#Review of book tour talk of Somewhere, A Boy and a Bear: A Biography of A.A. Milne and Winnie the Pooh by Gyles Brandreth @GylesB1 @MichaelJBooks #Biography #AAMilne #WinniethePooh

Somewhere, a Boy and A Bear
Talk and book by Gyles Brandreth

review by Louise Cannon

Gyles Brandreth has a new book out now and I caught up with him, whilst he was on the Edinburgh leg of his book tour talking about Somewhere, a Boy and a Bear, so wrote a review of the talk. See some photo fun below too.
The biography coincides with the centenary of that lovable bear, Winnie the Pooh. The book delves into the complexities of A.A. Milne and family relationships with each other and with the period of fame and fortune as well as life beyond the bear and One Hundred Acre Wood.
The talk was engaging with fascinating insights and discoveries as well as plenty of humorous anecdotes.

Gyles Brandreth is known for his many jumpers, (you may have seen them on This Morning or Gogglebox or in events), so of course he was sporting a Winnie the Pooh and Piglet jumper.

After reciting some relevant Shakespeare with gusto in his opening. Gyles Brandreth reveals a lot of the, perhaps, lesser known facts about A.A. Milne. There’s more to him than Winnie the Pooh, such as a murder mystery book, plays and more… and there’s more revealed about Gyles Brandreth than perhaps people know too.

Nostalgically, the poetry of A.A Milne from When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, gets a mention too as he pleasingly quoted from Alice and the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. I still have those books and I’m sure many others do too.

What links Gyles Brandreth and Christopher Robin?
Yes, that Christopher Robin who was son to A.A. Milne and Daphne. Gyles Brandreth once had the opportunity to meet the largely quiet Christopher Robin and at his bookshop in Devon, where he was also introduced to his daughter, who had cerebral palsy. Now, this is where some heartwarming magic happened. This is where Gyles wonderfully learnt about the prism that if you see someone with a disability, you just see the disability, but if you look past that and see a person, you see the personality and what the person can do.

What connects Devon, Jamaica, New York and Texas to Gyles Brandreth and A.A. Milne’s family?

These are the places where Gyles and his wife, Michèle ended up travelling to whilst researching for the book. It turns out there are all manner of items relating to the family for various reasons and it isn’t just the cuddly stuffed toys from One Hundred Acre Wood. One place was the source of the rather special end papers you’ll find in the book. You’ll need to discover the book as to why they’re incredibly unique and special.

Gyles concluded with the most powerful conclusions of any talk I’ve ever heard. Even writing this makes me feel all fuzzy and warm. He wanted the audience to think about their childhood and (I paraphrase), good or bad and to know that there is always a place to escape to, in this instance, a Winnie the Pooh book.

One thing is for sure, you’ll come away from a talk by Gyles Brandreth feeling more informed and utterly entertained after spending some time in his charismatic, engaging company.

The book is available to buy now at various bookshops, including Toppings and Co (the hosts), Waterstones and more… you can also check out his website here: https://www.gylesbrandreth.net/

Some fun with Gyles Brandreth… how will you read your copy of the book?
Which Gyles pic would you be like?

#Interview with Michael Hughes about his play, The Last Bantam @TheLastBantam @GreensideVenue #EdFringe #Theatre #Play #TheLastBantam

The Last Bantam
Q&A with Michael Hughes

Conducted by Bookmarks and Stages – Louise Cannon

Do you know what a Bantam of the First World War is? Whether you do or not, Michael Hughes, writer and actor of The Last Bantam has a lot of fascinating information about them and what it is like to act this play out. He also has interesting things to say about audiences and what he wishes to do with the play after the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

I, recently had the privilege of interviewing Michael Hughes about his play, The Last Bantem. March downwards on the page to find out the fascinatingly detailed answers to my short, but loaded questions.

The play is on at The Green Venues, George Street, Edinburgh 12:45pm – 13:45pm up to and including Saturday 23rd August. Find the link after the interview for further details…

1 – What drew you to write a play about the First World War Bantams?

Good question! This is where I’d love to be able to say, ‘Well Louise, my grandfather was a bantam’. Sadly, I’d be lying to you if I said that (it would make a great story though!).
I was watching a video on YouTube of a former US special forces soldier interviewing another former special forces soldier. Both men were massively built. Huge shoulders, big arms, no necks. Very big men.

Now, my grandfather, uncle and two cousins served in the military and none o them looked like these guys. It got me thinking: ‘What’s the best size for a soldier?’

I did a little online research and found myself in a forum discussing this very thing. The initial consensus was ‘bigger is better’. Bigger men are stronger, they can carry more kit and they’re more intimidating to the enemy.
Then someone asked, ‘What about the Japanese?’. Someone else asked, ‘What about the Gurkhas?’ And another asked, ‘What about the Bantams?’

Everyone did a double-take at this point, including me. ‘Bantams? What are they?’ That’s when my journey began. I did some more research and discovered that Britain recruited thousands of men between 5′-5’3” during the Great War, those men were called ‘bantams’and there were books written about them!

I promptly hovered up everything I could find on the bantams, beginning with Sidney Allinson’s 1985 book, ‘The Bantams’

I was fascinated to learn about these men and, being a short man myself, inspired by their courage and tenacity in the face of not just physical danger, but also discrimination and prejudice on account of their height.
Regarded as ‘degenerate’ by some because of their short stature, they signed up in their tens of thousands to serve their country.

2 – The Last Bantam is based on real events. What emotions did you feel when creating and acting out the play?

I prefer to say, ‘inspired by real events’ rather than ‘based on’ actually. While there is documentary evidence for a great deal of what happens in my play, there’s a dollop of my imagination in there too!

Researching The Last Bantam, I felt indignation at the way these short men were treated and pride at their achievements.

Acting out the play, I feel a range of emotions, not always associated with the play itself. For example, the other day I felt simultaneously sorry for and irritated by someone who’s position in the room meant they couldn’t easily see my performance. They picked a seat at the end of a row and someone sat down directly in front of them. They could not see me without craning round the person in front. It was the fault of the poor seating layout, but it bothered me that someone who’d invested time and money to see my show could barely see it. I found myself thinking ‘Why don’t you move?!!!’ I even contemplated stopping the show to find great person a better seat, would you believe that? I didn’t of course, but if any of your readers find themselves in a poor seating position, they have my permission to move to a better one. Yes, your movement will be noticed and it will annoy me a little, but knowing you can’t see the show you paid for because of someone in front of you bothers me more.

Move!

There are other feelings I experience though which are entirely play-related. I try as much as I can, not to ‘act’ my character but to ‘be’ my character. When he’s irritated, I’m irritated, when he’s sad, or angry or scared, I’m sad or angry or scared. I summon and use my own feelings when I’m Patrick Michael Wolfe. It’s quite a rollercoaster!

3 – How did you research The Last Bantam?

I read everything I could, and there’s more out there than you might think. In addition to Sydney Allinson’s, ‘The Bantams’, there’s also books focussing on the Manchester bantams as well and the Cheshire Bantams and at least two books on the Battle of Bourlon Wood. I also drew heavily from Maurice Bacon’s, ‘The Blast of War’, a history of the 15th Bantam Battalion, Notts & Derby Regiment. My character, Patrick Michael Wolfe, is based in this battalion and it was hugely useful to know where precisely they were at various points in the war.

The Blast of War is written by Maurice Bacon. His father and grandfather both served in the same bantam battalion and meeting him last year to discuss his book was very special to me.

Interestingly, during the last couple of years there’s been a number of videos on YouTube about the bantams. There’s a very good one by a Youtuber called The History Guy and another called The History Chap. All these videos seem to have emerged over the last couple of years, much as my play has done. Could there be something in the air I wonder!

4 – You’ve taken great care in the detail of the uniform, right down to accessories, such as the watch. How did you source this and was it in easy or challenging process?

I decided right from the start that I wanted to look the part as much as possible. I’m no historian or costume commissar, but whether it’s a play, a tv series or a film, a poor costume undermines everything! If someone doesn’t look like the person they’re pretending to be, if they don’t meet our visual expectations, we find it harder to join them in the world they’re trying to create.

I originally tried sourcing actual British uniforms from the Great War and realised that not only could I not afford to do that, but a 100+ years old garment probably wouldn’t survive too many Edinburgh Fringes!

Instead I purchased reproduction uniform and kit, taking note of advice from re-reactors as to who provides the best quality. Quality was paramount. I wanted a costume I could use in the long term, not something that would fall apart after a few shows. A costume that didn’t just look right, but felt right too. You’d be surprised how many people want to physically touch the fabric of my costume. They want to feel the weight and the roughness of it.

I sourced most of my costume from Soldier of Fortune, an online militaria costume provider. Having purchased my costume I then had to distress it.

My character is meant to have spent to years fighting in France. His uniform should reflect that and it does. It’s dirty and stained and ripped and torn, with many amateurish in-the-field repairs. Holes are patched over and rips crudely stitched back together, as was done in action.

In some respects, the uniform is a metaphor for the man. It’s dirty, worn and damaged, but it’s still functional. It’s still in the fight. One look at the uniform and the audience knows, ‘This man’s been through it’.

Audiences are hugely impressed by my costume. They really appreciate the effort I’ve made to look as authentic as possible. The public appreciates it too and it’s a huge help when I’m flyering, promoting my show. It cuts through the noise of Edinburgh and it makes me smile to know that feature in hundreds of holiday photographs!

5 – The Last Bantam is a one man play, what does it feel like to be
carrying the whole play in your own and asking the audience to imagine the scene, since there is no scenery?

Carrying the play in my own doesn’t bother me at all. It’s rather liberating actually. I determine the rhythm and pace of it and I don’t have to worry about fellow actors missing their cues, forgetting their lines or falling out with each other. I was in a comedy show once in which my two fellow cast members had a spectacular falling-out and it almost scuppered the show!

Being a self-employed healthcare trainer has also prepared me to be a solo performer. The roles aren’t that different. I arrive at a place, get changed, engage with a group of strangers and leave. And I’ve been doing that 25 years!

6 – You were a copywriter many years ago, what or who inspired you to change career and take to the stage?

I’m actually very, very new to acting. After a career in advertising I became a nurse and have been a freelance healthcare trainer for over 25 years. I remain both a nurse and a trainer but I got into stand up comedy in 2015 doing the open mic circuit as a character comic. When I wrote the first draft of Bantam in 2023 I assumed I’d be performing it myself.

I’m retrospect, my assumption that it would be me might seem a little presumptuous, maybe even arrogant. After all, I had no acting training and had never done anything like this before in my life. But I’d spent 8 years doing character comedy and over 20 years addressing groups of strangers as a trainer. I knew I could learn my lines and deliver them.

Whether I could deliver them well…well that was for the audience to decide!

7 – What’s next for you and your play?

I need to focus on my day job! I’m a freelance teacher in care homes and my first priority when the Fringe is over is to drum up some training business!I

With regards to The Last Bantam,I’d love to tour it. There’s lots of small theatres in London I could take it to, and many farther afield too. It’s all a matter of logistics and economics. I can accept a loss doing the Edinburgh Fringe, but future shows will need to cover their costs.

I also plan on publishing The Last Bantam and would absolutely love to have the story made into other a tv series or a movie. I might get Danny DeVito in board! I wish I was doing this ten years ago. Back then the BBC produced several films and documentaries to commemorate the Great War.
It would have been the perfect time for the bantams!

8 – Where can people follow you On social media?

The Last Bantam can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can find more details on the Ed Fringe site here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-last-bantam

#Review of Scaramouche Jones performed by Thom Tuck by Bookmarks and Stages – Lou #ScaramoucheJones @turlygod #EdFringe #Hoots #Yurt #PottersRow #EdFringe25

Scaramouche Jones
Performed by Thom Tuck

Scaramouche Jones is a 100 year old clown played by Thom Tuck, who you may know from the likes of Horrible Histories and Penny Dreadfuls. He tells the story on Millenium Eve, after he’s come off stage after a show. What unfolds is a fascinating journey through history and tragedy, with a bit of well-placed humour.

Thom Tuck brought a fabulously engaging informality to the show, which brought increased and wonderfully uniquely intense experience that takes you through historical events, some other clowns are also mentioned, which between that and the events of times gone-by creates an authentic play, even though Scaramouche Jones himself is made-up. As the story comes out, Thom Tuck makes you feel, deeply for what unfolds and catches your eye, creating an even deeper, meaningful experience, like he casts a spell on his audience, who lapped up all that they were being told.

If, for now, if it goes on tour, or in 10 years time, when he plans to bring it back to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, this is a show that fascinates and educates as he brings historical events to life and makes you feel all the emotions. Thom Tuck takes some traumatic events of the earth’s history and tells them in an original narrative on one hand and on the other hand, sitting at the juxtaposition, he has elements that will make you laugh. It’s all masterfully woven together to create a performance about a clown with a difference from all the clowns you’ve ever known.

You can still catch it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Check it out here: Scaramouche Jones

#Review of The Dead Will Rise – A Simon Westow Mystery By Chris Nickson #ChrisNickson2 #SevernPress #HistoricalCrimeFiction #TheDeadWillRise

The Dead Will Rise
By Chris Nickson

The Dead Will Rise in an unexpected way. This is a Simon Westow mystery that will transport you to a time in history to the grim, dark streets of Leeds, where crimes need solving by the unlikeliest of duos. Check out the blurb and my review below to find out more…

Blurb

Thief-taker Simon Westow is used to finding stolen goods, not stolen bodies . . . Can he hunt down those committing crimes against the dead in Leeds?

Leeds. April, 1824. Wealthy engineer Joseph Clark employs thief-taker Simon Westow to find the men who stole the buried corpse of Catherine Jordan, his employee’s daughter.

Simon is stunned and horrified to realize there’s a gang of body snatchers in Leeds. He needs to discover who bought Catherine’s body and where it is now. As he hunts for answers, he learns that a number of corpses have vanished from graveyards in the town. Can Simon and his assistant Jane bring the brutal, violent Resurrection men who are selling the dead to medical schools to justice and give some peace to the bereft families?

Review

The cover isn’t the only evocative part of this book. The descriptions of the streets is too and is for the senses as he describes the sites and smells in a way that transports your mind to 1824, Leeds. It sounds almost an idyll, but lurking around is quite the opposite. There’s a rather brutal mystery to be solved. Bodies are being resurrected in the name of medical science. The subject seems well-researched with a time in history and fictional plot weaving succinctly together.

Simon Westow is aware of body snatchers (the infamous Burk and Hare in Edinburgh come to mind), but had never seen anything like that in Leeds, until now…

Simon and Jane make a formidable team. After a bit of complication, they take on the case. It, however puts extra pressure and strain on their relationship as time goes on. There’s been a lot of trust between them, but now its fragile and is hanging in the balance.

The Dead Will Rise is full of twists and history that will have readers turning the pages to see what’s coming next and how it ends.

#Review By Lou of The Guernsey Girls by Mary Wood @Authormary @chlodavies97 @panmacmillan

The Guernsey Girls
By Mary Wood

Train journeys and a friendship to melt away the harshness of winter, it’s time to meet The Guernsey Girls. This is the start of a new wonderful compelling, historical fiction series by Mary Wood. You may know Mary Wood for her bestselling series, The Jam Factory Girls. It’s perfect to cosy up with yourself or for a present to one of your friends.
Take a look at the blurb, review and to top it all nicely off, Mary Wood is running a competition for readers to win a signed copy of this book, all thanks to Chloe Davies at Pan Macmillan for inviting me onto this exciting blog tour.
See details below.

Blurb

From the bestselling author of The Jam Factory Girls, Mary Wood’s The Guernsey Girls is the first in a touching new series of friendship found far from home . . .

January 1936. After the hard work of being a maid at Wallington Manor in the lead-up to Christmas, Annie is thrilled at the prospect of going home to Bethnal Green. She has missed her family, but the money she earns keeps them all afloat.

Olivia is from the island of Guernsey and is visiting her aunt at Wallington Manor. When she has to leave for London, Annie is asked to look after her, and on the train journey a friendship blossoms.

A tragic accident sees their friendship become even stronger. A friendship that will see both girls through pain, happiness, marriage and death. A friendship that will see them both united in Guernsey.

And this is just the beginning of their incredible journey . . .

Review

1936 is an interesting period of time in history, with their being, what we now know had certain actions that became part of the road to war as the average person were getting on with their lives, like Annie and Olivia, but also aware of what is going on and what might be looming. They certainly have Hitler’s card marked as they make their way to Guernsey.

Annie and Olivia have a rather lovely blossoming friendship that begins on a train journey. I particularly love this because all sorts of life occurs on trains and there’s something quite encouraging about this in The Guernsey Girls that perhaps people can relate to or take something from into their own hearts and minds the next time they’re travelling. It’s also interesting watching how 2 people of different backgrounds come together in such a way and seeing their friendship unfold and grow and strengthen. It’s heart-warming in the way they are with each other, even through the most troubling of times, both globally and personally. It’s quite thought-provoking in a gentle way, with something society could take into their own lives, even all these years later.

Intertwining the social aspect is the history, which is fascinating to see how people coped and what they did at this time, when the threat of another war loomed over lives and peace hung precariously balanced, with war always teetering ever closer.

This is a compelling, treasure of a book that I highly recommend. It is a perfect read for any time you just need a little boost of feel-good factor in troubling times or in the good times.

Competition

Mary Wood is running a competition for readers to win a signed copy of The Guernsey Girls. To be within a chance to win, Mary Wood asks that you please leave a comment on my review and your name will go into a prize-draw.
Best of luck folks!

#Interview #QA By Lou with @kathylwheeler, an author of Gaming Hell Christmas Vol 2 @rararesources #BlogTour #Regency #HistoricalRomance #HistoricalFiction #Christmas #ChristmasRead

Interview/Q&A with Kathy L. Wheeler about her and Amanda Cabe’s book Gaming Hell Christmas (vol.2)
Conducted by Louise Cannon (Lou) – Bookmarks and Stages

Recently I had the great pleasure of conducting an interview/Q&A session with Kathy L. Wheeler, an author of Gaming Hell Christmas, volume two. There are 2 mysteries set in fashionable Regency, London, one by Amanda Cabe, the other by Kathy L. Wheeler.
Readers, after discovering the blurb, can find out from Kathy herself, what to expect from the book, her inspiration and find out whether she would live in the regency period or not, rule breaking and Christmas, all in 6 questions and answers. Her answers are illuminating and there’s no holding back…
Thanks first to Kathy L. Wheeler for taking part and allowing me to interview you for my blog and as part of Rachel’s Random Resources blog tour, to whom I thank for inviting me on to close the blog tour.
Without further ado, onto discover the delights of the book and what was said by the author…

GAMING HELL CHRISTMAS – VOLUME 2: Mysteries abound at London’s most fashionable Hell.

The Thief Who Stole Christmas – Amanda McCabe
A man who has never broken the rules, and a woman who just might break his heart! But Christmas is always a time for second chances…

As one of Miss Greensley’s Girls, a member of the exclusive club la Sous Rose, and famous author Lady L, Victoria Lanford moves easily through Society ballrooms. Few people know how her unhappy childhood and anxiety led her to pickpocketing (yet, she did return the jewels)! When she comes face-to-face with old flame Rhys Neville, Earl of Hammond, she knows the kind-hearted, straight-laced, devilishly handsome lord is not for her—especially once the past comes back to haunt them. Why, then, can’t she stop thinking about their kisses?

The Kerse Who Saved Christmas – Kathy L Wheeler
Kerse: He, of the no nonsense approach, is stymied by She, a woman considered long past prime marriageability who needs a keeper more than he requires a wife. Yet the dreamy-eyed, impractical, and much too optimistic Philomena still manages to steal his heart despite her unrealistic beliefs and trust in fortune tellers.

What can readers expect from your book?

Readers can expect a fun group of characters who attended school together from a young age.
Each young woman is her own person and craves their own independence and love story, which Amanda and I strive to provide.

You have a man who has never broken the rules before. If you were to break a rule, what would it be and why?
This is an easy question for us in the twenty-first century compared to the 18^th and 19^th centuries where things were much more stringent for women. Even men were held to a higher standard. I think those of us who write historical romance are always having our characters “break the rules”. It’s just a matter of degree and what they do when they get caught.

Your book is historical romance? What is your favourite time period to write about it and would you want to live in it yourself?
I love writing the Regency era romance. Would I want to live in that period? Hell, no. Not without a ton of money and great resources to good water and decent medical care.

Who inspired you to write?
I think I was mostly inspired to write by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I’m a huge NFL fan and she wrote the Chicago Stars series. I once met her and asked if she watched (like me). Her answer was a resounding no! I was shocked! And thought, yeah, I could write. Of course, she is miles beyond me, above me, etc. etc.

5. What research into historical exclusive clubs did you need to do and have you ever been to one in present times?

Mostly, it comes from reading the period. It was a fun idea we came up with. Nothing about La Sous Rose would be legit in the period, but it was still fun.

6. How do you like to celebrate Christmas?

My husband and I moved to Western Washington about six years ago. We would spend Christmas at his family’s, but they were real big on my family attending when they were in town—sad but true. Since we’ve moved to Washington, we spend the holidays with my family where there are always extra people to be found.