Edward Seymour Project - An Update

The age of the Internet has proved extremely useful in my background research into Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, Duke of Somerset. I have found many useful publications, not only books (many of which are second hand) on Amazon, E-Bay and other online antique booksellers, but many websites from which I have printed articles .

One of my most valuable finds has been on JSTOR. This is a wonderful website that is dedicated to the storing of important historical articles, essays etc. The English Historical Review had published on JSTOR a journal by Ethan Shagan from 1999 called Protector Somerset and the 1549 Rebellions: New Sources and New Perspectives. It includes reference to some virtually unknown manuscripts - a series of nine letters written by the government to the eastern and midland rebels in in July 1549. Best of all these manuscripts are actually printed at the end of the article.

The books I have found include one by Albert Fred Pollard in 1900, who all future historians pay tribute, a 500 page plus "somewhat indigestible" tome from 1968 by WK Jordan, to a modern, bright and concise history of the period by Jennifer Loach published in 1999.

There are two more books I need to buy. One is Intrigue and Treason: The Tudor Court 1547-1558 by David Loades and Kingship and Politics in the Reign of Edward VI by Stephen Alford. This last book has only been published in paperback this year, so it will be very intersting to read a current view on the period.

Eastern Promises, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and American Gangster

Violent, yes, but Eastern Promises is a great piece of cinema. A good story, well written and very well directed, it was a terrific thriller. Naomi Watts plays her damsel in danger with subtlety and Vigo Mortensen is convincing as the driver/fixer who is not all he seems. His fight in the bathhouse is very violent and bloody, but not as excruciating as the slit throat right at the start. Great stuff from David Cronenberg.

I was quite disappointed with Elizabeth:The Golden Age. By far the best section was in the middle which dealt with the plot to install Mary Stuart on the throne. But the scenes with Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh seemed contrived and were wholly uninteresting. And I am not convinced he is a good actor. As Cate Blanchett was immediately the Queen, Clive Owen was always Clive Owen. And he has been the same in every part I have seen him play, except, perhaps for Children of Men. The final section about the Armada was rushed and unsatisfying.

American Gangster seemed quite a departure for Ridley Scott, but a film of which he can be proud. The whole movie seemed to be filmed on location and the different scenes flew by making the two and a half hours feel a lot shorter. Great performances from Denzel Washington and, particulary, Russell Crowe as the story jumps from one to the other. Never meeting until the end, and their final scenes are the better for it.

Ryan Adams and the Hammersmith Apollo

The Ryan Adams concert at Hammersmith was sold out while I was on holiday, but I did find a ticket on e-bay at about face value. So on Friday evening I made what turned out to be a tortuous journey into London. Two hours by car to Ruislip and then underground was far more than I had estimated. So with a 15 minute queue for the toilets, The Cardinals were hitting their first chords as at 8.30 I groped my way to my seat in the darkened auditorium.

Was it worth it? Just. Ryan was on good form, well behaved and played a set of 2hours 20minutes. I had expected a break after an hour as reported from other concerts on this tour. But it was nearly two hours before he left the stage for 3minutes before coming back for an encore. I was surprised that he never said a word between songs for an hour and a half, and then he wouldn't shut up. But he does put on a good show, of what he calls "good old rock and roll". For me, his songs vary in quality, but the best are top drawer. And a top class performance from the band.

Which is more than can be said of the audience. I may have been unlucky to be five rows above a gangway, but I was amazed at the constant stream of people going to and from the bar. The couple next to me went twice. This is just not what I am used to. And there were a number of uncouth and vocal idiots too.

So it will take a lot for me to go to the Apollo again. Although it did bring back many happy memories of what used to be the Odeon Hammersmith. When I left school, I lived in digs in Riverside Gardens in Barnes, just over the bridge from Hammersmith. So my walk to George Wimpey's offices on Hammersmith Grove took me close to the Odeon every day. So I was lucky to be able to see what were the forthcoming attractions. So from 1963 I went to see Tony Bennett, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Duke Ellington and Woody Herman and the Herd. All fantastic big band performances.

These were followed by a blues concert with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, and in May 1964 by the best rock and roll show ever with Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins. They were supported by new British groups such as The Nashville Teens (Tobacco Road had not yet entered the charts), The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Animals. Wikipedia confirms they played their version of House of the Rising Sun on their tour with Chuck Berry in May 1964 but did not release a recording until a month later. I can still remember what a great job they did with Alan Price on keyboards.

The most disappointing concert I have ever attended was around this time. Louis Armstrong was a particular favourite, having bought his Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings from 1927 and 1928. So Louis to me was a trumpeter, not a singer. But for the whole concert I wait in vain for a trumpet solo. All the other members of his band played solos, but not Louis. Maybe he was not up to it, but he played with the band, and any short burst on his own would have sufficed.

The last of my 60's memories at the Odeon is the premiere of Thunderball in December 1965. On the day of its release, it was decided to show it at 1 minute past midnight. I must admit that I might have nodded off during the final long underwater sequence, but the music will always wake you up.

The one show I missed was the Beatles. They played 38 shows over 21 nights in late 64/early 65. I had heard that you couldn't hear the music for the screaming and that put me off. But I really should have gone.

Autumn in the Chilterns

This autumn must be one of the best ever for different colours. The beech trees in the woods have varied from bright yellow to gold and then to dark brown. The picture above is at the top of Boddington Hill in Wendover Woods.

The photograph below is my favourite from a walk along the Thames Path from Marlow. This is a picture of a deserted Temple Lock. No boats on a Sunday?

The last photo is of the Grand Union Canal next to the reservoirs at Marsworth. In the distance is the open ridge section of The Ridgeway above and to the right the woods which lead down to Tring.

The Snow Queen

Our annual visit to the New Theatre in Oxford for a new production of English National Ballet's The Snow Queen". Not as enjoyable as last year's Alice in Wonderland, it was still pretty wonderful. Taken from Hans Christian Andersen's winter story of the same name, the ballet contrasts the warm colourful village with the icy palace of the Snow Queen, all silver and sparkly.


My favourite pieces were the dancing of the gypsies and the wolves, but especially that of the Snow Queen herself, a cut above the rest. Alison especially likes listening and watching the orchestra, and from row 5, it is some experience. They are a mighty big bunch of terrific musicians playing a great score by Prokofiev.

Rendition, Stardust and 30 Days of Night

I could not have picked three more different movies. Rendition is a powerful political thriller. The time frames of the three interlocking stories could have been better formulated and the sudden Hollywood ending was alien to the feeling of foreboding that enveloped the film. But the photography and direction were first class.

It is hard to believe that Stardust was my favourite of the three films. It was highly entertaining, exciting, funny and visually stunning. It was taken from a book by Neil Gaiman who has co-written the new Beowulf movie. I'm not a great lover of fantasy films, but this one had a good story and the pace was excellent. Some good characters and Ricky Gervais coming to a sticky end. Brilliant.

30 Days of Night came with good reviews. It was OK, but I thought it was a missed opportunity. The concept of a month of permanent dark,that gave vampires the greatest chance to move around, was a great idea. The build up was quite gripping but after half way it ran out of ideas. The vampires were scary and the set was fine. And the ending was original if not in the tradition of the genre.

First 60 Minute Swim

I started swimming 20 years ago. When I first visited the Wycombe Sports Centre I could just about manage a width in the shallow half of the pool. It was a few weeks before I made the transition to the deep half to swim the 25 m length. When I moved to Wendover I still made the 25 minute journey on a Saturday morning.

A few years later, and by the time the pool opened at the leisure club at the new Posthouse Hotel (now the Holiday Inn), I was up to 20 minutes plus of non stop swimming. Only five minutes away, the new pool was luxury, although only small. But it meant I could go every Saturday.

When the membership fees of the leisure club escalated, I made the move to the Maxwell Pool in Aylesbury. Still quite convenient with adult only swimming on a late Saturday morning. But it could get quite crowded. I also made the discovery of goggles and my style improved immensely as a result. And swimming for 30 minutes became normal.

But the major change happened six years ago when I went onto 4 days a week at work. At the same time a beautiful brand new pool opened in Aylesbury. My day off was every Wednesday so I was able to go every midweek morning. There were lanes for proper swimmers and most times I have had a lane to myself for a good part of each session. So 40 minutes became 50 minutes where I have stuck for the past four years. I had worked out that this was comfortably more than a mile and I was happy at that distance.

That is until a few months ago when I started alternating crawl with my normal breaststroke. At first crawl was very hard, but the last couple of sessions I have found it slightly easier and increased each 100 meter section to 150 meters. The time seems to pass quicker slotting in a period of crawl every ten minutes. Recently I have been up to 55, then 58 minutes and this week passed the 60 minute barrier for the first time. I did feel it the next day, but then I always do.