There was a British comedy song in the 1970s about metrication. Although I cannot trace it, even on their website, it may well have been by the Barron Knights. It suggested that a Cabinet Minister of the time be renamed Michael 30.24cm and the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police (who arrest people for 1.27cm-ing) Scotland… Continue reading Do you remember?
Tag: Belgium
CROWN IN EXILE: A NOVEL OF RICHARD AND EDWARD IN BURGUNDY
A part of Richard III’s life often overlooked in fiction is the brief time he spent in exile with his brother, Edward IV, from October 1470 to March 1471. Usually, this event is a mere footnote in most novels, no doubt because it might be seen as ‘slowing down the action’ and also… Continue reading CROWN IN EXILE: A NOVEL OF RICHARD AND EDWARD IN BURGUNDY
The armour worn at Waterloo in 1815….
Well, having read this interesting article about the above rather battered piece of nineteenth-century armour from the Battle of Waterloo, I have to say that I doubt if any armour could withstand a direct bullseye from a cannon ball. Not even the best the medieval period could produce!
London’s Greatest Bridges (continued)
This series finally resumed on Channel Five at the beginning of October, to cover two of the newer structures over the Thames, neither of which are in the original form. As usual, Rob Bell’s enthusiasm is infectious and his programmes are highly informative. Episode Three covered Westminster Bridge. By 1700, the population of London was… Continue reading London’s Greatest Bridges (continued)
Two butchers, an archer and a “bourgeois of Tournai”….
“….Consider, for example, the case of John Sperhauk, which came before King’s Bench in April 1402. The plea roll record opens with the memorandum of his confession taken on 13 April by the coroner of King’s Bench, before the king and ‘by [his] authority and command’. In this confession, Sperhauk admitted to publicly repeating allegations… Continue reading Two butchers, an archer and a “bourgeois of Tournai”….
……. but which Duke was it?
So who was the “Grand Old Duke of York”, subject of the nursery rhyme and hundreds of pubs? Was it: 1) Richard (1411-60), father of Edward IV and Richard III and senior (Mortimer) claimant almost since birth, who died at Wakefield after descending from Sandal Castle? 2) James (1633-1701), aka James VII/II, who sought to… Continue reading ……. but which Duke was it?
murreyandblue 