Pigments of the imagination
In these historic islands, we can’t often see things exactly as they’d have looked through the eyes of our ancestors. Landscapes shift, buildings age and crumble, old things disappear under…
Piers of the Realm
Here’s a nautical post to recall warmer times, in this cold weather. We spent some happy hours at the English seaside last summer. We idled away a few pleasant afternoons…
Dragons’ teeth
On your trips out and about, do you sometimes spot random stuff - lumps of concrete, bits of iron, abandoned huts and sheds, strange buildings in the middle of nowhere…
Saint necessarily so
Last year for me, a small pleasure, in that wild west virtual saloon named Twitter, was reading the latest posts from the Reverend Richard Coles. Yes, that one - him…
Norman Wisdom
What’s the first date you learned at school, in those dull history lessons? No question, it was of course that of the Battle of Hastings. 1066 (and All That).…
Calendar Girl
I wish you all belated Easter greetings. This time last year I was posting about sacred chickens, pagan hares and Easter - or rather Eostre’s - bunnies. This time around,…
Surely, Templars?
Everyone likes a good conspiracy theory, so I thought we’d start off with some fun. In 1982, a ‘non-fiction’ book was published with the title The Holy Blood and the…
Keep the home fires burning – please!
Here’s another post about the first world war. It’s such a compelling period to study: it’s so close in time to us, yet it’s slowly receding into “proper” history. My…
The Watkins Path
I do love a good walk. And as an amateur historian, I love the ancient paths and tracks that cover these islands. Not only the Roman roads which criss-cross…
Street Life
Following my recent musings on crop circles, JP, a friend who takes an occasional interest in my posts, took me to task. “ Why are you writing all this boring…
For the benefit of Mister Kite….
…..there will be a show tonight - on trampoline. The Hendersons will all be there, Late of Pablo Fanque’s fair - What a scene! Another lyric for the baby…
A tale of suspense
With the summer sun at its peak, following the recent solstice, I thought I would introduce a hint of the shadows into the proceedings. After all, a touch of the…