MEDIAEVAL BAEBES IN LEICESTER

Recently went to a concert in Leicester with Richard. Well, he  was there, as it was in the cathedral. I had a good look round his tomb earlier in the day and there was certainly a much more peaceful mood than that at the time of the reinterment, so I had a better chance to pause and reflect. There are now explanation boards about Richard's life all around the cathedral, which pleased me because they dwelt on  the positive accomplishments he made in his  short reign rather than harping on about the  missing Princes, or even worse, distorted out of all porportion tales of poor old Henry VI (which came up recently in some 'author''s steaming heap of vitriol in a recent newspaper review.)
The concert  we went to see was the Medieval Baebes. I love medieval music and they do a beautiful job on reintepreting whilst keeping the  original elements. Many of the songs they performed were probably  known to Richard himself, maybe, in particular, the Corpus Christi Carol...since Richard and Anne were members of the Corpus Christi  Guild in York.. I must admit during the performance I kept looking off toward the darkened area where Richard's tomb is (they had it roped off during the show.) At one point there was a bit of trouble with the sound and the girls had to momentarily  go off stage--a sign from the King,lol?
   The cathedral was nicely decorated with Christmas greenery including a tree and REAL candles were attached to the pillars. Although it is at its core a medieval church,  St Martin's was heavily restored by those pesky Victorians, although in their favour at least they did put a splendid Green Man on one of the pillars. Interestingly,  small fragments of the ruins of Greyfriars, where Richard was originally buried, were incorporated into the church at some period--in the roof, I believe. It is also said to stand on the site of a Roman Temple (this area was in heavy usage in the Roman period and the Jewry wall is close by, the tallest standing Roman wall in Britain today. The museum  beside  Jewry Wall is excellent too btw.)

link to my novel, I, RICHARD PLANTAGENET
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Richard-Plantagenet-Book-Tante-Desiree-ebook/dp/B0187RJR7E

Welcome to My Blog about Richard III and lots of other stuff

Welcome to my blog.
I  am a historical fiction and historical fantasy writer who likes tro travel throughout Britain and who also likes cto have a little rant  every now and then! (As one does.)
I am the author of two novels set at the time of #Stonehenge, Stone Lord and Moon Lord, a ton of short stuff in various fantasy geners, and a number of  books about Richard III, inncluding White Roses, Golden Sunnes, and the bestseller  Sacred King (a mythic  look at Richard, using archetypes) and my current release, I, RICHARD PLANTAGENET part 1, Tante le Desiree, which a recent reviewer described as 'a new classic' of Ricardian fiction. (That brought a happy tear to me eye.)
 Why Richard? Well, I always had an interest in the medieval, although as a child and young person, I was more interested in the 12th century, perhaps because of a life long interest in the legend of Robin Hood. Anyway, I read Sharon Penman's Sunne in Splendour in the 80's and that gave me food for thought. I was never greatly enamoured of the Tudors, and wondered about the old  adage 'history is written by the victors.' My interest was piqued again by the finding of Richard's remains and I found myself quickly immersed in medieval history again.
  And then I had this story to write, more complex than anythingI had ever written before....

   I've also loved travel ever since I moved to the U.K. (before that too, actually.) Anything historical will do. It is a real NEED within me to connect to the past, and also to be visiallu stimulated, which ancient buildings and structures seem to do for me. So, with my long suffering 'chauffeur' (Dan), I travel all over the country, finding places of interest...a lot of them Richard related but also anything else of note including prehistoric sites. I will share my photos on the blog, as well as any interesting info....

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