Launch Date!

My three books will be released on an unsuspecting (except for you dear readers) public on September 24. If you’re in the Cardiff area you will be welcome at the launch.

THE MIDAS OF MANUMISSION: The Orphan Samuel Gist and his Virginian Slaves

This is a story that appeared in my research for the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum to celebrate the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade back in 2007. The bare bones of the story are that Samuel Gist was an orphan from Bristol who was educated at one of the city’s charity schools … Continue reading →

MR BRIDGES’ ENLIGHTENMENT MACHINE: Forty Years on Tour in Georgian Britain

This is a book which began from my research into the rebuilding of Bristol Bridge. Not the famous one built by I K Brunel, but the city’s namesake in the centre of the city which is so busy with traffic that many people don’t even notice it. It was rebuilt against much local apathy and … Continue reading →

The Books are Written!

Hello lovely readers! I apologise yet again for my long silence, but it has been productive.  I have now cleared away most of my research books and notes so I am no longer at risk of breaking my neck every time I move around my workroom. I have completed my three books which will be … Continue reading →

Curiosities at Gloucester Folk Museum

Sometimes I find references to items which I really need to see to understand. Fortunately some museums have handling exhibitions which help. This was a Tudor exhibit at the recent doors open day. This is a trencher, a precursor of plates. It’s only a few inches across as they did not have all the food … Continue reading →

Listen To Britain 75th Anniversary

This is an incredibly famous documentary made in the dark days of World War II by Humphrey Jennings as a means of uniting the United Kingdom. I’d heard a lot about it but never seen it before. Documentary maker Kevin Macdonald introduced it, describing it as a masterpiece; it is that and more. There is … Continue reading →

Life and Death of Sir Thomas Lawrence

Bristol has produced a lot of famous people, most of whom are ignored by present inhabitants. One of the most criminal cases of neglect is that of Lawrence, who is one of my favourite artists, and the first to become a superstar artist and antiquarian. This is from Latimer’s Annals: Sir Thomas Lawrence, President of … Continue reading →

Forth Bridge and Britain’s Decline

This is from a piece by Ian Jack who remembered the opening of its predecessor 53 years ago. What has been lost? Odd little things: a quiet pice of shoreline a view, a further erosion of Fife’s separateness – which could be argued is for the good. The argument against the car is a bigger … Continue reading →

No More Boys and Girls: Can OUr Kids Go Gender Free?

This 2 parter suggested it was about political correctness gone wrong, but it is an intriguing concept. Dr Javed Abdelmoneim was given access for a month to a class of 7 year olds, chosen as this is the age that gender ideas become fixed. In the first episode the children were asked to describe themselves, … Continue reading →

A Bad Doctor

John Aubrey is one of the great English writers and left a huge amount of diaries which range over a wide range of topics. They are chatty, he often qualifies what he writes by citing he’s not sure of this, or that someone told him, so provides insight into his life and thinking. This is … Continue reading →