I’ve tried to avoid writing about great and grim English and British monarchs because it’s a path well-trodden elsewhere. However, in looking what is available out there I have noted some of my favourite King and Queens of England have either been largely mistreated or altogether forgotten. In this series I will explore some of… Continue reading Monarchs Reviewed: Henry I
Author: Richard Darch
Media Literacy
When I was at school I the study of English was broken into three separate subjects – English Language, English Literature and English Media. I loved English Literature and I tolerated English Language as a compulsory subject. Wherever possible I avoided the elective English Media. I have recently been researching a post which has led… Continue reading Media Literacy
Henry and Anne: The Great Matter
Arguably one of the best known and most controversial monarchs in British history, Henry VIII was prepared for a life in the church. As second son he wasn’t meant to be King. That bitter inheritance fell to his older brother Arthur. However on Arthurs death, the young Henry was whipped away from his mother’s household… Continue reading Henry and Anne: The Great Matter
Maria Beckett: From Madness to Murder and Back Again
Maria Beckett was the widow of a well-known brewer in Buckinghamshire, England. at 66 years old, she lived between various children. She was regarded as an intelligent, kind and generally well-respected member of the local community. When her husband died in 1854, his business passed to their son with the provision for an allowance for… Continue reading Maria Beckett: From Madness to Murder and Back Again
Strigoi: Fear not this night.
In a remote village in the hills of Romania a young boy hides under the covers of his bed, the bright moonlight and trees cast gruesome and terrifying shadows against his bedroom wall. His grandfather’s stories of dragons and demons race through his mind. He takes a deep breath and rallies his courage, and then… Continue reading Strigoi: Fear not this night.
Death Masks: Momento Mori
When I was at college my class were studying the Mycenaean’s, there was lots of stuff about cyclopean walls and the lion gate, I find all of that interesting now however at the time I was so dull and not at all what I expected studying classical civilisations to be like. And then our teacher… Continue reading Death Masks: Momento Mori
Romani non Invicta: Julius Caesar in Britannia Part One
Romans! Their empire started with the founding of Rome in 753 BCE and arguably didn’t fall until it got its bones picked by the Goths in 410 CE. For over a millennia they ruled most of the known world and through their reputation influenced the peoples beyond their borders. I could talk about the great… Continue reading Romani non Invicta: Julius Caesar in Britannia Part One
Dante: A bone to pick
I’ve often make my feelings about Dante Alighieri known. After being forced to study the Devine Comedy …. repeatedly I have no great love for the man. Its not just the post-traumatic stress that having my classics teacher bellow “but what did he REALLY mean” a hundred times a lecture for two years has induced.… Continue reading Dante: A bone to pick
Witches: By the pricking of my thumbs.
Halloween may be over for another year however I thought I would wrap up my spooky and folklore themed posts with some witch related information that I found interesting. Matthew Hopkins During a period referred to as the “English Civil War” one man was driving the search for, and execution of witches in England. During… Continue reading Witches: By the pricking of my thumbs.
War on Nature
Humans are driven towards conflict. We as a species are like Mick, the drunk Glaswegian staggering around the streets on a friday night, picking fights with lamp posts. However there are times we get bored fighting other humans as we declare open war on the animal kingdom with mixed success. Side Note: Mick, you know… Continue reading War on Nature