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Showing posts from 2015

Dickens and Chickens

On 17 April 1860, in fields near Farnborough, Charles Dickens joined an audience amongst whom were the Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, as well as a number of MPs and clergymen, to watch the American John Carmel Heenan and England’s Tom Sayers (the Brighton Titch) beat one another blind and bloody in a bare-knuckle fight that lasted nearly two and a half hours. The fight ended in a draw when Aldershot police stormed the ring, forcing the fighters and their illustrious spectators to flee the scene. It was the brutality of this match that signalled an end to the bare-knuckle era and prompted the development of the Marquess of Queensberry’s rules. Dickens’s interest in pugilism was of long standing. In 1848 Dombey and Son , which had been published in serial form over the preceding two years, came out in book form. One of many of his novels that draws on the world of the prize fighter, it introduces the unforgettable Mr Toots, a would-be man about town, an

Inspiration on the Road

I'm delighted to welcome Amy Morse as my guest blogger today... Amy Morse is an Author + entrepreneur = Authorpreneur.   She writes fiction as Amy C Fitzjohn and has published three novels: The Bronze Box , Solomon’s Secrets and Gabriel’s Game .  A my is also a freelance Business Coach, providing business skills for creatives in the form of; 1:1 coaching and workshops. She is an avid blogger, engaging public speaker and is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and be better at business. Writers find inspiration in many places. We observe and create stories from the small things we see and experience as we travel through life. Often, the spark of inspiration comes from two words: what if… It was visiting the Archaeological Museum in Varna, Bulgaria and seeing the amazing finds discovered at the Varna Necropolis that prompted me to ask ‘What if?’ What if something mysterious and dangerous was unearthed by archaeologi