Monthly Archives: November 2010
In Brussels for the Association of the Royal Residences of Europe
In Brussels for the Association of the Royal Residences of Europe. There’s been some debate about whether the Doge’s Palace, Venice, would be eligible to join or not. The feeling was that they’d be bit too democratic. We were also looking at an eighteenth century chamberlain’s key to the palace where we were meeting in
Continue ReadingExcellent taste is demonstrated
Excellent taste is demonstrated over at The Telegraph by their picking my ‘Courtiers’ as one of their ‘Books of the Year’. They say it ‘reveals the complexity, anxiety and pathos behind the façade of those caught up in the golden circle of the Court’. (Hear, hear.)
Continue ReadingTo Berkhamsted
To Berkhamsted, to lay some flowers at Peter the Wild Boy’s grave. Also to the school to see his iron collar once again and to film it. We interviewed the school librarian, who was young and cool, not at all what we were expecting!
Continue Readingoctagonal ‘fountain … gilt with fine gold’
My favourite history ‘experience’ of 2012 has just been published in History Today magazine: ‘The historical ‘thing’ [we could chose books, films, anything] that has given me the most pleasure this year is our recreation at Hampton Court of Henry VIII’s wine fountain. The original was constructed in a field outside Calais in 1520 for
Continue ReadingAn exciting weekend in Swindon
An exciting weekend in Swindon (sounds unlikely, but it’s true) at the National Trust’s AGM. I took part in a debate about whether bringing properties to life is dumbing down or not. I’d feared being eaten alive by apoplectic Colonel Mustards, but how wrong I was! The membership were wonderfully receptive, even enthusiastic, about trying
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