humour
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Well, I confess that on a passing glimpse, I thought this was an Egyptian Pharaoh, but no! It’s Henry VII as you’ve never seen him before. Well, I hadn’t, anyway. The picture is identified as his funeral effigy before it was restored after damage in World War II. I’m startled that anyone, even the Luftwaffe,…
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An unlikely scene, surely? Would medieval ladies really go out snowballing in such décolleté gowns? Can’t believe it. One of them is even bending down to present a better target. I would be far better wrapped, and so would all of you, I’m sure. Or do I have some very daring minxes among my lady…
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Fans of the Harry Potter films might have noted a familiar face looking out from the wall at Hogwarts–Dr Ashdown Hill certainly did, and duly mentioned it in a recent post on his FB site! Yes, a portrait of Henry VII is hanging in the wizarding school’s great hall, amidst those of more, um, fantastical…
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I and my friend, Susan Lamb, have just released our first (but hopefully not last) collaboration, ‘Dickon’s Diaries’ – a collection of anecdotes from our favourite king about his life in ‘Muddleham’ with Anne, his ‘quene’, and his ‘loyalle servaunt’, Lovell. It is based on the popular Facebook page, ‘Dickon for his Dames’, but is…
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‘Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone….a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his…
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Here’s a new suggestion – that Richard’s crown might be under the Esplanade at Rochester. Well, the idea is dismissed because the English Civil War saw an end to the original crown jewels – but who is to say Richard’s crown was destroyed too? But, big but, why on earth would his crown be in…
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I have just come upon the following couplet, concerning a historian’s mistakes:- ‘Others to some faint meaning make pretence But (——–) never deviates into sense.’ Well, the original two-syllabled name fled from my mind, to be replaced by another of similar construction. Starkey! Yes, folks, a couplet entirely suited to him. ‘Others to some faint meaning…
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The people of Pembroke are proud of Henry VII, and are raising money for an 8′ (rather unflattering) statue of him – it’s about as complimentary as poor old Richard’s armless statue at Middleham. But, unlike Richard, it is highly suitable for a Halloween shock! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-37695578 Anyway, this 8′ giant prompted me to ponder how…
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Here’s a laugh, at my expense. A few days ago, while waiting at traffic lights in Hucclecote, Gloucester, I saw (wait for it!) Richard III driving a Nissan X-Trail! It was one of those moments.And it was Gloucester, which seemed so appropriate. There he was, the hair, the face, the hat, and even a robe-collared coat.…
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Just when I thought adaptations of the Bard’s Richard could not get any worse, I find this. OK, not Frank Spencer, just his tank top. http://tinyurl.com/horbrj6
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