Up Close and Personal with the Greenwich Painted Hall Ceiling

Two weeks ago you may have seen my post on the Painted Hall in Greenwich which is often referred to as the Sistine Chapel of England.  The artwork is 300 years old however and due to age, wear and tear and earlier attempts at preservation, the imagery had become very dark and rather indistinguishable from… Continue reading Up Close and Personal with the Greenwich Painted Hall Ceiling

The day we rioted as the government stole 11 days of our lives!

If you think moving the clock an hour in October is a tedious, weird thing to do that only cheats you of an hour of precious useful daylight in the evening then do spare a thought for our forebears who centuries ago were trying to come to terms with the government stealing 11 days of… Continue reading The day we rioted as the government stole 11 days of our lives!

A holiday from hell for two Russian murderers!

I’ve been on my fair share of nightmare holidays.  Sank on the Nile, cars blown up, marooned in a live mine-field… that sort of thing but even I haven’t had quite as rough a time as Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, Russia’s answer to Michael Palin or Levison Wood. Just two every day men, absolutely not… Continue reading A holiday from hell for two Russian murderers!

The Painted Hall of Greenwich – Englands Sistine Chapel

Said by many to be the English equivalent of the Sistine Chapel, The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich is one of the most spectacular and important baroque interiors in Europe. You might get some idea what awaits when you first arrive at the Cutty Sark station or as I prefer to… Continue reading The Painted Hall of Greenwich – Englands Sistine Chapel

The Tale of the Cursed Amethyst at the Natural History Museum in London

Whilst preparing for a tour tomorrow to the Natural History Museum in London, I thought I should do a reconnaisance sortie as well as a bit of research.  The museum is a work of art and shows what value Victorians placed on education.     Amethysts were used as charms by the ancient Greeks to… Continue reading The Tale of the Cursed Amethyst at the Natural History Museum in London

How do you like your tea?

We are often labelled a nation of animal lovers, gardeners, shopkeepers, queue-ers, weather-watchers, good manners and apologising etc etc but surely there are few things that we are better known for than for our love of a good cup of tea. I don’t drink coffee, I don’t even like the smell.  All those stupid and ever… Continue reading How do you like your tea?

The Divine Right of Kings and the Execution of King Charles I

Ever since I wrote the post Thomas Harrison – Executed whilst cheerful! who was hung drawn and quartered, I have been thinking about the tulmultuous events leading up to the execution of King Charles I. Regicide as it is known, is very rare in British history and usually when it was comitted, it was done so 1500… Continue reading The Divine Right of Kings and the Execution of King Charles I

William Lenthall -The man who risked his life to uphold democracy and defy the King.

Not many people are familiar with William Lenthall but if history were fair then we all would be.  For William Lenthall was once the Speaker of the House of Commons and by his actions changed the course of the world forever. On 4 January 1642, King Charles I entered the House of Commons to arrest… Continue reading William Lenthall -The man who risked his life to uphold democracy and defy the King.

ST PAUL’S MONASTERY IN JARROW AND THE OLDEST STAINED GLASS WINDOW IN THE WORLD

Recently when I was in the area for my Hadrians Wall walk, I took a detour to a place I had long wanted to visited.  Not too many miles from the ancestral home of George Washington which I visited on the same trip. Whilst sights such as the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and Durham Cathedral… Continue reading ST PAUL’S MONASTERY IN JARROW AND THE OLDEST STAINED GLASS WINDOW IN THE WORLD