Blog Recent Posts Sidebar Widget

Hi,

I'm trying to make a Recent Posts widget. I've tried using perch_blog_custom and it works fine on a single post page and the first page of any archive. However once I go to any subsequent pages it disappears.

<div class="subMenu subMenuBlog">
            <!-- All Posts -->
            <h3 class="all-posts"><a href="/blog">All Posts</a></h3>
            <!-- Recent Posts (5) -->
            <?php perch_blog_custom(array(
            'sort' => 'postDateTime', 
            'count'=>5,
            'sort-order'=>'DESC',
            'template'=>'blog/recent_posts_widget.html'
            ));?>
            <!--  By category listing -->
            <?php perch_blog_categories(); ?>
            <!--  By tag -->
            <?php perch_blog_tags(); ?>
            <!--  By year and then month -->
            <?php perch_blog_date_archive_months(); ?>
        </div>

recent_posts_widget.html is just a cut down version of post_in_list.html

<perch:before>
<ul class="hfeed listing"></perch:before>
    <li class="hentry">
        <h2><a href="<perch:blog id="postURL" />" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title"><perch:blog id="postTitle" /></a></h2>
        <p class="entry-published date"><perch:blog id="postDateTime" format="%d %B %Y" /> • Comments: <perch:blog id="postCommentCount"/></p>
        <perch:if exists="image"><img src="<perch:blog id="image" type="image" />" alt="<perch:blog id="postTitle" />" /></perch:if>
        <perch:if exists="embed_display">
        <perch:else />
        <perch:if exists="embed">
        <div class="post-stream-embed">
            <perch:blog id="embed" type="textarea" label="Media" required="false" html="true" />
        </div>
        </perch:if>
        </perch:if>      
        <div class="description entry-summary">
        <perch:blog id="excerpt" type="textarea" textile="true" />
        <p class="read-more"><a href="<perch:blog id="postURL" />" rel="bookmark">Read More ></a></p>
        </div>
    </li>
<perch:after>
    </ul>
    <perch:if exists="paging">
        <div class="paging">
            <span class="page-count">Page <perch:blog id="current_page" /> of <perch:blog id="number_of_pages" /></span>
            <perch:blog id="page_links" encode="false" />
            <perch:if exists="not_first_page">
                <a href="<perch:blog id="prev_url" encode="false" />">< Previous</a>
            </perch:if>
            <perch:if exists="not_last_page">
                <a href="<perch:blog id="next_url" encode="false" />">Next ></a>
            </perch:if>
        </div>
    </perch:if>
</perch:after>

Diagnostics:

Perch: 3.0.14, PHP: 7.0.29, MySQL: mysqlnd 5.0.12-dev - 20150407 - $Id: b5c5906d452ec590732a93b051f3827e02749b83 $, with PDO
Server OS: Linux, cgi-fcgi
Installed apps: content (3.0.14), assets (3.0.14), categories (3.0.14), perch_blog (5.6.1), perch_events (1.9.5)
App runtimes: <?php $apps_list = [ 'perch_events', 'perch_blog', ]; include(PERCH_PATH.'/addons/apps/kirk_email_obfuscator/runtime.php');
PERCH_LOGINPATH: /perch
PERCH_PATH: /home/creator_desousa/dancing-tao4/perch
PERCH_CORE: /home/creator_desousa/dancing-tao4/perch/core
PERCH_RESFILEPATH: /home/creator_desousa/dancing-tao4/perch/resources
Image manipulation: GD Imagick
PHP limits: Max upload 64M, Max POST 65M, Memory: 90M, Total max file upload: 64M
F1: 3b606135b33e6a102526838f4152a807
Resource folder writeable: Yes
SCRIPT_NAME: /perch/core/settings/diagnostics/index.php
REQUEST_URI: /perch/core/settings/diagnostics/
DOCUMENT_ROOT: /home/creator_desousa/dancing-tao4
HTTP_HOST: www.dancing-tao4.creator-design.co.uk

How can I create a Recent Posts widget that persists across paginated page?

Thanks.