Life in Tudor Times

Life in Tudor Times

Life in Tudor times was packed with uncertainty. Martin Luther’s Protestant philosophy had been debated in England during Henry VIII’s reign, but Henry had written a book defending the Catholic Church and Pope Leo X had named him “Defender of the Faith”. When Pope...

read more
Memory Techniques

Memory Techniques

In my recent post CONNECTIONS, I was amazed that whilst reading a book on Freemasonry I came across a link to Giordano Bruno who is a key character in my book, Fire and Earth. Giordano Bruno was known as the memory man, able to perform unbelievable feats of memory....

read more
Researching an Ancestor

Researching an Ancestor

When I discovered that Sir Anthony Standen had been a spy delivering detailed intelligence to Walsingham, on the preparation of the Spanish Armada, I wanted to find out if he was an ancestor, because my mother’s maiden name was Standen. I was already using Ancestry,...

read more
Connections

Connections

I’ve just discovered some amazing connections to Sir Anthony Standen. I’m 39 pages into The Craft - How the Freemasons Made the Modern World, by John Dickie. It’s a fascinating book. I’ve just learnt that the father of freemasonry is William Schaw, who was made Master...

read more
My Father, Vic Turner V.C. and Queen Elizabeth II

My Father, Vic Turner V.C. and Queen Elizabeth II

I went with my father when he visited the Rifle Brigade Museum in Winchester, when I was a boy. He was looking for a book, The Rifle Brigade Chronicle, but he didn’t know which edition. He knew that it had his name in it, and that it was in an article written by...

read more
SUCCESSION

SUCCESSION

Since the abdication of Edward VIII we have enjoyed a clear line of succession. It hasn’t always been so. I recently reviewed Senlac in Readers Club, which covers the period around 1066. The death of Edward the Confessor presaged the Battle of Hastings and William,...

read more
My Father, Richard Nixon, and Tony Hancock

My Father, Richard Nixon, and Tony Hancock

Having connected my father with James Bond and Princess Anne, I thought this is a good way of telling his stories. My father was a dispatch rider with the Rifle Brigade in WWII, twice promoted to lance corporal and busted the next day following the celebrations. I’m...

read more
Making Progress

Making Progress

I think I’m making progress. I’ve approved the 15 minute sample for the audiobook of Fire and Earth. ACX are going through their quality checks of the audio files for The Spy who Sank the Armada. If you don’t know what ACX is, it’s the Amazon owned company which...

read more
My father, James Bond, and Princess Anne

My father, James Bond, and Princess Anne

It may seem an ambitious task to connect my father, James Bond, and Princess Anne, but bear with me. My father served in the Rifle Brigade in World War II. They were attached to 7th Armoured Division, the Desert Rats. I carry his shoulder flash in my wallet. One day I...

read more
Life in Tudor Times

Life in Tudor Times

Life in Tudor times was packed with uncertainty. Martin Luther’s Protestant philosophy had been debated in England during Henry VIII’s reign, but Henry had written a book defending the Catholic Church and Pope Leo X had named him “Defender of the Faith”. When Pope...

read more
Memory Techniques

Memory Techniques

In my recent post CONNECTIONS, I was amazed that whilst reading a book on Freemasonry I came across a link to Giordano Bruno who is a key character in my book, Fire and Earth. Giordano Bruno was known as the memory man, able to perform unbelievable feats of memory....

read more
Researching an Ancestor

Researching an Ancestor

When I discovered that Sir Anthony Standen had been a spy delivering detailed intelligence to Walsingham, on the preparation of the Spanish Armada, I wanted to find out if he was an ancestor, because my mother’s maiden name was Standen. I was already using Ancestry,...

read more
Connections

Connections

I’ve just discovered some amazing connections to Sir Anthony Standen. I’m 39 pages into The Craft - How the Freemasons Made the Modern World, by John Dickie. It’s a fascinating book. I’ve just learnt that the father of freemasonry is William Schaw, who was made Master...

read more
My Father, Vic Turner V.C. and Queen Elizabeth II

My Father, Vic Turner V.C. and Queen Elizabeth II

I went with my father when he visited the Rifle Brigade Museum in Winchester, when I was a boy. He was looking for a book, The Rifle Brigade Chronicle, but he didn’t know which edition. He knew that it had his name in it, and that it was in an article written by...

read more
SUCCESSION

SUCCESSION

Since the abdication of Edward VIII we have enjoyed a clear line of succession. It hasn’t always been so. I recently reviewed Senlac in Readers Club, which covers the period around 1066. The death of Edward the Confessor presaged the Battle of Hastings and William,...

read more
My Father, Richard Nixon, and Tony Hancock

My Father, Richard Nixon, and Tony Hancock

Having connected my father with James Bond and Princess Anne, I thought this is a good way of telling his stories. My father was a dispatch rider with the Rifle Brigade in WWII, twice promoted to lance corporal and busted the next day following the celebrations. I’m...

read more
Making Progress

Making Progress

I think I’m making progress. I’ve approved the 15 minute sample for the audiobook of Fire and Earth. ACX are going through their quality checks of the audio files for The Spy who Sank the Armada. If you don’t know what ACX is, it’s the Amazon owned company which...

read more
My father, James Bond, and Princess Anne

My father, James Bond, and Princess Anne

It may seem an ambitious task to connect my father, James Bond, and Princess Anne, but bear with me. My father served in the Rifle Brigade in World War II. They were attached to 7th Armoured Division, the Desert Rats. I carry his shoulder flash in my wallet. One day I...

read more