The Tudor Fair Blog
England’s First Shopping Mall – the Royal Exchange
I was thinking about shopping in England because I’m making a grocery run to Gibraltar tomorrow – it’s nearly 2 hours on two main roads, and I need my passport to get to the giant Morrison’s supermarket, but once there I can easily read the labels since they’re in English,…
How to have a really crappy day in Seville (hint: it involves not being able to find parking)
So. We went to Seville this past weekend. It’s about a 2 hour drive, and I hadn’t been there before. So we piled into the car, had screenshots of the directions saved (since we don’t have good data plans on our Spanish phones), and we were off. Getting to Seville…
Cats in history: As complicated a story as they themselves are (with pictures! of cats! and babies!)
Ok you guys, I’m going to try to Win the Internets today with this post, chock full of history! cats! and babies! How can I connect all three? Oh ye of little faith. Walk with me a minute, and see… So according to the Museum of the Moving Image in…
John Stowe: Grumpy Old Man with a Parchment Polaroid
In 1598 a very old man decided to write a history of his changing city, a snapshot of a city that was going through enormous transformation, and he wanted to capture the city he knew as a younger man for posterity. The man was called John Stowe, and the city…
Book Review – The Magna Carta (or is it?) by Howard of Warwick
I’ve written before about how much I love this author, who epitomizes all that is good in hilarious historical humor (history “as it might have happened, but probably didn’t”). The best way I can describe him is to tell you to imagine reading Monty Python and the Holy Grail in a novel…
the Ronda Chronicles: Palacio de Mondragon
To be added to the “Things to Do in Ronda” series: yesterday we went to the Palace of Mondragon, which, according to legend, was the palace of the son of Morocco’s sultan. The last Arab governor, before the fall of Ronda in 1485, also lived here. It’s an amazing building,…
5 Kick-ass Tudor Women You Probably Don’t Know (but should)
One way of looking at the Protestant Reformation in England was that it was completely because of a woman that Henry VIII broke away from the Pope, for whom he had been such a staunch defender just a decade before. If Henry hadn’t been so besotted with Anne Boleyn, and…
Margaret Beaufort, a woman with nerves (and cojones) of steel
So I want to talk to you today about Margaret Beaufort. This woman is insanely gutsy. If you don’t know of her yet, please read this post. She’s awesome. She was Henry VII’s mother. Henry VII was the founder of the Tudor dynasty, so in a way, she gave…
Writing about Writing: The NaNoWriMo Edition
Every November as the leaves are blowing off the trees and the smells of autumn – spiced apples and pine needles – are wafting through the crisp air, our thoughts turn to the rituals of fall… No, not turkey and football, you silly people. National Novel Writing Month! Hundreds of thousands of people…
Witches and Ghosts Podcasts up and live!
For those of you getting into the ghoulish spirit, the podcasts I did with Brittany at the History, Bitches podcast are both up and live. The first is on ghosts, and the second on witches and witchcraft. Plus, for the second one I was outside at night and there were…
My love affair with William Lawes
One of my favorite programs on the radio is the Millennium of Music with Robert Aubry Davis. I first discovered it late one Sunday evening on a road trip to Yosemite on the siriusxm radio in the car. Now that I’m living in Spain, I don’t have it in the…
7 Reasons to Visit Ely
Many people who are doing the tourist circuit of England hit Cambridge, but most will leave without journeying the 17 or so miles to visit the hidden gem that is Ely, just to the North. It’s one stop I demanded be included on our Spring Cathedrals and Choirs tour for…