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!