The past is never dead, it isn’t even past
“Subandrio! Subandrio! Subandrio! Can you hear us Subandrio? Of course you can! For you can never close your ears to our voices. The voices you tried to smother in the Well. The voices of us the dead. Those voices will always ring in your ears, calling you a traitor...
In the early hours of 3rd July 1940, a powerful British fleet cut steadily through the Mediterranean towards the Algerian coast. Led by HMS Hood, one of the largest and most formidable warships afloat, Force H moved with quiet determination through the warm darkness,...
Anne Boleyn always steals the limelight. Katherine Howard’s story is both dramatic and pitiful. Jane Seymour dies after giving birth to an heir – the ultimate sacrifice. Katherine of Aragon is a fighter, and Katherine Parr is the Queen who outlived Henry VIII. Where...
EVEN now, it is a song that might be considered as an alternative National Anthem. The jaunty melody and the sentiment of ‘Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr Hitler?’ – the theme tune to the BBC comedy Dad’s Army – is at once self-deprecating and steely. ‘We are the...
Robert Bruce is an icon of Scottish nationalism, the man who led the kingdom to victory in the first War of Independence. A detail well known to scholars, which seldom penetrates far into public discourse, is that Robert began the war fighting for the English king....
Ian Fleming created the most famous fictional agent in the world, James Bond. However, when he worked for Naval Intelligence during WWII, he made significant contributions to the real world of intelligence. One of his most important contributions was the formation of...
In August 1941, British and Russian forces invaded Iran and Reza Shah’s abdication was followed by his son Mohammad Reza’s succession. In the 37 years that separate the Allied invasion from the revolution of 1979, three distinct phases may be distinguished. 1941 to...
Hitler believed in the Darwinian struggle for existence. Life did not, could not, exist without conflict. All too soon after his ascent into power, and initially, Europe got to experience the consequences of his grim and aggressive political beliefs. In Great Britain,...
The western Roman Empire collapsed so long ago that we might well ask ‘why should that matter to us now?’. Yet, in multiple ways, our lives are conditioned, still, by those events. Take language, for example. Mostly, the western Empire spoke Latin. Despite substantial...
Monarchs Anonymous is a fun, frenetic show that should appeal to a variety of ages. The premise is a therapy session involving multiple monarchs. The figures taking part are Marie Antionette, Mansa Musa, Charles II, Henry VIII and Princess Sophia Duleep Singh....
