August 23rd: Today in 1305 William Wallace was executed for treason. FREEDOOOOOM!

Owl

Originally uploaded by Tancread.

Took this photo of an owl at the big Hastings reenactment in Battle last year. The birds of prey show was one of the best things at the reenactment, with a wide variety of birds and demonstrations of mounted falconry. Bird shows [...]

August 22nd: Today in 1485 the Battle of Bosworth Field puts the Wars of the Roses to an end and starts the Tudor dynasty. There are all sorts of theories flying around now about where the battle ‘actually’ took place, with some having the battle take place more than 30 miles from the traditional field. [...]

Nice article on CNN* about some of the preservation work being done on papers and artifacts in the New York State Museum, including the original evidence of Benedict Arnold’s treachery. I didn’t have any idea these were still around, very cool indeed.
*Pop ups unless you use Firefox or a good pop up blocker.

Ullswater-01

Originally uploaded by Tancread.

This is a shot taken while hiking the back side of Lake Ullswater. We were lucky and had a really pretty day and got to see the area really at its best.

August 21rst: Today in 1959 Hawaii became the newest state in the Untited States of America. Many parts of the history that led to Statehood are regretable, but overall the islands have prospered since joining the Union. Hawaii is where I spent some very happy years, but it always feels bittersweet to me as it [...]

Bamburgh Castle

Originally uploaded by Tancread.

Bamburgh was and is a very impressive castle near Lindisfarne Island. The weather was actually quite nice as we walked on the beach, but the sky got very threatening at points and made for a nice dramatic photo.

August 20th: Today in 1882 Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture has its first performance in Moscow. Intended as a celebration of the Russian victory over Napoleon, this is one of the most easily recognized pieces of classical music. My father bought be a CD player in the early 80s before they were common and I went out [...]

Sheep-01

Originally uploaded by Tancread.

Some sheep near Stapleford Hall taken on this weeks trip.

August 19th: Today in 1782 the Battle of Blue Licks occurred, the last major battle of the American Revolution. This was almost a year after the surrender at Yorktown. The battle was small, a force of about 1,000* Indians with about 50 British Rangers ambused a force of about 200 colonists and wiped them out [...]