make some easy money.

When the time came for the stagecoach to travel through the village, the man positioned himself on the roadside opposite the village churchyard. The stranger also waited, along with a crowd who regularly gathered for the event of seeing yet another traveller fall for the bet. Eventually the stagecoach came thundering down the road. The man stayed silent and motionless as the coach and horses swept past and turned into the coaching inn a little further on. When the dust had settled, the stranger turned to the man, smiled and held out his hand to receive his winnings. He had only accepted the bet because the man was an amputee, he only had one leg, there was no way the stagecoach could pass between his legs, no way he could lose the bet.

The man responded to the stranger by laughing and telling him that actually, he had won the bet and the stagecoach had, in fact, passed through his legs. He pointed at the ground to the one leg he was standing on and then, across the road to the church and explained to the stranger that there was the location of his other leg, resting in the graveyard.

Read an extract from 'Victorian Domestic Abuse'

1857 Matrimonial Causes Act

Divorce courts were established, women had limited access to divorce. A husband if he wanted a divorce had to prove his wife's adultery. A wife, had to prove her husband's adultery, plus cruelty, incest or abandonment. Meanwhile …

One Tuesday night in January 1868, the son of Catherine Reilly arrived at his Gran's house, crying. He said to her.

“Oh Gran, my dada is beating my mama, I know she is dead”

The grandmother went to her daughter's house and found her on the floor in a pool of blood. She told her son in law to take Catherine to the hospital. His response was

“Take her where you like”

The Grandmother went to cover her daughter's body with a quilt but her son in law stopped her, so she took off her cloak and used that instead. Her daughter was still alive but insensible. She put her into bed. Catherine called out 'mother' three times. The grandmother then left and went to get a police constable. On her return they found the children had been put into bed beside her. Catherine was then taken to hospital where she died.

Phillip Reilly, aged 11 was called as a witness. He stated that on the night he had been to a pantomime with his father and younger brother, Peter. After that they stopped at a pub and then returned home. Their mother had gone to hide from their father. She was under the bed. Their father pulled her out by her hair, beat her and kicked her in the ribs. She then went into a fit. Their father made the younger brother throw water over her. When out of the fit she called out for her mother. Their father then kicked her in the eye, kicked her in the back and ribs and threw her against the fire grate. Grabbing a candle he attempted to set her on fire but her clothes were too wet. He dragged her closer to the fire instead, putting her shoulders across the fender. Peter was at this point in bed, crying. Their father went to beat him. While attempting to do so, Phillip went to pull his mother out of the fire. Their father kicked her again and Phillip heard something in her crack. At that point he escaped and went to get his Gran.

At the trial, the father was emotionless. He had put the children into bed with Catherine to make out she was just sleeping. He was committed to be tried.

Available from Amazon or download to Kindle

Victorian Domestic Abuse, My Book's Relevance in Today's World.

I read an article this morning in the Guardian Newspaper about gender equality.  Here's it's link if you want to read it.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/01/sexism-racism-race-gender-equality?CMP=share_btn_fb

It basically states that gender equality is a long way off and that we only have to look at the rape convictions, Everyday Sexism Project and the fact that two women a week are murdered by their partners to see something needs to be done.

What caught my attention was the heading 'Chicken Court'

"Anyone making a prejudicial statement in public shall automatically qualify for this new reality television show where they must stand in front of a live audience dressed in a chicken suit and repeat said statement while doing the David Brent dance as information disproving their argument flashes up on a screen behind them. Their opinions are then put to a public vote."

Compare that with this, also published in a newspaper but over 160 years ago - 

In the October 9^th edition of Lloyds Weekly Newspaper in 1853, ran an article called 'Apes of Husbands'.

“We are heartily ashamed and profoundly humiliated by the details that pollute our police reports; and in our shame and abasement are prone to give ear to any remedy however strong and original that shall end the abomination. What is the man who beats his wife? What is he, it has been asked but a debased animal, a mere ape with speech? … We would have the Home Office rent 2 or 4 or 6 cages and apes costume would be a most reforming punishment .. such cages to be placed in different parts of the grounds in which should be confined and exhibited the human creatures who had degraded themselves to the condition of apes by brutally outraging the gentleness and dignity of woman.... No violence towards husband apes, a sign Visitors are requested not to pelt or poke their sticks or umbrellas at the brute of a husband”

Needless to say, it didn't happen but I think it just goes to show, things haven't changed that much.

Order from Amazon or download to Kindle

Victorian Domestic Abuse - paperback available now

This is a great little book if you're interested in women's history.  Yes some of the stories are harrowing but that's how it was for some women and for women across all classes.  It didn't matter whether they were rich or poor, young or old.  They were property, and that was that.  Everything they had belonged to their husbands. They couldn't even sell their own jewellery because that belonged to him too. Until the laws began to change of course.

Grab a copy now from -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Victorian-Domestic-Abuse-Carol-Lewis/dp/1512149225/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431706285&sr=8-1&keywords=victorian+domestic+abuse

Out Today on Kindle - Victorian Domestic Abuse

Victorian Domestic Abuse is now out on Kindle, its got some unbelievable stories of cruelty to wives included but perhaps what is equally unbelievable is the sentences that were passed on their attackers.  One husband got just four days in prison for killing his wife.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Victorian-Domestic-Abuse-Carol-Lewis-ebook/dp/B00XNJXW2I/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1431687715&sr=8-1&keywords=victorian+domestic+abuse

New Book Coming Soon: Victorian Domestic Abuse

Continuing with my series of Victorian books, my next subject is that of Victorian domestic abuse.  It takes a look at just some of the terrible and inhumane conditions and treatments women were suffering.  A woman in Victorian Britain had no rights whatsoever, to her money, to property, to her children or her own body. Women were the property of their husbands. Wife beating was widespread and wifely chastisement acceptable in law.

Here's  just one example.  In 1848 an Inspector of the Poor entered a house.  He found a woman imprisoned in a tiny water closet.  She had been there for four months, she was covered in dirt, her hair matted, vermin all around and she had been in a crouching position for so long she couldn't straighten up.  Her husband said she was in there for being disorderly.  She later died.

This story is just the tip of the iceberg.  For every one included in the book there were many more.

Victorian Domestic Abuse will be available very soon.

New Review for Victorian Pontypool

Its always nice when someone takes the time to write a review about one of my books.  This one is great and gave me a smile

"Got for boyfriend for xmas.  He has not read any of the rugby books I have brought him but he sat over xmas and read this book from front to back"

Promotional Video for Haunting Tales

I love making these little videos, here's the one I did for Haunting Tales.  This week I also ran a free book promotion on Kindle for Haunting Tales, it's great to see how many different countries it was downloaded in - the UK, Australia, America, Canada, Germany and India. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFK9dpDt500

Haunting Tales - An Extract

A wedding

There was a wedding in County Clare one summers eve, before the year 1898 when this story was printed. The celebrations were at their height and all were wishing good luck to the bride and groom over full glasses. Then a guest told the happy groom that someone wished to see him at the gate. He stepped aside and found an old woman, in her hand a wreath of gold.

“This” she said “is for your bonny bride but first let me see it on yourself”

And with that she laid it on his bare head.

“Now give me a kiss and go back to the fun” she added.

He stopped and kissed her and turned to the house but all was dark and silent. He knocked and after a long wait a strange man opened the door.

“Where is my bride and guests” exclaimed the dazed youth. He asked in vain. All he could learn of the occupant of the cottage was that he had heard his grandfather say that once there was a wedding in the house at which the groom had suddenly disappeared and never returned.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunting-Tales-carol-Ann-lewis/dp/1508819734/ref=sr_1_9_twi_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426610825&sr=1-9&keywords=haunting+tales

Haunting Tales

Haunting Tales is a collection of ghost stories from Wales and further afield.  Most of them are from the 19th century, articles I've stumbled across while looking usually for something completely different.  As with my other books, I've tried to delve into the history of the sightings to see if any actual events occurred to give rise to them.  In many cases there were tragedies and deaths and reports of spooky activity carrying on for many years.  Some of the places written about in this book are

Abernant - a haunting in the 1860's

Ebbw Vale - a tragic love story

Ghosts of the Maine - recorded in 1890

Margam Park - Murder of a gamekeeper

Llantarnam - Ghost in a bowler hat

Mumbles - the ghost that was caught

Ireland - wedding day timeslip

Haunted Tales can be purchased from Amazon or downloaded to Kindle

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunting-Tales-carol-Ann-lewis/dp/1508819734/ref=sr_1_7_twi_1_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1426517670&sr=8-7&keywords=carol+ann+lewis

Read Cwmbran History and Mystery Reviews

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cwmbran-History-Carol-Ann-Lewis/dp/1490351191/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422224160&sr=8-1&keywords=cwmbran+history+and+mystery

"I've read both your books - fascinating"  Facebook comment

"what a waste of life you dont relalize how many lost thear lives due to no health and safety back then 23 January 2015

Loved this book"  

"Spookily amusing. 13 January 2015

Great read if you are from Cwmbran - never realised we had so many spooky goings-on! Thankfully I have never experienced anything ghostly myself - although I will be more watchful when I next visit the Tea Rooms at Llanyravon Farm!"

"interesting book 26 September 2013

plenty of interesting facts of Cwmbran, enjoyed reading it as it is my birthplace. brought back lovely memories, would recommend"

"Dad loved it 19 September 2013

Bought this for my dad who is 87 and he loved it, cant wait to get it off him and read it myself, we are a Cwmbran family and remember when it was only a tiny village."

"cwmbran 27 August 2013

Cwmbran - History and Mysteryi enjoyed the book very much there is never much written abought cwmbran at the moment i,am reading your other two books and enjoying them as much ihad a stroke and realy on things to get abought ie wheelchair so reading local authors and local areas makes me feel i,ve been out carry on writing i hope this makes sense as i can,t express myself the same as before my stroke anway going up the squrril now.

yours sincerly

lyndon cook"

"It's Local! 1 August 2013

A very interesting book about our local area -a MUST HAVE for people who live in or come from Cwmbran"

 "Cwmbran _ History and Mystery. 7 July 2013

Enjoyed this an easy read. A very well researched and written little book. Hope there will be others to follow "

Read reviews for Victorian Cwmbran

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Victorian-Cwmbran-Carol-Ann-Lewis/dp/1490970177/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1RW6PD7NMZE2B1AJBS0H

"very interesting book 23 January 2015

A lot of world.put into this book"

"Having lived in Cwmbran since I was a baby and only ever knowing it as a commercial New Town I found this little book quite fascinating. The focus of life AND death in those times seems to have been the canal, the railway and alcohol! You can see why Health &Safety regulations came into being. Some stories are tragic but many are an amusing insight into life in late 19th c Cwmbran"

"Really pleased, nice to read something that has grown from our little village of Cwmbran it is so different from Victorian Cwmbran now it is a 'New Town'"

"This is an excellent and very reasonable book, a fascinating glimpse of sad and amusing Victorian life, whether or not you know Cwmbran. You wonder how we can grumble about modern living when you read most of these stories."

"really good read ..fascinating" - facebook comment