Peterloo - The Movie.

I have just watched the movie Peterloo on Amazon. It was a powerful film based on the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 in Manchester. It made me angry with the powerful ruling classes of the land. 

It was a hard-hitting film showing the watcher the build-up that led to the events. I had heard of the young soldier that was at Waterloo in 1815. The young man that fought for King and country. The opening shots show the young man at the famous 1815 battle. Then we go to the opening sequence of the discharged soldier walking home to Manchester in England. We see all through the eyes of his loving family struggling against the harsh ways of the industrial revolution. This young man from Waterloo is not even given the price of transport for a journey back to Manchester while the Duke of Wellington is awarded £750,000 as a reward for his part in the battle. This young soldier's character is fictional, but he is an image of an actual soldier that was at Peterloo four years after Wellington's Grand Battle. His real name was John Lees and he was from Oldham.

I do not think the movie was appreciated too much at the box office. I do not know why, because I found it very moving. I knew something about the historical significance of the Peterloo event. There were 15 people killed including a mother and baby. (To be honest, I thought there were larger numbers) But this does not diminish the viciousness of the dreadful event. There were a further 700 injuries during the panic as the various military units waded in against the 80,000 peaceful protesters.

The film had some splendid actors with Maxine Peake, Rory Kinnear, David Bamber and many more. The problem is, I liked the movie and thought it was well presented. But I found it so angrily moving. It was too powerful in some parts. Especially, the ending. I was almost spitting razor blades.

It made my blood boil at the thought of the Yeomanry getting away with this. I wonder if it will happen again one day? I think many of our political classes would be capable of doing such a thing. During the story, we are also shown the corridors of power. Here were men with complete conviction of their own vanity. Their diabolical view of the plebiscite was extreme and very barbaric. Such vile and wicked people! The real rogues of the nation in all their finery. 

A Column of Fire by Ken Follett - (My Goodreads Review)

A Column of Fire by Ken Follett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the two earlier Kingsbridge stories. This third one is set a few hundred years hence and the town's folk are still prosperous as merchants and love their town's wonderful cathedral. This story starts off in 1558 and young Ned Willard is eighteen years of age. He is madly in love with Margery Fitzgerald and she is in love with him. It is the latter days of Bloody Mary the Catholic queen of England and Ned's family are hoping that Protestant Princess Elizabeth will become queen.

The story takes the reader on a dynamic and exciting journey through the reign of Queen Elizabeth and Ned becomes a member of the English Secret Service. He is instrumental in ensuring the virgin queen's safety through the many circumstances of her reign. We are taken to the French court of Catherine de Medici and young Mary Stewart (Queen Of Scots). We are on adventures during the St Bartholomew's Massacre in Paris. The Babington Plot the Spanish Armada and even the Gunpowder plot too.

A roller coaster ride of political intrigue, murder and deception throughout. An absolute page-turner entwined with real historical events and characters. We are taken from 1558 to 1620 and I enjoyed every page of it. A splendid historical story and I would recommend any history lover to read this.

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Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian (My Goodreads Review)

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I almost skipped this first story and would have started on Post Captain, which is the second of these acclaimed stories of the Royal Navy during the time of Nelson etc. However, I was informed that the movie of the same name is nothing like the first Patrick O'Brien novel of the same name. All the characters are there, but I think the movie is more like another Aubrey–Maturin story called the Far Side of the World. The movie was most enjoyable, so I'm not trying to knock it. I just thought I might already know the story.

Alas, I did not. The whole Aubrey–Maturin saga starts off splendidly in the Mediterranean. Our two heroes are on the island of Majorca. This is where they first meet at a concert hosted by musicians and wives of the British gentry. I was absolutely enthralled by the dialogue of these many seamen and the author presents the times wonderfully well. The characters are splendid and the action sequences are gripping. I would highly recommend this novel. Especially if you enjoy historical fiction of a nautical flavour. I will eventually read other stories of the Aubrey–Maturin series. I am now a fan.

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The Family Heydon of Baconsthorpe Castle

Today was a fine clear blue winter day. Very mild for February. My wife and I decided to get out for a drive. We decided upon a trip to Cromer in Norfolk. It is not far from where we live in the Fenlands. Along the way, we passed through Sandringham and made a note that we would need to visit the stately home one day in spring or summer. There were various nature reserves tempting me with my camera, but we held true until we passed Fakenham. At this point, there was a little congestion ahead and a sign pointing to a small castle along a country lane turn off. It led to a village called Baconsthorpe. Also, there was a Baconsthorpe castle. Carole and I decided to investigate.

The castle remains were upon some farmland and we found ourselves driving along a muddy old pathway passed a farmhouse in the fields and various barns. Ahead, in the distance, we could see what looked like a dilapidated stone house. As we got nearer and drove into the gravel yard, I realised the grand old building was no more than an elaborate gatehouse. At least it used to be. There was a picture on a mount outside the pathway leading to the gatehouse. Beyond this was the dilapidated castle of Baconsthorpe with a surrounding moat.

It had been built by a successful wool merchant family called Heydon. This family became successful during the time when John Heydon was head of the wool merchant family group. They were of humble beginnings but had supported various nobles during the Wars of the Roses. In doing so, John Heydon had amassed considerable wealth and decided that his family would have their own castle. The construction of which began around 1450. John Heydon died in 1479.

The fortunes of the Heydon family lasted 200 years when their wealth decreased and debts began to grow. The castle was literally dismantled in stages as the stones were sold off to building merchants to pay off debts. Eventually, all that remained of the castle was just the broken outer wall and grand entrance. The family retired to the gate house and people continued to use the former servant’s house until 1920 when one of the two towers collapsed. From then on castle Baconsthorpe was deserted – echoes of a bygone family who climbed to the peak and declined over the centuries. Now it is just a relic of a former glory. 

A Murderous Affair - Elizabethan Crime Story

A compelling period/crime/espionage story written first person singular. John Lovat is an illegitimate son of a titled man. His half-brother is legitimate and has all the trappings of inherited wealth including having his half-brother (John Lovat) at his beck and call. The illegitimate brother lives in a room on old London Bridge with a panoramic view of the bustling river Thames and both banks of the teeming metropolis. It is the time of Queen Elizabeth I. The year is 1588 and the winter is coming. The Spanish Armada has been defeated and England is brimming with new found confidence.

One morning John Lovat reluctantly goes upon a quest for his half-brother and benefactor, to find the culprit of a murdered Portuguese man washed upon the mud banks near Deptford at a place called Cuckold’s Point. The story moves from one setting to another as John Lovat tries to get to the bottom of the complex mystery that starts to unfold. He finds himself working for two masters. His titled brother and England’s first great spymaster; Lord Walsingham. There are a lot of historical events that get loosely tied in with this gripping story that makes it all the more enjoyable, including echoes from the Babington Plot and from the St Bartholomew massacre in France. We also get the taste of the great theatre too. All of this gives the reader a feel of Elizabethan England. A thoroughly enjoyable read. 

Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones with Brian Jones

This is how I remembered them as a kid with all my elders bemoaning them. As though they were the anti-Christ in mortal form. I could not understand why I liked them and found them compelling when my betters said such scathing things about these long haired layabouts. Why were they on television? Was it so we could say bad things about the way they were?

The world has changed so much since this time and now The Rolling Stones and many other 'long haired layabout' bands of the 60s are institutionalised and iconic of these times. They left a footprint that will be remembered for thousands of years. Imagine being able to see Shakespeare, Cicero, Da Vinci or Plato on TV. The people of the future will be able to see these artists long after they are gone and in their glory days. 

HMS Monitor - A World War I warship is to be turned into a visitor attraction

Taken from Newspaper clipping

WWI HMS Monitor M33 to become Portsmouth tourist attraction

on October 1, 2013 at 13:45

A World War I warship is to be turned into a visitor attraction after winning Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) backing. The £1.79m grant will see the interior of HMS Monitor M33, a coastal bombardment vessel which served in the Gallipoli campaign, refurbished. The work on the ship, built in 1915, will be done at Portsmouth’s National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN).

Minister for Tourism Hugh Robertson said the vessel provided a “tangible and compelling” link to WWI. The ship initially saw action during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915, supporting allied troops attempting to land on the coast of Turkey. The 180 ft (55m) ship’s role was to provide cover for troops landing on beaches using a pair of 125mm guns on board. It returned to Portsmouth Harbour after being involved in the Russian Civil War in 1919 and was acquired by Hampshire County Council in 1990.

The NMRN’s Professor Dominic Tweddle said the institution, where the vessel has been held since it ceased being seaworthy, was “absolutely thrilled”. “We’ve long seen M33 as both culturally and historically important, and this symbolises the start of a new era for her.” The restoration work, funded by the HLF alongside a £250,000 grant from the county council, will see the rusting interior turned into a visitor attraction, which will illustrate what life was life for sailors on board.

Super Nerd - Pride and Predjudice - Mr Collins' wonderful cringeworthy male excellence

I'm not one for romance - or at least I thought not. But my eldest son and I spent a week in the rural parts of Lincolnshire, England. We had visited my mother and over the course of two of the evenings, we watched the 1995 British tv series of Pride and Prejudice. It is an absolute peach of a period drama - a wonderful story of five sisters living in the well to do society of England in and around the years 1820 to 1830. It is splendidly done with all the old ways concerning social grace and conduct of these times.

We have Colin Firth as Mister Darcy - the upright aristocrat who does not suffer fools gladly or other types of frivolity. He is a good man, but his blatant honesty is often arrogant and his high opinion of himself often misplaced too. From him, we get the prejudice of the story.

Elizabeth is our heroine and very worthy too. She is a wonderful young lady and the object of all men's attention. She is elegant, graceful and has well-deserved views - perhaps a little headstrong. She does not see eye to eye with Mister Darcy but there is an obvious attraction between Elizabeth and the aristocratic man.

However, the great show stealer for me was the diabolical Mister Collins. A clergyman who is a cousin of Elizabeth and her four sisters. David Bamber plays Mister Collins and in my opinion; his name should be Mister Cringworthy and with the utmost of respect. The man is fabulously awful and the girls find nothing attractive in this man's attentions. He scores an amazing eleven out of ten on the cringometer.

I mean this bloke is so vile that he is dynamic on the entertainment front. David Bamber portrays this character to great effect and should be applauded and given an award for his fine performance. His antics were so amusing and comical and this character was a wonderful garnish to this great story. I particularly like the part when he steals Elizabeth for a dance at one of the social gatherings. The man is a perfection of awfulness and I laughed and cringed at his ill-deserved confidence as he hopelessly tries to woo cousin Elizabeth and win her hand in marriage - making a total fat backside of himself in the process.

He was my favourite character in this story - his entertainment value was splendid. Mother, son and grandson all roared with laughter at this dreadful man's futile attempts to capture the heart of Elizabeth. I found a few clips of David Bamber as Mister Collins (Mister Cringworthy) and had to blog them. Hope you enjoy and if you get the chance; watch this great story.