The Tudor Fair Blog
Favorite Places in England: Chichester
The church I go to is called St. Richard’s of Chichester, and so on one of my trips to the UK I felt compelled to spend some time getting to know St. Richard, and his town. Fortunately for me, it’s a nice place to visit, and I was also able…
The Week in Books: Island of the Lost
Another fantastic Oyster find, I devoured Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the End of the World by Joan Druett this past week. It’s a true story about two simultaneous shipwrecks on Auckland Island in the 1860’s (though they never met each other, being on opposite ends with a mountain range in…
Old Music Monday: The Agincourt Carol
While browsing on youtube this weekend (I love that sentence because it implies long childfree days spent clicking from one interesting program to the next) I found this 2013 BBC documentary from David Starkey, the most fabulous British historian (and who puts on a fabulous show in the 1980’s Channel…
Random Friday Fun Facts: Coffee and How it Works
“As soon as coffee is in your stomach, there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move…similes arise, the paper is covered. Coffee is your ally and writing ceases to be a struggle” 19th century philosopher Balzac Before I had a kid I was never a big coffee drinker. Oh,…
Writing about Reading: Tom Kabinet
When eBooks first started gaining popularity, many people were surprised to find out that they actually don’t own the ebook that they bought. What they have purchased is a license to read the book. This first got some press in 2009 when, in a beautiful bit of poetry, Amazon remotely…
Favorite Places in England: Bournemouth
Let me tell you about a weekend trip I had to Bournemouth a few years ago, which has made it become one of my Favorite Places in England. I was ridiculously behind on work, and I wanted to get out of London and go somewhere quiet where I could catch…
The Week in Books: The Wars of the Roses – Politics and Constitution in England 1437-1509
When I lived in the UK one of my favorite things to do was go to Cambridge where I’d attend evensong service at King’s, and then go to the Cambridge University Press bookstore on the corner of King’s Parade and the market street, and I’d buy a book that made…
Old Music Monday: The Cardinall’s Musick and Elizabethan religious PR gigs
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bMiYnzkZx4?list=PLhHbeycso61VkjUYaeHgmoVrs1lkU8Q_f] This week The Cardinall’s Musick has seen some heavy rotation on my Spotify. They are a UK based ensemble that, like many early music groups, is scholarly in their recordings of 16th and 17th century music. They mostly record with Hyperion – a label I love – but…
Random Friday Fun Fact: Shakespeare’s Richard III (aka the Victors get to write the History)
I’ve had a project going on over the past few years that I call my Shameful Shakespeare Catch-up (shameful because it’s shameful that so much of my life has gone by without me reading any Shakespeare at all – it’s been since college, which, sadly, was fifteen years ago) and today…
Writing About Reading: Kindle Unlimited
A few months ago Amazon announced they were also entering the ebook subscription service, which I wrote about previously, by starting Kindle Unlimited. The new service is a direct competitor to Oyster and Scribd, and while I love the promo video, that’s about the only thing I love about it. Here’s…
Favorite Places in England: Not Drowning in Scaroborough
When I lived in the UK when I was in my early 20’s post-college figuring-life-out phase (which I never really grew out of), I used to go to random tourist places based on British folk songs, or throwing darts at maps. Or showing up at the train station and picking…
The Week in Books: Howard of Warwick
I spent much of this past week being a Single Mama while my hubby was away in Amsterdam, and consequently, what with NaNoWriMo and Hannah refusing to nap because her schedule was all screwed up, etc., I haven’t had a lot of time to read. But with that said, I…