As the ripples spread from the dissolution of a small town’s priory, a spy is caught and Cromwell has him racked. My latest podcast tells what happens next. ‘The Terror and the Light’ (developed for the British Association for Local History) ties in with the broadcast of the last episode of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall. Milady… Continue reading The Terror and the Light
New video and podcast
I spotted an old postcard on ebay 3 years back and snapped it up. It was posted from Royston. From the message on the back it was clear that the writer was really not happy that 1,100 Welsh soldiers would soon be leaving the town. That got me thinking, ‘Why was she so sad? And what were they doing there anyway?’’
EH Whydale and Royston’s lost paintings
Picture this…. It’s 1937. The far-right is on the rise throughout Europe. In Paris, Picasso is painting a dying horse in his anti-war masterpiece Guernica, while Orwell is visiting the front-line of the Spanish Civil War taking notes. When he returns to his cottage (in the tiny Hertfordshire village of Wallington), Orwell will work these notes up… Continue reading EH Whydale and Royston’s lost paintings
William Blake’s Universe
William Blake’s artwork never makes it onto shortbread tins. It is far too disturbing for that. His colours are a psychedelic nightmare. The Fitzwilliam Museum’s exhibition tries to ask, ‘Why?’ Who was this man who challenged artistic orthodoxy and why did he frame himself as Joseph of Arimathea at a time when the whole world… Continue reading William Blake’s Universe
Play’s the thing
The Director? That phrase alone conjures images of a guy with a megaphone shouting at actors. Think again. For Robin Belfield, it’s all about being the audience. Recently, I tracked him down to talk about his work with the RSC, National Theatre and his latest project with Shakespeare’s Globe. You can find the interview on… Continue reading Play’s the thing
Two new projects
On the heath and On the edge aren’t writing projects, so strictly speaking I shouldn’t be flagging them here, but I am proud to have collaborated on them with James Palmer and Louis Holder for p|arts. These two news films are rooted in Therfield Heath (Hertfordshire) and are very different to each other. The first… Continue reading Two new projects
In the news…
In the past I’ve dabbled in journalism and I recently took up the gauntlet again for the Bylines network. Here’s a piece on the folk duo Megson’s latest project ‘the Herald’ and something on the Greenbelt Festival as it turns fifty.
The Black Watch Mutiny
Since the unsettling events in London of the previous week, Royston’s ever-alert exciseman, Jeremiah Berry, had been on the look out for strangers. Had it not been for his Scotish burr, Patrick MacGregor (alias Campbell/McAlpine) might well have slipped past Berry undetected. It was not to be. On 22 May 1743 the exciseman bundled his… Continue reading The Black Watch Mutiny
Mutiny!
I am delighted to be giving this talk at Royston Museum to raise funds for the hard-working Friends of the Museum. On 17 May 1743, 100 soldiers of the Black Watch Regiment turned on their commanders. 280 years on, discover how one man was hunted down in Royston and what happened next. Mutiny!: The Black… Continue reading Mutiny!
Putting words into people’s mouths
How far is it possible to throw your voice? Catch Aiden Baker’s interview with me for East-Anglia Bylines about how unsettled a small settlement can be, patterns, borders and my attempts at ventriloquism across the centuries. Lots of things are going on under the surface….