Recently I found myself in the British Library in London, and among the large number of visitors who had flocked there to see the exhibition on The Anglo Saxon Kingdoms. There displayed for us to see were certain treasures of the age before the Norman Conquest. Here were the magnificent original illuminated manuscripts, the highlyContinue reading “The British Library and the Anglo Saxon Kingdoms”
Category Archives: history
The Museum of London, Docklands: a Beguiling Talk About the Social History of the English Pub
The English pub is such a well-loved institution. I know when I lived in Australia for four years, this wonderful institution was much prized for its almost legendary status amongst the Australians, even if they did think we British are a bit weird to go around drinking warm beer all the time. And at theContinue reading “The Museum of London, Docklands: a Beguiling Talk About the Social History of the English Pub”
The National Portrait Gallery, London: a Cloud of Masters and Witnesses
At the National Portrait Gallery recently, as I wandered through the Victorian and Twentieth Century and Contemporary Galleries, I realised that I was surrounded by all the most amazing people who have moved or inspired me or touched my heart, during my lifetime. The people whose faces I gazed at included preRaphaelite artists John WaterhouseContinue reading “The National Portrait Gallery, London: a Cloud of Masters and Witnesses”
London Stories, a Rich and Complex Tapestry
I’ve just spent a week in London, near the Tower, and my mind is full of London stories… stories of many different aspects of life in the city. First of all, I think of the tales we were told on the walk from Whitechapel tube station, the Hidden East End walk, led by one of LondonContinue reading “London Stories, a Rich and Complex Tapestry”
Christmas Market at Shakespeare’s School on Saturday 8th December 2018
I’m looking forward to being part of the Christmas Market at King Edward VI School in Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday 8th December 2018 from 12.30-3.30pm. This was the school where Shakespeare studied in the famous Schoolroom between the years 1571 and 1578. So he won’t be at there in person but he may well be inContinue reading “Christmas Market at Shakespeare’s School on Saturday 8th December 2018”
Stoneleigh Abbey – a Glorious Restoration and a Fascinating Historical Tour
We recently made another visit to Stoneleigh Abbey, very near where we live in Warwick: a stately home that has been beautifully restored since it was devastated by fire in 1960. Originally home to an order of Cistercian monks granted land by Henry II in 1145, this later evolved into a gracious seventeenth century residence,Continue reading “Stoneleigh Abbey – a Glorious Restoration and a Fascinating Historical Tour”
The Brightest Heaven of Invention
Originally posted on the ACW “More than Writers” blog. We all know who ascends the brightest heaven of invention. Yes, it’s a muse of fire, which Shakespeare wished for in his Prologue to Henry V, as if the power of creativity were indeed a separate being, in this case from Greek mythology. And I believe that it mayContinue reading “The Brightest Heaven of Invention”
Algorithms and Magical Thinking – at St Mary’s Church Warwick and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
How do we deal with the unpredictabilty of the world we find ourselves in? Recently I’ve been challenged at two quite separate events to consider the ways in which we look at the world and handle the unpredictability and unaccountability of our lives. One event was held in St Mary’s Church Warwick where I heardContinue reading “Algorithms and Magical Thinking – at St Mary’s Church Warwick and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford”
A Special Place in Warwickshire to Reflect Upon Our Wills and Fates: St Peter’s Church Wootton Wawen – Saxon Sanctuary
Our wills and fates do so contrary run That our devices still are overthrown; Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own. Shakespeare: Hamlet, III, 2, 602 Surely the best places to reflect upon the universal truths that lie behind Shakespeare’s words above, are the many historical sites to be found in hisContinue reading “A Special Place in Warwickshire to Reflect Upon Our Wills and Fates: St Peter’s Church Wootton Wawen – Saxon Sanctuary”
Stoneleigh Abbey: A Setting to Inspire Jane Austen for Her Novels
If this be error and upon me proved I never writ nor no man ever loved. Shakespeare: Sonnet 116 Certainly, among novelists living and working in the centuries following Shakespeare’s outpourings of genius, it can most truly be said of Jane Austen that if anything she wrote be error and upon her proved, then sheContinue reading “Stoneleigh Abbey: A Setting to Inspire Jane Austen for Her Novels”
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