St John's Junior School, Highbridge

Do you like this picture? It was the flyers they were using to advertise my weekend at Sudeley Castle. And what clever chaps they were, taking a picture of me at Leeds Castle and then removing the said Castle and slapping a pic of Sudeley behind me instead.

Back to business - I was on my way to Highbridge near Burnham-on-Sea this morning. St John's Junior School had got wind of my work after my fairly recent visit to West Huntspill Junior. After such a fine day at West Huntspill, what would St John's offer me? Well, it was quite a similar day - tremendous fun! A really excellent school, a charming group of teachers and some fabulous children. We had such a fun day, lots of laughs, lots of learning and a really thrilling jousting tournament in the afternoon. One of the biggest laughs of the day came via a correct, but shocking answer from one little chap. As I usually do, when talking about Ann Boleyn, I ask what possible evidence could any of her detractors have offered when they said she was a witch. I always tell the children it is something physical, referring usually to her extra polydactyl finger on her left hand, or the supposed birth mark she had on her neck. Today when asked what made people think she was a witch, one of the year 4's stuck his hand up and said "she had three nipples!" which, strictly speaking is true, but was not what I was expecting from a 9 year-old. I choked and spluttered a bit and at least two of the teachers nearly fell off their chairs laughing. Now that's not something I hear everyday!

Later this week I am off to Truro in Cornwall and then on Friday I am on BBC Somerset again with Jo Phillips in Ilminster during the day and then I am appearing at the Ilminster Festival in the evening. On Saturday and Sunday I am at Barrington Court for a couple of days of walkabouts.

I have also had some nibbles from a TV company called "Whizz Kid", another enquiry from Channel 5 for a possible appearance on another show and even some talk about yet another TV company doing a children's history series. How nice!

BBC Somerset Panel Yet Again

Familiar ground today! Back to BBC Somerset for another appearance on the sainted Jo Phillips' "Morning Jo Show" news panel. Of course it is school holidays week so after having set out ludicrously early to take on Taunton's notorious bottle neck roads, I just sailed through with no school run to contend with and arrived far too early. I was greeted by Anna today who was taking the lovely Emma Britton's place as Emma was slumming it up at the Royal Bath and West Show in a mud encrusted County Showground in Shepton Mallett. After last night's floods I dread to think what the parking was like up there!

I was joined on the panel today by a lovely lady who runs Hestercombe Gardens near Taunton, and another charming lady who writes children's books and who I was on a panel with only a few months ago. It was very nice to see her again. It was great fun as usual and Jo was, as ever, a hugely professional presenter and also charming, witty, friendly and easy on the eye. Always a good combination as far as I am concerned. We had lots of laughs but Jo reckoned I was going to get her in trouble with the authorities after I described the Daily Mail as being "just to the right wing of Genghis Khan" - which is true! You can listen to the show again for the next seven days by going to the BBC Somerset website (www.bbc.co.uk/somerset) and clicking on the listen again option and clicking on Morning Jo Friday tab.

After the show I headed for home and some letter writing and then lunch. After that I headed over to Barrington Court for a brief meeting with Matthew Applegate about future plans. That all went well and soon I was back home and found that dear old Tiscali had cut my phone off. I had to drive out of Clapton to get a signal on my mobile to phone them and find out why. After much shouting and threats they agreed that I had paid and that they would reconnect me AND send me a letter of apology. I got home and the phone still won't work, so I have taken up the cudgels with Ofcom to see if they can zap Tiscali out of a rut. Be warned, if you are thinking of going to Tiscali as a new telephone customer - DON'T!!!!!!

Meet the Tudors, Sudeley Castle

For the third May Bank Holiday running, I was at Sudeley Castle in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire for more Tudor nonsense. It promised to be bigger and better than in previous years, and in some way it was. I headed off on Saturday morning nice and early, and I was soon hacking up the M5. Winchcombe is a delightful town and Sudeley is a little treasure of a place - the final resting place of Katherine Parr, Henry's final wife.

In previous years it has just been me wandering around as Henry and meeting and greeting people, but this year I had two other friends to saunter about with. One was a delightful Irish lady called Orla Beardwell who dressed up as a wonderful Queen Elizabeth I, the other was a wonderfully insane character called Bob Mason who was dressing up as Will Somers, Henry's jester. Bob's other wonderful claim to fame is that in a previous time of his life he was the near legendary Phantom Flan-Flinger from cult TV series "Tiswas" in the late 70's and early 80's. You can see us pictured here in our first picture at the visitors reception centre. There were other attractions for the weekend, including archery, an executioner (complete with body hanging from a jibbet), singers, and even Davy the Jester, late of Leeds Castle and this blog.

Saturday was a delight, hot weather, lots of visitors, loads of photos taken and generally a fun and happy atmosphere. Sunday and the weather broke and it poured and poured with rain and was generally cold and miserable, but we still had lots of visitors. Bank Holiday Monday came complete with more cold weather and loads of rain and sadly a drop in visitor numbers. However, everyone seemed to have a really good time and the staff and people of Sudeley Castle were as friendly and charming as ever.

For my digs I stayed at Oaklands B&B virtually opposite Blair House where I stayed last year. The hosts there were wonderful and friendly and have nurtured a very happy family atmosphere for the whole place and it really does feel like a home from home. It still smacks a little of it's previous life as an old folks care home (hand rails down every corridor and lots of hand rails in strange places in the toilet!) but they do a breakfast that even defeated me (I asked for a much smaller one on Monday morning) and I can heartily recommend it for a genuinely warm and charming welcome.

It was good to meet so many nationalities and friendly people during all the walkabouts and meet and greets over the weekend, including my first ever tourists from Uruguay! On Saturday poor old Orla got very sunburnt across her shoulders and chest but I am sure this is what kept her mostly warm over the colder Sunday and Monday. Jenny from Sudeley Castle who was looking after all the bookings and events had worked with me before when she used to work at Dean Close Prep in Cheltenham (see this blog passim).

There is talk of a special event at Sudeley next year to mark Henry's 500th anniversary of his ascension to the throne. It would be lovely to be involved, so as I have said before "watch this space".

My drive back was relatively quick and uneventful, and however nice my three days at Sudeley Castle were I am very much looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight!

Martham and Lowestoft

It was a return visit to two schools in East Anglia this week, but only one had kept it's name the same since my previous appearance! For the past two years I had ventured to Martham village and appeared at West Flegg Middle School. But recently Norfolk County Council have decided to do away with the three tiered education system and first, middle and high schools are becoming a thing of the past. West Flegg Middle had now metamorphed into Martham Primary School! It was good to see Judy Colman there again as she is a lovely lady and was as welcoming and friendly as on previous visits. It was a very big group on the Wednesday with something in the region of about 140 children, but they were brilliantly well behaved and we had a great day. With such big groups, even the little carousel activities were well attended and lively! After a fine lunch of pasta it was into the afternoon with added gusto and a rip roaring jousting tournament which the ladies sneaked home on to win! The following day after my visit they were having the official opening ceremony of the new school and they were all desperate to rehearse their show, so as soon as Tudor day finished I was out the hall so that they could begin their preparations. I stayed my two nights in East Anglia down at my parents in Essex, so I had quite a drive down from Martham to Mountnessing.

Thursday saw my fourth annual visit to Lowestoft and the very wonderful Roman Hill Middle School. As I drove up my fuel guage in the car was getting lower and lower, but as I was making such good progress I decided to press on and wait until I was virtually in Lowestoft before stopping to refuel. Great idea in principle, but unfortunately I had left my wallet and all my money on the side in my parent's kitchen in Essex. DOH! So as soon as I arrived at the school and was greeted by the delightful Rebecca Haste I had to fall upon her mercies and ask for a load of £20 so I could actually get back to my parents and my dear wallet! Rebecca is just such a lovely lady, so friendly, helpful and easy to get along with. She makes visiting her school a total pleasure. We had a great day as usual at Roman Hill, lots of laughs, another big group and some fantastic costumes. For once the gents triumphed in the jousting and when all was done and dusted we all posed for some photos for the local paper and I was soon on my way, but as I said only thanks to Rebecca's generosity! I can't wait to come back and visit Roman Hill again.

I stopped back at my parents for dinner and then at about 7.30pm began the long plod back to Somerset, but it was a nice easy drive and I listened to the thrilling climax to the Scottish Premier League with the Celtic and Rangers matches being broadcast on Radio 5. They were exciting matches that kept me on the edge of my seat, which was very lucky as I was so tired after two very early starts and lots of driving. I stopped briefly for petrol on the return and was served by a man who was so icey and bad tempered as to make Sue English seem like a over-prozac'd game show host. Smashing.

Home for a loud welcome from the cat who was so delighted to see me and we ended up cuddled up on the sofa with her purring loudly in my ear. Very nice. I have a day of sort of leisure today and tomorrow I am back up at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire for their grand Tudor weekend. I would hope to see lots of familiar faces back there! That includes you...

Balliol Lower School, Kempston, Bedford

My alarm went off at 0400 hours this morning. What does the O stand for? Oh my God, it's early. It was going to be a long drive today up to Kempston near Bedford for a first visit to Balliol Lower School, a new venue for me. The drive was actually quite pleasant as it was before the full heat of the day had awoken and the roads were fairly clear at this early hour. I shot up the A303 and then the A34, before cutting across country and hedging Milton Keynes and then through Buckingham, which seems a delightful little town.

I arrived just before the school opened and so sat in a side road having some breakfast, much to the amazement of an elderly lady taking her dog for a walk. She obviously thought that I was lurking in her side road up to no good as she came past and had a good look at me about four times! The welcome I got at the school was much warmer, and I was informed in great detail by the lady in the office that she had cancelled the fire drill for that day because of me, but if there was a fire alarm it would be for real.

It was a Year 3 group today of about 50-60 children and they were just fantastic! Lively, inquisitive and ready to laugh. They also had some fine Tudor knowledge to share with me. The morning just seemed to shoot by, which is always a good sign that the day went well. I had a lovely lunch of roast beef from the ladies in the kitchens and then it was into the afternoon with all the nice gory bits! The stocks were hilarious and gruesome in equal measure. The joust was a good one too, with the gentlemen winning for a nice change. Balliol Lower was a delightful school to visit and I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. It would be nice to go back and see them again sometime.

The journey home was a bit more fraught with much more traffic on the road, especially lorry drivers hell bent on overtaking other lorries at approximately 0.1 nano-mile-per-hour faster than each other. Why do they do it? They seem to wait until you are zooming up to overtake them and then just signal and blithely pull out, and trundle along for what seems like an eon before either completing the manouevre or, more commonly, giving up and tucking in behind again.

I got back in time to sit and watch Rangers being comprehensively outplayed by Zenit St Petersburg of Russia in the UEFA Cup Final, played at the lovely home ground of Manchester City, the finest team in the world with that name.

Martock Primary

The last time I visited Martock Primary I had just bought my dear old Honda Accord (see this blog about two years ago!) and we had a really good day, so I was really looking forward to this return visit. I was not to be disappointed.

Some years ago I visited a small school in Axminster in Devon and had possibly the worst cup of tea ever served to me in a school, and I mentioned it in passing in this blog. How this has come to haunt me over the years. I had no idea so many people read this blog! So even today, all these years later, as I arrive at Martock Primary and I start to have a cuppa made for me by the Head Master, he comments on how he had better make me a good one as I come down hard on bad cups of tea! I only did it once - and that was nearly three years ago now! So can I just say here and now, while at Martock Primary I had two cups of tea made for me and they were as ambrosia to the Gods and were GORGEOUS!

It was great to see so many familiar faces amongst the teachers this day and they were all as welcoming and friendly as last time. It was a group of about 90 children today, a mixture of years three and four and they were just brilliant. Bright, sparky and very ready to laugh at all my old rubbish! Even though they had only been studying the Tudors since half term they had loads of good knowledge and were very eager to share this with me. The morning seemed to just shoot past and we had plenty of laughs, particularly my "wrestling" during the Field of the Cloth of Gold with Marcus - he knows who I mean. What a star!

After a very filling lunch of meat balls and pasta it was back to Tudor times for more fun with the stocks and the jousting. As usual the ladies waltzed off with the honours in the grand final, but we still had time for a teacher's race which cranked the volume of the crowd up to even greater heights! It was a pleasure to come to this wonderful and charming school and my only complaint is that they won't need me back for a couple of years, so see you in 2010.

I have had a nice relaxing evening and have a weekend at leisure to look forward to. As the weather is promised to be hot and sunny, I might just pop over to Barrington Court for a wander about tomorrow and then hit Ilchester for a car boot sale on Sunday morning. Come and say hello if you see me. If you catch me at the right time I will sell you something!

Somerford Junior, Christchurch

It was a fairly early start for me today as I was heading down to Somerford Junior School in Christchurch, and I well remembered from my previous visits to this town what a bottleneck of a place it is to get through. I left home at about 6.20am and all went swimmingly until about the last 5-10 miles. Gridlock was not far off it. Eventually the journey took me just over 2 hours - and it was only about 55 miles.

The teachers and the rest of the staff at this lovely school were as welcoming and fun as ever and it was great to see them all again. There was much merriment from the ladies on the front reception desk about my t-shirt I was wearing today. It says "Body of a God - shame it's Buddha" which they all thought was wonderful and wanted copies of it for their own other halves. They also reminded me that on my last visit to this school I left my mobile phone there - I made sure I had it close to hand all day today.

It was a year three class today and some of them struggled a bit as they have not been doing the Tudors for very long, but they perked up as the day went on. It was almost over poweringly hot today and I was not exactly dressed for it in all my furs and layers!

After a lovely pasta lunch it was on to the crimes and punishments section, a fun stocks event and then the jousting. One of the ladies teams in the first leg were a little...er...unfortunate(?) and were never really in the running as their lead off lady took nearly 10 minutes to hook all of her quoits! Even when I helped her cheat by loading all bar one of the quoits onto her lance, she managed to knock them all off again within a couple of seconds! However, despite this, the other ladies team marched on through to the final where they comprehensively thrashed the gents champions!

My drive home was equally fraught just getting out of Christchurch! Another two hours before home again. Tomorrow I am much more local, with a return visit for the first time in two years to Martock School in, unsurprisingly, Martock! Should be fun.

Downlands School, Blandford Camp

Some two years ago, for the very first time, I attempted to get to a school using my (then) brand new Sat Nav system in my car. It was a baptism of fire for "Doris" and me! She had a bit of a "bad hair day" and attempted to get me to Downlands School in Blandford Camp, Dorset, via a brick wall enclosed builders yard. Today, for what might well prove to be her swan song, "Doris" (my sat nav) was on board to try and bring me back to Downlands! As I may have mentioned in recent days, "Doris" isn't too well at the moment and is much in need of either repair, or total abandonment. She didn't let me down today though and I arrived bright and early at the security gates at this vast army camp. I was quickly signed in and had a photo pass issued to me (they still had me on record from the previous visit two years back). I managed to even snaffle a car parking spot right outside the front door to the school.

It was great to be back, a really lovely school and some charming teachers, all dressed to the nines in their finest Tudor clothing! The ever helpful caretaker took care of me and helped me lug my Henry stuff into the main hall. The children were all dressed up in some equally fantastic Tudor garb, a lot of it painstakingly home made, but looking wonderful. Despite not having done much on the Tudors in class yet this year the children were eager to show off their knowledge. They had all obviously been reading a lot of books about Henry and his life, though pronunciation of names was proving tricky. One little girl told me that Henry's second wife was called "Annie Boyling". And who knows, perhaps she was!

After lunch we had a smashing session with the crime and punishment talk and a lot of fun with the stocks before we got on to the inevitable loud jousting tournament. The girls won on a "penalty shoot out" today, just managing to snatch victory from the gents on the second re-hooking. Downlands is a fabulous school and my only regret is that as whenever I visit them I do two years at once which means I won't get a chance to see them all again for another two years! So see you in 2010!

My journey home was a little fraught as the Troy Town by-pass was shut because of an accident and "Doris'" batteries were running low - but I made it!

Tomorrow I am off to Chard to lovely old Manor Court School and a meeting with Deputy Head, Lizzie Reynolds.

BBC Somerset Bus

Another week and another appearance on Jo Phillips' "Morning Jo Show" panel on BBC Somerset. There were a couple of differences though. Firstly we weren't in the studio in Taunton but on the BBC Broadcast Bus in Market Street in Crewkerne. And secondly, there was no Emma Britton as she is away on holiday and her place was taken by Liam, the bus driver and he did a very passable impression. I was on the show with a couple of ladies, one from Crewkerne Town Council and another lady from Drimpton just up the road from Clapton. It is quite a snug fit inside the studio on the bus, but it was good fun, especially the chat about cows! You will know what I mean if you listen again on line!

After the show I wandered to the bank and then back to Bilby's for a cup of tea where I bumped into Annette, the lady from the Town Council again and we had a nice chat and she invited me to come to Crewkerne in November and turn on the Christmas lights as Henry! I accepted on the spot! Watch this space...

Tomorrow I am back at Blandford Camp in Dorset and it should be a good 'un!

West Huntspill School

Some years ago I visited a lovely little school at Westbury-sub-Mendip. I obviously made an impression as one of the teachers from that day has recently become the head teacher at West Huntspill School near Bridgwater. She remembered me and phoned last week for a booking. I had this day free in my diary and so she booked me!

West Huntspill is a truly wonderful school - it is currently under special measures following a bad OFSTED some time ago, but they are really putting things right in a big way. The actual facility is very good and the teachers are excellent - full of enthusiasm and a desire to make things better. And the children? Well they were just a delight! So much laughter in one day - it was life affirming and fun in the extreme. They lapped up all the Tudor information and laughed outrageously at even the lamest of my jokes. One young lady laughed so much one of her teeth fell out! Now I have never managed to have that effect on any member of my audience before, but I had probably better not make a habit of it.

After a fun morning and also having had lunch bought for me (which was greatly appreciated) it was back to the crime and punishment section and the stocks! A rip roaring joust capped the day admirably with another good win for a fine gents team who blew the ladies away in the final.

Tomorrow I am off to Crewkerne for another appearance on Jo Phillips "Morning Jo Show" on BBC Somerset. They are broadcasting "Live" from the middle of Crewkerne on the BBC Somserset bus. If you are in Crewkerne for the morning, come and say "Hello".

Blundell's Prep, Tiverton

For the third year running it was back to Blundell's Prep School in downtown Tiverton. My day got off to a less than auspicious start when Doris, my beloved sat nav, decided to have an almost complete breakdown. She would not power up from her lead and would only work off batteries, which sadly have a life span in a sat nav of about half an hour it seems. I stopped and bought some batteries and carried on, but more or less remembered my way to Blundell's from my previous visits.

They are having massive amounts of building work done, but the school is a friendly welcoming place and it was good to see so many familiar faces. I had an early cup of tea and a chat with the Head Master, Nick Folland, who used to play cricket for Somerset. He and I have been dreaming up an idea for a charity cricket match at Barrington Court played in period costumes. He reckons he could get Marcus Trescothick and Andy Caddick to come down and play, plus some other big names. I must chase up Matthew Applegate about this as well.

The day at the school was brilliant fun. We started off in the drama studio, but later were in one of the upstairs classrooms and finally in the afternoon in the dining hall. The children were bedecked in some fantastic costumes and they certainly knew their Tudor history, despite one little girl asking me if Henry VIIIth had a pet panda (?).

The afternoon stocks were great fun and we finished with a really high quality jousting tournament that the boys won for a nice change! I stopped off in Ilminster on the way back and then on to home for a home made chicken korma and a glass of wine!

Next Henry is today at West Huntspill near Burnham-on-Sea.

Enmore Primary

Back in January 2006 I visited Enmore Primary. I had been requested for this return visit and, wrack my brain all I could, I just could not picture the school at all. Not a jot! I could not remember the village, or anything about the place at all. And then I arrived at the car park, and it all flooded back to me! It was then (in 2006) and is now (2008) a fantastic school. I was working with a mixed class of 28 pupils of years four and five. It was also a different form teacher this time around, a charming fairly newly qualified lady by the name of Laura Potter who was bedecked in a most becoming red Tudor dress that she'd had made by dressmakers in Bahrain (where her parents live and where she was brought up)!

The class were fantastic today, all dressed in wonderful Tudor costumes and showing some fabulous knowledge. After my opening talk and a lot of laughs I kept the relatively small group all together for the activities. With the quiz we had two perfect scores from a couple of the ladies and some of the coat of arms designs they came up with were brilliant. Miss Potter suggested that they would make a collage of the designs on the walls of their classroom.

After lunch (which I had to drive virtually into Bridgwater to get from a petrol station! Mmm! Cold sandwiches!) it was back for more Tudor mayhem in the hall. The afternoon really zipped by and we had a cracking jousting tournament culminating in yet another triumph for the ladies. I reassured the disappointed boys team that this sort of thing happens all the time...

Back home I was due to visit my landlord and his partner's place this evening for dinner with them, but unfortunately he wasn't feeling very well and so the meal was postponed. I am back on duty as Henry again on Monday morning at Blundell's Prep School in Tiverton in Devon for a third visit in as many years.

Henry VIIIth - Page Three Stunna!

If you live in the right area of Somerset or Dorset, and are able to get your hands on a copy of the Western Gazette (preferably the Chard and Ilminster copy - hey I am aware that this is getting very precise), then you will discover that in this week's issue I am the Western Gazette's Page Three Stunna for the week!

There is an article and a couple of photos from last weekend's "Right Royal Weekend" at Barrington Court. It is quite a nice photo for once! There is also a very cute pic of some of the little kids who played with the Tudor skittles with me on the Saturday.

Good King Hal should point out that there are other local papers available for purchase... but I'm not in them, so what's the point in buying them? Be honest!

Happy St George's Day!

Happy St George's Day!

Kind regards,

Henry VIIIth

A Right Royal Weekend Part 2

The second of my two days at Barrington Court had promised far superior weather to the first, and on the whole it didn't disappoint. It wasn't exactly a blazing sun-fest, but after the drab damp dreary day of Saturday it was a vast improvement. The number of visitors was up too which was good to see. I would like to say a big thank you to the three little girls who turned up in their finest Tudor clothes to come and see me, each one taking on a roll as a famous Tudor lady! I had a Jane Seymour, a Queen Elizabeth and a Katherine Parr!

Both of the talks on the Sunday were packed out which was good to see and gave a wonderful atmostphere. The better weather also allowed me to venture out into the gardens to meet and greet the people as they wandered around Barrington Court's beautiful surroundings. Another big "hello" to the three lovely, but extremely hungover ladies from Bristol, recovering as they were from the rigours of a hen night in Chard the previous evening! The Tudor skittles in the hall went really well too, and I think all the children and their parents who attended seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves.

In the evening, Matthew Applegate, his assistant Simon and myself ventured out for a celebratory beer starting off at The Volunteer Pub in Seavington. However, the barmaid appeared to serve us about as frequently as the return of Hailley's Comet and after just one pint we gave up and ventured over to Shepton Beauchamp and the Duke of York where we had a much better time of it. We had a lot of fun discussing how funny a sit com set in a National Trust property would be. I just don't think anyone would believe it if we put some of Matthew's true stories in the script!

Back to paperwork this morning and the next siting of Henry will be a return visit to Enmore Primary in Bridgwater this coming Friday. Watch this space for more.

A Right Royal Weekend Part 1

I can confidently assure you that the photo you see here was NOT taken today at Barrington Court. As predicted, the weather was of the dark, wet, windy and biblical black variety. However, there were still plenty of hardy souls who ventured forth into the teeth of this inclement weather for Barrington's "Right Royal Weekend".

The attractions were modest, but fun. You could come and meet me (Henry VIIIth), hear a talk by me, have a go at making your very own royal crown and then have a bash at Tudor skittles. Having said that, everyone who took part in all these activities seemed to enjoy themselves. For my first talk we had a smallish turnout, but they all laughed and enjoyed themselves in the right places. The children especially enjoyed the skittle games afterwards. The second group were bigger but far fewer of them came back to try the skittles. As for my performances - my first talk, as far as I was concerned, was dreadful. It really showed that I hadn't done any appearances for a couple of weeks as I was forgetful and kept fluffing my lines. However, I really enjoyed the second talk, particularly one young chap in the audience who everytime I did a loud Henry roar he'd jump about 3 feet out of his chair, much to the amusement of his mother!

I am back for more tomorrow with a promise of a beer in the evening from Matthew Applegate. I treated myself this evening by stopping for fish and chips on the way home. I have been a good boy and typed up my blog nice and early so I can settle down and enjoy "Planet of the Ood" on Doctor Who! Bring it on!

BBC Somerset Panel Again

I had managed to wangle my way back on to the Panel on the BBC Somerset's "Morning Jo" Radio programme today. It was to publicise this coming weekend's "Right Royal Weekend" at Barrington Court. The morning traffic was virtually non-existant for once and so I was a bit early when I arrived at the august portals of BBC Somerset in Park Street, Taunton. I was greeted by the ever lovely Emma Britton and taken up to the waiting area where I could begin sifting through the days newspapers.

I was joined on the panel today by Simon Lomax, a musician and teacher from Somerton and the charming Maggie Mickshik from the Martha Care charity for sick children based in Glastonbury. Jo Phillips was, as ever, a brilliant host and a lovely lady (as the photo here shows!) and the conversation flowed so easily today. If you missed the show and would like to hear it again then go to www.bbc.co.uk/somerset and click on the "Listen Again" tab and choose the "Morning Jo Show" for Friday. I chose as my story from the paper today the horrific news that the new England cricket kit will be without a chunky cable knit sweater. This is the end of an era and enough to make grown men want to throw themselves from the top of Old Father Time at Lord's Cricket Ground. Half the fun of playing cricket is wearing the big baggy sweater that manages to make even the most attractive and dashing of men appear to be Worzel Gummidge's younger brother who has lost interest in scaring crows and has really let himself go.

Right, off to the Doctor's shortly to see if I can get my deaf ear sorted out. Tomorrow and Sunday I am at a waterlogged Barrington Court (if the weather forecast is anything to go by). I shall wear my water proof codpiece.

Mark Speight R.I.P.

The BBC is reporting that the children's TV presenter Mark Speight has been found dead at Paddington Station. I think everyone is aware of the sad background to this terrible occurrence, and it will serve no purpose for me to go over the story again.

Back in 2005 I was fortunate enough to work for the BBC on the Rolf Harris' "Rolf on Art" television programme about Hans Holbein and his famous paintings of Henry VIIIth. I was also lucky in that some of the filming I did involved working with Mark Speight. He was a lovely man, charming, easy to get on with, very approachable and down to Earth. All the kids at the recording seemed to love him as well. The picture here was taken by Anna, my little BBC runner, who took it for her daughter who fancied Mark. It was quite late in the day and everyone by this time was tired and a little fractious, but Mark was great, mucking about in front of the camera pretending to be a male model and making everyone laugh. I remember seeing him at the after show party at the Trafalgar Square Hilton with his beautiful girlfriend. How tragic and cruel life can be sometimes. It was an honour to work with and meet Mark Speight, however fleetingly, and his death is a tragic waste of a talented young life. My son James was a big fan of Mark's frequent appearances on Smarteenies and his "Big Picture Little Picture" routines. Everyone involved with Good King Hal sends their condolences to Mark and Natasha's family at this very sad time.

Real People Magazine - It's true you know!

Just to let all of you fine people out there that Real People Magazine, featuring yours truly is out NOW! And remember it is only a weekly, so you only have until next Wednesday to get a copy. So what are you doing here reading this blog? Get out there and buy it now. HURRY!

Real People Magazine

Just a quickie today folks! The next issue of "Real People Magazine" is to feature Amanda and I as Mr and Mrs Henry VIIIth! We have both done interviews with journalists from the magazine and yesterday we had to pose like mad for a photographic session, some as just us in civvies, and then another load with me in the Henry clobber.

I have been led to believe by the lovely people at Real People Magazine that we are featuring in the very next issue coming out later in April - so hurry to your local newsagent while stocks last!

Coalway Junior, Coleford

Four years since I was first there, I was back at Coalway Junior in Coleford, Gloucestershire. Four years in a row I have visited this lovely school, and it just seems to get better and better!

The main teacher I was dealing with today was James Barrow, a fiercely proud Cardiff City supporter and so has a lot to shout about this year with their great FA Cup run. I wish I could say the same about Manchester City or Yeovil...

It was a group of about 55 children today and they were wonderful - as they always are at Coalway Junior! Some of them had obviously been very well taught and knew their Tudor history marvellously. It was very nice to be at Coleford for the first time not in rain! My previous three visits before this I am sure absolutely belted down each time!

The drive up was really lovely today in such bright sharp weather. I always love driving through Chepstow - admittedly it can be a bit of a bottleneck, but on a day like today it is hard to beat!

After a lovely roast dinner lunch we were back on for the Tudor crime and punishment trail, but not before I had been treated to a fine display of Tudor dance by one of the classes. The jousting was really closely contested and YET AGAIN the ladies walked off with the title with a quite brilliant display of teamwork. However the finest jouster was the second leg man of the Gents champs who could go professional should he wish - he was THAT good!

And now it is the Easter holidays - and I could do with the rest. See you at Barrington Court on the 19 April.

Hatless in Tatworth

I did something today I have never done before during all of my Henry appearances. I drove over to Tatworth just outside Chard for my third appearance at this lovely school. I was greeted by the head teacher, Mr Knight, who is almost as nuts about cricket as me and so as England supporters we were both over the moon about our series win in New Zealand.

I got everything set up in the main hall and went off to get changed. It was only then that I discovered that I had forgotten my hat! Never before had I gone without a hat at a Henry show. I wracked my brains trying to think where the hell I had left it and could only assume it was at the school where I had last appeared, so that made it Countess Gytha at Queen Camel.

The morning went really well, despite the lack of hat! It was a mixed group of year 3 and 5's and they were wonderful, also showing some magnificent knowledge of the Tudor world. After break I went straight into the hanging drawing and quartering section which they seemed to love, and the final jousting tournament was a belter. The gents original final was so close, and then the main final was a real classic with the ladies just pipping the gents again for the certificates from the King.

After I had packed and left, I headed home for lunch. Just after that I phoned the Countess Gytha School in Queen Camel. They hadn't had the hat handed in but promised to have a look. Sure enough the phoned back to say that the hat was still where I had hung it last week! So, I drove back over to Queen Camel to get my titfer! I was recognised by a few of the children with cries of "Henry's back!" They had even put some photos of me from last week on their notice board.

I had a couple of nibbles from schools this afternoon, one from Taunton and the other from Dorset, plus I had a confirmation of a visit to Southchurch Museum in Southend for the first weekend in August. I will be seeing so much of Essex. Lucky me!

BBC Somerset Panel

Good Friday! And it was! Up bright and early (well, as bright as I can be when it's early) and off to Taunton for another appearance on the lovely Jo Phillips' "Morning Jo Show" on BBC Somerset. Of course, it being Good Friday there wasn't the usual scrum of rush hour traffic to contest with on my way to the studio and I sailed through for once and got a nice parking space close to the studio in Park Street.

I was greeted by the lovely Emma Britton as usual and shown up to the small kitchen area they use as a "Green Room" and I was left to devour the papers to find a suitable story to talk about. My other co-guests were a lovely lady who does complimentary healing including chakra work (who I had appeared on a panel with once before) and another charming lady called Linda Bond who is a children's author and school teacher in north Somerset. I chose for my story the behaviour of Premiership Footballers and the sort of example they give to young children. I particularly focussed on Ashley Cole of Chelsea and the appalling tackle he dished out to a Spurs player the other night and then swore and mouthed off at the referee as though he was the wronged party. We were also asked for any good news stories that we might have as it was "Good" Friday. It was a fun panel to be on as usual and Jo Phillips and Emma Britton were wonderful hosts as ever. It is always such a pleasure to appear on their show.

I had the rest of the day at leisure, and made full use of it by doing virtually nothing all day beside breathing! Ah, now that's what I call a rest day! I spoke to Matthew Applegate later in the day and chatted more about our plans for some guided tours at Barrington Court that he wants me to host later in the summer, the first coming up on the 6th June (D-Day!).

This coming week I am at Tatworth near Chard on Wednesday and then a return visit to the lovely Coalway Junior in Coleford, Gloucestershire on the Thursday.

I have just re-discovered the picture you see above. It shows me outside Leeds Castle last October during my "Henry's Horrid History" week posing with the lovely Helen Budd, Jean Beaton and "little" Helen. Just thought you might like to see a different pic on the blog for once!

Countess Gytha School, Queen Camel

A new school - and boy what a day. I set my alarm for about 6.30am, it went off and then I slept on, but luckily my dear cat Dru decided to leap on me about 10 minutes later and made sure I didn't sleep on until it was too late. It was a cold and frosty start and I was on my way to a brand new school today. Countess Gytha School in Queen Camel, near Sparkford just off the A303. Who was Coutess Gytha I hear you cry? She was Harold II's (he who caught it in the eye at the Battle of Hastings) mother and apparently had a hunting lodge and lands all around Queen Camel. In the playground of the school they had a large map of Britain and the rest of the World painted on the hard surface. I couldn't help noticing that Essex and the rest of the south east was painted over a manhole cover for the sewers. I shall say nothing as an Essex ex-pat.

This was a hard day for me today, not because the school wasn't brilliant, because it was; not because the teachers weren't friendly, because they were very friendly; and not because the pupils were awful, because they weren't, they were a fabulous group of children. No my main reason for this being a hard day was because I was in PAIN! My sinuses were absolutely throbbing all day, and all I could really think about most of the time was SINUTAB - that wonderful stuff that relieves pain and unblocks your conk and cures all ills and probably composes symphonies in it's spare time. I just couldn't wait to get in my car, drive to Crewkerne and get some! But I had the day to do first - and I have to admit it was a really good one. Lovely school, great kids, nice teachers, friendly atmosphere - and a nice lady from the Western Gazette who had last photographed me at Martock School (see this blog passim) many moons ago when I first had the Honda Accord! The jousting in the afternoon in particular was spectacularly good - such a close finish. The boys led from the off and after two runs had quite a lead, but the ladies kept plugging away and on the final quoit just managed to snatch victory. Cue much cheering and jumping about from 50+ very excited children.

After that I did stop at Crewkerne and I did get myself some Sinutab and I am sitting here now, typing this waiting for it to work. You never know, it might compose a symphony first.

Next Henry work? Friday, back on the Morning Jo Show for their News Panel at 9am. Tune in to BBC Somerset 1566am or 95.5FM, or if you live miles away - try out listening on line at www.bbc.co.uk/somerset ! Have fun.

St Michael's School, Wimborne

For the fourth year running I had the pleasure of driving down to Wimborne in Dorset for another visit to St Michael's Middle School. This is a wonderful school. I cannot praise it enough! The teachers are always wonderfully welcoming and the kids just magnificent. Some of the costumes the children had got together were out of this World today.

The drive down to Wimborne is a nice one, taking you down through Dorchester and along the Troy Town by-pass, past Athelhampton and then along the A31 till you turn off into the quaint little town of Wimborne. The river looked quite swollen today, spilling out over the fields around and making the area look like it was surrounded by a small sea!

St Michael's has undergone a bit of a face lift since my last visit, but I soon got my bearings back again. The morning was fun and seemed to go past in a flash. I had an extended break as there was an assembly, but it was soon back into the hall and the morning activities were over. I was treated to a lovely lunch of macaroni cheese and a big shortcake cookie for afters!

The afternoon was wonderful. One of the teachers, a pretty young lady, had dressed as a boy street urchin, so we soon dubbed her "Bob" in deference to the character played by Gabrielle Glaister in BlackAdder II! The poor dear, she then ended up getting nominated for a visit to the stocks. The jousting was another good one, with the boys for once sneaking a victory over the ladies.

I had a nice leisurely drive home and I am really looking forward to my visit to Countess Gytha School in Queen Camel tomorrow.

Three Days in Norfolk...

After a couple of days recovering from the Abbotsbury Experience, I was back to being a proper Henry again with three days in two schools in one county! It was a return visit to Drayton Middle School in the village of Drayton near Norwich on Wednesday. This was a lovely return visit and a pleasure to see so many familiar faces again. The children were, as ever, brilliant with some fabulous costumes, great knowledge of Tudor times and a willingness to join in and have some fun, as well as learning, in to the bargain. We seemed to race through the morning (despite me still having a heavy cold) and the afternoon went even better. The gents won a thrilling jousting tournament by a short head.

Wednesday and Thursday night I stayed with my friends Ian Weston and Sue English. It was so nice to see Ian again - he is such a wonderful person, one of my oldest and dearest friends. It had been far too long since I had last seen the dear chap. Sue was her usual self, so no change there really.

On Thursday and Friday I was at Falcon School in Sprouston on the outskirts of Norwich, with two big year groups. I had about 96 year 6 pupils on the Thursday, and what must have been a similar number of year 5's today (Friday). They were magnificent groups - not a single child had missed out on a costume, the teachers were universally friendly and accomodating, and the caretaker had a really groovy Sony Walkman with massive headphones that seemed permanantly attached to his head! Of the jousting, well what can I say? It was business as usual as the ladies romped to victory on both occasions.

A quick drive home to my parents house (they are away at present), then on to my in-laws in Dunton for dinner, and then home to lovely Somerset down the lonely A303.

Next week I am back at St Michael's at Wimborne in Dorset on Monday and a new school, Countess Gytha at Queen Camel on Tuesday. Friday I am back on BBC Somerset for another appearance on the Morning Jo Show.

The Abbotsbury Play

This weekend has been a bit of fun. I had been invited by my lovely cousin Ann in Portesham, Dorset, to appear in a small community play taking place at St Nicholas' Church in Abbotsbury. The play had been written by a lovey lady called Tito and consisted of the potted history of Abbotsbury as a musical! I had two major scenes - one opposite my cousin Ann's husband, Jack in which I played Henry (there's type casting for you!) and Jack played the Abbot of Abbotsbury Abbey. I spend the whole scene trying to wangle the keys to the Abbey from him. I do finally manage it, with the words "That'll do nicely, sir!" Then I do some of my usual Henry talk, only this time with some of the children of Abbotsbury portraying my wives and children. It was great fun and seemed to get a fabulous reaction from the audience.

The rest of the show was wonderful village entertainment, very parochial and sweet. Reminded me of the way Laurie Lee described the village entertainments in "Cider With Rosie".

We all came on for a curtain call at the end, and I was lucky enough to get a big cheer and even a standing ovation. I am glad they enjoyed it so much! It has been a really fun weekend working with these lovely people. I really hope they do another show soon!

Little Parndon, Harlow

It may have been my fourth year of appearing at Little Parndon School in Harlow in Essex, but this Friday was something a bit different! In all my years of being Britain's premiere rotund Tudor monarch, my lovely wife had never actually seen me perform a full school day. She had witnessed talks, walkabouts and other Henry related silliness, but never a full day. So as she was available I asked if she'd like to come along and watch. She seemed very keen.

As ever I was very warmly welcomed to Little Parndon. It really is one of the friendliest schools you could want to meet anywhere. There were about 50 children on the day, some of them in excellent Tudor costumes. The opening talk went really well and the day seemed to fly along at a good pace. The children also seemed to really enjoy the quiz and the coat of arms designing. My wife had laughed like a drain at the correct comedy moments in the morning, so she is still in the will.

I treated my wife to a marvellous lunch (we went to the local chippy for savaloy and chips!) before the afternoon session began. The stocks were as popular as they always are and we were soon into the jousting tournament. I think it would be safe to say that the children this day were not over blessed with jousting skills! The ladies tournament soon descended into farce as neither team seemed to clearly know what they were doing! Quoits, targets and horses seemed to fly around all over the place! The boys were a little better. The final was a lot closer, but again the boys just managed to pip the ladies to clinch the title and walk off with the parchment certificates!

My wife and I were soon back with my little boy, and much later still I was back in Somerset. Our cat was very pleased to see me and had soon demolished most of a tin of Whiskas!

The forthcoming week is panning out as follows: This weekend I am appearing in the Abbotsbury Play down at St Nicholas' Church in Abbotsbury. Monday I have a meeting with Matthew Applegate over at Barrington Court about some future plans. Wednesday I am at Drayton School in Norfolk, and Thursday & Friday I am at Falcon School also in Norfolk. Busy busy!

Barrington Court Re-opens!

Just a little reminder to one and all: The very wonderful and underrated Barrington Court has re-opened this weekend after it's long winter close down. Owned by the National Trust, Barrington Court has two beautiful buildings to see - Barrington Court House itself, all fine Tudor architecture as the picture here shows you, and right next door to it, Strode House, a fine Stuart building with plenty to interest people. The Court House is used by a company called Stuart's Interiors as a show room for their renovated antique furniture and offers a different sort of visit to some NT properties. The long gallery on the top floor is also well worth a visit. Matthew Applegate, the Visitor's Services Manager, is a charming chap, and he and all his team of vounteers and helpers do a marvellous job on a tiny budget.

And as the weather is so good today, I am going to go over and see them all today! I hope to see you there as well.

Trull Primary School

It was a third year running visit to the village of Trull just outside Taunton today. Now, no visit to Trull is complete without the joy of going through a Taunton rush hour. The place is a nightmare, just such a bottleneck. A journey which should only really have taken me about half an hour took far nearer an hour.

But it was good to be back, because Trull is a lovely school. The children had all dressed in some wonderful costumes today, every single one of them! Even the Deputy Head was sporting some very groovy pantaloons and complaining that his football socks were making his calves itch.

Judy Picton had already finished renovating one of my costumes and so that was given an outing today and it received rave reviews from all who saw it.

After a fine morning of some delays but mostly good fun, we had some photos taken over in the churchyard opposite the school before lunch was taken with one of the teachers telling some remarkably dotty stories about her chickens! How could I follow that?

Well the afternoon was equally fun. Some superb stocks fun and then a jousting session to savour with the gents just pipping a good ladies team to the title. A wonderful day and already talk about another return visit next year. It would be my pleasure. Next stop - back to Little Parndon in Harlow.

Happy Birthday To Me - and Half Term

Just a quick note to explain the long silence on this blog! It's been half term and so the King has been taking it easy! My wife, son and I had a few days down in South Wales staying with my sister near Cynwyl Elfed just outside Carmarthen, including some fun runabouts on the beach with James down at Llansteffan, and James and I went and had a nice lunch one day down at Bilby's in Ilminster, where James flirted outrageously with a young blonde waitress and even gave her a Love Heart (it's a sweet folks, don't worry). Not bad for a five year old!

I am continuing to work on the End of Winter Party which is coming up at the end of March and I am currently having two of my Henry costumes renovated. I am next on parade as everyone's favourite monarch (apart from Terry Deary) on Friday 29th February for another return visit to Trull near Taunton. Watch this space for a full report.

A Banquet at Awbridge near Romsey

I was invited today to go along to Awbridge Primary School in the village of Awbridge near Romsey in Hampshire to attend a banquet! The teacher from this school who had recommended and booked me is friends with little Jo, the charming teacher from Nelson Primary in East Ham. Its a small World sometimes.

I drove down and arrived slightly later than I wished, mainly due to the horrendous traffic in Salisbury town centre (as I remember all too well from my time working for Skandia Life in Southampton). The school was lovely and the teachers very welcoming. I quickly changed and was taken through to the main hall where the children were waiting for me all seated round a big table and in some fantastic costumes. As they got stuck into their chicken legs, rolls and apple pastries, I regailed them with some nice horrid Tudor stories and did some of my usual routine. I then played them some tunes on my dordrecht recorder, and then wandered round the table chatting to the children. They had also brought along some fiendish questions to ask me, and I did my best to answer them. Then the children played me some of their own compositions on their recorders, sang me a wonderful song and then displayed their Tudor dancing skills. Great stuff! I was then given a guided tour of the school by some of the children, met all the other children in the different classes (Hello Harry and your blue painting in year 1!). Then it was back to the hall for another demonstration of their Tudor dance skills, and then it was time for me to go. The two hours had just flown by!

I drove back to Somerset, then popped into Crewkerne for a haircut and some more shopping, and then got myself ready for our visit to my sister in Wales.

BBC Somerset - The News Panel

Today I had been invited back on to the Morning Jo Show on BBC Somerset and another appearance on the Morning News Panel. I drove into Taunton quite early and arrived in time to begin sifting through the papers prior to going on air. I found a great story about Berwick-upon-Tweed wanting to be back in Scotland again, so I chose that mainly so I could retell my own experiences of visiting this funny little town. I was joined on the panel by two sisters, Hayley and Carly, one a beautician and the other a cabin crew member for Virgin Atlantic. Both stunners, and nice company as well.

Jo Phillips was a great presenter as usual and Emma Britton a superb assistant and travel news updater. We all had some good laughs and it seemed to go particularly well today. If you would like to hear how it went, please go to the www.bbc.co.uk/somerset website and click on "Listen Again" and choose the Morning Jo Show for Wednesday!

I stopped off in Ilminster on the way back and bought a couple of books, then had some lunch in Bilby's and chatted to Tris. This afternoon I did a load of paperwork in the office and made some phone calls. I also received a couple of lovely emails from ladies at the schools in Shoeburyness and Sheppey saying how much everyone had enjoyed the Henry days - which was most gratifying. I shall have to see if we can add those to the "Feedback" pages on the website. Go and see if I have done it yet! www.goodkinghal.co.uk

Manchester United 1 Manchester City 2 - and a couple of visits!

Manchester United 1 Manchester City 2. Can I just repeat that once or twice? Manchester United 1 Manchester City 2. It just keeps sounding better each time I mention it! To be honest, on driving up to my sister's place for a couple of Kent shows, I really didn't want to hear about the Manchester derby. The build up to it had been sent into an hysterical stratosphere with the Munich coverage - added to which City had been playing so badly of late and United so brilliantly that I could only see my beloved Man City getting a caning of Biblical proportions. I vowed to avoid the match if at all possible and listened only to CD's for much of the journey. At one point I had to change CD and with my radio pre-tuned to Radio 5 Live, straightaway I heard the commentary when the radio cut in - just in time to hear Darius Vassell put City 1-0 up. I was happy, but it did remind me a bit of the old line from the movie "Blazing Saddles" where the Sheriff is warned not to shoot the big bad guy as it would "just annoy him". It seemed the same with United - don't score against them - they'll just get angry. I put another CD on and carried on with my journey. Much later I tuned in to find out the score, only to hear that City were now 2-0 up, and there was only a few minutes left. Now was the time to start listening, but typical of my luck just as I start listening United go and score. Thankfully City hung on for a deserved victory which prompted some horn honking and whooping from me as I trundled round the M25.

My two days in Kent were great fun as well. The first of my shows was my fourth annual appearance at dear old Oakfield Junior in Dartford. It was so nice to be back at this wonderful school. As ever all the teachers were hugely welcoming and polite. The children were a delight - bright and sparky and full of fun and questions. Some of their costumes were fantastic and a lot of work had been done by family members. After lunch they sang me a couple of wonderful songs, accompanied by their teacher on a classical guitar. The rest of the afternoon shot by and a hugely competitive joust was won by a good ladies team.

Tuesday was a brand new school for me. Quenborough Junior in Sheppey. This was another fabulous day. About 130 children and some incredibly wonderful teachers all made for an exciting, fun and hilarious day. I had years 2, 3 and 4 all in with me and they were a delight. Full of beans and very sparky with lots of laughs aplenty. I thought some of them might pass out they were laughing so much during the stocks session! Another superb jousting tournament, the gents finally managed to get a win in for once.

It was a lovely couple of days staying with my sister and her husband, and a delight to be at two such lovely schools, but I am very glad to be back this evening and I am thoroughly looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again!

Back on the Morning Jo Show tomorrow on BBC Somerset, then I am off to Romsey on Friday for a banquet at a school.

Oh, and Manchester United 1 Manchester City 2. Nice!

Birdwell Primary, Long Ashton

Another brand new school for me today - and what a good one it was! Birdwell Primary School is in Long Ashton on the outskirts of Bristol. I didn't even know somewhere like Long Ashton existed, but it seemed like a really nice place. The school was warmly welcoming and the teachers just delightful. The children apparently had no idea that I was coming along as Henry for the day so it was a really nice surprise for them. The morning whipped through nicely while all around us preparations for the lunchtime banquet continued apace!

After the morning session was completed, and a quick question and answer session in the classroom, we then had a break for about 40 minutes before the specially prepared banquet began. All the food for this wonderful event had been prepared and cooked by the parents of the pupils and it was just spectacular! Delcious and pretty much authentic Tudor food served on real home made trenchers. We all ate and enjoyed ourselves, but by the time we had finished enjoying ourselves most of the afternoon had gone! However, there was still time for a spectacular jousting tournament which a quick, but somewhat erratic gentlemen's team triumphed in.

This was a really special lovely school with some fantastic teachers and some great kids. Thanks for such a lovely day - I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Richmond Avenue Primary School, Shoeburyness

Back to jolly old Essex again! I drove up to my parent's house in Mountnessing on Ash Wednesday and spent a nice evening sitting with my Father and watching Fabio Cappello's first game in charge of the England Football Team. My, how little seemed to have changed!

The following morning though, I was up with the lark and off down to Shoeburyness near Southend-on-Sea for a visit to Richmond Avenue Primary School. I couldn't even remember when I last visited Shoeburyness - must be over 20 years. Whenever I think of Shoeburyness it brings to mind Billy Bragg's immortal song "A13 - Trunk Road to the Sea" with the opening lines "If you should ever go to Shoeburyness..." Anyway, I managed to find the school OK and was warmly welcomed by the staff who were all just wonderful. I set up in a charming little hall and waited for the children to arrive. I had been told they were a lively bunch - and they most certainly were! We had a great morning. They certainly knew their Tudor stuff and took great delight in showing off the knowledge they had already picked up. We had lots of laughs and a good time was seemed to be had by all. We finished the morning session with a question and answer session in a packed class room.

The afternoon was equally fun, with lots of laughs had with the stocks routine. The final jousting session was hilarious. One ladies team thought they had won with only two of their riders home and just stopped! By the time I had realised what they were doing the other team had managed to rush home and win! The ladies eventually went on to win a thrilling and very close grand final. I can honestly say this was one of the nicest schools I have visited in a long time and I really hope they will consider having me back again next year. Thank you all for a wonderful day.

Caister Middle School, Norfolk

A third return visit in three years beckoned for me at the lovely Caister Middle School, in Caister, Norfolk. I drove up to Essex on the 29th January and had a relatively easy trip aside from being stopped by the Police on the M3 and asked if the Peugeot was my car or not! Luckily I could prove it was!

I had a nice evening with my parents and was even treated to a glass or two of Gevry Chambertin by my father - very nice!

The following morning I was up at 5am and out the door and on my way by 5.40am. The drive up to Caister was quite pleasant and I arrived at the school just before 8am. I parked up and got in and was as ever so warmly welcomed by the staff that it felt I had never been away! I impressed the Head Teacher by wishing him a happy birthday as I remembered on my last visit there was a big party for him. All the teachers looked great in their fabulous costumes, even the ones made from curtains! I was in the big hall as I had been for the previous visits and the children came through, about 100 of them and honestly, some of the costumes were just so good. I had been warned that some of the group was a bit over lively, but they turned out to be a fantastic group. They loved the opening talk and laughed greatly at some of the silly jokes and displayed a remarkably good Tudor knowledge. Before lunch they did a great series of Tudor dances for me. They'd obviously rehearsed long and hard.

After lunch we had some fun with the Tudor crime and punishment section and they all loved the stocks. The final jousting session was a revelation with one of the ladies teams being so good that they just steam-rollered any opposition with a fantastic display of skill and teamwork. I went to leave at the end of the day to find I was boxed in again, just like last year, in the car park. The lady in the office who's car was blocking me in came out and moved the vehicle, but made it fairly clear she wasn't happy about it. Oh dear! Caister is a wonderful school and it was a lovely day all round. Thanks again.

I drove to my parents in Essex, had dinner with them and then headed back down to Somerset. I finally got home about 10.30pm and collapsed, gratefully, into bed. Nice day!

Beauherne Primary, Canterbury

I was back at Beauherne Primary School in Canterbury for the first time since January 2006. I drove to my sister's house near Sittingbourne the day before and had a nice evening with her and her husband before kipping down on my luxury sofa.

The drive down to Canterbury was nice and easy this morning and it was nice to get back to Beauherne. I was warmly greeted as usual and was soon in the Henry gear with the group of year 3 and 4 children and we had a fabulous day. They were so funny. A real quirky little group and the two teachers, Mrs Morrish and Miss Bentley were just delightful.

After a nice lunch of steak pie, it was all systems go for the afternoon session which was rounded off by a fabulous win for the gentlemen in the jousting tournament. I then made my way back to Somerset and got home by 6.30pm to discover Amanda and James were over at our friends Ali and Ian's having tea! But they were home about half an hour or so after me. A lovely day all round.

201 posts and STILL no one is reading it!

What a busy day Thursday was. It began with me leaving home at just before 7.30am to get to Taunton for another appearance on the BBC Somerset Sound "Morning Jo" Show Panel. The traffic into Taunton was some of the worst I had ever experienced and it took me just over an hour to get to the BBC Studios. The other two guests were very nice - one lady a Stress Buster who lives up in Wellington and who is originally from Romford (there's a small world for you folks), and the other a very nice lady who worked for the NSPCC. Jo Phillips was, as ever, a lovely host and Emma, her assistant, was equally nice and very good at making tea! The discussion went really well and you can listen to it again here http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainframe.shtml?http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/somerset.shtml and selecting the Thursday button for the Morning Jo Show.

After that I skidaddled home for a few phone calls, letters and emails. Next it was into Crewkerne and Bilby's Cafe to meet Helen Hydes, a Development Co-ordinator for the National Autistic Society's Out of School Clubs. She is my local contact with the group I wish to raise money for with my "End of Winter Party" to be held on March 29th at Clapton Village Hall (more on that on this Blog soon...). The meeting was very productive and she was very helpful - and a very nice lady with it!

Then, after picking James up from School, he, Amanda and I went over to Barrington Court for the annual Barrington Wassail where they were blessing the trees for this years cider apple crop. There was the Babylon Morris Men who I had seen dance before at the Crewkerne Lions Club's Medieval Banquet at Clapton earlier in the summer. There was also the Langport Mummers who did a fantastic Mummers Play - wonderful stuff. I then read the poem my sister sent me (The Gloucestershire Wassail Carol) before we had to leave as poor little James was hugely tired by now. It was a shame to miss the rest of the evening as it was hugely entertaining - and more than a little bit pagan!

Oh and by the way, if you are wondering what the photo above is all about, I took it during my show at the Taunton Westival of my audience during my show at Taunton Castle. Just thought you ought to know!

Grange Primary School, Gloucester

It was back up the old wind and rain blasted M5 again today. Another crack of dawn start saw me and the new Peugeot heading back to a flood warning area! I was going back to Grange Primary School in Gloucester - a school I last visited back in 2005. I didn't seem to recognise the place when I got there, but the lovely teachers who greeted me reassured me this was because the place had been almost completely re-built in recent months.

I have to say that this was a really fun school to do today. About 100 children from years 3 and 4 and they were just so sparky and funky! Great fun all day. Laughs and jokes aplenty all day and some terrific Tudor knowledge from some of the children. The teachers were a delight to work with and the atmosphere in the staff room was more like a friendly local pub than a place of work! After a really tasty lunch it was back to the hall for the afternoon session. The laughs during my stocks routine were loud and genuine, and the jousting was a real rumpunctuous success! The ladies once more came through for a well earned victory.

I have tomorrow off to continue with the fun and games of my tax return, plus I still have to get my dead Honda Accord over to Ian Summers at Popular Motors at some point... Thursday is another appearance by me on BBC Radio Somerset and then Thursday evening is the Barrington Court Wassail evening. See you there...

Dean Close Prep, Cheltenham

Well Henry fans, here it is! Long time - no blog. Well, things have been happening. My trusty old friend, my Honda Accord, has died. I was driving the poor old thing up Wayford Hill the other week when the engine just went "No Way" and stopped. I nursed the car home and drove it around for a couple days, but then it kept cutting out. No chance of me using it for work any more. So a new car was needed. I went to see Ian "Honest" Summers of Popular Motors in Merriott and he was brilliant. Ian is a great bloke and always very helpful. He only ever laughs with me about the cars I buy, never at them. So from this very high class vehicular boutique I have purchased a very nice Peugeot 406 on a V reg plate and today was it's baptism of fire as I got back on the road again being Henry.

Today I was back at Dean Close Prep school in Cheltenham, for the third year running. It was good to be back. Dean Close is such a lovely school to visit. The children are always great fun and never any bother, the teachers are incredibly friendly and generous with their time and the lunch is always spectacular. What more could you want?

As usual with a private school the timings were all a bit wonky, with the morning running on until nearly 1pm and the afternoon only lasting from 2.15 to 3pm. However we had a good time, lots of laughs and with the final jousting session the ladies won by default as the gentlemen's cheating on their final leg was so blatant as to be embarrassing!

The drive home was very good, mostly clear roads but occasional huge downpours of rain. I have to do a similar drive tomorrow as I am appearing at Grange Junior School in Tuffley, Gloucester. Should be a good one as I haven't visited them for about three years!

In The Pipeline

Greetings, Peasants! Welcome to 2008! The year ahead looks likely to be a nice busy one. I am back at Leeds Castle for a few jousting events in the summer, plus over the second May bank holiday weekend I am back at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire. I am making an appearance over a weekend in March down at Abbotsbury in Dorset, plus a weekend at Barrington Court in April.

Schools coming up inlcude Dene Close Prep and Grange Primary, both in Gloucestershire, Beauherne in Canterbury, Kent and St Michael's in Wimborne in Dorset, among many, many others.

I will be back on BBC Radio Somerset within the next couple of weeks (now broadcasting on FM as well as good old MW!) and after my recent publication in The Guardian newspaper I am soon to be immortalised in a periodical of equal gravitas - namely the "Real Life Stories" Magazine. You heard it here first folks.

So a happy new year to all my friends. Here's to a great 2008.