Lost in Shakespeare by Bev Hamel  

It was a mid summer’s eve and I was in Shakespeare’s land, living my dream studying abroad. The day had started innocently enough as did all my days in England. The coach arrived at Stratford-upon-Avon before noon and I had plenty of time to explore this beautiful and historic part of Great Britain. I took off, alone (more or less), wandered the narrow streets, alleys that led nowhere, and peeked into places that perhaps I shouldn’t have.

I was scheduled to meet my peers from Oxford and enjoy an evening performance by the Royal Shakespearean Company of The Comedy of Errors. I had a leisurely day visiting tiny shops then walking along the River Avon, getting to know Shakespeare’s country, intimately. A little too intimately.

This time, I referred to the obscure little booklet that I had found in my favorite used book store at Oxford and carefully mapped out my route. The pages were tattered, handwritten with clever little drawings besides historic sights. Pathways spun webs along modern day structures mingling between vast fields, brooks, ponds and ancient buildings of amazing character. I was lost in another time that reeked of gentleman and women who spoke in musical lyrics. Through the lens of my eyes, this was a medieval landscape, different to Arthur’s, but still alive and teeming with echoes of the past. 

Read more at All Things Girl.

Along the Roman Road by Bev Hamel

I am on a coach with other students from Oxford traveling on a four-day field excursion along the so-called Roman Road into Wales. The trip is focused on environmental studies, but we will also be exploring medieval ruins and the Arthurian Tradition. My mind wanders from the open book on my lap about the history of King Arthur to the window and the scenery that rolls past the English countryside. In my imagination, the coach becomes my stead and I am sitting behind the most handsome man wearing shining armor. Although I am dressed in an Oxford sweat shirt, denims and ‘new age’ tennis shoe sandals, my Knight is oblivious to my dress. Farmland and sheep disappear from the picture and we gallop along the ridges of the hills that border a valley where the landscape forges into a flat stony path.

Dr Addison’s voice explodes on the loud speaker, interrupts my train of thought, jerks me back into reality. “For those of you medievalists who are awake, remember you are required to keep a field notebook and complete an essay paper for this trip.” I guess I better take notes and grab my new journal and silver pen from my backpack.

To read more on my trip through Wales with King Arthur go to Along the Roman Road at All Things Girl, Everything Girl. 

January 2010	This new year will be an interesting adventure!
December 18, 2009	SNOW . . .in North Carolina, this is a rarity. I think it is God's blessing. My town's landscape is bathed in white. The night is silent but one can hear laughter in the gentle howl of wind. Moravian Stars hang from our porches, join with the hint of the moon's light hidden behind the snow shower's fall. In the darkness that creeps beneath the day, this moment casts an unequivical beauty. Perhaps there is hope after all. PEACE.
December 12, 2009	Book signing at T Bagge Merchant Old Salem 11 to 2
November 2009	Field trips for research, lining up events for 2010, completing many writing assignments, finished two more rooms, front stairs, one bath, and finally after over ten years of procrastination, the back room is cleaned out (almost) and the next big project to tackle!
October 29, 2009	Book Signing at World Villages Book Signing and Community Shopping Event  World Villages at Miller Street Market, Winston-Salem will host a Community Shopping Event and book signing of Bethania: The Village by the Black Walnut Bottom by Beverly Hamel on Thursday, October 29 from 6 - 8:00 PM.  Hamel will be joined by Bowman Gray who is the present day photographer for her book. Bethania traces the 250-year history of North Carolina's first planned Moravian settlement through autobiographical accounts, letters and images. The event is jointly hosted by SisterLynk. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Winston-Salem Foundation Alice Conger Patterson Scholarship fund, in support of the education of women. Please join us and get an early start on your Christmas shopping in support of this unique and fun way to support this worthy cause!
October 2009	SisterLynk
October 24, 2009	Book Signing at the Vistor's Cennter Bethania Black Walnut Festival
October 22, 2009	WFDD interview with David Ford
October 17, 2009	Book Signing Old Salem
October 2009	Winston Salem Living Magazine article by David Bailey
September 12, 2009	Bookmarks Festival - Trade Street - Winston-Salem. Come visit me at the Winston-Salem Writers Booth 10 to 11 A.M. and between 12 and 1 P.M.
September 10, 2009	Torch Club presentation at Salem College: The Challenge of Writing 250 years of History --- Bethania: The Village by the Black Walnut Bottom
August 30, 2009	A link to an excerpt from Bowman Gray and my interview with WFDD. The full interview is scheduled to air on October 22, 2009. prior to the Black Walnut Bottom Festival on October 24.
Save this Date: August 28, 2009	Meet the Author - - - Book Signing and Reading at the Village Smith Galleries in Reynolda Village. Bowman Gray will be debut showing some phenomenal prints of his photography. There will be wine and hors d'oeuvres. Both Bo and I will be present to sign books and prints. This represents a first publication for both of us, so please stop by and say hello.
August 23, 2009	Winston Salem Journal Writers Notebook article on book signing and Bo's showing: An Evening with Gray, Hamel at the Village Smith Galleries.
August 12, 2009	Upcoming on August 12. 2009 between 9:30 and 10 AM ---  a WSJS interview with myself and JR Snider – You can go to the front page of the WSJS web site and listen live on the date and time.WSJS Live:
August 2009	Along the Roman Road by Bev Hamel at All Things Girl, Everything Girl
July 2009	Bowman Gray's Bethania slide show
June 2009	Celebrate Bethania's 250th Anniversary
May 2009	Winston-Salem Monthly Magazine Feature on Bethania
April 2009	Can Art Be Taught? at Art Nouveau Magazine
April, 2009	Take a trip to Bethania, North Carolina and home of the Black Walnut Bottom. This is a beautifully done slide show by Bowman Gray Jr that takes you back into another century.
March, 2009	Caution Breasts in Training at All Things Girl Everything Girl
February, 2009	The Old Woman Who Communes with Trees at All Things Girl Everything Girl
February, 2009	Fine Art and the Fickle Economy at Art Nouveau Magazine
January, 2009	Communication Error at All Things Girl Everything Girl
May 2008	Attempting to get web site up and running. This is a daunting task and often frustrating. I thought I knew what I was doing. Wrong. Some search engines are still bringing up old pages so please bear with this newbie.
June 1, 2008	Road trip through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Albert Einstein said, "Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift." He is so right. We played along the Rocky Knob Gorge, visited a winery and the Mabry Mill. I am humbled by the beauty of God's gift to humanity.
June 29, 2008	Goddard College MFA Graduation YEAH!  Choosing Goddard’s MFAW program was one of the smartest choices that I have ever made. In my newbie semester of GradSchool, I remember stepping out of the cab and feeling as if I had been struck by lightning. I walked into a vortex of energy that left me breathless and I knew I would be in for one of those life altering experiences. I was not disappointed. To learn more about Goddard College in Plainfield Vermont, please click here.
June 30, 2008	Contrary to the urgent emails sent to all those who happened to be in my AOL address book that said I was in Nigeria visiting the Tinapa opening ceremony, was robbed at gun point,  desperately needed $1,380 so I could settle the hotel bills,  I just came back from Goddard College in Vermont where I received an MFA (Master’s of Fine Arts) – in writing no less.
July 2, 2008	For those of you who may wonder what a Schlog is, since I use to be a schleper, (I made a living from intimate apparel, men's underwear and socks) I am now a bonafide schlogger, which means I now schlep words for a living.
July 12, 2008	Confessions of a Textbook Abuser from the Salemite
July 13, 2008	To Cord or Not To Cord . . . a Moravian Tradition from the Salemite
July 14, 2008	A Poem for My Grandmother . . . Sallies Kitchen . . . from The Pitkin Review - Goddard College.
July 20, 2008	SisterLynK my favorite Salem College Connection Link to Salem College.
July 21, 2008	My Favorite Winston-Salem Writer's Group
August 2, 2008	Read more on my trip to Goddard via Nigeria and the Tinapa opening ceremony, being robbed, etc as published in All Things Girl / Everything Girls  at  An Interview with the Mother of Teenaged Girls (or How My New Babemobile Came to be Dented) by Bev Hamel
September 1, 2008	Read Don't Look Now But Your Internet is Showing by Bev Hamel in the September issue of Art Nouveau Magazine online
September 2008	Read a Wabi Sabi Life at All things girl
November 2008	Read November issue of Art Nouveau Magazine on line - The Art in Fashion . . . Which came first fashion or art? by Bev Hamel  http://www.artnouveaumagazine.com/nov-dec/fashion-art.html
November 2008	Read Gloria Steinem: The Longest Revolution by Bev Hamel - http://allthingsgirl.net/everythinggirl/naughty-nice-novdec-2008/gloria-steinem-the-longest-revolutionby-bev-hamel/