Blog
Huguenots – the very first refugees
On World Refugee Day – 20 June - it’s worth remembering that the word “refugee” was coined to describe the Huguenots in their flight from religious persecution in France. The countries to which they fled offered them refuge and thus they became, in their own...
The Essex Serpent – streaming on Apple TV+
Clare Danes and Tom Hiddleston star in the TV adaptation of Sarah Perry’s novel The Essex Serpent. It’s getting good write-ups.. Read a review of the book here and more information about Sarah Perry here The Essex Serpent TV Mini Series
A chance to manage the Huguenot Museum in Rochester, Kent
A rare opportunity to re-launch and manage a museum is open to applicants until 24 April 2022. The Huguenot Museum was temporarily mothballed during the pandemic, and now needs an entrepreneurial manager to lead its re-opening. This is the first and only museum in the...
Too posh for the likes of us: the Great and the Good
We chose a fine, sunny Saturday to visit Canterbury Cathedral, although I am over-awed by the Church of England in all its forms so I was not in the best of moods. Most Anglican clergy are too posh by far for the likes of me, and I certainly can’t follow their...
Off to Canterbury, in pursuit of a French Chapel
The French Chapel at Canterbury Cathedral caught me by surprise - as the door was unlocked, I felt a surge of emotion. A full account follows shortly, but here’s a photographic taster of the Cathedral and the Chapel within.
When I consider how my light is spent: a terrier’s life
Poor old John Milton (1608-1674) was probably only in his late forties when he went blind, having had a tumultuous life up until then. He was a Puritan and a propagandist both for Oliver Cromwell’s Republic and the regicides, using his impressive linguistic skills to...
The Buddha and a calming colouring book
A new Buddhist temple has recently opened near our house, and free meditation classes are always on offer. It’s a pleasant way to spend half an hour, and following a guided fantasy led by one of the orange-robed monks is pretty much guaranteed to lower your blood...
Thanksgiving Thursday: starting a New World Order
Thanksgiving in America celebrates the first arrival of a band of Puritans in the New World in 1620, having survived an arduous sea passage from England in a vessel called The Mayflower. These Pilgrim Fathers had a distinct ambition of founding a godly kingdom on...
End of an era for The Huguenots of Spitalfields
The Huguenots of Spitalfields, a charity set up by the boundlessly energetic Charlie de Wet, has announced its closure. I have files and files of notes I took on Huguenots of Spitalfields outings. I reckon the first one I went on was in 2014, but 2015 was a really...
Huguenot Heroes: Zoom Lecture on 23 November from 7.00pm to 8.00pm
The Huguenots of Spitalfields have organised an art event which promises to be unique. It’s a look at some of the famous Huguenots whose portraits now hang in the National Portrait Gallery. “From Calvin to Churchill, Garrick to Garland, the legacy of the Huguenots...
Too many men – Women of Bedford protest
There are eleven statues in the town of Bedford, and not one of them is of a woman. A vigorous local campaign has grown up to put that right. The campaign group Women of Bedford wants to erect the first statue in the town to celebrate a woman - educational reformer,...
The tears of the Huguenots: a virtual tour of Wandsworth on 18 February
If you live in London, you’ve probably driven through Wandsworth, cursing its one-way systems, staring at its dull architecture and nasty shop-fronts as you wait for the traffic to move, without ever seeing the signs of the Huguenots. Even on a walk through its...
