My Love Letter Time Machine - Victorian History

Season 4, episode 2. 15th - 19th July 1882. Janie's mood continues to be a little low, and Fred starts talking about how a possible baby on the way might impact the date for their wedding. Janie also paints us a tantalising picture of a Victorian working class picnic in Bowden Howstead Woods, near Handsworth, Sheffield, a beautiful ancient woodland that survives even today.  Support the show

Season 4, Episode 1.  July 10th - 14th 1882. Janie returns from visiting Fred in Middlesbrough, she struggles to adjust, and we meet a Victorian sporting superstar, George Littlewood, World champion walker and runner, aka The Sheffield Flyer.  Support the show

Janie and Fred met on a woodland walk in 1878, they left behind 200 love letters. 140 years later their great great grandaughter, Ingrid Birchell Hughes, brings their letters and the world of Victorian Yorkshire to life. Escape to another time and get caught up in the real life dramas of two ordinary but delightful people through their back and forth conversation, and talk a look at little snippet...

Season 3, episode 14. 25th June - 1st July 1882. Janie prepares to travel to be reunited with Fred and to take her first look at Middlesbrough, Janie dishes the dirt on Jinnie's new boyfriend, we track down 'Advice to a Wife' - a Victorian tome about maternal health, and Ingrid experiences an unexpected bombshell from her great great grandparents.   Support the show

Season 3, episode 13. 19th - 24th June 1882. A chance comes up for Janie to go to Middlesbrough and see Fred for a few days, so the letters are full of planning wrangling, and in light of a brass band starting up in Handsworth, Sheffield, we take a little look at the brass band movement.  Support the show

Season 3, episode 12. Janie’s brother Fred Warburton married Mary Roe on Thursday the 15th of June 1882 and we get to have a fabulous look at a Victorian wedding from the point of view of the chief bridesmaid or Maid of honour as Janie would probably have been known then. It was not plain sailing by any means! Support the show

Season 3, episode 11: 9th-13th June 1882.  After Janie’s understandable outrage at Fred’s painting her in a such a bad light over her walk on Sunday night, Fred does his best to smooth things over after last weeks bust up.  We also catch up w Fred's cricketing, and get in on the build up to a forthcoming boat race that caught the imagination of the whole country. Support the show

Season 3, episode 10. 4th - 8th June 1882.  Janie seems to be back in Fred’s bad books - the pair of them have a proper bust up over the company that Janie has been keeping. We also catch up on Handsworth (Sheffield) village gossip and Janie's brother’s wedding preparations.  Support the show

Season 3, episode 9. 31st May - 4th June 1882. Janie and Fred have to cope with renewed separation along with a new pregnancy scare, Fred can't balance the account books at work, Emma steals from Janie, and we take a little look at Whitsun traditions, as well as Victorian perfumes. Instagram: @mylovelettertimemachine Twitter: @1ngi Email: mylovelettertimemachine@gmail.com Written and produced...

Season 3, episode 8. 22nd - 26th May 1882. In back and forth in the run up to Fred’s return to Sheffield, Fred has been prodding Janie about her memory and for good reason - Janie is suddenly faced with the realisation that her memory isn’t her strong point. We  we also have a little look at the ubiquity of the horse in the Victorian era. Instagram: @mylovelettertimemachine Twitter: @1ngi Email: m...

Season 3, episode 7. Fred moves to his new lodgings near Albert Park in Middlesbrough and is struggling to pack around the demands of his,  Janie’s friend Carry has to send sad news to her sister Annie in Australia, we also take a little look at a wash day in the 1880s. Instagram: @mylovelettertimemachine Twitter: @1ngi Email: mylovelettertimemachine@gmail.com Writer and Producer:  Ingrid Birchell...

Season 3, episode 6. Back in Middlesbrough, Fred’s fears about his accommodation problems are realised,  in Sheffield, Janie is suddenly flavour of the month again with Polly Roe, and we also have a look at the Phoenix Park Murders that took place in Dublin, Ireland. We also get to hear Fred sharing his love for the sea front at Saltburn. Instagram: @mylovelettertimemachine Twitter: @1ngi Email: m...

Season 3, episode 5. May 4th - 9th 1882. The insecurity regarding Fred’s lodgings grows, as his landlady, Mrs Gordon, tells him to start looking for somewhere else to live,  and Janie’s soon to be sister in-law, turns out to be a bit of a bitch.   Instagram: @mylovelettertimemachine Twitter: @1ngi Email:  mylovelettertimemachine@gmail.com Producer:  Ingrid Birchell Hughes Support the show

Season 3, episode 4. 27th April to 2nd of May 1882. In Middlesbrough, Fred takes a trip on the Stockton paddle steamer along the River Tees, and back in Sheffield, Janie is rushed off her feet as The Cross Keys hosts a dinner for 75 people. Instagram: @mylovelettertimemachine Twitter: @1ngi Email:  mylovelettertimemachine@gmail.com Producer:  Ingrid Birchell Hughes Support the show

Season 3, episode 3: We reflect on the roles of women following Janie bitterly expressing her frustration with Emma and Fred taking her to task for it, and we have a little look at the fashions in Victorian interiors.  Instagram: @mylovelettertimemachine Twitter: @1ngi Email: mylovelettertimemachine@gmail.com Producer: Ingrid Birchell Hughes Support the show

 Season 3, Episode 2.  April 18th-22nd 1882. In which our Fred tries to nail down a date for their wedding, and Janie’s father, James, is suddenly taken ill, and we take a look a Victorian chemists and the over the counter sales of dubious concoctions.  Instagram: @mylovelettertimemachine Twitter: @1ngi Email:  mylovelettertimemachine@gmail.com Producer:  Ingrid Birchell Hughes Support the show

Season 3, episode 1. April 12th - 17th 1882. After an Easter in Sheffield, Fred has to return to Middlesbrough to lodgings that are starting to prove unsuitable. Back in Handsworth, Janie is witness to a coal miners' street brawl. Instagram: @mylovelettertimemachine Twitter: @1ngi Email:  mylovelettertimemachine@gmail.com Producer:  Ingrid Birchell Hughes Support the show

Season 2, episode 24. Q&A Bonus episode. In which Ingrid answers questions from listeners, we find out about Canadian world champion rower Ned Hanlan coming to Middlesbrough to defend his title,  and we get to look at someone else's love letter by way of comparison. Support the show

Season 2, episode 23. April 1st - 7th 1882. The letters come thick and fast in the run up to Janie & Fred’s reunion in Easter 1882  and Fred gets booed by football supporters, when playing for Redcar against Middlesbrough in the Cleveland challenge cup final rematch.  Support the show

Season 2, episode 22. March 27th - 31st 1882. CW sexual discussion continues between Janie and Fred (using mild Victorian euphemisms). This time the racy village gossip and the even racier pillow talk continues, as well as starting to plan for Fred's Easter visit.  Support the show

Season 2, episode 21. March 24th - 26th 1882. Contains discussions of a sexual nature using mild Victorian terminology. Janie has her confirmation ceremony, we find out what she thinks of Fred’s Paris job offer, and Fred's ex girlfriend is spotted in a rather suggestive postion.  Support the show

Season 2, episode 20. CW description of a suicide inquest, Emma and Mr Walker continue to be a source of speculation, and Fred gets head hunted for a job in Paris, and we find out how he got on at a bachelor party. Support the show

Season 2, episode 19: CW description of a suicide.  Alarming news regarding a poisoning in Handsworth, a tragic suicide in Darnall, Sheffield, and we find out how Fred faired in the Cleveland Challenge Cup Final. Support the show

Season 2, episode 18. Janie comforts Fred regarding the temptation of kickbacks,  and Emma behaves atrociously towards her sister-in-law, and then discovers that Mr Walker has been two timing her. Support the show

Season 2, episode 17. Fred tries to hold out against bribery at work, we find out about Victorian health subscriptions, or ‘sick club’ as Fred called it, and Janie and Fred gossip about other couple's family planning. Support the show