tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post7716086837122232946..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: A quick scan of my virtual Britain - Dennis HamleyKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-27524694690005751372013-04-22T12:09:39.511+01:002013-04-22T12:09:39.511+01:00Writing a comment a week later isn't much use,...Writing a comment a week later isn't much use, but I'm going to just the same now we're back from Sicily with heads full of great memories. Valerie, the whole set of O'Brians is on my shelves, much thumbed. Wonderful. They awed me to start with. I muttered, 'I wish I could write books like those' and then forgot about it. But when I finally saw Master and Commander with Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany I came out of the cinema with head spinning and saying 'I WILL write something like that' and so I had a go. Thanks for the Bitly info. Jan, your blog made me laugh as always - and I recognised so much of it - and you in it! Our first meeting was indeed a long, long time ago but I'd forgotten Bob Marley died the day before. Did he forecast such a mighty epiphany and so expire while he was still at the top? Bill, I'm glad you can't stiffen the upper lip either, I thought it might be just me. Reb, yes, the search for identity is an essential one. We have to redefine it fairly regularly. Madwippitt, yes, nail you colours to the mast and go down fighting. We Englanders are known for it, nearly as much as the Scots.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-8220381998878337152013-04-15T12:46:21.296+01:002013-04-15T12:46:21.296+01:00Never mind the wider categorisations: yes, you'...Never mind the wider categorisations: yes, you're English! So am I! And why shouldn't we be able to shout it out loud and clear, just as the Irish, Welsh and Scots proclaim their ancestry? Why should I be made to feel that I should say 'British' instead of 'English'? I'm English, and proud of it! (Sorry, you touched a nerve there ... I'll just step quietly away from the soapbox now ..)madwippitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02595748471651052552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-23832786888917634782013-04-15T01:25:04.349+01:002013-04-15T01:25:04.349+01:00Thanks for this post, Dennis. It was especially me...Thanks for this post, Dennis. It was especially meaningful to me because I was born in the U.S....spent a decade in Canada...returned home and set across country, trying to discover my own sense of place--and also what it really meant to be an American. Will look forward to that new trilogy of yours. Cheers.glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-69807539422401866322013-04-14T21:19:51.525+01:002013-04-14T21:19:51.525+01:00I think you could (without reserve!) have blown yo...I think you could (without reserve!) have blown your own trumpet more about Joslin de Lay's peregrination through medieval Britain. Not only were the descriptions of Suffolk, London, Oxford, Coventry, Wales precisely researched and beautifully written in themselves they also managed to add depth to those same area as we know them today.julia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-57197956334378413692013-04-14T15:33:13.169+01:002013-04-14T15:33:13.169+01:00Lovely post Dennis, nailing your colours to the ma...Lovely post Dennis, nailing your colours to the mast in more ways than one! If you read Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels set in the napoleonic wars just after Nelson's death, you can call it research into navy history while enjoying the action-packed stories! <br />If you want to use shorter links, eg to amazon pages, you can go to bitly.com, where you can put in links and they give you shorter versions, you can use them or customise them to make them even easier to recognise. Handy for your email signature etc. (Or just use the links button on blogger to turn the book title into its own link of course.) <br />Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-91780244007062273902013-04-14T12:29:49.089+01:002013-04-14T12:29:49.089+01:00As a contemporary of yours, Dennis, I can relate t...As a contemporary of yours, Dennis, I can relate to every stage you identify here. It's a fascinating read and I share your feelings about the possible layers of cultural identity - English, British, European, The World. And I've just spent a couple of minutes trying to do a stiff upper lip. As you say, it's anatomically impossible.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-38956644001745549162013-04-14T10:51:41.455+01:002013-04-14T10:51:41.455+01:00m glad you wrote that, Dennis. Now I know you'...m glad you wrote that, Dennis. Now I know you're not just a pretty face! My blog tomorrow plays around with the question of whether being an author is anything to be proud of. Your answer's good enough for me...Jan Needlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15823078224282953782noreply@blogger.com