9 July: The Hayward Gallery

This date in 1968 was the official opening of the Hayward Gallery on London’s South Bank. 10 things you might not know:

1. The address of the gallery is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. The nearest tube stations are Waterloo and Embankment.

2. Its close neighbours in the Southbank Centre include the Queen Elizabeth Hall/Purcell Room, the BFI Southbank repertory cinema, the Royal Festival Hall and the National Theatre.

3. The gallery is named after Sir Isaac Hayward who was the leader of the London County Council when the gallery was built.

4. It was designed by a group of young architects which included Dennis Crompton, Warren Chalk, and Ron Herron, who were part of the architectural collective, Archigram. It was built by a company called Higgs and Hill.

5. It is the only gallery in the world to be built in the Brutalist style of architecture, which was popular in the 1960s.

6. Another thing which makes it different is that it doesn’t have its own permanent art collection but rather hosts a series of temporary exhibitions.

7. The Hayward Gallery’s main focus is modern art; has a reputation for taking risks and showing art that is not necessarily mainstream, but is more experimental. Well known names who have featured in the Hayward’s exhibitions include Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, Antony Gormley, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, and Grayson Perry. That said, artists from before the modern era, such as Leonardo da Vinci, have on occasion been shown here as well.

8. The founding director was Joanna Drew. At time of writing the position is held by Sally Tallant, who took over from Ralph Rugoff in 2026.

9. The original plan for the Hayward Gallery included five main art spaces. There are two levels of indoor galleries and three outdoor sculpture courts. It has a large, glass-fronted foyer designed by Haworth Tompkins and added in 2003. A new glass pavilion, designed by Dan Graham, was also added above a new cafe.

10. Not based anywhere near London? The gallery has formed a partnership with Google Arts & Culture to create virtual exhibitions that can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

29 June: Photographs

As today is National Camera Day, here are ten facts about photographs.

1. The oldest surviving photograph was taken by Joseph Niepce about 200 years ago and was titled ‘view from the Window’. The view was of Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France, and is of a castle and some other buildings. It took 8 hours to record this image.

2. The first photograph of a person was taken in 1828 by Louis Daguerre, entirely by accident. What Daguerre intended to do was take a picture of a street in Paris, but it just so happened that there was a man getting his Shoes polished in the street at the time and so he, and presumably the person shining his shoes, became the first humans to be photographed.

3. A study conducted by Kelsey Blackburn and James Schrillo from Wake Forest University concluded that our "best side" in a photo is the left side of the face, which tends to show more intense emotion and so is seen as more attractive.

4. The first colour photograph was taken by Tomas Sutton in 1861. He used Red, Green and Blue filters which he layered and then projected onto a plate. It was a picture of a multicoloured ribbon.

5. Photos of Cats are nothing new. A man called Harry Pointer dressed his cat up in a little suit and hat and took a picture of it in the 1870s.

6. The most expensive photograph ever is Man Ray’s Le Violon d’Ingres, a picture of a woman with musical symbols on her bare back. It sold in 2022 for $12,400,000. The photo is over 100 years old.

7. There’s no statistic for how many photographs are taken in the world ever day, but it’s estimated that more than a trillion are taken every year.

8. The photograph which has been seen by the most people is the default wallpaper for Windows XP. It’s the one of fields and a blue Sky with fluffy clouds. It has a name: it’s called Bliss and it was taken by Charles O’Rear in 1996. However, he took it for a stock website and so it didn’t make him rich.

9. Looking at old photographs, it would seem that the Victorians didn’t smile much. The reason they’re not smiling is because they had to pose for as much as several hours, and it was just to much effort to smile for that long.

10. Another reason might be that the person in the photo was dead. It was a common practice in the 19^th century to take photos of recently deceased family members posed as if they were alive as a keepsake to remember them by.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

7 June: Fleur de Lis Day

Today is Fleur-de-Lis Day, so 10 facts about this decorative symbol.

1. A fleur-de-lis is a heraldic symbol in the shape of a lily with three petals. In fact, the name is French for “lily flower.”

2. The plural is fleurs-de-lis.

3. It has come to be associated with French royalty, and there are numerous legends as to why this occurred. They all seem to originate with Clovis, king of the Franks (466–511). It represents a lily given to him at his baptism by The Virgin Mary; one time before a battle, numerous fleurs-de-lis miraculously appeared on his shield – he won the battle and his wife encouraged his to adopt the symbol thereafter; Clovis and his army were once trapped with an enemy army behind them and marshland ahead with the risk of becoming mired or sinking. Clovis had enough knowledge of botany to know that lilies (or possibly irises) grow near shallow water, so when he saw them nearby he knew that was a safe place to cross with his army and escape; Clovis was once anointed by an angel using a flask in the shape of a flower. In any case, it was on the traditional coat of arms of France from the High Middle Ages until the French Revolution in 1792.

4. That said, early French kings weren’t the first to use a symbol of this type. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Mesopotamians all used it in their art and/or on Coins.

5. Christianity adopted the lily as a symbol of purity and the Immaculate Conception. The Virgin Mary and numerous saints including Saint Joseph are often depicted with lilies. The three petals, in addition, could be said to represent the Holy Trinity.

6. In the UK, Fleurs-de-lis feature prominently in the Crown Jewels of England and Scotland, and were often used in heraldry to denote a sixth son.

7. French settlers took the symbol to the New World and so it has become a symbol often used in the areas of the US and Canada that were settled by the French, such as Quebec.

8. Sir Robert Baden-Powell used the symbol as an arm-badge for soldiers in his 5th Dragoon Guards who qualified as scouts, and later for the badges for his Boy Scout movement. The fleur-de-lis remains part of the Scout and Guide logos to this day.

9. In the French colonial empire, branding with this symbol was used as a punishment for slaves who tried to escape or stole from their masters.

10. In surgery, fleur-de-Lis abdominoplasty is a kind of surgical procedure for people who have lost huge amounts of weight, also known as an FDL tummy tuck.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

24 March: William Morris Quotes

Born on this date in 1834 was William Morris, architect, poet, artist, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement. 10 things he said:

1. Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

2. The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.

3. I am going your way, so let us go hand in hand. You help me and I'll help you. We shall not be here very long ... so let us help one another while we may.

4. There is no excuse for doing anything which is not strikingly beautiful.

5. No pattern should be without some sort of meaning.

6. The past is not dead, it is living in us, and will be alive in the future which we are now helping to make.

7. I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.

8. History has remembered the kings and warriors, because they destroyed; art has remembered the people, because they created.

9. No man is good enough to be another's master.

10. If a chap can't compose an epic poem while he's weaving tapestry, he had better shut up, he'll never do any good at all.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

22 March: Anthony Van Dyck

This date in 1599 was the birthdate of Sir Anthony Van Dyck, Flemish artist. Here are 10 things you might not know:

1. Born in Antwerp, he was the seventh of twelve children. His father was a silk merchant and his mother was a skilled embroiderer.

2. His talent as an artist emerged when he was very young. He was an apprentice to Hendrik van Balen at ten. He had his own studio when he was a teenager and by 19 he was a master painter in the esteemed Antwerp Guild of St Luke.

3. He gave up his studio when he met Peter Paul Rubens, in order to become his assistant and learn from him. Rubens referred to Van Dyck as the best of his students.

4. He was a success throughout Europe, spending time in Italy and eventually settling in England. In his time spelling wasn’t standardised, so there were multiple variations of his name. Anthony van Dijk, Antonio Wandik, Anttonio Vandique, Bandeique, and Anthonius van Dyck were among the variations that existed.

5. In terms of his love life, he apparently put himself about a bit. He had many lovers and at least one long term mistress called Margaret Lemon. She was said to be jealous and possessive, but neither of them was faithful to the other. He probably had many illegitimate children, and it’s speculated that he left Antwerp to escape the consequences of getting some of his lovers pregnant. He only ever acknowledged one illegitimate child, a daughter, Maria-Theresia, shortly before he died.

6. He eventually married at the age of 41. His wife’s name was Mary Ruthven. By this time his health was declining. He died at the age of 42, just a week after the birth of his only legitimate child, Justiniana.

7. His portraits were famous for his depiction of hands, Eyes and suits of armour. He developed a style of full length portraits.

8. In case you’re wondering why he’s Sir Anthony Van Dyck, that came about after he became the principal court painter for King Charles I. Charles liked his work so much that he knighted him and also provided him with a house and a pension of £200 which would be five figures in today’s money.

9. Van Dyck was buried in St Paul's Cathedral despite being a Catholic. Unfortunately, his grave was destroyed in the Great fire of London although there is a memorial in the new cathedral to him and others whose graves met the same fate, which was installed in 1913.

10. Van Dyck was an influence to several famous painters who came after him, including Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

7 March: Sir Edwin Landseer

Born on this date in 1802 was Sir Edwin Landseer, artist known for his paintings of animals – particularly Horses, Dogs and stags. 10 facts about him.

1. He was born in London and was the son of an engraver, who encouraged Landseer’s talent by taking him on country walks and encouraging him to sketch the animals he saw, when he was just five years old.

2. So nature and nurture combined to produce a young art prodigy. At 11 Edwin won the Royal Society of Arts’s silver palette for his animal drawings. At 13 he exhibited two drawings at the Royal Academy in London.

3. When he was a teenager, an older artist called Benjamin Robert Haydon suggested that Edwin dissect the carcass of a Lion to help him understand its muscle structure.

4. It was said he could draw with both hands at once and therefore could work on a horse’s tail with one hand and its head with the other.

5. Queen Victoria commissioned many portraits from him; at first, her pets, later members of her staff and ultimately, herself and her children. Landseer often included a dog in the children’s portraits. He even gave Victoria and Albert art lessons.

6. There is a breed of dog named after him – a black and white Newfoundland breed known as the Landseer.

7. While on the subject of dogs, he is probably responsible for the myth that Saint Bernard dogs carry a small barrel of something alcoholic round their necks when they go out to rescue someone. A Saint Bernard thus equipped appeared in one of his paintings.

8. He was a sculptor, too. His best known sculptures are the lions in Trafalgar Square.

9. In 1828, he was commissioned to produce illustrations for the Waverley Edition of Sir Walter Scott's novels.

10. He died in 1873 aged 71 after suffering ill health for years. He’d been so popular that shops in London lowered their blinds and flags flew at half mast; and thousands lined the route at his funeral. He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral. He left behind several unfinished paintings, which, as per his dying wish, were finished by John Everett Millais.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

13 February: Grant Wood

Grant Wood, US artist remembered for his realistic paintings portraying the architecture, landscape and people of 1930's Midwestern United States, was born on this date in 1891. 10 facts about him.

1. Grant Wood was born on a farm near the small town of Anamosa, Iowa. His parents were Hattie and Francis Wood.

2. He became an apprentice in a metal shop, and was a woodworker and a metalworker as well as a painter. He spent some time working as a teacher and during that time, put his practical skills to use by making a “naughty bench” for students to sit on while awaiting punishment from the principal.

3. Near the end of World War I, Wood joined the army, working as an artist designing camouflage scenes. Throughout his life, he’d supplement his income by designing advertisements and fliers.

4. He travelled to Europe several times to study different artists and styles of painting. Impressionism and post-Impressionism were among the styles he studied, but he was most influenced by the 15th-century Flemish artist Jan van Eyck.

5. His own style was part of a movement called American Regionalism, popular during the great depression, which favoured realistic scenes of everyday life in rural and small-town America, primarily in the Midwest.

6. His most famous painting, American Gothic, had as its inspiration a real house that he noticed while visiting Eldon, Iowa, to attend an art exhibition. He decided he wanted to paint the house and its arched window, and the kind of people he thought might live there, so made a sketch of it on an envelope. It was called the Dibble House, and years later when it began to fall into disrepair, Grant’s sister began a movement to preserve it. It is now a tourist attraction and visitors are encouraged to have their photos taken outside, posing as the couple in the painting.

7. The models for the couple in the painting were Byron McKeeby, who was actually Wood’s dentist, and Wood’s sister, Nan. He had wanted to use his mother as the model, but thought she might not be up to posing for long periods. Hattie did contribute by lending her apron and cameo for her daughter’s costume. The assumption was often made that they were a married couple, but Nan insisted they were supposed to be a farmer with his unmarried daughter. Perhaps she was unhappy at being seen as much older than she was, or objected to being “married off” to an older man. Wood himself was ambiguous on the matter.

8. He was going to paint a sequel featuring a Mission style bungalow and the people he thought might live in a house of that style. Which, he once said in an interview, would have been in a landscape format rather than a portrait one like American Gothic.

9. Wood was married to Sara Sherman Maxon for three years, although it’s commonly believed he was gay. Colleagues at the university he worked at tried to get him fired for being gay but the university administration dismissed the allegations.

10. Wood was a Freemason for a while. After receiving his third Degree of Master Mason in 1921 he painted a picture called The First Three Degrees of Freemasonry, but in 1924 he was suspended for not paying his membership fee and left the organisation completely.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

7 November: Museum of Modern Art, New York

On this date in 1929 the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) opened, in Hecksher Building New York. 10 facts about it:

1. The museum is located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

2. MoMA was founded by modern art collectors Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (wife of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.), Lillie P. Bliss and Mary Quinn Sullivan. John D Rockefeller hated modern art, and wouldn’t support the project at first, but eventually donated the land where the museum now stands.

3. MoMA started out in a rented six gallery space in Manhattan's Heckscher Building. Since then it has moved three times to bigger premises as its popularity grew. It moved into what would be its permanent home in 1939, with a radio address at the opening ceremony from President Franklin D Roosevelt to a crowd of 6,000. The building has been renovated and expanded over the years, most recently in 2019.

4. MoMA was the first museum to focus solely on contemporary art.

5. Its collection includes over 200,000 works, primarily American and European art ranging from the late 19th century to the present. Some of its most famous exhibits are Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, and Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans.

6. There’s also a research library which has over 300,000 books, periodicals and individual files on over 90,000 artists. MoMA has more research materials than any other art museum.

7. It has a sculpture garden, dedicated to Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, in 1953. The whole thing was planned in just one night. One of the exhibits you can find there is an actual Paris Subway entrance gate.

8. Disaster struck on 15 April 1958 (see That Sucks Day) when a Fire broke out on the second floor as air conditioning was being installed. This was the era before health and safety, and workmen were smoking around flammable materials. One worker lost his life and several firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation. Staff and visitors trapped by the fire were evacuated onto the roof and jumped onto the roof of the house next door. Most of the artwork in the location of the fire had been removed while the work was being done, but sadly, an 18-foot-long (5.5 m) Monet Water Lilies painting was too big to move and was lost. A similar painting was acquired after the fire as a replacement.

9. The 1939 museum building was designed by by Philip Goodwin and Edward Durell Stone, with an addition designed by Philip Johnson, who also planned the garden in 1953. The 2004 expansion and education and research complex—was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi.

10. 2,190,440 people visited in 2022, making MoMA the 17th most-visited art museum in the world and the 4th most-visited museum in the United States.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

19 July: Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas, the French artist famous for paintings of Ballet dancers, was born on this date in 1834. 10 facts about him:

1. He was born in Paris and was the eldest of five children. His father was a banker and his mother was a dancer and a Creole from New Orleans. His full name was Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas.

2. His interest in creating art began when he was a child. He and his sister Léonie would copy prints from the Louvre's collection.

3. His father wanted him to go to law school. Degas enrolled at the Faculty of Law of the University of Paris in 1853 but applied little effort to his studies. He registered as a copyist in The Louvre Museum, which was where his interest really lay.

4. An early influence on his art was Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, who he met in 1855. He was subsequently admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts to study drawing.

5. From 1856 he spent some time in Italy, staying with his aunt’s family in Naples. It was here that he made the first studies for his painting The Bellelli Family. He also drew and painted copies of works by Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and other Renaissance artists, although rather than straight copies, he’d select a detail from their work to copy.

6. When his father died in 1874, Degas found out that one of his brothers was in serious debt. To preserve his family's reputation, Degas sold his house and art collection and paid off the debts. He now had to rely on selling his artwork in order to get an income, but the stress must have been beneficial as it’s said much of his best work was produced during this time.

7. He is often described as an impressionist, but Degas would not have agreed with that assessment. He much preferred to be described as a realist, and while he participated in exhibitions with impressionist artists, he didn’t get on with them all that well. He alienated them by including non-impressionist artists in the exhibitions he organised himself.

8. He was, by all accounts, a grumpy old git. He had a sharp wit and didn’t hesitate to use it. He was a misogynist who referred to the dancers he painted as "little monkey-girls" and actually enjoyed watching them go through the torture of dance rehearsals until their feet bled. He once said “I have perhaps too often considered woman as an animal.” Needless to say, he never married. He also said “the artist must live alone, and his private life must remain unknown.” Not only that, he was anti-Semitic and dropped all his Jewish friends in the wake of The Dreyfus Affair. Renoir said of him: "What a creature he was, that Degas! All his friends had to leave him; I was one of the last to go, but even I couldn't stay till the end."

9. He’s known for his paintings, but he was a keen photographer as well and took pictures by lamplight. One of his photos was a lamplit portrait of Renoir and Stephane Mallarme. He took photographs of his models to use as visual references.

10. He also made a number of sculptures from wax, which were discovered after he died. Many of them were re-cast in bronze. Perhaps the most famous of these was The Little Dancer of Fourteen Years which was of a young ballerina dressed in a real tutu and which also had real hair.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

17 July: Tattoos

Today is National Tattoo Day. 10 facts about tattoos:

1. The word tattoo is a loanword from the Samoan word tatau, meaning "to strike", which in turn derives from the word for the wingbone of a flying fox, which was what was used in ancient times as a tattooing instrument.

2. The oldest known recipe for tattoo ink dates back to ancient Rome, and contained pine bark, tarnished brass, Vinegar, vitriol, Leek juice, and insect eggs. Urine was another common ingredient as it was thought to have antiseptic properties.

3. Not all tattoos are intentional. An accident where a substance like asphalt or Gunpowder gets rubbed into a wound is known as a traumatic tattoo or a carbon stain. Coal miners in olden days would often have marks on their skin resulting from coal dust getting into wounds. Even writers and artists could end up with a traumatic tattoo by accidentally stabbing themselves with a Pencil or pen.

4. Otzi the Iceman is one of the earliest humans known to have a tattoo. He had over 60 of them, mainly simple dot and line designs, created using carbon ink. Egyptian Mummies also had them. In more recent history, King Harold II of England had a number of tattoos. His tattoos were used to identify his body after he was killed at the Battle of Hastings. In 1862 the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, had a Jerusalem Cross tattooed on his arm on a visit to the Holy Land. When his sons, the Dukes of Clarence and York (later King George V) visited Japan in 1882 they both had Dragons tattooed on their arms. One historical figure who didn’t have any was the philosopher Confucius was against tattooing on the grounds that the human body is a gift.

5. Tattooing is an integral part of some religions while others forbid it. Which brings us to the question, does The Bible have anything to say about it? The answer is, probably not. Although in some modern translations Leviticus 19:28 reads “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord,” the word tattoo wasn’t used in English until the 18^th century and the verse originally said, ”And a cutting for the dead you will not make in your flesh; and writing marks you will not make on you; I am the Lord.” This is the only verse which mentions body modifications, probably in connection with pagan sacrifices rather than cosmetic alterations.

6. Secret messages have been smuggled across enemy lines in times of war by using tattoos. 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus records how Histiaeus of Miletus sent such a message to his son-in-law, Aristagoras. Histiaeus was being held against his will, and to communicate this, he shaved his slave’s Hair off and tattooed the message onto his head. When the slave's hair grew back sufficiently to hide the tattoo, he was sent to Aristagoras, who shaved his head again and read the message.

7. Historically, tattoos have been associated with sailors. Some sources suggest that this began with Capitan James Cook and his crew who noticed the practice in Polynesia and joined in. Later, US sailors would have proof of their citizenship tattooed on themselves in order to avoid being press-ganged into the British Navy. Over time, sailors’ tattoos came to have other meanings: a Pig tattooed on one foot and a rooster on the other were said to protect a seaman from drowning as neither animal can swim. Counter-intuitive, perhaps, but the belief was that the animals would, for this reason, help the sailor get out of the water as quickly as possible. ‘Hold’ tattooed on the knuckles of one hand and ‘fast’ on the other were said to allow the bearer to grip the rigging better. Tattoos could also show the level of experience a sailor had. A full-rigged ship meant he’d sailed round Cape Horn; an anchor meant he’d sailed across the Atlantic; a shellback turtle meant he’d crossed the Equator and a dragon was a sign that he’d served in China.

8. Some tattooing records: the longest session lasted over 60 hours when tattoo artist Alessandro Bonacorsi tattooed a 32 year businesswoman called Serena Cavani. The whole thing was streamed live on the internet. Tommy Lee holds the record for getting tattooed at the highest altitude when he got one during a flight on his private jet at 45,000 feet. It was a peacock on his leg. Then there is Lucky Diamond Rich, the most heavily tattooed person in the world. 100% of his body is tattooed, including the inside of his mouth and his eyelids.

9. Americans spend around $1.65 billion on tattoos every year. American women are more likely to be inked than men, but are also more likely to have their tattoos removed later on. Talking of which, it’s easier to remove a Black tattoo than a Green or Yellow one, surprisingly. This is because black ink absorbs the greatest number of laser waves.

10. Skin is pierced 50 to 3000 times per minute by a tattoo machine.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

24 March: William Morris

Born on this date in 1834 was William Morris, architect, poet, artist, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement. 10 facts about him:

1. He was born in Essex to a large and well off family.

2. He attended Marlborough College from the age of 13, and hated school. Morris would later say that at Marlborough he learned “next to nothing…for indeed next to nothing was taught.” His schoolfellows thought him somewhat eccentric and he was nicknamed “Crab”.

3. He studied Classics at Exeter College, Oxford, where he first met the Pre-Raphaelite painter, Edward Burne-Jones, who became a lifelong friend. The two were part of “The Brotherhood”, also known as the “Birmingham Set”, an influential group of artists and writers who championed traditional crafts. His friends there nicknamed him Topsy, after the character in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

4. During his time at Oxford, Morris was very interested in religion and along with Burne-Jones, was involved with the Oxford Movement. For a while, it seemed likely the two of them would become clergymen, but later travels in Europe resulted in Morris pursuing a career in art instead. In later life, he came to be an atheist.

5. It was the Pre-Raphaelite painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who persuaded Morris to make a career of painting and so he joined the group of friends who were decorating the walls of the Oxford Union with scenes from Arthurian legend.

6. This was how Morris met his wife, Jane. She was a working class woman who Rossetti had spotted and decided would be a perfect model for Guinevere. Both Morris and Rosetti were taken with Jane, but since Rosetti was already engaged at the time, it was Morris that she married. Rosetti would later say that he went through with the marriage “out of a mistaken sense of loyalty and fear of giving pain” despite have fallen for another. Jane’s marriage to Morris produced two daughters, but was rather rocky and when Rosetti was widowed, he and Jane began a long affair. Jane would say after Morris died that she never really loved him, but marrying him was the right decision for her at the time.

7. Morris was a staunch socialist and founded the Socialist League in 1884. He strongly believed that workers should have a say in how they are treated by their employers, and his ideas greatly influenced the Labour Party in Britain. Morris was even arrested once for disorderly conduct during a socialist demonstration.

8. His textile company came about after he bought The Red House as his family home and couldn’t find Wallpaper and textiles that he thought good enough to decorate the place, so went into business with a few friends and began making his own.

9. He also appreciated beautiful books, and started the Kelmscott Press in 1891. He designed multiple fonts including “Golden” Roman typeface, “Troy” Gothic type and “Chaucer.” He also wrote fiction and poetry himself, much of which was published after his death by one of his daughters.

10. Today, as well as in many stately homes and museums, Morris’s designs can be seen on Football kit. In 2023, Walthamstow F.C. launched a new home football shirt with Admiral Sports featuring a William Morris print which was widely regarded as one of the best kit launches of the year.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book