After very positive feedback from earlier talks, on 15th January I’ll be giving my next u3a national talk by Zoom. This will follow the Roman ‘colonisation’ of Britain through to the next period, sometimes called ‘the Dark Ages’. I’ll unpick what we know happened, when, how, and possibly why. Whatever else, the immediate post-Roman period […]
Dark Ages to Magna Carta! Read More »
In Ice to Athelstan I mention the ancient hill fort at Crickley Hill in Gloucestershire as the site of an 4th millennium BCE massacre of the local tribe who had settled there. Having now visited the site, perched on the spur of a long ridge on the scarp slope of the Cotswolds near Birdlip, with
Crickley Hill – A view at a price! Read More »
King & Conqueror – a new low? I’ve been working hard on Book 2, which covers the 3+ centuries from the death of Athelstan in 939 to the end of Henry III in 1272. That includes the Danish and Norman Conquests, which I’ve been studying and writing about in detail. So I was interested to
History and drama by Charles Boundy Read More »
The picture shows a section of a magnificent life-size representation of King Athelstan created by award-winning contemporary embroiderer, Jacky Puzey, for Kingston-upon-Thames. This is part of the ‘Seven Kings’ set of vividly embroidered panels, inspired by this year being the 1100th anniversary of the crowning of King Athelstan there in in 925, with Kingston also
Athelstan’s Big Bash! Read More »
This memorial may not mean much to those from Britain, but is fundamental to Albanians. For them, Skanderbeg, as we know him, is the archetypal national hero. His main claim to fame rests on his success in limiting Ottoman expansion in the Balkans in the 15th century. But with the fame comes the myth, as
Why does nationality matter? Read More »
This was the scene at Thame Library on a warm spring day for an informal talk – and perhaps the beginnings of a history discussion group! It’s another experience talking to a small group without PowerPoint, as I also did at the local Cuttlebrook Hall, encouraging some interesting exchanges with the audience. The next couple
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 »
