Now, more than ever, we can see the mistakes of the past being repeated by those who don’t know any better. So it’s good to see faint signs of history becoming more important in education. Here I am, for example, talking about my book to a full Assembly of some 80 children aged roughly 9 […]
Ever-changing history Read More »
Hazel’s birthday this month gave us a good excuse to re-visit Bruges for a nice change of scenery, even if we did get snow! In addition to our normal long walks round the inner city (and some bars of course) the cold gave us reason to visit some galleries and displays, such as the amazing
Bruges and its links with early medieval England #earlymedievalengland Read More »
January can be a thin time for book sales after the excitement of December. But it gives people a chance to do some reading, and to give me some feedback on Ice to Athelstan. People seem especially to have enjoyed the summary sections and tables of key people and events as well as the accessible
Some early comments about Ice to Athelstan – The Emergence of England Read More »
On the cover page of my book Ice to Athelstan, a small crown sits above the ‘A’ of Athelstan. This is picked up in the strapline at the foot of the page, which refers to Athelstan as ‘England’s first Crowned King.’ This raises at least three questions: what makes a king; did England exist at
King OR Country – which came first? Read More »
Loki, shown here in Kelly’s photo, is now 18 in human years. She is thus very much my senior in cat years, and in this post she represents the animal kingdom going back to one of the earliest comments on my book when my friend Richard said: ‘I read the first few chapters of your
Loki’s Legacy: Unraveling 10,000 Years of Human and Animal History Read More »
Marketing one’s own book can be quite daunting! Today is actually the formal publication date, but I’ve had my advance copies. Here is one group book-signing at The Six Bells in Thame on Tuesday and there was another small group at The Thatch the following evening, with nearly 20 copies sold between the two. One
The book is now out – and five of these six sold yesterday! Some events coming up in Thame and surrounds with details to follow.
History can help us make sense of traditions that have their roots in the past but have become something rather different over the ages. And this massive spider in a small front garden in Whitstable on the Kent coast got me thinking about why we associate spiders with Halloween. The name itself is a contraction
Halloween and History Read More »
A couple of days after our Dover Castle visit, we drove east along the north Kent coast, beyond Herne Bay, to Reculver Towers. Quite apart from the stunning remains, the site itself has a rich history. Just as the Pharos lighthouse at Dover (see previous post) highlights the Romans’ wish to keep a watch over
East Kent – a dip into history (2) – early October 2024 Read More »
One thing that fascinates me about our history is how it ‘fits together’ and underlies our present. That’s why Ice to Athelstan – The Emergence of England, and hopefully its sequels, seeks to follow the landscape and the visible signs of history that remain accessible today. One such area is Dover at the far south-east
East Kent – a dip into history Read More »
