Follow That Trebuchet
Last week I was on a lovely writers' retreat in the Lake District, and found some time to take a couple of trips to investigate the beautiful surrounding area. So obviously I had to go see some medieval ruins. The best sort of ruins. And though it was grey and wet and very, very muddy,…
As is traditional, I'm making this post in a very timely fashion; a mere three month after this year's Worldcon has concluded. Well done, me. In case you don't know what Worldcon is, it is a yearly science-fiction convention, and every year it takes place in a different city around the world. And this year…
Lighthouses are awesome. They are such pure buildings, all noble and humanitarian, meant to protect and guide. They are beacons of hope, literally, metaphorically. When France and Britain were at war (again) at the end of the 17th century a French privateer took engineer Henry Winstanley prisoner while he was working on the first lighthouse…
Continue reading ➞ The Five Best Lighthouses of All the Lighthouses
On January 31st 1953 the United Kingdom experienced one of its deadliest maritime disasters when the Princess Victoria attempted to make the crossing from her home port of Stranraer in Scotland, to Larne in Northern Ireland. It's a short route, less than 45 miles, and a pleasant journey in good weather, but this crossing was…
On Monday, I made the decision to go paddling through some icy sea water. For I was at a local beach where if the tide is out, you can see a wreck, and if it is at low tide, it's possible to walk out to that wreck. Spot the wreck! What isn't possible is walking…
Yesterday I listened to the Braveheart episode of the Best Pick podcast, and delighted in hearing their thoughts on a film which, if nothing else, has provided many people with a fine historical education of the period as they read about all the things it got wrong (personal favourite, the lack of a bridge at…
Continue reading ➞ Robert the Bruce and the Murder of John Comyn
Lizbeth Myles 