It’s a Dog’s Life
It really is. This is possibly the only personal narrative from the paws of a profound pooch. The GDP are proud to announce this wonderful addition from the dearly beloved and exceptionally erudite Shaka.
All My Favourite Books
Diaries have been kept on diets, dogs, driving, droving, digging...but this has got to be one of my favourites: BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS! The carefully crafted entries read like a bibliographic reference worthy of any dictionary of literature. The diarist who recorded his reading material between 1942 and 2005 was meticulous and mercurial : from Thatcher to the Water Babies, Disraeli to Somerset Maugham, there is a definite favouring of the classics but an occasional 'pulp fiction' raises its grubby little face to the diarist's smile and praise.
Another Gem: Remembering the Sun
Madeira, My Dear? This lady's detailed account of a holiday in the sun seems, on first glance, a beautifully laid out and colourful collection of your standard holiday observation All is forgiven, however, when one clocks eyes on her fabulous bikinis, her people-observations and the mysterious photographic spectre of Roland.
A Gem: ‘Camping Days 1st Crockenhill Camp Log Book 1927’
This truly fabulous example of diary flair -a joint effort - is screamingly funny, beautifully illustrated and a golden shot of nostalgia reminiscent of girlhoods' halcyon days...sort of St Trinian's under canvas. GDP 150
Happy New Year 2015 Diaroids
We are reading this rather wonderful new book for all interested in diaries.Click here to take a peek: http://unbound.co.uk/books/the-private-life-of-the-diary.
Happy Christmas from GDP
From GDP/44 DM At the time of writing this entry, DM was in her early 40s and lived in Southern England with her husband, who was a Naval officer, and four children. Here, she describes the family’s Christmas. 25 December 1963 C [the youngest of the diarist’s three daughters] and R [the diarist’s son and youngest child, aged 11] came to open their stockings in our bed – positively the last appearance of Father Christmas we have told them. Usual clear-up after breakfast then all went to Matins at Warblington, which was very full. Home to get cold lunch for [...]
Fruity Celebrations
Ida May Berry (1884-1959) lived in West Didsbury, near Manchester when she wrote this diary. Here, she describes her 20th birthday. 20 November 1904 My twentieth birthday. Mother gave me a lovely curb bracelet, & a box of beautiful plums, Maud [the diarist’s sister] gave me a box of fried fruits, & Baby [the diarist’s other sister] a box of chocolates, and a box of dates. Aunt gave me a birthday card, and five shillings. My face was awfully swollen, & none of us went to chapel in the morning, but I mended up, & went in the “choir” at [...]
Archive Update
The collection currently contains: Almost 3000 volumes of manuscript diaries written by more than 130 individuals, running from 1735 to 2013. Around 2000 volumes of published diaries, including fiction and non-fiction, and including a number of guides and anthologies.
New Beautiful Diary Part 2
Dear Diaroid Lover, The image of the new beautiful diary we have received is only half of it! The diary dates to 1754. It contains a list of remedies, including one, written in ironically faded ink, ‘To Recover the Ink of Old Deeds’: Take five or six galls finely powdered and pat them into a pint of Mountain Wine, & let them stand together three or four days in an appothecary’s [sic] sand heat to digest. Strike the dull part of the writing over with a plain pencil dipd [sic] in the liquor and it will recover them. Just to [...]