THE GUNPOWDER PLOT

Following a specific reaction I observed to this talk some weeks ago  I've decided to advise all those who have booked the talk, or who are thinking of doing so,  of a 'trigger warning' .

While most people are aware that the actions of Guy Fawkes and the conspirators was to blow up Parliament and kill King James I many are probably unaware that the perpetrators  of the plot were Catholics and their intention was to overthrow the Protestant establishment and return England to Catholicism.

During this talk a few weeks ago to a ladies church group four ladies took exception to the recital of the reasons behind the plot and walked out.

I have no wish to offend anyone but I cannot change history so it is perhaps important that those commissioning this particular talk understand that it contains elements which you may prefer not to know.

Guy Fawkes

 I've has another request for my Canals talk, necessitating yet another variant, this time for the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation.

The Strawberry Island Boat Club want the talk in May, having heard about it via the South Yorkshire Boat Club who I spoke to last September.

I now have as many variants of this talk as I do for Remembrance:

A general version, a Yorkshire one, one for Bradford, another for Wiltshire and one for Barnsley - plus the Aire and Calder and the Don Navigation versions.

                                 Narrowboat 'Friendship'

Around the World with Ten Famous Monuments or Buildings has been this year's most popular talk by far and has been very well received by a variety of audiences.

This year has also brought me a number of new clients, including the Darfield Wesley Companionship Group;  Honley Civic Society; Honeybunch Women's Club and the Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire Family History Society, in addition to my regular and much valued clients such as Thornton Antiquarian Society; the Howden and Pontefract Probus groups and the Castleford Historical Society.

SOME STATISTICS

While my American Tour Group talk (see my previous post) is something of a one-off my schedule of talks to my more general clients, both old and new, comprises some 100 talks to 84 different groups in 2026.

I now have 18 different talks to offer my clients and much to my surprise the most popular talk is a tie between my two newest talks, A Tale of Two Houses and Four Famous Murders.

Hardwick Hall

 The ever popular Gunpowder Plot, Highwaymen and Model Villages (probably my all-time 'best seller') take joint second place.

The History of the English Canals continues to be a popular choice alongside the newer talk, Around the World with Ten Famous Monuments and Buildings.

 STATELY HOMES and AMERICANS

Much to my surprise I've been asked to again give a talk  to the American tour group, see my post of 12th of June 2025.

This time, after my talk, they will be visiting Nostel Priory and the York Treasurer's House so I've put together an introductory talk for both venues.

Nostel Priory

It's a little shorter in time to my usual talks, about 35 rather than 50 minutes, but that seems to be more what they want.

It's unlikely to be of much use in future, unless I'm asked to repeat the talk for the same group, presumably next year. We shall see, but it's a pleasant challenge to talk English history to Americans.