When change comes, fortune favours those who embrace it. So what if the Restoration made me rich? But that’s not why you’re asking, is it? You know what I did to get rich. You’re curious about why I did what I did. Why does anyone get off their backside to do anything? To survive! Don’t … Read more
Maths for the masses Seventy-six years ago, in central Africa, an archaeologist discovered a ten-centimetre prehistoric bone. It wasn’t any old bone. It had notches in it, 168 of them, in three columns. It was, at the very least, a tally stick used for recording quantities, and it might be some form of base-12 calculation. … Read more
Hot on the heels of “Monster in the Gents” and “Being Dudes in Higgy”, the August 6th episode of BBC Upload includes “It’s a Scorcher!”
Many thanks to Lee Benson for interviewing me on his Sunday Show! BB Elsin chatting away to Lee • Lee Benson’s Listen With Lee
A new novel about a warmonger’s quest for peace after a bloody civil war draws on the local history of Metroland. The “clay hills” north-west of the capital are a special place in B B Elsin’s new fantasy novel, “Heroes and Traitors”. In this article, the author explains her discovery of the joys and challenges … Read more
A Wycombe fan of sixty years rambles on about football anthems. As a reader of historical and fantasy novels, I know that every clan must have colours, a symbol and an anthem. Sports clubs have adopted these ancient tribal institutions. At Wycombe Wanderers we have our blue quarters, the swan that evokes grace and loyalty, … Read more
Hooray for Heritage Weeks! Yesterday, I had the privilege of a tour of the Buckinghamshire Archives at Aylesbury. There is something mystical about being in temperature-controlled storage lockers full of old documents which are expertly preserved and protected from pests and mould by the diligent archivists. What a great job they have! Our guide archivist … Read more
I’m very much an Eeyore person. I get depressed by the state of the world, and frustrated by every big and little thing that make my life difficult. So, it is a pleasure to report a better than average day! Being a Sunday, I awarded myself a lie-in, as much as my early-stirring body clock … Read more
This was a title set for a writers’ group exercise. It may inspire many stories or aspects of stories over time, but my immediate response to it was quite literal – what is the cost of writing? : The Cost Maybe it’s the business academic in me. I can’t see this title without seeing numbers … Read more
I went to Lord’s, the “home of cricket”, on Saturday. I picked the wrong Saturday. It was the start of the school holidays. Just as I remember from the start of the school holidays in my youth, it was heaving down with rain. The rain was forecast to pass through, and fortunately, it did. I … Read more
