Queens of England Since the Conquest
"If she had been more fortunate, her history would have been more pompous, but her works would have been less full" -Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bousuet "...the daughter of a father who never learned to run away..." - Charles I Never has a gather felt more GET. IT. DONE. than today. It took a while to find... Continue Reading →
London, February 4th, 2018 Had to avoid breakfast so I wouldn’t get coach sick but by the time I got to London I was starving so I grabbed a couple of earth-caches and popped into a friendly looking pub for a full English – which btw is bloody lush! I’m supposed to be starting my... Continue Reading →
Eleanor of Castille's abridged family tree She crept up on me. Having embarrassed myself by asking to be let through to the Edward chapel (it’s Henry) I was dodging tourists then suddenly there she was. I mean, I couldn’t see her, not properly. She’s quite high, and her effigy, though still gold, is slender and... Continue Reading →
I know other stuff happened today but I'm so full of queen that I'm struggling to focus! That excited feeling didn't really dissipate so everything had an exclamation mark after it in my head: real sausages for breakfast! Blinis! Tea candy! This last is coarse granulated sugar but for some reason is specially packaged. I... Continue Reading →
This is not strictly a travelogue of collecting a queen, because the gather was one day out of 18, but I don't have anywhere else to put this and it was a journey of epic proportions, so here it is, in all its sweary glory. The one-day gather for Caroline of Brunswick can be found... Continue Reading →
Westminster 18th January 2020The train ride this morning was so beautiful. There was fog, and I left early enough for it still to be dark for half the journey. At sunrise there was this little weak pastel smudge of orange on the horizon one side of the train so you could see the outline of... Continue Reading →
Westminster, December 21st 2019 I overslept. I ended up arriving in good time but multiple traffic laws were bent/broken to achieve it. Having the car is making me quite cocky about having to be places on time. The train ride barely registers, I get the 148 bus like a local and there was no queue... Continue Reading →
KINGSTON UPON THAMES, APRIL 23rd 2017 Here we go! I should go into more detail; I can’t just say ‘spent the day here’ – this will be an official travel diary to treasure for…oh…days at least after I come home. I’m travelling relatively light, meaning one pair of pants and every electronic device I own.... Continue Reading →
Rouen Cathedral, Rouen... I haven’t found her yet, but I needed to stop and take stock because I am totally overwhelmed. I’m in the cathedral and I caught the last half hour of the mass and even though I didn’t understand any of it, I still felt the weight of the ritual, it was reassuring... Continue Reading →
The benchmark of morals and the ornament of life Hackney, Wednesday August 21st 2019 This probably won’t be very long: I’ve just stopped for lunch in a place that feels like a living room while I rest and regroup. It wasn’t stressful getting here, but it felt like an effort and I’m very hot and... Continue Reading →
Anglica Regina 