Random thoughts

‘It is time,’ sighed Anarawd. ‘Indeed, Husband: I hoped it would never come to this,’ Eleri replied mournfully. They closed their eyes and concentrated on the words. They formed in the mind swirling, encroaching, pushing all thoughts out. The words were of anger, wrath and defiance. Words created in defence: as a last resort to defeat the Rammligr and save humanity. A protective shell enveloped them and they hovered into the sky. The elderly couple started to rock in unison, murmuring, muttering words which hadn’t been uttered out loud for aeons. The couple started to shine like a beacon as the words tumbled from their now gaping mouths: words screeched and took a life of their own. Phantom like, the words punched through the lower atmosphere causing clouds to form. Tendrils of light enveloped the land and tickled the surface. The inhabitants looked up in dismay: they were going to miss Earth. The layer of life blinked. The shell like land looked forlorn, bereft of the multi

Photos taken during recent trip to Ross on Wye and the surrounding area including Symmonds Yat,

‘These tales of the legendary king and his knights of the Round Table form a highly readable abridgment of Thomas Malory's classic Le Morte d'Arthur. Beloved fables of Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, Galahad, Lancelot, and other denizens of Camelot.’ Taken from the Amazon web page promoting the book. Is the statement describing Knowles’s book available on Amazon. He wrote the book in 1895 as an easier, more updated version of Thomas Malory’s Morte D’Arthur. I chose this book to read first as I had perused Malory’s book and found it to be interesting but potentially challenging as it was written in a hybrid of Middle English and Early modern English. I reasoned that a book written in the late nineteenth century would be a gateway to a possibly harder to decipher older text. Indeed some of the language used is more modern however, the text is littered with lots of examples of archaic language such as Anon. I found it quite interesting discovering older words which are no lo

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2837761731 A book I read within a day. A good summary of key events in English history and how these events have shaped how the English viewed themselves. At one point I thought it was going to become a congratulatory celebration of Englishness without examining the darker sides of our history. The author does however, explore the issues of colonisation and imperialism and reflects upon their impact on English culture. I felt that the author managed to get the balance right between celebrating the positives of English culture whilst acknowledging the less desirable aspects. An engaging and enjoyable read. #WhodotheEnglishthinktheyare? #Derekjtaylor #Goodreadsreview #Englishhistory #travelogue 

Taken from an idea I have for a book called Lichfield Prime. A 'who dunit' set in a Parallel reality Lichfield. Erasmus Darwin speaks. I like this version of Lichfield. The Cathedral is a lot smaller reflecting it's diminished status as a bishopric rather than Archbishopric. I believe this is a symptom of the divergence of this reality from Ours. In this reality, Mercia was weakened after the death of Offa and a jealous Archbishop of Canterbury managed to persuade the Pope to issue a Papal Bull demoting Lichfield back to a bishopric. It was a weakened Mercia that was overrun by Vikings relying on Wessex to drive them back. A weakened newly emerged England was conquered by the Normans whose leadership was descended from the Norsemen. A bizarre tale I know, but it does explain why this universes’ English is similar to our own: both realities had their English heavily influenced by the Romance languages, only ours was through a peaceful amalgamation of the French and Eng