Charles V of Spain
I married my darling Claire thirty-three years ago today. But what else happened on this day in history? Francis I of France signed a secret treaty with Pope Clement VII 492 years ago today, against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Francis was the King who met Henry VIII...
The Addled Parliament
On 7th June 1614 King James I dissolved the “Addled Parliament”. The Addled Parliament was so-called because it failed to achieve anything of significance during its short lifespan. It was called by the king to address the financial issues that were plaguing the...
The Daymark and Oxford Prime Ministers
I’m a writer of historical fiction now, author of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. But I’m also a sailor, and a retired civil engineer. Therefore I was thrilled to discover the Daymark on my walk this afternoon. It’s a really elegant structure. I did wonder if you...
History and Horses
I’m sure you’ve already guessed, but the inspiration for my posts often comes from events which took place on the day. The first event on the “on this day” website for 1st June is 4000 BC, domestication of horses. They do say it’s a hypothesis only. The people of the...
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon plays a small part in The Spy who Sank the Armada, my fictionalised biography of Sir Anthony Standen. Sir Anthony was a spy who was controlled, for a time, by Anthony Bacon, Francis’s elder brother. On the 31st May 1621 Francis Bacon, who was then Lord...
Knowing your onions and Shakespeare
I was gazing at the weeds in our onion bed this morning, when I wondered where the phrase “know you onions” comes from. Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable came to the rescue. It dispensed with the references to C.T. Onions, author and editor of the Shorter Oxford...
Great First Lines
I went to my third meeting of Corsham Writers on Thursday. The theme was first lines. Jeff produced a list of famous novel openings, which we took it in turns to read out. Then everyone commented. I can’t remember what they all were now. I’ve just googled great novel...
Prologues, what’s wrong with them?
One of our friends picked up a copy of Fire and Earth from my stall at our village Christmas fete. She opened it and said, “oh a prologue! The ladies in our reading group don’t like prologues!” The wonderful Frankie Howard always started his TV comedy Up Pompeii with...
Progress with Baby Steps
When I got out of bed yesterday, my back went. It’s my own fault, I haven’t been doing my exercises as religiously as I should. I had severe back pain, probably around ten years ago. The timing was terrible, we were on a short break in Salamanca. It’s a wonderful...
Charles V of Spain
I married my darling Claire thirty-three years ago today. But what else happened on this day in history? Francis I of France signed a secret treaty with Pope Clement VII 492 years ago today, against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Francis was the King who met Henry VIII...
The Addled Parliament
On 7th June 1614 King James I dissolved the “Addled Parliament”. The Addled Parliament was so-called because it failed to achieve anything of significance during its short lifespan. It was called by the king to address the financial issues that were plaguing the...
The Daymark and Oxford Prime Ministers
I’m a writer of historical fiction now, author of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. But I’m also a sailor, and a retired civil engineer. Therefore I was thrilled to discover the Daymark on my walk this afternoon. It’s a really elegant structure. I did wonder if you...
History and Horses
I’m sure you’ve already guessed, but the inspiration for my posts often comes from events which took place on the day. The first event on the “on this day” website for 1st June is 4000 BC, domestication of horses. They do say it’s a hypothesis only. The people of the...
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon plays a small part in The Spy who Sank the Armada, my fictionalised biography of Sir Anthony Standen. Sir Anthony was a spy who was controlled, for a time, by Anthony Bacon, Francis’s elder brother. On the 31st May 1621 Francis Bacon, who was then Lord...
Knowing your onions and Shakespeare
I was gazing at the weeds in our onion bed this morning, when I wondered where the phrase “know you onions” comes from. Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable came to the rescue. It dispensed with the references to C.T. Onions, author and editor of the Shorter Oxford...
Great First Lines
I went to my third meeting of Corsham Writers on Thursday. The theme was first lines. Jeff produced a list of famous novel openings, which we took it in turns to read out. Then everyone commented. I can’t remember what they all were now. I’ve just googled great novel...
Prologues, what’s wrong with them?
One of our friends picked up a copy of Fire and Earth from my stall at our village Christmas fete. She opened it and said, “oh a prologue! The ladies in our reading group don’t like prologues!” The wonderful Frankie Howard always started his TV comedy Up Pompeii with...
Progress with Baby Steps
When I got out of bed yesterday, my back went. It’s my own fault, I haven’t been doing my exercises as religiously as I should. I had severe back pain, probably around ten years ago. The timing was terrible, we were on a short break in Salamanca. It’s a wonderful...