I think I must be odd. I often see posts arguing over who their favourite Dr was. There are quite a few who liked Tom Baker (number 4), many who rave about David Tennant (10) and a good following for Matt (number 11). But I like them all in their own way.

Lets have a quick refresh of the Drs.

1st Dr William Hartnell

The first Dr. Rather an anti hero at the start – the grumpy old man who went on the run from his own people .You grown to love the character after a few early shocks.

2nd Dr Patrick Troughton

The hobo, vagabond and cheeky cheeful Dr with the recorder. Seems a fool at times till he produces a trump card. For me he is a strong favourite

3rd Dr – John Pertwee

The dandy with the yellow car Bessie. The dr of the classic Unit stories (and some REALLY great ones). Action Doc with the Karate chop.

4th Dr Tom Baker

Would you like a Jelly baby? The scarf. Bohemian DR wit the longest stint in the post. And probably the bets series of all (his first -Giant Robot, Arc in space, Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks (awesome), Revenge of the Cybermen.

5th Dr – Peter Davidson

If I had to choose a favourite THIS would be him. The cricketer Dr, with quiet courage, some of the best little scuffles with the Master and one of the longest companions: Teegan.

6th Dr: Colin Baker

Hard done to by the BBC. Episodes were poorly funded. Eventually cancelled. But one or two stories were really excellent. Would have liked to have seen more.

7th Dr Sylvester Mccoy

The last Dr of the Classic series. Had some VERY good episodes. Battlefield (the Brigadiers last), Silver Nemesis are two superb ones. Promised some great story lines before the bbc pulled the plug.

8th DR Paul Mcgann

What happens when you let US film makers loose on a classic program – they screw up. Paul Mcgann  himself was great as the DR and went on to make some excellent CDs – get them if you can for they are some of the best DR Who stories.

9th Dr – Christopher Eccelston

Brought into reprise the role and did a decent job. Not my favourite DR Who and hampered (IMHO) by a bit too much SOAP influence of needing to sort out companion’s mothers and other ties(which lingered on into David Tennant’s tenure- what is wrong with just good stories.) Never the less a good start.

10th Dr David Tennant

In the way that Tom Baker defined the role in the 70s Tennant did in the latest series. Light hearted at times and maudlin in equal measure – he was always going to take some following.

11th Dr Matt Smith

But Matt Smith managed to do it. His youthful enthusiasm and confidence shines through and Matt has made  a superb latest incarnation.

So who is your favourite?

In the end these arguments about who was the best Dr Who miss the point in my opinion.  Dr Who transends all the individuals who played the part. Each in their way defined the character in some fashion and each added something to him but to me DR Who is more than any one character. Its that overarching story, its the optimism and hope built into even the darkest stories that there is this man trying his best to protect everything. Each should be enjoyed for what they bought to the part. Why argue about who is best when DR Who is just dam fine Television.

Time Travel fascinates us.  The dangers and potential gains along with the adventures that might be had are the stuff of a wealth of books, TV programmes and Films. No wonder: for Time Travel produces intriguing possibilities and ‘what ifs’.

There is the desire to explore the past that many of us have. We like to go on holidays to exotic locations, to see the world and different cultures. We like to be present at important moments – a sporting triumph maybe or to meet celebrities and famous people. But, the majority of the cultures that have existed, the bulk of the famous people the world has produced, many of histories greatest of moments have been and gone. Time Travel raises that chance of maybe meeting Leonardo DaVinci, Mozart, Caesar or Cleopatra. There were once seven wonders of the ancient world. Of these only the Great Pyramid exists. How wonderful to be able to visit the other six.  Think how marvellous to be present at the moment Newton discovered gravity, to sail (and hopefully get off) the Titanic or how fascinating to see the first airplane flight.

Then there are the dangers of Time Travel that make it intriguing. Could you get trapped in the past and never return to the present? Could you meet and kill your own ancestor and so never exist. Could you prevent the discovery of fire, the light bulb or penicillin. The possibility of changing history and so creating a different future is explored in many Time Travel adventures.

Here are some of the more famous Time Travel adventure stories:

TV

Dr Who (1963 to Present day). The world longest running Sci Fi and Time Travel story and to many of us a cornerstone of our culture.  I have enjoyed all the stories – watching the older stories on cable later and still watch Dr Who today.

Time Tunnel 1966-1967. Two US scientists  tumble through a tunnel in time that drops the off in one time period of an adventure and then whisks the off to the next. I remember that image of them rolling around in the tunnel and then out into a street somewhere from 1970s and later re runs.

Star Trek. Although mainly about space exploration and fighting Klingons there are a number of time travel stories in all the series.  ”The City at the Edge of Forever” where Mccoy, Spock and Kirk end up in the US during the depression and possibly wipe out the entire future is fascinating and an abiding favourite of mine. The movies take a slightly comical view of time travel in “The Voyage Home” when they have to go find a whale in the 20th century to save the future. The Next Generation episode “Cause and Effect” is one of my favourites with the crew repeating the same day multiple times until they can prevent the disaster that flings them into the unending cycle.

Movies

The Time Machine (1960) is a classic and based on the HG Wells novel. This was an early treatment of this genre. Time travel here is into a alien future in some post apocalyptic world taht was not a place you would want to visit. But I loved the Time Machine itself with its Victorian stem punk style knobs and levers.

Back to the Future (1985) and its sequels were entertaining teen adventure stories. The first film I saw at university  and I have to say that despite the technobable science was just a fun film, but it did explore interesting themes. What if you parents don’t marry – do you cease to exist? What if you change the past -what will the future be like? How easy is it to change the future?

Terminator (1984) and its sequel are about cyborg assassins being sent back in time to kill a future leader. I enjoyed the first two movies and felt they were complete and we did not need any more.  The message changed from the hopeful – we can change history  nothing is written in stone –  to the grim – nothing we do changes anything! Maybe I like happy endings too much!

Time Bandits (1981) Now this one was fun. Thieves steal a  time travel map showing gates between time periods and use it to try and rob their way across history. Comedy but explored that idea of meeting the famous characters from history who of course turn out to be not quite as you expect them to be.

Books

I have already mentioned The Time Machine by HG Wells. Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s court is also an early novel. This one explores what happens if a modern day man ends up in the past. It takes a slightly condescending view that modern ways must be better than in the past  and the movie version takes this further with the traveller trying to teach the court Jazz music!

There are dozens of books that use time travel and the one thing that is obvious when you read them is that pretty much any method of time travel, any reason for doing it, any adventure you might have through it has been thought about. That however does not stop us wanting to read more, see more movies and in some of our cases write more books about this most fascinating of genres.

Having said all that it is not surprising that I have written a time travel story myself – and here is the plug:

Tomorrow’s Guardian:

Tom Oakley experiences disturbing episodes of déjà-vu and believes he is going mad.

Then, he discovers that he’s a “Walker” – someone who can transport himself to other
times and places. Tom dreams about other “Walkers” in moments of mortal danger: Edward Dyson killed in a battle in 1879; Mary Brown who perished in the Great Fire of London; and
Charlie Hawker, a sailor who drowned on a U-boat in 1943.

Agreeing to travel back in time and rescue them, Tom has three dangerous adventures,
before returning to the present day. But Tom’s troubles have only just begun. He finds that he’s drawn the attention of evil individuals who seek to bend history to their will.

Soon, Tom’s family are obliterated from existence and Tom must make a choice between saving them and saving his entire world.

Tomorrow’s Guardian is a Young Adult Fantasy Novel.

So the government wants GP’s to run their own budget in large groups of say 25 -50,000 patients (maybe 5-10 practices).

Now we of course run our own internal budget to pay ourselves, nurses, staff, gas bill and what ever. Most practices – like ours – have had some form of involvement in local commissioning. That means being able to offer services at local level for payment – maybe setting up extra clinics.

BUT the idea now is that this means all the budget will be our responsibility – ie we will be buying consultant time, operations etc.

Now here is the thing

1. I did not become a GP to manage budgets – the NHS is supposed to have managers for that.

2.IF ministers and NHS managers etc CANT balance the books what hope have we GPs with no mangement training?

3. There is a danger of conflict of interest here:
Say I think you need to be referred to see  a specialist or to have drug X. Now say I am told that the drug budget is now tight or our referral rates are too high. Until now we got similar messages from on high but to be frank we were able to put patients first. Yes we got a wrist slap but we just ignored it. If I thought you needed to have something you got it. Now the bean counters will be GPs or at least managers very close to Gps. I am anxious someone with a clip board will be outside my room tutting when I refer someone.

This is also all a big waste of time and money. When I joined the practice 16 years ago we had the Fundholding of the last tory government. Practices had budgets at the local level. Soon it became apparent that it was more efficient to run things at a larger level so practices clumped together to run things, then we had Primary care groups and organisations – getting bigger and bigger until todays PCTs. Now we go full circle back to local groups. You can bet before too long that we will start to join them up in to bigger groups soon. Every time that happens we employ MORE managers and buy more offices to run it all in. All that wastes money.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that finances are tight and we must all do our bit to balance the books. More over I accept that we will get asked to do a lot more for less money. That is the world in which we are in. What I object to is Governments who get elected to run the country and our services pushing the management of the NHS on to our shoulders. Big society is to me another word for Cop out.

I went to medical school for 5 years. I studied anatomy, biochemistry, surgery , medicine , Paediatrics and dozens of other subjects. What I did not study at all was any form of management. Am I not better being left to see patients to “do what I do best” and leave managing to managers?

This is an article I wrote for completely NOvel that I thought it worth reproducing here.

When I decided to publish the books and try and promote them I was already partially aware of some of the aspects of the Internet and other areas that I would need to promote it in. This was through needing to learn a certain amount of web design for work website as well as a games convention I run. As such I had already come across Twitter and Facebook but I had not really exploited them.

I had a number of consultations and discussions with Stephanie at Oxford Literary consultancy and I looked at a course (online) by a web entrepreneur called Leilli Mckinley.
These gave me a sort of frame work of areas to follow up on that included:

1. Setting up Facebook pages for the books
2. Being active on Facebook and Twitter including running some Twitter competitions to increase followers. Ideally you want this to turn into folk you have email addresses for so you can let them know about the books, offers, signings etc.
3. Recording YouTube trailers for the books.
4. Having a blog (something I don’t do enough)
5. Press releases – writing your own that make it so easy for a newspaper to publish them. i.e. Find an angle (in my case I am a local GP so I focused on local Gp writes fiction).
6. Some physical appearances. It need not be an attempt to be the star of the show but for example if there is a large fair why not take a stand and try and at least hand out flyers about the books.
7. Get part of the books on line and allow them to be free.
8. Consider making an audio version and putting that on Podiobooks or similar sites.
9. Get an ebook version on Smashwords, Completely Novel etc.
10. Setup google adwords and facebook adverts.
11. Setup google alerts to track any mention of your books. Then you can leap on the forum concerned if you want to respond to questions etc.
12. Get reviews. There are a number of sites like Flamingnet, Bookbag etc that will review books and a host of independant reviewers out there. Look for magazines in your topic and send them copies.
13. Consider donating books to local reading groups and libraries.
14. Try local books shops. You may have varying success. Warwick Books for example took my books as did an online company Aaron books. Many other independants did not feel they could unless I can get the books held in stock by Gardners and wont stock unless there is demand – difficult to get if the books are not on bookshelves.
    Waterstones are changing their approach and now allow local book sellers a free hand – or freeish to take on local authors books. It is worth going in an asking the question.

Its a hard time to be promoting and selling books but don’t give up. Try something new each day if you can.

The Roman Emperor Vespasian died on this day in AD 79.

The dynasty founded by Julius Caesar ended in AD 68 with the death of Nero. There followed a chaotic time in which there was briefly a Galba then an Ortho on the throne the later murdering the former and then in turn being defeated by Vitellius.

Although Vitellius was in control of Rome as well as elite German and Gaulish legions, his  rival, Vespasian soon gained the support of the legions of the eastern empire and Vespasian was able to defeat Vitellius and gain the throne.

In contrast to many other Roman emperor’s  Vespasian seems to have been a much more down to earth ordinary general, popular with his troops and not much interested in the trappings  of power.

Vespasian first earned a reputation in Britain where he was responsible for conquest of much of the south under Claudius and it was this campaign that lead to a Triumph – the way Roman’s saluted a great general.

Vespasian was appointed to suppress the  Jewish revolt of AD 66 to 70 which he did with a firm hand but was considered even by the Jewish chronicler Josephus to have been fair and not just brutal.

The Jewish revolt was still going on when Nero died and the empire was thrown into a year of 4 emperors eventually leading to Vespasian’s assent to power.

Vespasian was a patron of the arts, sponsoring a number of writers and poets as well as building the Coliseum. Forced to raise taxes to balance the books left in disaray by Nero, one of the taxes he brought in was a tax on urine collection (urine was used in certain chemical processes) and as a result today Italians call urinals vespasiano after him.

He was succeeded by his son Titus.

So – as Roman Emperors go not a bad one.

There is a nice series of historical fiction in which Vespasian is a regular participant.  Simon Scarrow’s Eagle Series are recommended.

On this day: June 13th 323 BC King Alexander the Great died of fever in Babylon. He was only 32 years old.

To me Alexander the Great is a perfect example of a man who seized the moment – he took the years he had and did something with them. What he did echoes down through the years even to this day.

He was only 19 years old when his father Philip of Macedon was assassinated  and Alexander inherited the throne of Macedon and the effectice control of all of Greece. His father had forged a powerful alliance of most of the Greek City states. Alexander went on from that position. he took that power and within a couple of years left Greece on a campaign that he hoped would take him to the ends of the earth. What he would achieve would shake he ancient world. He was about to take on the most powerful Empire in the world at the time and defeat it in detail with a smaller force using tactical brilliance and sheer force of will.

He now embarked on a series of remarkable campaigns that took him into Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia and eastwards to Persia. At last he over threw the mighty King Darius III and defeated the Persian Empire. He had now added vast swathes of territory to Greek domains but he was not yet done. He passed on into Afghanistan where even to day there are cities named after him.

It was when he tried to invade India that his men revolted and refused to follow him any further. Then Alexander reportedly fell into a depression that he would never reach the ends of the earth. The following year whilst planning a campaign into Arabia he contracted a fever and died.

If you like you can argue the modern view point that we should not glorify a military leader – that a man who conquered an empire and as such caused the deaths of thousands should not by held up as a symbol to be admired.

But if you did  argue that way, I am going to have to disagree with you. You see, to me Alexander is a man who was driven by the burning need to keep going, to get to that next hill, to win that next battle and above all to achieve things no one had previously done. That drive, that desire to make a mark, to try even if there was a risk of failure – that to me is the thing that I most admire about the man.

Alexander features in my young teen time travel adventure Tomorrow’s Guardian.

The House on the Hill was built in the high Victorian era by a banker, Bartholomew Maurice to fit current fashions with tall windows and ceilings, a parlour to receive visitors, a dining room, a huge kitchen and play rooms for the children of the family who numbered eight. It was filled with expensive furniture decorated by elaborate lace and, in the spring of its life was full of bustle and activity, laughter and joy.
Bartholomew always impressed on his children that he, a self made man having built the house from the sweat of his brow, wanted it to remain in his family’s hands for ever. The old man died in 1913. Two of his children had died in childhood and in 1914 war called the four youngest brothers away. None returned from Paschendale and the Somme.  The one sister, Ethel married and emigrated so that in 1920 there was only one son left: William.             William had been 40 in 1913 when he sat at his father’s bedside watching him die. His father had impressed on him that, as the oldest son, he must make sure the house remained with the family. “Our blood should watch over it through the years,” he had said.      William himself was of nondescript appearance, most folk considering him rather dull. He had never left the House on the Hill apart from briefly to attend a university and learn the law. Returning at the age of 23, he joined a local partnership in the town and settled back to live in the House. If he ever had female friends his family were not aware of it and, despite the attempts of his sister and brothers to find him a wife, he never married. After the war, with his brothers dead and his sister gone to the Antipodes, there was no one left to try.        William kept up some contact with his sister until, in 1925, he heard the news that she had died of a fever and that he was now alone.

William was active in various institutions who had rituals and ceremonies they kept secret from the world. He was never interested in the aims of the organisations only the rituals. However he soon found them not arcane or obscure enough for him. So, searching the British Library and gaining access to the books of private collectors, William delved deeply into the rituals of the obscure and mystical past, the most secret of sorceries and particularly Astral projection and the journeys of the soul. Gradually through these and other sources he found the arcane knowledge he needed.

Now, retreating to The House to continue his research, he gathered the items he required.  His postmen would tut at the deliveries to the House on the Hill which included pedestals, archaic clocks, ancient scales and ritual knives. William had been regarded as respectable but gradually rumours spread about the books he was reading, the company he kept and the items he collected. Tongues wagged about the dark secrets at the House and the diabolical and unspeakable goings on beneath it. The worthies of the town would have been horrified to find out that they were mostly correct in all they suspected.

William retired from his employment on August the 1^st 1939 aged 65. In the last week he wrote out a deed regarding the House and then received visitors from the government who signed the document and left. His office held a brief retirement party for him. No one really knew him even after 42 years in the practice and all were relieved when he quietly thanked them, took the pocket watch gift and shuffled out of the door.

Alone, he walked home up the hill. He then spent an hour in the grounds. Thirty years before, these meadows and woods had hosted parties. Lanterns hanging from the trees lit the proceedings. William stood lost in thought for a while before walking to the house and locking the door behind him. Reaching the cellar door he walked down a few steps before turning and slamming it shut.

August the 1^st 1939 was the last that anyone saw of William. The next day a van arrived with work men and a civil servant. The work men erected a circular fence 8 feet tall surrounding the house and then left. A month later the Second World War began. The fields became home to barracks for an army depot. Every man knew that the house was strictly off limits.

After the war the land lay derelict for thirty years until it was cleared and an estate built to house population from the expanding town. The builders tried to knock the fence down and bulldoze the house but found they could not get planning permission. The planning committee sited ‘special regulations’ and refused to talk further about it.

The estate was built, the families moved in and the years passed. The House on the Hill was shunned, avoided and feared. Stories were gathering about it being haunted and that anyone who entered would be cursed.

Local children would dare each other to enter. Every year a group of them would get up the courage and pull one of the now rotting planks away and squeeze through. Making their way through the trees they came at last to gaze upon the bleak sight. The windows stared back at them, lifeless and dark; and yet each child would feel they were being watched. Each of them felt that they were not wanted and dreadful things would happen if they came closer. No one ever did.

Until one day.

Her name was Anne-Marie Collins. She was nine and had been born in the town although her parents had moved in to the area. Her father had come from overseas looking to work in England and met and married a Londoner. He was a programmer and found work on the industrial estate for a software designer. Anne-Marie went to the local comp. Jenny and Tony lived in the same street and were in her class at school, so most days they hung out together. It was Jenny that brought up the House on the Hill. Anne-Marie had not been interested at first.

“betcha you don’t dare go in that house.” Jenny had said in a challenging voice.

“why’ed we wanna go in a dirty old house like that eh?” said Anne-Marie

“You chicken?” Tony joined in now.

“No. Just don’t fancy it that’s all.”

“Told you she’s chicken,” Jenny teased.

“I aint chicken!” Anne-Marie shouted, pushing Jenny back so she landed on the ground and then staring defiantly at both of them for a moment said, “come on then. Let’s go. Unless it’s you two that are chicken!”

Above them the sun was still high in a clear sky. It was a warm August day and it seemed foolish to them all to be afraid of anything, so the three of them walked up the hill towards the fence. There were several gaps in it by now and choosing one they squeezed through. The small strip of land between the fence and the house was full of trees, branches heavy with the leaves of high summer, and surrounded by dense under growth that snagged and pulled at them as they waded through it. Flies and bugs bothered them about their heads and buzzed insistently at their ears, eyes and nostrils. But they emerged at last in front of the House.

There it stood bearing down on them in grim silence. Some slates had fallen of the roof and one window was broken where a bold predecessor had ventured to throw a stone at it, but it was otherwise intact.  Anne-Marie stepped up to the front door but the other two held back. She turned to look at them a slight sneer curling her lips.

“What’s up. You bottling it now?”

“Don’t you feel like someone is watching you?” Jenny asked. Tony nodded vehemently next to her.

Anne-Marie glanced back towards the house and then at her friends.

“It’s just an old house. No one has lived here for years. Come on let’s have a look,” she answered and tried the door handle. The door was locked.

“There you go: locked. Let’s leave it.” Tony said in relief.

But Anne-Marie would not leave it. She had not been bothered before but when she saw the house and now she had touched it she felt a need to know more about it. She glanced at the window that was broken. Yes! She could see the catch and reaching down carefully pulled at it.  It was stiff but came up after a moment and the window swung open with a slight creak. They all froze at that but no one came to investigate. Even so Tony had had enough.

“Come on Annie we ain’t going inside.”

“You might not be but I am! Give me a leg up.” she said and with their help heaved herself up over the ledge and tumbled down into the room. It was dark inside and as her eyes adjusted she reached out to pull herself up. He fingers touched something cold that felt like bone. There was echoing wheezing ‘ting’ sound and terrified she recoiled her hand away in horror. Outside Jenny screamed and Tony whispered, “What is it?”

Then Annie-Marie laughed. She could now see it was a piano, its ivory keys dimly reflecting the sunlight. Gradually the rest of the room revealed itself with chairs and small tables: a lounge of some kind. Dusting herself down, and waving at her friends to show she was alright, she moved towards the door.

Out in the hallway she quickly found the doors to the  kitchen, dining room, a library and children’s play room complete with rusty toy soldiers, an ancient rocking horse and a teddy bear lying face down abandoned thus perhaps ninety years before. She glanced at the stairs but it was another door to one side of the stairs that drew her attention. Opening it she felt a rush of air pass her as if this door had been shut a very long time. Beyond the door, stairs descended into darkness. The air smelt stale and dank.

Part of her mind was now telling her not to descend. What on earth was getting into her? Just turn around and get out. You have come further than Jenny and Tony. Plenty to brag about, plenty of stories to make up. But another part of her was telling her to go on. The real story lay down these stairs. So she went on down into the darkness.

The stairs turned at right angles and she saw now that light was coming in from a grill in the ground above, and illuminating a cellar. The cellar was lined with bookshelves to the left and right, whilst ahead of her was a long table. On the table were candlesticks festooned with beads of wax from burnt out candles and many photographs in ornate silver frames. Age worn black and white photographs with people dressed in old fashioned clothing: men in suits and ties and ladies in bonnets, the children as formally dressed as the adults. One of the photos caught her attention. It was a young woman perhaps in her late teens standing arms clasped in front of her. Anne-Marie had a strong feeling of recognition. She had seen that face before.

Suddenly she felt that she was being watched. Something was behind her and not far away. The feeling passed down her spine like ice and her skin prickled. Terrified to turn round but knowing she must, she slowly turned her head and let out a scream of terror.

To the one side of the stairs was an arm chair: She must have passed it just now without seeing it. Sitting in the chair, glaring at her with dark lifeless eyes like bottomless pools, was a corpse. It was almost a skeleton but still had some hint of flesh and dry crumbling hair and was clothed in a suit itself rotten and mildewed.  Its right hand was stretched out to touch a crystal sphere that reminded Anne-Marie of a fortune teller’s ball.

She did not know why she did it but she walked closer to the body and, fingers trembling, reached out to touch the crystal. Suddenly the corpse in front of her was gone and an old man was sitting in the chair looking at her. Something like a very distant memory stirred in her mind. She knew who this was.

“Why have you come here, child? None should come here whilst my blood watches over the House,” the man asked.

“I thought I was coming for a joke, but then I felt that I was meant to come…that some how I belonged here. Now I know why, great uncle William.”

There was silence for a long time.

“It cannot be. Only I was left, only my blood could watch the house.”

Anne Marie turned and pointed at the photograph of the lady she had seen earlier.

“What about her blood?”

“That is my dear sister Ethel. I loved her but she died without child five and seventy years ago.”

“No, she did not. I remember now where I saw her before. It’s in an old family photo. She is my great grandmother. She died from a fever after she gave birth to my grandfather.”

William studied her for a long time then for the first time in five and seventy years smiled.

“Then, our blood can watch over this house again. At last I can rest.”

When Anne-Marie’s father arrived and came rushing down the stairs in panic he saw Anne-Marie quietly looking at the old photo. William’s skeleton was sitting peacefully, his arms clasped in his lap. On top of them lay a deed.

The papers made a great fuss about it and the local council held enquiries but in the end the terms of the deed were validated. The land round the House on the Hill had been granted to the government for their use in perpetuity providing the House itself was left un-touched within a defined boundary. The only condition which would invalidate the deed was if an heir to the House was found. In that case the grounds reverted to the heir. In the end an accommodation was reached. Anne-Marie’s family moved into the House and were paid rent for the rest. The rent went to pay for a small park next to the house the “Maurice Memorial Park”.

In the years following Anne-Marie grew up, married and had children. Something   inherited from Bartholomew echoed down from the past and each year she gave the park and her house over to the most spectacular parties. Maybe the spirits of Bartholomew and William smiled for the parties that the family held there were once again the talk of the town.

An Anglo Saxon archer.

Continuing my discussion of arms and armour used in Anglo Saxon times I am looking  at missiles. This material is adapted from Richard Underwood’s book Anglo Saxon Weapons and Warfare which I refered to when writing The Amber Treasure.  It is recommended for those wishing detail on this subject.

a)Javelin. Although spears could be used as a missile weapon, their bulk and weight would make them of limited value and certainly very restricted range. Lighter and shorter, the javelin was much more adapted for this purpose. From the account of the Battle of Maldon in 991 it appears that an exchange of javelins was a prelude to the main melee. Javelins had a range of perhaps 50 feet.  Angons were a sub class of javelin with barbs on the head which would be difficult to pull out of a wound.  One drawback to the javelin is the problem that your enemy could pick it up and throw it back at you. The Romans got round this problem in the construction of their pilums so that the heads would bend and buckle and be no use (but could be repaired after a battle). There is some suggestion in the Grettir’s Saga that the Anglo Saxons tried experiments with loosening the screws that held the head to the shaft but this was not very successful.

Angon

 b) The Bow. Finding of bows in the graves of the period is rare. Does this suggest they were not widely used? Probably not. It is more likely that wood and sinews that were used in the construction of bows would not survive well in the soil of England into today. Sometimes grave goods including bows do survive well enough for us to see what type of bows were constructed. Furthermore the sagas record the use of bows and in particular the Bayeux tapestry shows no less than 29 images of archers suggesting bows were is use.  Most men would use bows in hunting and so the  use of the weapon would have been familiar. That said, a man encumbered with armour and shield does not make a good archer and so the bulk of an Anglo Saxon warband would not be bow armed for this practical reason.

The arrow heads that survive show a variety of shapes suggesting the Anglo Saxons attempted to make them for different purposes just as later 100 years wars archers did. Thus we can identify broad lead shaped arrow heads, narrow points good for armour piercing and barbed arrows. Bows at this time period would have  range of about 500 feet.

 c)The Francisca or throwing axe. The 6th century chronicler Gregory of Tours records the use of small, curved headed throwing axes by the Franks (after whom they are named, becoming in time the French). Very limited in range (about 40 feet), these weapons were used at close range to shatter shields and disrupt the shield wall before the final charge.

 d)Sling. There is very little evidence of the use of the sling in warfare although one image in the Bayeux tapestry does show a man hunting with a sling.  It is likely that men would carry a sling and stones for hunting and so it might on occasion be used in battle.

In The Amber Treasure, Cuthbert is a superb archer and I give accounts of his and other skirmishers activities in battle.

I went to the London Book Fair today.
I thought I would feed back a bit on it.

So WHY did I go?
I am only a self published Author and in fact I am my own publisher ( http://www.merciabooks.co.ukand http://www.richarddenning.co.uk is the obligatory quick plug). Well firstly I had decided to put my books on the new Title Shelf and wanted to see what else was on it. Secondly they run a few seminars and Thirdly I wanted to talk to two of the distributors.

As I walked round I noticed a lot of empty booths and I later read in the newsletter that many dozens of overseas publishers could not get in (due to Icelandic Ash of course).

So was it worth going?
“Depends” is the answer. Depends on what you go for.

I already knew this in advance so I did not try to, but LBF is NOT the place to go and pitch your manuscript (although there are some opportunities in the Authors Lounge run by Author House to get some opinion on it). Publishers are basically there to sell books already on their lists to distributors and Agents to agree deals with Publishers.

I spoke to two distributors that I had already sent books to under their New Publisher arrangements (aiming to be listed as IN Stock and not just available on POD). There were not as scary and unfriendly as I thought they might be. I was able to get some contact info and useful advice. Bottom line is whatever and however you are published they will decide to Stock your books if YOU can demonstrate demand. Of course it is a bit chicken and egg as many shops will only agree to stock IF distributors carry the books but I think that you have to show a market exists for your book.

I then attended two seminars on e-books:

“The Digital Reading Market in 2010 and afterwards” was an overview and “i-everything: The Publishing World According to Apple” was basically all about the Ipad. I was not surprised to find it very well attended and standing room only. There is an image on my site (sorry poor quality taken on an ancient mobile)
Ipad Seminar image:

Ipad Talk

The take home measure will not surprise anyone here. Ebooks reader and book sales are growing as pretty much an exponential rate. Industry is getting behind the new tech in a large way. As an example we were told that General Motors and three other US mega corporations all recently paid £25,000 per day to run 4 adverts in the Ipad version of the New York TImes.
the prediction is that releases of thousands of apps for Ipad will make it vastly adopted across huge swathes of many industries. The recommendation was that publishers need to start thinking about multimedia content rich means of distribution of their books. IN otherwords its not just enough to to convert your MS to epub and have it on Smashwords. You need to start thinking about Flashmovies and interactive content in your books. This will make it hard for many to compete but open the door to others who maybe are self publishers but who can adapt to the new technology.

I then attended a seminar by Authoright on marketing and publicity. He reinforced what I already knew that we all must be active on Facebook and Twitter, we must write news releases and send them out (especially locally where YOU might be news). Try and do talks at bookshops or events on subjects related to the book but not necessarily about the book. Same principal on forums etc – talk about info folk want to listen. Then of course he went on to advise hiring him which is no surprise. But what he would do (or other marketing guys would do) or you could do your self I guess is look for a unique story/ aspect/ brand to you as a writter. What is interesting about you and your book. Then they use that. So are you a Polar Explorer writing about your travels etc? Find that ANGLE and exploit it.
He did say that there is no problem being self published IF you have a marketable book and an Angle to exploit.

I had my book on the New Title Shelf. BUT somehow they had lost 1 of the three (Tomorrow’s Guardian). Fortunately I had copies with me. Being on the Shelf means you get a shelf to yourself or maybe shared with others. The books are cover forward. The books are listed on line and in the show catalogue. I popped back a few times and dribs and drabs of folk were browsing. Hopefully over 3 days someone might pick the books up! Value for money? I am not convinced. I will let you know if I get any contact as a result.

Overall I enjoyed the visit. If I was honest it was nice to see the world of publishers and publishing and pretend I was part of it.
Back to the real world tomorrow