Last Sunday saw a select band of members and friends of the New South Wales Branch attend morning service at beautiful Mary’s Anglican Church in Waverley, to remember King Richard III and all who fell with him at the battle on August 22, 1485.
We were warmly welcomed at the beginning of the service and, just before the end, wishes were expressed that we had found the service rewarding, as indeed we did. And at morning tea with the Parish afterwards we made more friends – and handed out brochures about why the Society exists and some explanations about why we feel it is so important to champion a maligned king. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bosworth, Church, NSW Branch, Richard III
I’ve been allocated the letter “T” for my Scrabble talk at the Auhust General Meeting, so I would like to talk about Tewkesbury Abbey which I had the pleasure of visiting in 2007. I will talk a little about the Battlefield as well, because it is so integral to the Abbey.
The Abbey is located on the edge of the Cotswolds, about 10 kms from Cheltenham and is near the junction of the Severn and Avon Rivers. Tewkesbury the town is very old, most buildings date back to mediaeval period, with two stories and what we know as the “Tudor” style.
It’s quaint and pleasant. To the right of the main square coming into the town you come across this enormous church, which dominates and almost overwhelms the small town. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Battles, Church, NSW Branch
Posted by: Dorothea Preis in News
As the emblem of Richard III was the white boar, anything on boars attracts my immediate attention. I also “like” the facebook page of my alma mater, the University of Bonn, and today this brought both interests together.
In the UK there have been no boars living wild for a long time, it is thought that the original British wild boar were probably extinct by the 13th century. There were attempts to re-introduce them, but even these became extinct during the 17th century. However, in 1998 two populations of wild boar were found to be living in Britain.
While the situation in the UK is rather dire for boars, it is anything but on the continent. In Germany they are thriving a little too well, so much so that they are regarded more as a pest. The latest incident was the one in Bonn, which I found mentioned on facebook. Read the rest of this entry »
The latest branch meeting of the Richard III Society of New South Wales was convened on Saturday, 13 August 2011, at the Sydney Mechanics Institute of Arts. Opening remarks were made by Chair Judith Hughes, who then informed us of the sad news of the passing of Reginald Fulford, husband of member and former chairperson Carol Gerard. There was a minute of silence to mark our respect and shared sorrow at this news. A card was passed around for all to add their own comments which will be sent to Carol.
Continuing with the meeting, Judy Howard, our new Treasurer, assured us the Branch was solvent. Those happy few who attended the recent Richard III conference in Melbourne spoke informally about the excellent speakers, the appealing package with Richard III designs handcrafts, and how worthwhile it had all been. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Anne Neville, NSW Branch, Richard III, Tewkesbury
The following report on the convention of the Australasian branches of the Richard III Society, which took place 5 – 7 August 2011 in Melbourne, is by long time Society Member Ann Chandler. Thank you, Ann, for your entertaining report of what must have been an interesting weekend!
The date finally arrived and we all converged on the Victoria Hotel in Melbourne’s Little Collins Street in the early evening of Friday, August 5. The hotel is a lovely old building with much charm and character, recently renovated and the perfect venue for the convention. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Conventions, NSW Branch, Richard III Society
Posted by: Dorothea Preis in News
Several friends brought a short clip on YouTube about Richard III to my attention and I would like thank all of them, not least the facebook page of the Richard III Society.
The clip is from the children’s TV show Horrible Histories, which is based on the books by Terry Deary. While Deary may be mainly known for his children’s books, he also presented the fascinating BBC programme on The Battle of Towton 1461, which is available on DVD with many extras from rkproductions.
Horrible Histories takes a rather unconventional look at history. The live-action TV series was first shown in 2009 on British CBBC Television and has been hugely successful, winning an array of awards. The last was in January this year, when it won best sketch at the Comedy Awards, the first children’s programme ever to do so.
In this clip Richard III puts the record straight in a song. Because “there’s a lot of people spreading nasty rumours about [him]” and because “the history books have been telling it wrong”, it’s now “time to tell the truth about King Richard the Third”. And certainly we all agree with his assessment that there was a “special ruler – King Richard the Third”, who was a “nice guy”.
Have a look at the clip of the ‘Richard III Song‘ and enjoy it. And if it helps getting the idea across that Richard was a real person and not the synonym for evil of the widespread misconception – well, that’s not so horrible, is it?
For more info on the TV series you may like to read an article published by The Guardian on 17 March 2011.
Tags: Richard III
Book Review: Queen by Right
Anne Easter Smith, Queen by Right. Touchstone, New York, 2011. ISBN 9781416550471 (paperback)
The queen of the title of Anne Easter Smith’s latest novel is Cecily Neville, the mother of Edward IV and Richard III. Many readers of historical fiction will shared the experiences of her sons in novels, but this has been much less the case for Cecily. And after meeting Anne Easter Smith’s Cecily I can only wonder why.
Queen by Right covers Cecily’s life from 1423, when she is eight years old, until her son Edward’s coronation in June 1461. And while the events of the remaining 34 years of Cecily’s life would easily provide enough material for at least one other novel, I welcome her decision to limit this one to the earlier – and at least for me – less well-known period. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Cecily Neville, Ricardian Authors, Richard Duke of York, Wars of the Roses
So the saying goes, but this is definitely true for the next general meeting of the NSW Branch of the Richard III Society on 13 August.
Volume 4 of our branch journal, The Chronicles of the White Rose, is at the printers and should be ready later this week or early next week. All members of the NSW branch receive a copy as part of their subscription. Members attending our general meeting on 13 August will be the first to receive their copies – they will be handed out at the meeting. Copies for those, who are unable to attend, will be mailed later.
That is one good thing for our August meeting.
Good thing no. 2 is that the meeting is our “Scrabble Speakers Day” when 3 speakers will be revealing the subjects they have chosen for the session. Once a year members draw Scrabble tiles out of a bag and then prepare a short talk on a topic starting with their letter. This year Judy will present something starting with the letter “T”, Jane will talk on “N” and Xavier drew “D” .
And the third good thing is that we’ll hear from our travellers who went to the biennial convention of Australasian branches of the Richard III Society, which is taking place in Melbourne, 5 to 7 August. These gatherings are always enlightening and enjoyable – and frequently give ideas for how develop our own activities, so it will be interesting to hear what those attending can report.
Looking forward to seeing you all at the meeting!
Tags: Chronicles of the White Rose, Meeting, NSW Branch
