The New Murrey and Blue blog

humour

Dickon’s Diaries 3

Dec 28, 2021

Alternative History, buildings, humour

“Dickon’s Diaries”, Amazon, Anne Neville, Carry On series, Edward of Middleham, Francis Viscount Lovell, Joanne Larner, Middleham Castle, Richard III, Susan Lamb, The Two Ronnies

The Dickon’s Diaries series was written to lighten the mood surrounding Richard III as the authors felt that there was so much tragedy and sadness regarding his life, especially the last few years. Susan Lamb has a Facebook page, Dickon for his Dames, and on meeting Joanne Larner (me!) she asked her to collaborate to…
“The Buildings that fought Hitler” (Yesterday)

Nov 30, 2021

Alternative History, anniversaries, battles, buildings, humour, Science, television reviews

Battle of Britain, Bawdsey Manor, Blitz, deception, Dorset, dummy cities, Edmund Ironside, Field Marshal Ironside, Home Guard, Jasper Maskelyne, Military tactics, pill boxes, radar, Second World War, Stanley House, Stanleys, stop lines, Wars of the Roses, Wellington College, Winston Churchill, Yesterday Channel

Once you have reached beyond the bizarre title, which sounds rather like a Dr. Who episode, this is actually a very good series. Rob Bell, the engineer who is becoming quite ubiquitous, demonstrates how the UK was ready to use ther natural and built environments, together with science, to repel and then restrict a German…
More Secret Marriages!

Nov 27, 2021

anniversaries, battles, humour, law, religion

Anne Boleyn, Barnet, Bishop of Liverpool, cartoons, Catherine of Aragon, Charles Brandon, Dan Snow, denialists, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, George IV, Henry VIII, John Ashdown-Hill, Lady Edwina Grosvenor, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Louis XIV, Madame de Maintenon, Maria Fitzherbert, Mary “Tudor”, pre-contract, Richard of Warwick, Royal Marriage Secrets, secret marriage, Twitter

Back in 2010, historian Dan Snow was married in secret to Lady Edwina Grosvenor, daughter of the Duke of Westminster. I’ve looked but I can’t see that Dan mentions Edward IV‘s probable ‘secret marriage’ to Eleanor Talbot in any of his Twitter or other postings on history. (He did once post a very entertaining picture…
Inventions

Nov 18, 2021

anniversaries, humour, religion, Science

de heretico comburendo, Edward IV, fire extinguisher, Henry V, Henry VIII, inventions, Mary I, Reginald Cardinal Pole, stair lift

Here is a selection of useful inventions. I was surprised to find out how old the stair lift was but Henry VIII and his maternal grandfather could both have availed themselves of it and 1536 was just in time for the former’s riding accident. The fire extinguisher only dates to 1818 but many people really…
IF THE SHOE FITS…

Oct 28, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, culture, humour

bunions, Cambridge, fashion, Poulaine shoes

15th C fashion could be quite dramatic…and sometimes, to our modern eyes, a bit ridiculous. Nothing more so than the infamous Poulaine shoes, with their excessively long pointed toes that looked as if they were dangerous to walk in (the nearest we had to them in modern times were the Winklepicker shoes worn by Teddy…
Another way for Henry VII to screw money out of his subjects….

Aug 21, 2021

anniversaries, battles, humour, law

backdating, Battle of Bosworth, Charters, Henry VII, Owain Glyndwr, rebellions, taxation, Wales, Welsh Penal Laws

There are some interesting occurrences in Welsh history, not all of them well known. When I came upon this article, I looked for Henry VII. Well, he was bound to feature. And he did! I quote: “….Numerous [Welsh] rebellions still arose, most famously that led by Owain Glyndwr….The Glyndwr Rising would lead to the Penal…
Henrys, Ancient and Modern….!

Aug 19, 2021

art, humour

Elizabeth of York, facial resemblance, Henry VII, Henry VIII, judicial murder, Keith Richards, usurpation

Well, the hymn book was never like this, I grant. No hymn numbers here. Instead we have a forgotten Rolling Stone, because if ever there was one, here he is! I can just picture him up on stage giving it some wellie with Mick, Keith & Co. Not that he’d be enjoying himself, that’s for…
A VINTAGE CARTOON OF EDWARD IV

Aug 11, 2021

anniversaries, art, buildings, humour

barrel, cartoons, Edward IV, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Margaret of Salisbury, Richard III, symbolism, Tower of London

I seem to collect pictures of Edward IV. He’s quite searchable online and has many various portraits come up, ranging from small illuminations in manuscripts to copies of copies of copies. They range from the sublime to ridiculous, as they rather do with Richard, but there are a lot more of them, as one might…
The Bacon family and the Quaplode boar….

Jul 30, 2021

buildings, genealogy, heraldry, humour, religion

Bacon family, boars, Coddenham, Crowland Abbey, Lincolnshire, Lowestoft, Quaplode family, Shrubland Hall, Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Nicholas Bacon, Whaplode, Whaplode Riots

As is natural, Ricardians are always interested in heraldry depicting boars. And one might expect a family named Bacon to sport a member of the family Suidae on its escutcheon. However, it seems the connection between Bacon and boars is not at the root of it:- “….You may think that the boar is a pun…
Some Shakespeare scenes re-written

Jul 3, 2021

anniversaries, battles, films, humour, religion, The play’s the thing

Battle of Bosworth, Charles VII, cricket, de heretico comburendo, delivery companies, executions, Henry V, horses, Lollards, Michael K Jones, Richard III, Shakespeare, tennis balls

Henry V DRIVER (presses bell) BUTLER (opens door) DRIVER: Mr. Monmouth? BUTLER: Sorry, he is busy at the moment. DRIVER: Dauphin’s Sporting Goods here. I have a delivery for him; can he spare a moment to sign for it? Otherwise I’ll probably have to take it back to the warehouse. BUTLER: He is with some…