The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You

This reminds me of being in doors during the 1960s when my mother would be pottering about the house and playing records on a big long radio gram with a turntable. This was one of those wonderful retro American records of the time that I enjoyed among many others that I remember. The song brings back a lot of happy memories.

OHMSS Soundtrack #6: Main Theme - On Her Majesty's Secret Service

When I was a kid, I can remember my Dad taking me to see this at the cinema. I loved this theme tune and the snow chase. It was also one James Bond film that had a sad ending. The music was first class and is so British retro 60s 

Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger (Live at Royal Albert Hall)

I've always loved most James Bond themes, but Goldfinger along with, On Her Majesties Secret Service are my favorites and I find it difficult to choose between the two. Each one gets the adrenalin flowing and every school boy wanted to be a secret agent when he grew up. So did most grown up men too... :)

Cartimandua (Roman British Queen of Brigantes Celts) AD43 - AD69

Brigante Queen Cartimandua of Roman Britain

Because Celtic society enabled woman to hold more powers then most; Celtic ladies are often made Icons. Much of this is due to legend and fascinations - plus, of course, Queen Boadicea of the Iceni Britons. Not all were as bold as Queen Boadicea, but perhaps some were more successful then given credit for. It is difficult to say if Queen Cartimandua was a traitor or someone trying to make the best of a bad situation.  

Cartimandua probably gets a less kind press then she deserves. I think the reason for this is because she does not have the Boadicea glow of the famous Celtic warrior queen. Writers of romantic historical fiction and followers of Celtic myth often present her in less kind ways. On the other hand, she lived in harsh times and perhaps, made tough decisions for the greater good. 



This Celtic queen of Brigantes was in power from 43 AD to 69 AD. She was regent of the Brigantes during the time of the Catuvellauni King Caratacus. He lost his kingdom to the Romans but remained at large trying to rally support to continue fighting the Roman conquerors. Try as he might, the Romans always defeated him when ever he was able to muster support. Finally in 50 AD he fled from the sanctuary he had found in North Wales to the northern kingdom of the Brigantes - ruled by Queen Cartimandua and her husband Venutius. He arrived before Cartimandua requesting sanctuary. Instead, the queen had him bound in chains and handed over to the Romans. She had established good trust with the Romans and had taken power when some of the Brigantes tribe had tried to resist the original conquest, first started by Emperor Claudius in 43 AD.



The section of Brigante tribesman that did resist were defeated by a Roman leader called Publius Ostorius Scapula in 48 AD. Cartimandua might have aided the Romans in some way by restraining tribesman from joining the fight against Rome, or she might have been in power before, and condemned the Brigante sections that did resist. It is difficult to know if she was seizing an opportunity to rule the Brigantes or trying to play intricate politics in difficult situations when already in power. She was probably wise to what the Romans could do and so offered to collaborate and remain regent.

If this was so, why did Caratacus take the chance of standing before Cartimandua and asking for sanctuary? He had been fighting the Romans for a number of years and would surely know that she was allied to the them. Maybe he was trying to reach Caledonia (Today's Scotland) and was captured passing through - who knows?

This act of betraying Caratacus caused a rift among the Briganties and Cartimandua's husband Venutius became opposed to her. He tried to usurp her power and take the Brigante kingdom for himself. This was in 50 AD.

She was able to count on the friendship of a man called Vellocatus who was once a subordinate of her husband Venutius. Also the Romans sent her aid with an army. With the help of Rome and her loyal followers she was able to defeat and drive Venutius away.

The Roman historian Tacitus mentions her as a friend of Rome and for a further 19 years she would remain in control and collaborating with Rome. When the Iceni Queen Boadicea (Boudicca) led her rebellion, Cartimandua would not send Brigante forces to aid the Iceni queen. It is possible that such requests never came to her.

Cartimandua's exiled husband Venutius remained in his sanctuary watching and waiting. Then in 69 AD - some nineteen years after being driven out of the Brigante lands, Rome was weakened by its own internal political strife. It was the year of four Emperors. Venutius launched an invasion of the Brigante lands and Cartimandua could only get limited help from the Roman administration. She was driven out of Brigante and into the sanctuary of Roman held territory. She never returned and history lost account of what became of her.

It is not known exactly when or if Venutius was brought to account for his anti Roman invasion or if he remained their chieftain/king, but the Brigantes would remain un-pacified as a people for several decades to come until the early part of the second century.

Cartimandua faded from history and no one knows when she died. She never reclaimed her kingdom and many Celts believed her to be treacherous. Maybe the Romans thought so too. Perhaps she was no longer of use to them once she fled the Brigante lands. With no confidence in her continued ability to keep the Brigantes in check, she was persuaded to retire into another region of the Empire and live in anonymity.


Sources:

HISTORIC UK

ANCIENT ORIGINS

BBC HISTORY

HISTORICAL ARTICLES

The Last Days of Thunder Child

Pastiche novel set in UK in 1898. H.M.S. Thunder Child must make a stand against an alien invader.

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Days-Thunder-Child-ebook/dp/B00CHEI5G8

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Martian tripods stalk the Earth. In Britain the population is in panic and the hordes try to flee from the UK. H.M.S. Thunder Child has a role to play.

Moyra Melons ear rings are more subltle then Chelsea Charms'

Moyra Melons ear rings are subtle, they lay nicely as she relaxes in her usual care free way. Other ladies try to battle for recognition among serious ear ring enthusiasts, but I don't think any compare to Moyra Melons and her collection of sublime ear bling.

There is another lady in the news, but I don't think she is really up to the challenge as of yet. Her name is Chelsea Charms, but in all honesty; I think this young lady needs to look more seriously at her ear rings. They are a little over the top - a little too full on, as one might say.

Nice try Chelsea but the ear rings
 are a little to much

So Chelsea Charms; Nice try luv, but get some new ear rings next time or you'll not be able to progress up the league of famous ear ring wearing ladies. If you want to stick out in the crowd and get those admiring glances - it is always the ear rings - every time - the ear rings. 

You need them to scream out and say, "Hey, look at these." You need something that is intrusive in a kind way. Your ear rings don't really do that, do they?

English Hero - Hereward the Wake (Fighting William the Conqueror)

Hereward attacks from the marshy Fenland

Much of Hereward's story has become a myth. Even though he was known to have existed. There were a few prominent things that were attributed to him on record. But what became of him is not known. It is probable that the Normans never brought him to justice because there is no record. Therefore, it is unlikely that he died at the hands of the Norman enemy. There are rumours that he regained his lands from William I (William the Conqueror) after the Norman king was forced to come to terms with the Anglo Saxon outlaw. This is also very doubtful as the Norman king was never forced to come to terms with any of his enemies. William the Conquerer was too powerful and resolute a person for this. He never needed too. Why would he?

Hereward was born in Lincolnshire to a noblewoman called Godiva who was married to an Earl from Mercia called Leofric. It was during the time of King Edward the Confessor that young Herewald was exiled overseas. This was because he quarrelled with his father. It is probable that the confessor king endorsed Earl Leofric's wishes and outlawed the rash 18 years old as a lesson. Hereward went into an armed service in Flanders. He was there for many years and when the confessor king died, Hereward missed the battles for power in England between Harold and the Norwegians and then against the Normans under Duke William of Normandy. This was in the year of 1066 and as most people know; King Harold was killed by the Normans during the Battle of Hastings.

There was further resistance from the late King Harold's mother, Gytha. She had managed to muster a force in Exeter, but it was defeated by the Norman invaders. Another resistance in the North of England was crushed too.

Herewood came home to find his father's lands had been confiscated and with a group of Saxon followers, he retreated into the fenland in the counties of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. These marshy grasslands were very inaccessible to people who did not know the lay of the land and the Normans had a very difficult time policing the area. There was also vast areas of forest land in this age.

He was aided (probably in secret at first) by the Abbot of Ely. The years of known activity are from 1067 to 1071. Hereward was named Hereward the Wake, which meant, the watcher. He would use the fenlands to hide and ambush the Normans whenever possible. He is believed to have used guerrilla tactics of hit and run.

The king of Denmark called Sweyn Estrithson sent a small supporting force of soldiers to Cambridgeshire, using the broads to navigate into the fenland. In a joint operation, the Anglo Saxons under Hereward and the Viking Danes decided to attack the town of Peterborough. They stole religious treasures from the church among other things. When the Normans responded and sent a force, Hereward was left to fight alone because the Danes returned to their ships with their booty and left the country.

Hereward retreated to the Isle of Ely. In this time, the Cathedral city we know of today was different. It still sat upon a big mound with an Abby on the top, but it was surrounded by watery marshlands. This was a huge natural moat. The Abbot had been giving sanctuary to the Anglo Saxon resisters for some time and among Herewards followers was a Northumbrian Earl called Morcar. He had his lands confiscated too and tried on many occasions to combat the Normans.

The Normans lay siege to Ely and tried to build a huge bridge across the marshland towards the mound where Ely stands to this day. Hereward was able to disrupt this construction and attack the builders and soldiers, thwarting the attempted siege.

However, some of the abbey's monks made a pact with the Normans and showed them a secret path across the marsh. This resulted in the Normans storming Ely and capturing the Abbot and Earl Morcar. Hereward was able to escape into the marshy fenland to continue with his guerrilla campaign. It went on for a short time then stopped. Hereward faded into obscurity and legend. The local people continued to call him by his mythical name of Hereward the Wake (Hereward the Watcher) and maybe this enigma played on the minds of the Norman patrols long after the Anglo Saxon warrior had gone.

Another likely cause for his fading into obscurity is that he may have left the country and returned to mainland Europe like many of the Anglo Saxon noblemen who were driven from their estates. This is the most plausible reason for his disappearance from the historical records.