The Real Gentlemen Captains, Redux, Part 2
The second part of my series of posts from November 2011, now updated and reblogged ahead of my talk at Weymouth Leviathan, the UK’s first maritime literary festival, on 13 March. Sir William Berkeley – Berkeley is both one of the principal inspirations for Matthew Quinton and a character in the series. He has a […]
The Real Gentlemen Captains, Redux, Part I
In the lead-up to my appearance on 13 March at Weymouth Leviathan, Britain’s first maritime literary festival, I thought I’d reblog some of my very earliest posts on this site, from November 2011, about some of the characters who will be making appearances during my talk. Here’s the first of them! People often ask me […]
Carmarthenshire Archives (and Museums): a Brave New World?
It’s been a while since I posted about the situation with Carmarthenshire Archives, which took up so much space on this blog in the second half of last year, so I thought it was time I provided you with an update. My last post on the subject contained the unexpected but very welcome news that […]
For Whom the Nell Tolls
A bit of culture at the weekend, namely an outing to the Saturday matinee of Nell Gwynn at the wonderfully ornate Apollo Theatre in London’s West End. I’d read the reviews of this when it premiered at the Globe last autumn, but we failed to secure tickets for it then. Written by Jessica Swale, the play makes […]
Highways and Byways of the Seventeenth Century: the Prince of Transylvania
Time for another in my (very) occasional series of oddities and little-known tales that I’ve stumbled across during the course of my research. Actually, though, this was one that I came across during my teaching career, my ‘day job’ for thirty or so years. Back in 1987, I took up a new post at Bedford […]
Samuel Pepys versus The Incredible Hulk
Don’t make me angry; you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. Or, alternatively, it is a truth universally acknowledged that those who get outraged by things on Twitter are in need of a life. Having said that, occasionally one sees something on Twitter which is so staggeringly crass that the metaphorical shirt-ripping (but, of course, […]
