When I set out to write The Shepherd Lord, I thought I was alone in my interest in this enigmatic character.  I thought I had scanned the world for all possible references but 12 months later, someone told me of an out-of-print book called Sheep May Safely Graze, by Phyllis Bentley.  See earlier Blog:

http://www.georgealgar.com/?p=198
Whilst this is a children’s book, and very different style to mine, it’s always interesting to see how other author’s approach the subject.
Only recently, I was made aware that a gentleman called Des Thomas has a similar fascination with The Shepherd Lord and uses this story for one of his Living History characters.  He gets into role as Ned Carlewe, the shepherd that raised young Henry Clifford, and bases this on painstaking research he has carried out in the Londesborough area, where the boy was first hidden.
Being a West Riding lad, I based my character, Tom Lawkland, on the areas of West and North Yorkshire that are familiar to me but I cannot help but be excited that someone else has gone through the same thought process.
Des has some very altruistic motives as he finds this story a good vehicle to empathise with the young audience he teaches.  Young people can relate to a seven year old boy, hidden away in the wilds of the countryside.  When I give my talks in school, all I have to do is put on the trailer I produced to promote The Shepherd Lord, and an otherwise noisy class is instantly subdued and mesmerised.

Full credit should go to people like Des.  Great swathes of history are cut from our national curriculum, but looking at the testimonials on his website, once he pays a school a visit, the children are unlikley to forget what he has taught them in his own unique, realistic style.

So, thanks go to Des for his sterling work. Whilst I have now finished my second book and am thinking about the third, The Shepherd Lord will always take pride of place in my heart for the story had me hooked from the moment I heard it.

You can find out more about Des on:

http://www.pcs-ltd.biz/hs2s/index.html

A word or two about the sequel to my novel The Shepherd Lord, which goes by the name of Dead Man’s Hill.

The title was inspired by an old Yorkshire legend, a friend told me about.
The story goes that there was an old inn at Coverdale in Yorkshire, kept by a mother and daughter which was much frequented by travellers and pedlars, as the lodgings were on the pack-horse trail, north. 
One day, three Scottish pedlars came to stay and promised to return on their journey south, but were never seen alive again.  Only three headless corpses were found on the hills nearby in a shallow grave.
The local woman innkeeper and her daughter were thought to be responsible for the murders, indeed they were richer than before, but nothing could be proven for sure.  Rumours abounded that they had ensnared their victims with sexual favours ensuring their return with full purses of jangling silver, whereupon they were brutally murdered by decapitation. 
The hill where the bodies were found has ever since been called Dead Man’s Hill. 
There are two spectacular outcrops of rock on the hill and the locals made up the following poem about it, alluding to the two women:

Jenny Twigg, Jenny Twigg
Jenny Twigg and her daughter Tib,
Jenny Twigg, Jenny Twigg,
Jenny Twigg and her black cat Gibbe

This gruesome tale set me thinking on how I could link my story’s Yorkshire connection with an other dead man’s hill at Flodden, where James IV of Scotland was killed.  It was a perfect fit, my hero Henry Clifford, a Yorkshire Lord, took a major command at Flodden when the English inflicted a heavy defeat on the Scots.  I had my connection, and  I was able to begin my story in Yorkshire but give a strong hint that the Scots would play a major part in it.

I’m over half way through writing the book now and really enjoying it but thought you may like to see how my artist friend Rikkaa, has depicted the opening scene.  Sorry, but it’s not for the faint-hearted.

I have had a few requests for more poetry on my Blog.
Poetry was a great inspiration for me when I wrote The Shepherd Lord and I have turned to it again for the sequel – Barden Tower (working title).
This time Sir Walter Scott has come to my aid with his epic poem Marmion, set against the backdrop of the Battle of Flodden. I first came across the works of Scott as a 6 year old when I read his novel Ivanhoe, under the bedcovers at night by torchlight. A bit of a tall order for a young shaver you may think but there were not that many children’s books around that I had not read, so I started to borrow from my father’s collection of Scott and James Fenimore Cooper and I was hooked for life.
Scott is probably not that well remembered as a poet but that is how he had his initial success with works like Lay of the Last Minstrel before he was eclipsed by the comet that was Lord Byron. Having opened the door for poets like Byron, Shelley, Wordsworth and Coleridge, he then concentrated on prose and his novels found even greater success.
Here is an excerpt from Marmion that tells the rout of the Scottish army:

Tweed’s echoes heard the ceaseless plash,
While many a broken band,
Disorder’d, through her currents dash,
To gain the Scottish land;
To town and tower, town and dale,
To tell red Flodden’s dismal tale,
And raise the universal wail.
Tradition, legend, tune and song,
Shall many an age that wail prolong:
Still from the sire the son shall hear
Of the stern strife and carnage drear,
Of Flodden’s fatal field,
Where shiver’d was fair Scotland’s spear,
And broken was her shield!

Not only do poems stir the inactive soul. The magic of it gripped men of action also. At Torres Vedras, Sir Adam Ferguson made his company lie down as the French shot rang over their heads while he read to them the sixth canto of Scott’s The Lady of the Lake. Then we have the spellbinding account of Wolfe reading softly Gray’s Elegy, as his boats silenty scudded across the ink black waters to Quebec.

Scott truly “recalled poetry to action, and men of action to poetry”. On this day, the anniversary of Dunkirk, I cannot help but be reminded of my grandfather who was there as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He used poetry to calm him at a particularly tense moment, but that’s an entirely different story, for another time.

For those of you who are wondering about what is happening to the sequel to The Shepherd Lord, I am in deep research mode. The next novel culminates in Henry Clifford’s key role at the Battle of Flodden and if you thought the Wars of The Roses were a complicated period in Britain’s history, then Flodden is more so.
I thought I might lose the thread of my family connection with this latest novel but trawling through some records, I found this tantalising piece:
“Rosamund Tempest survived her husband sixteen years, and took an active part in the management of her estates and furthering the interests of her family. From the muster roll of archers and billmen, “as well archers as other men on horse and fote”, viewed by Sir Robert Nevill and Sir Thos. Tempest, in the time of Henry VIII., we learn that the following constituted the

Howshold of Dame Rosamund Tempest late Wyffe of Sir Ric.Tempest Knyght.

John Tempest Esqwyer horse and harnes
John Lacy Esqwyer horse and harnes
Henry Tempest Esqwyer horse and harnes
Ric. Balderston horse and harnes
Edward Bollyng horse and harnes
John Bolland horse and harnes
John Sugden horse and harnes
Gefferey Russhton horse and harnes
Godfray Bollyng horse and harnes
Ric. Coke horse and harnes

James Hogson, horse and harnes
Ric. Cordonley, horse and harnes
John Horton, a jake
Gilbert Hillhouse, a jake
Willm. Thornton, horse and jake
Thos. Horton, a jake
John Ogden, a bow
Thos. Hogson, billman
Omfrey Hogson, archer
George Bernes, archer
John Hillhouse, archer
Xtpher Smythis, archer
John Haldwurthe, archer
Brian Haldwurthe, archer
John Ffirthe, billman
Ric.Wode, billman
Willm. Cordonley, archer
Edward Jooett, billman
Edward Allerton, billman
John Haldwurthe, billman
Willm. Wright, billman
Pcyval Bertyll, archer
Robt. Coke, billman
Ric. Ogden, archer
Ric. Rhodes, archer
Ric. Dykynson, ”

So, it seems that Edward Bolling and his brother Godfrey were suitably thought of and equipped to be presented for muster. (A harnes, or harness by the way, is a suit of armour). John Tempest, was Rosamund’s son and therefore Edward’s nephew. It is not stretching it too much to presume that the Bollings would have fought at Flodden as Sir Richard Tempest commanded troops there in the Earl of Surrey’s rearguard. Or maybe, Edward served under Clifford’s banner in the centre battle, as there was no love lost between Edward and Sir Richard Tempest. Oops, giving too much of the plot away already. You will have to buy the book if you want to know more
Also, of interest, we have an Edward Jooett as a billman. Maybe this was an ancestor of the Jowett family of Bradford who later went on to manufacture redoubtable motor cars?
Another point of note is that we have a John Lacy Esquire, mounted, armed and ready to ride with the Bollings and Tempests. We have long speculated who the “original” Bolling was. Oral tradition has it that the Bolling family came to England with William the Conqueror. (DNA studies support this). At that time time, William gave large parts of the north of England, including the Bolling lands to Ilbert de Lacy as a reward for fighting at Hastings. We have speculated that the original de Bolling was a poor relation of his, or a fourth son who, by the rules of primogenitor, would not have inherited any of his father’s main estate. Maybe he granted the small manor of Bolling to one of his relations? If we are to believe the symbolism of heraldry, the Bolling coat of arms includes eight martlets – a bird which denotes a fourth son who has had to make his own way in life. There are links with the de Bollings and the de Lacy who founded Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds as we have records that a grant was made to the abbey. I wonder if Edward Bolling and John Tempest knew of this family link? One can only guess.

I was very pleasantly surprised to get a mail the other day asking permission to screen The Shepherd Lord trailer at an International Independent Film Festival in the Ukraine. Would I be interested? Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back? Do the Krankies like Irn Bru? You bet I’ll be interested. I packaged up the DVD safely and tenderly kissed the envelope for luck as I sent it off to the Steppes this morning. All sounds very romantic doesn’t it? A homely Yorkshire tale capturing the imagination of somebody else in a far off land. On that note, I am also intrigued at the hits I get on my Web Site from other parts of the world – 22 countries and still counting. There are the obvious ones of course, like New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and Canada but then there are the exotic ones – Japan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Wish me luck for the Film Festival. I can only hope that a talent scout from Hollywood sees it.

I was honoured when I was invited to a local school to give a talk on World Book Day recently. Walking into the classroom to be greeted by Years 5 and 6 was a big departure from the daily drudge of the office. No-one greets me there, with an enthusiastic chorus of “good morning Mr. Algar.” Perhaps, they should.
There is something special about meeting so many fresh-faced young people, before they get knocked about with the rough and tumble of adulthood, the failing job market and juggling finances to pay the bills.
They were, without exception, a quick-witted bunch so that put me on my mettle straight away. I was surprised at the intellect that was behind their questions. One young chap seemed to know his history as well as I did. I got one of the girls to help me read out one of the passages and she did a better job than me; with clear enunciation, pitch-perfect timing and enthusiasm.
Not everyone likes books of course, but I was quick to point out that some of the best movies are derived from books and then showed them The Shepherd Lord trailer. I then went on to explain that writing a screen-play for a movie is a very different kind of writing and that mopped up any resistance to the notion of creative writing.
You can read more about it on the following link, if you like:

http://www.attainmagazine.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.story&newsid=64&view=current

I am delighted to announce that my Publishers have entered my little book for the Portico Prize. There is a long way to go between being entered and getting onto the shortlist, but nonetheless who can blame me for being excited!!!!!!!!
For those of you that do not know about this competition, it is targeted at work that shows literary merit and is based wholly or partly in the North of England. Well, there’s no mistaking Tom Lawkland for an effete Southerner and the backdrop of the beautiful Dales and Majestic Lake District hits bang on the mark.
Past judges have included Ludovic Kennedy, Dora Bryan, Bill Tidy, Jenni Murray, Martin Bell and Kate Adie. The prize is announced at the Great Hall in Manchester Town Hall on November 18th.
Please wish me luck and say a prayer for me – I need all the help I can get.
Thanks.

Where all the bravest people go when they leave this earth

I have recently had a mail from someone asking me where I got the idea for the Pole Star from, when the young Shepherd Lord asks Tom Lawkland where his father is.
The thought process went something like this.
Henry Clifford (The Shepherd Lord) actually studied astronomy with the Prior of Bolton Abbey when he was restored to his lands. This was part of the education process to recompense what he had missed out on whilst exiled to the wild fells. The motivation for him studying the stars was the fact that he often looked at these orbs at night when he was tending his flock on the hillside. I guess there wasn’t much else to do and he must have marvelled at what he saw and wondered about their creation. With no light pollution to obscure his view, he would have a very clear image of the constellations.
So, when I was pondering on how he would have been told of his father’s death, I thought how would you break the news to a seven year old child? The star gazing must have stuck in my mind and I thought that was probably a good way of explaining what happens to us when we leave this earth, rather than the brutal reality of John Clifford’s grisly death.
The person I tasked with explaining this was the big gruff shepherd, Tom Lawkland. I liked the idea of the contrast of this big rough fellow acting tenderly and sagely when he was posed a really difficult question by young Henry. Children are prone to ask the most awkward of questions and, in my mind’s eye, I could just picture Tom scratching his head and thinking how do I get out of this one then, before getting down on bended knee to young Henry’s level, smiling reassuringly at him and pointing to the star where all the bravest people go. I thought it would be comforting for the young boy to know that his father’s final resting place was still visible.
The Polaris or North star was the obvious choice for me as it is one of the most easily recognisable.
If you can identify the star group called The Plough, you can find Polaris by following the two right-hand stars of the group as shown on the diagram above. It is normally the brightest star in the sky and shepherds and sailors used it to get their bearings.
This device worked really well when we came to shoot the trailer and led to the iconic eyes in the sky theme when the focus turns heavenwards.
Next time you are out in the country (you don’t really get a good view in cities because of all the artificial lighting) have a look for the Pole star, the Milky Way and all the other constellations and just think how marvellous this must have seemed to a young shepherd boy.