Simon Sandys-Winsch

Aphra Behn. What a character and inspiration!!

First, thanks to those who bought my book. It was a project of love and toil and I can't believe it's done so well. Second, a little quiz!
1 Which granddaughter of Edward IV was queen of France?
2 How was Jane Seymour related to Thomas Cromwell?
3 Who was voted the worst Briton of the 16th century?

Worcestershire is easy!
What about particaly, no particluy, no particully. Particularly, dammit!?

Why do you never see elephants hiding in trees?
Because they're good at it.

Ooh, what I would give for a bit of aprication today!

How Spain’s radically different approach to migration helped its economy soar As immigration has increased, GDP has surged and unemployment has fallen to lowest level since 2008

An example of why Western countries with shrinking populations should be encouraging immigration

://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/18/how-spains-radically-different-approach-to-migration-helped-its-economy-soar

Just released in America! Contains 92 mini-biographies ranging from Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I to Thomas Cromwell, Drake and Margaret Beaufort. Entries, too, on Tudor life such as Marriage, Crime and Punishment and Education and many events such as battles, revolts and Evil May Day.

(Left) Katherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife in 1540. Or is it? There are no verified images of her. Now thought to be Elizabeth Seymour (Jane Seymour's sister) or even Anne of Cleves. To me, there is a striking resemblance with Henry's fourth wife (right).

'And this our Lord God send you a mery Christmas, and a comfortable, to your heart’s desire.’
The first recorded use of the term 'Merry Christmas', in a letter to Thomas Cromwell from Thomas Mayhew, 1533. Yes,that's right - the famously phlegmatic Cromwell was the first to be officially 'merrified'!

Love letter no.15 from Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn (1527?). In it he writes of his loneliness since her last visit and 'wishing myself in my sweetheart's arms whose pretty dukkys I trust shortly to kiss'. I'll let you figure out what 'dukkys' are!

A primer presented to Elizabeth I by Sir Christopher Nugent in the 1560s to help her learn Irish. Elizabeth was a skilled linguist who could speak nine languages although one can't know how fluent she became in Irish.

Thanks!

My early Christmas present. Feel like a 5 year-old child on the morning of Christmas Day!

Raspberry or Razberry?
Surely, one must pronounce the p!

Jane 'the Foole', from Henry VIII's 1545 family portrait. Jane was probably a 'natural fool' meaning she had some mental disability. She sometimes performed with the more famous Will Somer who she may have married. Jane was Anne Boleyn's fool and later inherited by Catherine Parr and Queen Mary.

The galliard. An athletic dance that involved many leaps and hops. Said to be Elizabeth I's favourite dance, one she practised as part of her morning exercise at least until 1589 when she was 56.

'Old Coppernose'. Henry VIII's nickname after the thin layer of silver upon his nose on testoons revealed the cheap copper beneath. The Great Debasement of the 1540s dramatically reduced the value of English coins leading to inflation, more poverty and social unrest at the end of the decade.

A page from The Boke of Cokery, the first ever English cookbook. Published by Richard Pynson in 1500, the only surviving copy is in Longleat House, Wilts. Aimed at the nobility, its ingredients included peacocks, spiced wine, plovers, almond milk spiced with cumin and grains of paradise.

No. Too many midges.

The portrait and printer's mark of Wynkyn de Worde. De Worde worked with Caxton in the 1480s to create England's first printed literature. He aimed for a mass market by producing cheaper, more popular books such as England's first book of Christmas carols (1521). Only a single page now exists.

Congratulations!

John Dee(1527-1609). In my mind,the greatest Renaissance man of the Tudor age. An alchemist, astronomer, mathematician and antiquarian, he constantly pushed against the boundaries of knowledge but lacked official recognition. Many thought him a wizard and he probably inspired Shakespeare's Prospero.

When people say "We were sat.." or "I was stood..."

The Lord of Misrule. A Christmas festival when an ordinary commoner was elected leader of drunken festivities. Masters and servants would swap places, mock trials and punishments, feasts and parades occurred. Reached a zenith under Edward VI but eventually banned by the Church in the 17th century.

All whiskers and no brain. That's my mog.

Brank's Bridle and drunkard's cloak. The former, considered a just punishment for nagging women, had a pointed metallic mouthpiece that caused continual salivation as she was led around on a leash. The latter publicly humiliated anyone found drunk and became much used in the 1650s Commonwealth.

The mysterious sweating sickness. There were five outbreaks between 1485 and 1551 in England before it vanished. Killing tens of thousands, usual symptoms inc shivering, hot flushes and sweats. Death came within hours. Cromwell's family, Henry Brandon's sons and maybe Prince Arthur were victims.

Apologies for the shameless marketing but it's finally coming out today!

The Mary Rose as depicted in the Anthony Roll of 1546. The anti-boarding nets were the main cause of around 500 deaths when it sank in the previous year but there's much debate over the cause of the disaster. Unruly crew? Top-heavy refit? Gust of wind whilst turning? French gunnery? All the above?

Man walks into a library and calls out, "Fish n chips, please!"
Librarian: "Don't you realise this is a library!?"
Man: "Oh sorry" and whispers, "Fish and chips please."