Book signing

Saint Philip’s parishioner and Lead Catechist for children in grades 1-3, Harriet Claiborne, will read from her new book and sign copies at 12:30pm in The Lounge this coming Sunday, February 18. All are invited!

Harriet’s book, Postmarked Bombay, was inspired by her father’s adventures.

“Twenty-four-year-old Harry Witt did the unthinkable in 1927, when he left his family and sweetheart, Idie Lacy, in Houston, Texas, to take a job halfway around the world in British Colonial India.

“Adventurous tales of tiger hunts, rickety train rides, and a birthday with a maharajah mix with humorous anecdotes of rural village life and brokering cotton to fill Harry’s letters home, giving Idie a unique glimpse of life in a strange land with a Texas twist.

“Then Idie also did the unthinkable in 1939, taking a month-long sea voyage to marry Harry in Bombay. Their stories speak of learning to cope with each other and with life in a foreign culture and a faraway place. Idie was subsequently evacuated from India during World War II, while Harry stayed, working on a mission for his company and his country. His business contacts with Hindu, Muslim and English merchants helped him procure strageic materials for the Allies. Along the way, he interacted with everyone from peasants to majarajas and trekked into Nepal with a collague, the first white men to do so.”