We were in Ulverston, Dean and I. We’d just climbed the famous ‘Hoad’ – a tall monument on the top of a tall hill that looks like a lighthouse… but
Category: Jewel in the Claw
Jewels in the Claw (ii) – Steve TanhamJewels in the Claw (ii) – Steve Tanham
Continued from Part One He stops in the act of dismantling – the raven directly in line with his left eye. Reluctantly, he climbs onto the chair to unhook the
Seeds of ChangeSeeds of Change
Time does strange things. It is just a week since our workshop and already it feels as if it is receding into the mists, and yet, it is also as
The Hieroglyphic Monad of John Dee – by The Patrician LadyThe Hieroglyphic Monad of John Dee – by The Patrician Lady
The Hieroglyphic Monad of John Dee By The Patrician Lady A talk given to The Silent Eye’s ‘Jewel in the Claw’ workshop on 21st April 2018 In my talk today
Shades of the Golden Age…Shades of the Golden Age…
As a child, I loved the old movies of the swashbuckling variety. Even then, I knew the stories were not real and the history likely to be wildly innaccurate. Romance
Lady in Red – Alienora BrowningLady in Red – Alienora Browning
Reblogged from Alienora’s Anthology… Ali’s account of a challenging role: Paired, I was, with my friend, Dean. He was playing Mortido, the force of death and change, to my Libido
Silent Eye: Sixth Weekend Draws Nigh! – by AlienoraSilent Eye: Sixth Weekend Draws Nigh! – by Alienora
Reblogged from Alienora’s Anthology: Silent Eye: A Modern Mystery School has been an important part of my life since its birth way back in 2013; though, actually, the story starts
Esoteric ShipbuildingEsoteric Shipbuilding
It was a ‘stream of consciousness moment’; one of those that acts like a time machine. The flash of memories cut right back to my childhood – seven or eight
The Magical RoundaboutThe Magical Roundabout
I remember the moment, a few years ago, when Stuart – one of my co-directors of the Silent Eye – said to me: “And that’s it, vanished in an instant:
Wish you were here?Wish you were here?
We regularly share the stories of our workshop weekends on these pages. What is impossible to share on these pages is the sense of warmth, the laughter and the camaraderie
The Edge of Order: Frances WalsinghamThe Edge of Order: Frances Walsingham
It had been simple, back then, when all eyes shone with approval; when she was the young bride of the Queen’s Champion, Sir Philip Sidney. This daughter of the ‘Sworn’,
The Dragon of Elizabeth’s Seas.The Dragon of Elizabeth’s Seas.
It is the beginning of May, 1587, and a man known locally as The Dragon is headed for Cadiz on Spain’s Atlantic coast. His mission is not peaceful. The act
She of the VoiceShe of the Voice
“Ra-bi-ya, Ra-bi-ya…’ As she surveys the black and white squares of the court before her, the song echoes in her head, a beloved memory of time spent, long ago, with
A Woman of Power and SubstanceA Woman of Power and Substance
It is the winter of 1584. The well-dressed woman watches as her fourth husband storms out of the dining hall at their present home, Tutbury Castle, in Staffordshire. In the
The Deadly Edge of Love (part 2)The Deadly Edge of Love (part 2)
(Continued from Part One of The Deadly Edge of Love) It’s the morning of 18th November, 1558. Robert Dudley is witnessing a miracle. In her dying months, Queen Mary, Elizabeth’s
The Deadly Edge of Love (part 1)The Deadly Edge of Love (part 1)
They were both young, though he was a year older; beyond childhood but not yet adults, not in the way that their lives would soon force them to be… They
An Arthur for Elizabeth?An Arthur for Elizabeth?
Philip Sidney was born, in 1554, into prosperity and with connections. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney and Lady Mary Dudley – making him a relative of
The Adventurer’s Hidden MagicThe Adventurer’s Hidden Magic
“Strike man, strike!” Those were the last words of Sir Walter Raleigh, spoken to an executioner who was taking his time, at the end of one of the most colourful
Magical Man at the Dawn of ScienceMagical Man at the Dawn of Science
The Elizabethan age considered itself scientific, indeed the word ‘science’ was used to mean ‘knowledge’. The so called Age of Reason was a much later term applied by historians of
The Mind of The Virgin QueenThe Mind of The Virgin Queen
Is it possible to go back in time and see into the minds of monarchs who played a key role in a country’s development? Given it is so long ago,