buildings
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Here’s an interesting take on Shakespeare‘s Richard II. Please note, NOT Richard III. There is a myth that this play was written to flatter the Tudor queen Elizabeth, and yet one scene came so close to the bone, so to speak, that she had it excised from every performance! Amused she was not. The scene…
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We all know that an unidentified medieval stone sarcophagus containing a lead coffin was discovered close to Richard’s last resting place in Leicester. And, probably, that it proved to be that of an elderly woman. Now there is a video of what happened when it was opened. When they first examined the remains inside…
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Back in the mid-90’s, I went on a jaunt to Leicester, visiting the old town, the statue of Richard III (then sited close to the river) and Leicester Cathedral, where I stopped for a moment to pay my respects near the floor plaque commemorating Richard (who, little did I know it then, was really only…
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It’s been a long wait for American Ricardians. The Lost King was released in Great Britain about six months ago to generally excellent reviews. And during those six months I have read all the Facebook posts from happy Ricardians extolling the virtues of the movie while I sat on my couch fuming because it was…
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There has been a lot of publicity about the splendid The Lost King, but until happening upon this article I hadn’t read anything about the thoughts of the writer, Jeff Pope. What had his opinion of Richard III been before the advent of Philippa Langley and her almost miraculous discovery of Richard’s remains? One…
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A BOOK ON PLANTAGENET QUEENS-BUT WHERE IS ANNE?
“Beauforts”, “Lambert Simnel”, “Tudor” rebellions, “Tudors”, Anne Neville, Anne of Bohemia, Bermondsey Abbey, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Eleanor of Castile, Eleanor of Provence, Elizabeth of York, Henry III, Henry VII, House of York, Joan of Kent, Joan of Navarre, John of Gaunt, Katherine de Roët, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Marguerite of France, Plantagenet Queens and Consorts, pre-contract, Richard II, Richard IIIA review of Plantagenet Queens and Consorts by Steven J. Corvi I am always partial to a good book on medieval English Queens. History being what it is, these women often get overlooked and sidelined unless they did something that was, usually, regarded as greedy, grasping or immoral. Therefore when I saw Steven J.…
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Otterburn Castle is in glorious Northumberland, see here, and dates back to the time of William the Bastard….er, Conqueror. All you need is £3 million. My quirky sense of humour had a turn when I read “The days of arrows shot from battlements and boiling oil poured over the walls are long gone, however….”…
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Oh, is there no end to the groanworthiness of TV documentaries? I found myself watching Blowing-up History, series 8, episode 5, about the Tower of London. (My hand is cupped to my shell-like ear, and yes, I can hear your soaring chorus of groans!) You’re right, yet again it was Richard wot dunnit to…
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According to this link: “The Herefordshire home of the late John Challis – famous for playing Boycie in [the] iconic sitcom Only Fools and Horses – has been put up for sale.” Much as I love Boycie (I’m delighted when Only Fools and Horses and Green Green Grass of Home are repeated on TV), it’s…
