“The world is grown so bad, that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch.” William Shakespeare's Richard III  Two hundred and sixty years ago today, the English actor-manager, Thomas Kean (variously spelled Keene, it is uncertain whether he was of the same family as the more famous and tragic Edmund Kean), first staged in New York a production of Shakespeare's Richard III in which ...

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(continued from Wednesday's post)

...Mary broke off and bit her lip. She averted her gaze from the fascinated maid, trying to staunch a wave of embarrassment. That the girl’s name was really Tudor gave the situation a compelling twist! “I entreat you to stay in Gloucestershire among those who care for you.”

That minute, the front door ...

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         She was born a butcher's daughter, loved by a lawyer, proposed to by a Prince and abducted by an Earl... Things came to a head that October. One morning, Mary looked into the schoolroom upon her two elder sons, Fitz and Freddy (Maurice Frederick), to enquire of Mrs Price how they were getting on. Fitz was then rising six, a big boy for ...

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                  El Springador rufflects on the theme of penance  If there's one good thing about Ash Wednesday, it's Tuesday night. Mmm, pancakes. In fact, mmm, food. My favourite. (Sorry, Hunti, 'favorite' – Herself tells me (G)RR technology does not always recognise the Queen's English, which only ...

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                Courtesy of Berkeley Castle In the drawing room, the medley of voices swelled and ebbed like a flight of drones, interspersed with bellows of laughter and strident opinion. “Tis plain as the nose on your face, she’s no upper customer,” declared John Jenkins, a yeoman farmer. “Be ...

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                     Maria Magdalene - Caravaggio INSPIRATION and ASPIRATION  Lord, Help me to live a life based on love, for without love I am nothing, and all my boasting, all my achievements in life, will do me no good at all. For love is patient and kind, not jealous or boastful; love ...

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