The attack on the Hannukkah Party on Bondi Beach near Sydney, Australia, has stunned the world and once again led to an outcry against anti-Semitism. However, the heartfelt sentiments expressed have so far failed to confront the deeply rooted causes of the disease, including the lack of understanding of Judaism as a worldwide religion andContinue reading “The Jewish Festival of Hannukkah (Dedication) & thoughts following the attack at Bondi Beach”
Category Archives: History
Entertaining Strangers as Angels – Chilean Refugees in Wales, 1974-2024
‘Forget not to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ ‘Peidiwch ag anghofio llety-garwch, oherwydd trwyddo y mae rhai, heb wybod hynny, wedi rhoi llety i angylion.’ Y Llythyr at yr Hebreaid/ Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 13: 2. Introduction – Providing Sanctuary: In recent weeks and months, there has been much discussionContinue reading “Entertaining Strangers as Angels – Chilean Refugees in Wales, 1974-2024”
Homage to Handsworth – Immigration & Intercultural Integration in Birmingham and the West Midlands
Preface: Prejudiced Politics & Peace Education: Recent political events in the United Kingdom have included those surrounding the Conservative ‘shadow’ justice minister, Robert Jenrick, who has been ‘on manoeuvres’ since losing the party’s leadership contest a year ago. As part of his campaign, he has taken to ‘social media’ with a series of issue-based amateurContinue reading “Homage to Handsworth – Immigration & Intercultural Integration in Birmingham and the West Midlands”
The True Spirit of Glastonbury Revived
Glastonbury in Somerset has long been associated with the legendary Arthur and Guinevere, and it came to be identified as the Isle of Avalon (Ynys yr Afal in Welsh, ‘the Isle of the Apple’) to which Arthur was borne by three black-robed queens after his last battle with Mordred, according to the romantic literature ofContinue reading “The True Spirit of Glastonbury Revived”
The Bloodied Sword, the Precious Pearl and the Black Cross; Chronicles of the Royal House of Wessex – VI
Episode Six: End of Dynasty – Exit the Cerdicingas, Enter the Angevins: Scene Sixty-four; October 1173 – The Battle of Fornham, Bury St Edmunds and the Revolt of 1173-74: By the early 1170s, the king had already decided that, after his death, his dominions should be partitioned between his three eldest sons. Young Henry wasContinue reading “The Bloodied Sword, the Precious Pearl and the Black Cross; Chronicles of the Royal House of Wessex – VI”
The Bloodied Sword, the Precious Pearl and the Black Cross; Chronicles of the Royal House of Wessex – V
Episode Five – The King’s Peace and Justice; 1153-93: When Henry Plantagenet returned to England again at the start of 1153, bringing only a small army of mercenaries financed with borrowed money, he relied on the forces of Hugh Bigod and Ranulf of Chester. The churchmen who met him on the Hampshire coast also emphasisedContinue reading “The Bloodied Sword, the Precious Pearl and the Black Cross; Chronicles of the Royal House of Wessex – V”
The Bloodied Sword, the Precious Pearl and the Black Cross; Chronicles of the Royal House of Wessex – IV.
Episode Four: Scotland & England, 1093-1153 Scene Thirty-Nine – Dunfermline and Edinburgh, 1093; The Deaths of Malcolm and Margaret: In 1092, the peace agreement between Rufus and Malcolm signed five years earlier, broke down due to the building of another new castle by the Normans at Carlisle, even though the Scots claimed and controlled mostContinue reading “The Bloodied Sword, the Precious Pearl and the Black Cross; Chronicles of the Royal House of Wessex – IV.”
The Bloodied Sword, the Precious Pearl and the Black Cross; Chronicles of the Royal House of Wessex – II.
Episode Two: Conquest, Flight and Resistance, 1066-70 Scene Twenty; 1066 – The Norman Invasion: After Hardrada’s defeat at Stamford Bridge, Harold was holding a celebratory feast at York, when news arrived of the Norman landing on the beach at Pevensey, 270 miles away. Harold’s army made the journey in under a fortnight, while Harold, onContinue reading “The Bloodied Sword, the Precious Pearl and the Black Cross; Chronicles of the Royal House of Wessex – II.”
The Bloodied Sword, the Precious Pearl and the Black Cross; Chronicles of the Royal House of Wessex – I.
Episode One Above: Hungarians at Kyív – a painting by Pál Vágó (1853-1928). It is extremely difficult to maintain, based on archaeological relics that have been unearthed in territories now forming part of Ukraine, that these objects are unmistakably the relics of the ancient Hungarians, or Magyars. It is probable, though, that as a resultContinue reading “The Bloodied Sword, the Precious Pearl and the Black Cross; Chronicles of the Royal House of Wessex – I.”
‘Out of Darkness Cometh Light’ – Seventieth Anniversary of Floodlit European Football at Wolverhampton I.
Part One: 1949-1964 – The Cullis Years ‘They Wore the Shirt’: At the end of July 2024, my son and I, both fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers (the ‘Wolves’) visited their stadium, Molineux, and their new Museum chronicling the history of the club and the stadium dating back to 1877. The museum itself dates from theContinue reading “‘Out of Darkness Cometh Light’ – Seventieth Anniversary of Floodlit European Football at Wolverhampton I.”
Andrew James 