#barnhill

Some views of Barnhill on the island of Jura, off the coast of Scotland, the house Orwell rented about seventy-years-ago. In fact, these photos are probably from the summer of 1947, the start of them living their year-round after completely leaving the flat on Canonbury Square in Islington, London (the winter of 1946/1947 was a particularly brutal one and I’m sure that helped with the decision). 

Barnhill is, of course, where George Orwell finished with 1984 and set up on the grueling task of typing up the final manuscript by himself, while dying of tuberculosis (there were no women from London who wanted to make the arduous trek from London to Jura just to type). 

In the bottom photo is a figure working in the yard who looks a lot like George Orwell, tall with his signature clothes. 

This is a sight to behold, between the east coast of Jura and the uninhabited island of Scarba. It’s not just a whirlpool, it’s a tidal race too where the waters of the Atlantic get forced into a steep-sided channel with its very own underwater pinnacle called The Hag, that creates the vortex you see on the surface. The Royal Navy does class this area as unsailable, although fast speed boats do…

The first item to mention about Jura is that the Jurassic period is not named after this island, but after the Jura Mountains that form part of the border between Switzerland and France. The name of the island is usually attributed to the Norse meaning ‘Deer Island’, although in Gaelic the word ‘diura’ means ‘tough or durable’.  I caught the ferry from Port Askaig on Islay to Feolin on Jura.…

Come along with me on the second part of my reading journey of When Women Were Dragons. Why am I doing this to myself? It's complicated! #podcast #novel #dragons

This is part two of my journey of reading When Women Were Dragons. If you want to know why I’m reading this, catch up with my questions around plagiarism here. If you want to read Part One, start here. And I’m just a fountain of spoilers so skip this one if you’re wanting to be surprised by anything that happens in this book. Now PART 2 September 4 I can really feel how Barnhill is a…

Review: Barnhill by Norman Bissell

Barnhill: A NovelAuthor: Norman BissellPublisher: Luath PressReleased: May 6, 2019Received: NetGalley Are you more than a little bit obsessed with George Orwell’s 1984? Well then, you’re going to enjoy reading Barnhill: A Novel. Norman Bissell’s novel takes place at Barnhill – the location that George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair) famously tucked himself away in – and the birthplace of 1984.…