Everyone knows Mary’s sister, poor Anne Boleyn, the first Queen on British soil to be executed, and by her petty, violent, maniacal husband Henry VIII. She achieved a lasting notoriety but her line petered out with her glorious daughter Elizabeth I. Mary’s history is not well know beyond the fact that she was Henry VIII […]
A Love Letter to Norwich City Library As a child I was lucky to grow up with a mother that valued books above all other possessions and the house was full of books. At school I would come home with the Puffin Club Book magazine and Mum would always say yes to my choice. She […]
,Three Great Families and their Gardens – Caroline Rayman – BODFAS (This lecture was from a previous year when we obviously didn’t have an issue with Covid-19) First Bodfas of the year and I’m going to try to make everyone as they have all been so good. Arrived by the skin of my teeth again, […]
A Throwback Post – The Arts Society Obviously there are no lectures at the moment so he’s one from a few years back. All of these houses added to the inspiration for Ariana’s ancestral home – Hiverton Manor. Finally arrived in good time, with my glasses and without interruption. So far, so good. Our speaker […]
The Unlikely Rise of Certain Young Women It may seem far fetched that Ariana, the heroine in my novel, suddenly becomes the Countess of Wiverton when she is just twenty-eight, but compared to some, she’s a bit long in the tooth. Queen Elizabeth II When Elizabeth Windsor was born, her grandfather, George VI, was King […]
These are my notes from a recent Art Society talk. Really loved this one but then who doesn’t love jewels and revolution? The Imperial Easter Eggs of Carl Fabergé by Toby Faber* “Between 1885 and 1916, Carl Fabergé made fifty jewelled eggs . These were Easter presents from Russia’s last two emperors to their wives. […]
Behind the Veil: the Arts of Islamic Persia – John Osborne So my second BODFAS approached and I was determined not to make such a mess of it this time. However, the fates are cruel and things cropped up. The phone rang as I was leaving, the car needed fuel, there were massive roadworks and eventually I […]