CIA
As my ancestor, Sir Anthony Standen, was an Elizabethan Spy providing Walsingham with detailed intelligence on the Spanish Armada, I am interested in matters related to espionage. Therefore the creation of the CIA has grabbed my attention today. Origins and Formation...
Paris is well worth a Mass
On the 25th of July, 1593, King Henry IV of France publicly converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. Henry, or Henri in the French of the time, is a key character in The Suggested Assassin, the third book in the Sir Anthony Standen Advetures. King Henry IV...
War Wolf
On the 24th of July, 1304, King Edward I of England (Longshanks) took Stirling Castle, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, using War Wolf, believed to be the largest trebuchet ever made. War Wolf, also known as "Ludgar" or simply "the Warwolf," was a colossal...
Operations Edelweiss and Braunschweig
On the 23rd of July, 1942, Hitler ordered Operations Edelweiss and Braunschweig to commence. Meanwhile my father would have been preparing for the first Battle of El Alamein. Operation Edelweiss: Launched in July 1942, Operation Edelweiss was a key component of...
Progress
It’s time for an update on progress with the fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, The Favourite Murder. Today I edited chapter 19. So I have four more chapters to edit for the second draft. Chapter 23 will need to include some additional material, so that...
The Merchant of Venice
On the 22nd of July, 1598, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice was entered on the Stationers’ Register, which by decree of Queen Elizabeth I, licensed all printed works. The Merchant of Venice is my favourite Shakespeare Play. Whilst researching The Spy who Sank the...
The Battle of Jemmingen
The Battle of Jemmingen was fought on the 21st of July, 1568, during the Eighty Years’ War. At that time my ancestor, Sir Anthony Standen, was in Paris trying to gain the favour of the English ambassador. When Francis Walsingham took over as English ambassador,...
Internal Combustion Engine
Two events caught my attention for today’s post. On the 20th of July in 1903, the Ford Motor Company shipped its first automobile, and in 1807, Napoleon awarded a patent to Nícephore Níepce for his Pyrélophore, the first internal combustion engine. I studied...
Mary Rose
The Mary Rose was a formidable Tudor warship, emblematic of England's maritime ambitions during the reign of King Henry VIII. Constructed between 1509 and 1511 in Portsmouth, she was named possibly after Henry VIII's sister, Mary, and the Tudor emblem, the rose. As a...
CIA
As my ancestor, Sir Anthony Standen, was an Elizabethan Spy providing Walsingham with detailed intelligence on the Spanish Armada, I am interested in matters related to espionage. Therefore the creation of the CIA has grabbed my attention today. Origins and Formation...
Paris is well worth a Mass
On the 25th of July, 1593, King Henry IV of France publicly converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. Henry, or Henri in the French of the time, is a key character in The Suggested Assassin, the third book in the Sir Anthony Standen Advetures. King Henry IV...
War Wolf
On the 24th of July, 1304, King Edward I of England (Longshanks) took Stirling Castle, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, using War Wolf, believed to be the largest trebuchet ever made. War Wolf, also known as "Ludgar" or simply "the Warwolf," was a colossal...
Operations Edelweiss and Braunschweig
On the 23rd of July, 1942, Hitler ordered Operations Edelweiss and Braunschweig to commence. Meanwhile my father would have been preparing for the first Battle of El Alamein. Operation Edelweiss: Launched in July 1942, Operation Edelweiss was a key component of...
Progress
It’s time for an update on progress with the fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, The Favourite Murder. Today I edited chapter 19. So I have four more chapters to edit for the second draft. Chapter 23 will need to include some additional material, so that...
The Merchant of Venice
On the 22nd of July, 1598, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice was entered on the Stationers’ Register, which by decree of Queen Elizabeth I, licensed all printed works. The Merchant of Venice is my favourite Shakespeare Play. Whilst researching The Spy who Sank the...
The Battle of Jemmingen
The Battle of Jemmingen was fought on the 21st of July, 1568, during the Eighty Years’ War. At that time my ancestor, Sir Anthony Standen, was in Paris trying to gain the favour of the English ambassador. When Francis Walsingham took over as English ambassador,...
Internal Combustion Engine
Two events caught my attention for today’s post. On the 20th of July in 1903, the Ford Motor Company shipped its first automobile, and in 1807, Napoleon awarded a patent to Nícephore Níepce for his Pyrélophore, the first internal combustion engine. I studied...
Mary Rose
The Mary Rose was a formidable Tudor warship, emblematic of England's maritime ambitions during the reign of King Henry VIII. Constructed between 1509 and 1511 in Portsmouth, she was named possibly after Henry VIII's sister, Mary, and the Tudor emblem, the rose. As a...