The Shadow Between is based on the diary of a well-known illustrator and artist, William Parkinson (1858-1938). This was the period when the old ways were being superseded by the beginnings of modern life-- railways, cycles, motor transport, photography, cinemas, medicine, fashions, the fading of the British Empire, and new social attitudes. The story is set in West Sussex, near Midhurst --now the centre of the South Downs National Park. In 1882 William was 24. He visited a college friend whose father was Rector of Terwick, near Rogate and fell in love with the Rector's daughter. It was a...

Mairi Rennie: M.A. St Andrews and Ph.D Southampton. 40 years of teaching English language and EFL from school to postgraduate level in UK and USA.

For few minutes in a class, a small list or particular word pattern can be introduced, pointing out any exceptions. Students improve their spelling more successfully by this method rather than by learning random word lists. Games and quizzes can be devised to add interest. Students are often intrigued by the history of the language and its effects on English, and this too can encourage learning.