Dartmouth Book Festival
I recently posted about the Dartmouth Book Festival, so here’s an update. I have now received a copy of the brochure and the author’s agreement. As previously mentioned I will be on the Historical Fiction Panel with Tim Pears. We will be interviewed by John Suchet....
Farewell Chancellor
Chris Patten, Lord Patten of Barnes, is interviewed in this months Oxford Alumni News. He has served as Chancellor of the university since 2003. Chris Patten was elected as conservative MP for Bath in 1979 which is the year I matriculated at Oxford, and Bath is now...
Battle of Hastings
During a wonderful weekend with our friends Angie and Frank, we dined in Chichester. The oldest building in Chichester is the Saxon church of Saint Olave, built in 1050. My immediate thoughts were of what those who built the church and worshipped there were soon to...
Oxford Connections
We were watching Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice last night. She is an incredibly great singer in so many genres. The number of connections she has with other great artists is phenomenal, and suddenly I was connected back to my very first day in Oxford. My...
Words
As an author, words are the tools of my trade. Like most retired people I know, I exercise my brain each morning with a few puzzles. I start with Quad Word, then move on to Wordle, followed by Sudoku. For anyone not familiar with Wordle it involves trying to guess a...
Accuracy in Historical Fiction
The article that caught my attention in this month’s Red Herrings, the bulletin of the Crime Writers’ Association, is by Bryan J Mason. He was on a historical fiction panel at CrimeFest this year and was asked about the level of accuracy needed to depict the past. He...
Tutankhamun and Legacy
Claire has just been watching Coco again. The story revolves around the belief that you don’t finally die until the last person alive forgets you. We visited the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London in 2020. I think it was there that I read that the...
Royal Golf
I have written about golf before. I have played golf, occasionally winning a prize here and there, since I was about five years old. I gave it up soon after leaving university, and took the game up again when I retired. Many golf clubs have royal in their name: Royal...
Screen Writing
The Open University advanced creative writing course aims to develop the student’s dramatic technique, individual style, and voice. It explores dramatic writing: writing for the stage, screen, and radio, and how the techniques employed can enhance our writing. My big...
Dartmouth Book Festival
I recently posted about the Dartmouth Book Festival, so here’s an update. I have now received a copy of the brochure and the author’s agreement. As previously mentioned I will be on the Historical Fiction Panel with Tim Pears. We will be interviewed by John Suchet....
Farewell Chancellor
Chris Patten, Lord Patten of Barnes, is interviewed in this months Oxford Alumni News. He has served as Chancellor of the university since 2003. Chris Patten was elected as conservative MP for Bath in 1979 which is the year I matriculated at Oxford, and Bath is now...
Battle of Hastings
During a wonderful weekend with our friends Angie and Frank, we dined in Chichester. The oldest building in Chichester is the Saxon church of Saint Olave, built in 1050. My immediate thoughts were of what those who built the church and worshipped there were soon to...
Oxford Connections
We were watching Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice last night. She is an incredibly great singer in so many genres. The number of connections she has with other great artists is phenomenal, and suddenly I was connected back to my very first day in Oxford. My...
Words
As an author, words are the tools of my trade. Like most retired people I know, I exercise my brain each morning with a few puzzles. I start with Quad Word, then move on to Wordle, followed by Sudoku. For anyone not familiar with Wordle it involves trying to guess a...
Accuracy in Historical Fiction
The article that caught my attention in this month’s Red Herrings, the bulletin of the Crime Writers’ Association, is by Bryan J Mason. He was on a historical fiction panel at CrimeFest this year and was asked about the level of accuracy needed to depict the past. He...
Tutankhamun and Legacy
Claire has just been watching Coco again. The story revolves around the belief that you don’t finally die until the last person alive forgets you. We visited the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London in 2020. I think it was there that I read that the...
Royal Golf
I have written about golf before. I have played golf, occasionally winning a prize here and there, since I was about five years old. I gave it up soon after leaving university, and took the game up again when I retired. Many golf clubs have royal in their name: Royal...
Screen Writing
The Open University advanced creative writing course aims to develop the student’s dramatic technique, individual style, and voice. It explores dramatic writing: writing for the stage, screen, and radio, and how the techniques employed can enhance our writing. My big...