Keep Your Powder Dry

Jings and crivens, a bonus post on a not-Monday. Be still my beating heart. Once again the leading British talk radio station dips its toe in the preserve of North Derbyshire's premier Civil War blog. Cromwell's Statue at Parliament BBC Radio 4 has a series on dictators. Four of the latest batch of episodes cover Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. So just shy of 3 1/2 hours on such issues as the origin of the story of his abduction by a monkey as a baby. I've not ploughed my way through the three episodes currently available, but what I've listened to so far is very good, balanced and accurate.  Just ignore the inevitable gaffs such as the description of regiments of foot at Edgehill at the start of episode 2; the description of Boye; Rupert's lobsters; and that old nugget of Cromwell banning Christmas. A reasonably balanced 'take' on a very divisive figures; my only real issue is with the image the series paints of the Army Newly Modelled. Whilst the New Mode...

 For those of you with an occasional ear on Radio 4, this week's Book of The Week may be of interest... The Restless Republic - Britain Without A Crown by Anna Keay is being serialised this week. Five 15 minute programmes serialise the story of 'the extraordinary decade that followed the execution of Charles I in 1649'. All episodes will be available for five weeks via BBC Sounds. You can find the BBC Radio page for the programme here. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .

Bonus Tuesday book post! The Act of Oblivion was passed in 1660 and was, in theory, a line drawn at the end of the Commonwealth allowing the Restoration of the crown with effectively a clean slate for everyone who had taken part in the Civil Wars. With the exception of the regecides. It is also the title of Robert Harris's latest novel. With one foot in a history book, and the other firmly in fiction Harris's story follows the fictitious agent of the crown Richard Nayler. Nayler's task is to hunt down the regicides, and the novel focuses on his hunt for Colonel Edward Whalley,  and Colonel William Goffe. For those of you who like to do your "reading with your ears" (Richard Ayoade) The novel is currently serialised on BBC Radio 4's ' A Book At Bedtime '. There are ten fifteen minute long episodes. Well worth a download. (The series started Monday 16th January and should be available for a few months to come). If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the ...