I really enjoy Sir Walter Ralegh’s poetry. I don’t like that he made tobacco and potatoes popular, but that’s just me. I would like to share this one poem by him, entitled “The Excuse.” I picked up a copy of his poems from the National Portrait Gallery when I went to see the Lost Prince exhibition, and I… Read on
[THIS IS AVAILABLE AS A FREE PODCAST ON ITUNES] “William III died in a riding accident.” How many times have I heard this? According to the evidence, this was almost certainly not the case. William III had a constant battle with his lungs and it was a problem with his lungs that lead to his death – not… Read on
The Scottish hero popularly known as Rob Roy, was baptised on the 7th of March, 1678, by Loch Katrine. A teenaged Rob Roy has a little cameo in my book due to his involvement in Bonny Dundee’s Jacobite uprising against William & Mary. Many clans, though Presbyterian or Protestant, supported Catholic King James II on principle for he was… Read on
One of Charles II’s earliest great passions, Lucy Walter, sometimes Lucy Barlow, a Royalist exile of Welsh ancestry who became his bedfellow (possibly his wife) and then the mother of his son, James, the future doomed Duke of Monmouth. Lucy, born around 1630, was considered to be a stunningly beautiful, but quite vapid, woman. The image that has comes… Read on
The Duchess of Bolton looks vaguely familiar, does she not? If she does, it’s because she has a look of her father, the handsome Duke of Monmouth. This beautiful young lady married the 2nd Duke of Bolton in 1697. In the course of researching the lives of those connected to the doomed Duke, I found this charming image… Read on
Antonio Vivaldi is one of the main composers one automatically thinks of when the word “Baroque” is used. He was extremely talented and prolific, yet most people only know of his Four Seasons, and I would like to take the time to correct this. For whilst The Four Seasons concertos have memorable melodies full of the extravagant beauty of… Read on
When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go, even if you’re a Stuart king in the late 17th Century… Lovely, isn’t it? Red velvet, brass fittings, this loo is certainly nicer than some I’ve seen in my day. No flush, granted, but still pretty. Now, William had a hard time with his bottom, as he suffered from hemorrhoids. Poor chap.… Read on
Ok, ok, so this is not really 17th century, but this dish is a traditional English food. And it is so yummy and fattening and horribly perfect for winter. These photos are from 2008, but it’s the only time I’ve photographed the process (well, bits of it). I don’t make it anymore as I have stopped eating pork,… Read on