Sandringham Game and Country Fair - 1

Today, my wife and I went to the Sandringham Game and Country Fair. It has been advertised for weeks on bill boards along country roads here, there and everywhere in the Fenland. It is only a short distance across the county border and in Norfolk. We missed it last year and Carole (my wife) has been going on and on that she did not want to miss it this year.

So, with a sense of purpose, we got our things together and trundled off in the car towards Sandringham. The event was grander than I expected. There were several arenas with Shire horses, pony and trap manoeuvres, horse drawn boarding events, Birds of Prey, sheep dog trials, clay pigeon shooting archery and many more things too.

There were well over 200 various stalls selling a variety of things from craftwork, country clothing and so many more things too. I had dinner of rolled pork and chips while my wife went for some noodles. It was a most pleasant way to spend the Saturday afternoon. There was so much to see I have decided to break up the photos for several blogs.

My first flicker of interest came from the various steam engine vehicles that were on display. Some fabulous retro machines from the bygone days of steam.

Giving You A War of the Worlds Adaptation USA

Growing Interest in Adaptation

The Last Days of Thunder Child is a War of the Worlds adaptation on sale in the USA and to be sold in the EU from August 2016, seventy years after the passing of the great H.G. Wells - the master science fiction writer of the late Victorian age.

Fascinating new perspective.

The pastiche story goes aboard the battleship/ironclad and the readers sees the Martian invasion unfold via the crew's perspective. At first, just rumour and speculation from semaphore stations. The plucky battleship is destined to confront and fight the alien invaders, as in H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds the old retro sci-fi story. Today it is more of an alternative history as well as Science Fiction. It could also be a steampunk story due to its Victorian setting. It all makes for a fun read of Victorian battleship verses alien invaders from Mars.

The story offers two lines of adventure: 

1. The noble Scottish Captain McIntosh and his crew aboard HMS Thunder Child as they cruise around the channel into the North Sea and up along the south east England coastline.

2. On land, the shy and reserved English Albert Stanley, a minor administrator from the Ministry of Defence - the messenger who brings HMS Thunder Child's last minuet orders. Instructions that stop the ironclad going to the salvage yard.

The Final Outcome

The adaptation story has the alternative history - retro science fiction - steampunk feel about it. Readers can purchase the novel in paperback or on Kindle download USA.

War of the Worlds Fans

Have you ever enjoyed H.G. Wells War of the Worlds, an all time classic Science Fiction story written in 1898? It tells of a Martian invasion that begins in Britain in the County of Surrey just South West of London. Close to a town called Woking. In fact, if you ever visit the town there is a statue of aMartian tripod in the shopping center. If you have read this story, you will know of the ironclad H.M.S. Thunder Child that is forced to defend the paddle steamer full of refugees. Do you wonder what it would be like to join the crew a few days before the event? You could follow the brave men on their terrible journey around the coastline and up the River Blackwater to Maldon and the final confrontation with three Martian tripods? 

From Mars, the meteorites shot through space bound for Earth and conquest over all lifeforms that live there. The Martians were unfeeling towards mankind as humans are to sheep or other lesser creatures.

The meteorites land in fields and woodland. After a time, there emerges the terror of mankind. Colossal tripods, before which, humanity flees as the onslaught of the fighting machines begins. People are destroyed by heat rays and black toxic gas. Those that survive are forced to flee the persuing devestation.

Aboard H.M.S. Thunder Child, the crew are blissfully unaware of the savage terror. Only the new Captain knows and only upon the journey, at sea, do the crew begin to learn the unbelievable news from semephore stations.

Fear grips the population and hordes of refugees make for the coastline to flee the country. Their world is gone and only death and destruction follows. Ships of all nations and sizes must aid the mass evacuation...

Amid all of this, the mighty little ironclad, H.M.S. Thunder Child must play her role to the full and rely on the bravery of a small crew.

A Great Steampunk Adventure

Great Steampunk adventure set in an alternative British Empire with advanced steam driven machinery and airships. We follow the adventures of Captain Folkestone and his Martian accomplice, Sergeant Felix Hand. The British Empire is policing colonies on Mars and Venus in the year of 1882. It's a wonderful weird and wacky adventure of a retro sci-fi world from our past. An alternative British Empire in a bizarre space age. The image of Victorian machinery (iron and steam) in a space age dreamed of by people with futuristic imaginations of the late 19th and early 20th Century. H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burrows type Sci-Fi. A story of ancient Dark Gods known to Martians and Venusians from their entwined pasts yet not to Humans who are new comers building empires and colonies upon both planets. The restless natives of these colonised worlds are resurrecting taboo old Gods. Those that must not be spoken of. Their aim (The Dark Gods) to destroy the alternative British Empire of 1882 and bring vengeance upon humanity. Only the dashing Captain Folkestone and Sergeant Hand can thwart the evil as they travel on a quest from Mars to Venus following leads where humanoid and reptillian Venusians dwell. Plus some work back on Earth, in London, by Scotland Yard’s Chief Inspector Ethan Slaughter as he searches among London's immigrant population of Chinese, Laskers, Martians and Venusian workers in a quest for secrets of the Dark Gods too.

Great adventure for all fans of Steampunk Sci-Fi where even Victorian London's back streets are awash with inter-planetary multi-cutralism. The whole story moves well with its wonderful alternative Victorian feel combined with retro steampowered machinery from a mythical, dreamed of, age.

H.M.S. Thunder Childs Last Voyage.

In the War of the Worlds novel, the British Empire is powerless to defend itself. The vast navy that protected the island nation from other countries was useless against the Martians. The aliens simply fell from the sky and assembled their fighting machines to wreak havoc upon mankind. People tried to flee the island country and during one such incident HMS Thunder Child, the plucky ironclad, comes to the rescue of a paddle steamer, full of terrified refugees.

Above is a great artistic impression of the dramatic moment when Thunder Child attacked. It is also the basis for a pastiche story; The Last Days of Thunder Child by C.A. Powell. It follows the old Victorian ironclad on its final voyage before her battle with three Martian tripods. Read the exciting novel and join the crew as the brave ship cruises into legend and glory.

It is a tale that might appeal to SciFi and Steampunk fans.  

The story sells well in the USA, but I've always wanted to see how it would do in the UK. 

Under EU law the pastiche can't be published until September of 2016. 

This pastiche SciFi story was inspired by H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds set in Victorian Britain in the year of 1898. I suppose it crosses a number of genres in this day and age. Obviously Science Fiction, but also Alternative Reality and even Steampunk. 

I went on a journey of discovery trying to imagine what H.M.S. Thunder Child might have looked like and fell fancifully in love with the first revolving turret ship without sails. It was H.M.S. Devastation - blogs of which are featured here. She also had a sister ship called HMS Thunderer.

At first these revolving ship's had muzzle loading guns with short stumpy barrels that barely protruded from the gun ports. I wanted to keep these on the ship of 1898. Even though they were obsolete by such times. I used poetic license to do such thing and used a credible excuse.

The whole endeavour of this written work was done during an evening school writing class and it sort of developed from there. It was a wonderful project that I found most absorbing. I got it edited properly and a front cover picture from an artist living in Cambridgeshire.

It cannot be published in the UK or the EU until September 2016, but the USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND are selling the novel now.

Read H.M.S. Thunder Child's adventure against the Martian tripods. Victorian Britain is now a dystopian land. The world has gone mad and the British Empire is exposed for all the weakness it has against an alien technology it cannot compete against. One small out dated ironclad steps up to the mark with a brave crew. In the River Blackwater, Thunder Child makes a defiant stand. Follow the crew and her last voyage.

My Pastiche novel about H.G. Wells' fictional battleship H.M.S. Thunder Child (The Last Days of Thunder Child) was based on H.M.S. Devastation. In my imagination, I could see this design for Thunder Child going into battle against three Martian tripods on the River Blackwater in the county of Essex, England, UK in 1898.

Muzzle loading guns went obsolete around 1889. All Royal navy ships, including Devastation were converted to Breech loading. However, I invented a political excuse to keep Thunder Child antiquated and still retaining the short stubby muzzle loading guns inside revolving turrets. 

This was to give Thunder Child a feeling of being behind the times, but still plucky when the occasion demanded. The diagram above, was found in a library book and then I was fortunate enough to find it on line. This gives a great internal view of the working of H.M.S. Devastation and I used this plan for my vision of H.M.S. Thunder Child in: The Last Days of Thunder Child by C.A. Powell. 

The book is only on sale in the USA at the moment but will be able to be sold in the EU and other places in 2017. On USA kindle, the novel is available for download and it can be bought in print too. Check out the advert below.