VIKING
ATTACK! Write a DUAL NARRATIVE ACTION SCENE
First, watch
the Time Tunnellers
video about the
Viking Attack on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.
Background: On the 6th of June 793 AD, Vikings
attacked the Christian monastery at Lindisfarne in Northumbria – the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to the attackers by the name 'Northmen'. The
monastery was on a small island off the coast called Holy Island, easy to reach
by Viking longship.
Writing
task: Describe the
moment of the raid from the dual perspective of both a monk at the
monastery and a Viking raider in the ship. To plan your piece of
writing, list what each character may see, feel, hear, taste, smell.
Monk
Viking Raider
Now create a
short piece of writing for each, describing the attack. Build the
tension slowly: seeing the threat in the distance, the approach, landing, the
confrontation itself.
Make the voices
of the two characters vivid and distinctive. And feel free to be
imaginative to create atmosphere – later Anglo-Saxon writers didn’t hold back when
describing the raid. According to them, there were ‘immense whirlwinds,
flashes of lightning and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air’.
It took the time you have
spent reading these words, and probably the rest of this sentence as well for
my favourite ever Olympic moment to happen. Actually, probably these as well… I
need enough to cover 9.63 seconds.
That was the blink of an eye
Usain Bolt needed to win the men’s 100m gold on a warm, raucous July evening in
London in 2012. I was sitting up in the media seats, just above the finish
line. I’ve watched and written about sport for 25 years, all around the world,
but this was the night of nights because I love the Olympic Games.
I’m fortunate enough to have
been to three, the first in Sydney in 2000. But having it in London was special
– I could walk to the stadium from my house. Imagine walking from your house to
see the fastest man the world has ever seen win the greatest event of the
Olympic Games! When I was growing-up I loved watching the Olympics, and no
event more than the one to determine the fastest person on the planet. In the
moments before the starting gun fired, the hairs on the back of my neck would
stand up when the commentator said sotto voce, as they always did, “the final
of the men’s 100m…”
My view as Usain Bolt won 100m gold in London
(Copyright Robin Scott-Elliot)
There’s no Usain Bolt anymore
– I’d have him as the greatest sports person I’ve ever seen – but there are, of
course, still the Olympics and there is plenty to look forward to in Paris from
26 July. The opening ceremony will see each country float down the Seine on a
flotilla of boats from Albania to Zimbabwe, the A to Z of the world (although
thankfully there will be no R for Russia).
Every Games has a story of
its own. There will be heroes and villains – every good story needs a good
villain – there will be (sporting) tragedies and improbable triumphs all played
out to the backdrop of one of the world’s great cities.
The countdown proper has
begun to Paris 2024 with the arrival of the Olympic torch in France this week. This
will be the third time Paris has hosted the Olympics yet it’s still 100 years
since the world’s best athletes last gathered in the French capital. In 1924,
only 135 of them were women out of more than 3,000. This summer there will be
around 10,500 athletes in all, half of them women – the first 50/50 split in
Olympic history.
Modern Olympic history begins
in 1896 with the first Games in Athens, held there because the ancient games
had been born in Greece. The very first is believed to have taken place in
776BC.
Paris’s first Games came in
1900 when events such as underwater swimming – take a deep breath and off you
go! – cricket and pigeon shooting… with live (soon to be dead) pigeons.
The London 2012 stadium
(Copyright Robin Scott-Elliot)
The 1924 Olympics in Paris
became famous in Britain as the ‘Chariots of Fire’ Games, Eric Liddell and
Harold Abrahams winning gold medals. There was also gold in the pool for the
American Gertrude Ederle who a year later was to become the first woman to swim
the Channel. The 1924 US Olympics team were given a ticker-tape parade in New
York for topping the medal table; Ederle received one all of her own for
swimming the Channel for which an estimated two million people turned out.
Olympic heroes last through
the ages, and often mean something beyond their sport… Jesse Owens winning four
golds in Berlin in 1936, Fanny Blankers Coen winning four of her own in London
in 1948, 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci producing the perfect 10 in Montreal in
1976.
There has too always been a
dark side to the sport; from doping to corruption to protest, such as Tommie
Smith and John Carlos with their Black Power salute in 1968. And there’s been
real tragedy, the murder of Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German
policeman by terrorists in 1972.
There are, thankfully, so
many uplifting stories to find in 128 years of modern Olympic history, so many
well-I-never tales. Here’s one from the last time the Games were in Paris.
Johnny Weissmuller was born in what is now Romania and arrived on Ellis Island
in his mother’s arms before he turned one. After catching polio as a child his
doctor advised his parents to take him swimming to aid his recovery. He was a
natural – by the time he arrived in Paris he was already a world record holder.
He won three gold medals, and a bronze in water polo, and added two more in
Amsterdam four years later. After he hung up his trunks, Weissmuller switched
to acting and was cast as Tarzan – he was to star in a dozen Tarzan movies (in
between five marriages) and become one of the best-known actors in the world.
He’s remembered today as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and features on
the album cover of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
In Sydney for the 2000 Olympics
(Copyright Robin Scott-Elliot)
Who will be the stories of
this Paris Games? Let me give you a couple of names to look out for, one
British – Sky Brown, who turns 16 just before the Games. She’s a world champion
skateboarder and could turn her bronze in Tokyo into gold in Paris. And my
other one to watch is Summer McIntosh. She’s from Canada, she’s 17 and she
could win as many golds as Tarzan himself.
Robin Scott-Elliot has been a sports journalist for 25 years with the BBC, ITV, the Sunday Times, the Independent and the ‘i’, covering every sport you can think of and a few you probably can’t. He threw that all away to move home to Scotland and chase his dream of writing books instead of football reports. Once there his daughters persuaded him to write a story for them and that is how his career as a children's author began. Finding Treasure Island is his latest book and is published by Cranachan.
History
was my favourite subject at school and it still fascinates me today – I’ve
always got a pile of history books next to my bed (my favourite place to read!).
What interests me most about history is not the big picture, the great canvas
that shows the rise and fall of empires and kings and queens, but the all the small
portraits of the people who make up history. I want to know about those in the
frontline, the led not the leaders and that’s why I have a fascination with
family history.
This
is what got me into history in the first place – my family story. Everyone will
have something in their family history worth sharing. I help put together a
podcast (We Have Ways Family Stories) in which listeners send in stories of
their relatives from the Second World War. Hundreds were sent in. These range
from tales of brave men and women doing incredible things… to those whose
battle was just to stay alive… to those whose part in history almost makes you
laugh.
One
listener told of a relative who worked at a top-secret weapons factory. The
roof was covered in grass to make it look like a field with a few wooden cows
and sheep scattered around. This person’s job was to climb up on to the roof
each morning and move the cows and sheep around in case the Germans realised
they were always in the same place.
So,
everyone’s family has a story but you have to go out and look for it. That’s
what I did with mine and it’s one of the main reasons I became obsessed with
history.
Bertie Anderson
I’ve
an old photograph hanging in my house of my great-granddad, WH Anderson, known
as Bertie. It’s been handed down the family and I grew up hearing stories of
Bertie and his three brothers, Ronnie, Charlie and Teddie. They were all killed
in the First World War and so I decided I wanted to write their story so we
would have a way of always remembering them and their short lives.
The Anderson brothers
This
is what I found out…
When
war began in the hot summer of 1914, Charlie Anderson, a lieutenant in the
Highland Light Infantry, wrote home that he “was so glad we will all be in this
one together.” Charlie, like many Britons and in particular British soldiers,
was excited at the thought of going to war. He pictured marching off to fight
the Germans with his three brothers at his side. But by the time his brothers
arrived in France, Charlie was already dead.
Charlie’s
war lasted eight days. He went into the trenches on 11 December 1914. On 19
December he took part in an attack on the German lines and was never seen
again. His body was never found. His parents, Nora and Willie, were told he was
missing, but that didn’t mean he was dead. They had to wait seven terrible
months until it was confirmed Charlie was gone forever.
By
then Ronnie was at the front. He joined Charlie’s battalion, determined to ‘do
his bit’, as people at the time used to say.
He
lasted longer than Charlie, but not by long. In October 1915, Ronnie, a tall
man with long legs, didn’t notice he’d stopped by a place in the trench which
was not as deep as the rest. He was shot by a sniper.
What
must this have been like for the two remaining brothers, Bertie and Teddie?
What about Nora and Willie? Two of their children gone, the remaining two now
at the front and in daily danger of suffering the same fate. What was it like
to live like that for day after day, month after month, year after year?
Teddie Anderson
By
March 1918, Teddie was in the Royal Flying Corps – he left school and joined
up. The first time he went abroad was to go to war. If you lasted six months at
the front as a pilot, you were sent home to be an instructor – most pilots
didn’t last that long. Teddie sent long letters home from France. In one he
wrote about singing all the way home after surviving a raid on some German
observation balloons. I picture him sitting in the cockpit, swaddled in his
massive leather coat with its fur collar, scarf flapping in the wind and
goggles fixed tight, shouting out his song. I wonder what song it was?
On
16 March 1918, Teddie, now an instructor in Kent, suffered a catastrophic
engine failure while on a test flight. His injuries were fatal. “He slipped
away to a better place,” the nurse who treated him wrote to Nora.
Nora
put a thin black line through 16 on her pocket March calendar. Nine days later
she made another mark.
On
21 March, the Germans launched a huge attack, a last bid to win the war. Bertie
and his men of the Highland Light Infantry stood in their way. On 25 March he
was killed. He’d spent his final day leading his men in attack after attack. He
died a hero – later awarded a Victoria Cross. The medal is in the Imperial War
Museum along with photographs and the story of him and his brothers. When I go
to London, I go and see the medal. It feels like I’m saying hello.
The telegram sent to Bertie's wife, Gertie, informing her that he'd been killed
Bertie
never knew of the medal, or the fact he would be considered a hero. I wonder
what Nora, his mother, made of it. Four children, all gone in the space of four
years. How do you cope with that? She made an album about her boys, photographs
and letters and newspaper cuttings, everything she had of them. All she had
left of them.
I’ve
got the album. I’m looking after it until I hand it on to my children and I
hope they will hand it on in due course. And that way someone will always
remember Nora’s boys, Bertie, Ronnie, Charlie and Teddie.
Robin Scott-Elliot has been a sports journalist for 25 years with the BBC, ITV, the Sunday Times, the Independent and the ‘i’, covering every sport you can think of and a few you probably can’t. He threw that all away to move home to Scotland and chase his dream of writing books instead of football reports. Once there his daughters persuaded him to write a story for them and that is how his career as a children's author began. Finding Treasure Island is his latest book and is published by Cranachan.
Hi, I was absolutely delighted to be asked to make a film
about mudlarking* for the Time Tunnellers.
If you don’t know, mudlarking is
searching the Thames foreshore at low tide to see what historical treasures you
can find, and you need a permit from the Port of London Authority to do it. I’m always more than happy to talk about
mudlarking, so I set off on a chilly late winter’s day to see what the Thames
would give me.
Mudlarkers look for objects from the past on the banks of the Thames
The tide wasn’t particularly low, but the Thames was
generous, as she usually is. My favourite finds were a tiny 17th
century pipe bowl and a lovely nugget of fool’s gold. Someone suggested that I
break it open to see what it’s like inside, but I think it’s beautiful as it
is. What do you think?? What would you do?
One of Kate's mudlarking finds
I didn’t come across my dream find: a bellarmine jug or
witch bottle. They were used in the 17th century to ward off
witchcraft. Superstitious people filled them with nail clippings, hair, red
thread and even urine to counteract witches’ spells. Often they would be buried
under the doorway of a house, or beneath the fireplace. Others were simply used
to transport alcohol and thrown into the Thames when empty.
I did find the handle
of one, and also the eye from the representation of an angry-looking man. These
were applied to the front of bellarmine bottles. I dream about finding a whole one and if I
ever do, I’ll be shouting about it from the rooftops.
Clay pipes are one object that can be found by mudlarkers - the original mudlarkers were poor children.
My first Mudlark Mystery,
The Grinning Throat, features a witch bottle and on the front cover, Edie
Lighterman, one of my protagonists, is shown holding one. That will have to do
until I find a real one. Watch this space…
'My first thought is that it’s a pig that someone has lost to the river. Perhaps it fell off one of the barges that choke up the Thames. They’re a constant feature, toiling up and down, day and night, giving off black smoke that clings to the water.'
Joe (15) and Edie (13) are orphans living in Victorian London. Forever worried that they will be sent to the dreaded workhouse, they scratch out a living the best way they can by mudlarking on the foreshore of the River Thames and selling their finds to the notorious Hempson. One day they discover something macabre, and it will change their lives forever.
The Grinning Throat is the first in the trilogy of The Mudlark Mysteries. Written by award winning author, Kate Wiseman, it is historical fiction at its best. Suitable for readers from age 9 and upwards.
The Grinning Throat has been longlisted in the historical Association's Young Quills 2024 award.
Kate Wiseman is an author and mudlark. She grew up in Oxford in the 1970s and was the first in her family to go to university, at the age of 38. She loved it so much, she went on to take a master’s degree as well. That gave her the courage to have a go at what she’d always dreamed of doing: being a writer. Kate loves visiting schools to deliver creative writing workshops based on mudlarking and her books.
Find out more about mudlarking and Kate's other books at Katewiseman.co.uk
*Mudlarkers in London must have a Thames Foreshore Permit which can be obtained from the Port of London Authority. All objects which are three hundred years old or more must be reported to the Museum of London. Mudlarks arrange regular appointments with a Finds Liaison Officer who records the artefacts on the Portable Antiquities Scheme managed by the British Museum.
If you go into a bookshop or library today there
will be a Children’s Section – of course there will. And you will be spoilt for
choice. There have never been so many books written for young people. But it
hasn’t always been like this. Far from it – the history of children’s books is
not a long one, certainly compared to adult literature.
Children are spoiled for choice in many independent bookshops
(photograph Susan Brownrigg)
We have to fast-forward to the 19th
century to see the first real age of books for young people. There had been
occasional pioneers in previous centuries, but in the 17th century the
few books aimed at children were mostly about being ‘good’ – and the horrors
that would befall you if you weren’t.
In the Victorian era, for many children in Britain,
the poor, the ones in ever-growing factories or getting shoved up chimneys,
there would have been next to no access to books. But for the middle class, a
group growing by the day, this was the first golden age of children’s
literature. And certainly it’s remarkable how many books published in the 19th
century are still adored.
A selection of favourite children's classics
Photo Robin Scott-Eliot
I’m
going to stay largely British, with a nod to America, because there just isn’t
space to squeeze everything in from around the globe.
In
1846 Edward Lear published A Book of Nonsense. It did what it said on the tin
and was a huge hit. Lear wrote Limericks and nonsense poetry, the Owl and the
Pussycat his most famous. He played with words, made up words – the owl and the
pussycat took a runcible spoon with them – he showed children (and adults) that
reading and writing can be fun.
Charles
Lutwidge Dodgson did something similar in novel form 20 years later in one of
the most famous children’s books ever written.
Who?
Dodgson
took the pen name Lewis Carroll and wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,
published in 1865. Dodgson’s story challenged everything… what is normal, how
adults behave, how adults expect children to behave – and it entertained.
Throughout
this era technology was constantly improving, mass producing books was becoming
easier, therefore books could be cheaper. Children’s publishers became pioneers
of book covers as we know them today, using illustrations, pictures and
designs.
There
still remained a consensus in Victorian Britain that children should be
protected from the real world with all its horrors and cruelties. Then along
came Robert Louis Stevenson and Treasure Island – an adventure story that does
not shield young readers from anything, nor its hero Jim. It throws us into a
scary world but also one of enormous excitement. Stevenson was one of the first
writers not to talk down to children; he wrote for them as equals.
Treasure
Island takes its place in a late 19th century, early 20th
century bookshelf that could be found in homes today. Run a finger along our
bookshelf… Treasure Island, Black Beauty, Peter Pan, the Jungle Book, the
Wizard of Oz, Tom Brown’s Schooldays (the first great boarding school story),
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Little Women, Tom Sawyer, Anne of Green
Gables, Beatrix Potter’s stories…
Some
have lasted better than others, but many still have a golden glow or have had a
significant influence on the stories that followed in the years to come.
Books from the 20s and 30s are still loved by readers today
Photo Susan Brownrigg
The 1920s and 1930s was a thin time for children's books, but there are titles which will be familiar to readers today.
A.A Milne's Winnie the Pooh books, Doctor Doolittle, Mary Poppins, The Hobbit and others continue to be chosen by children, and gifted by parents and grandparents wishing to pass on their favourites to a new generation. While film and animation adaptations as well as merchandising (who can resist a cuddly Pooh bear) continue to keep these stories alive.
Book jackets became more vibrant and colourful to entice shoppers and the Just William and the Chalet School books could use their covers to make it obvious they were part of a series. Some authors even began to illustrate their own covers, including Hugh Lofting (Doctor Doolittle again), Arthur Ransome while J R R Tolkien (The Hobbit) and T.S Eliot (Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats) designed their's. Artwork could also be very appealing in this period, for example E H Sheppard's beautifully illustrations for the A.A Milne books and Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows.
Some popular books started out in a different format. Rupert the Bear, first created by Mary Tourtel, began life as a comic strip in the Daily Express (where he still appears every day) while The Velveteen Rabbit (or how toys become real) by Margery Williams was first published in Harper's Bazaar in 1921. The book was illustrated by William Nicholson and is still in print today.
Spot any favourites? Photo by Matt Wainwright
In the wake of the Second World War, publishers were looking for children's books that recalled an idyllic Britain to contrast with the reality of rationing and the enormous amount of work it was taking to rebuild the nation.
This period is sometimes called a Second Golden Age of children's publishing. The industry was small enough that publishers were still selecting authors and illustrators very carefully, but the developments in printing technology and the growing availability of printing materials meant that more and more books were being released and read. This, coupled with the influence of editors from the United States, meant that children’s publishing was beginning its journey towards becoming Big Business.
The Second World War loomed large in children’s fiction, including fantasies like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (in which the children are evacuated to the country), and more realistic books like Carrie’s War by Nina Bawden and, later, Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian.
British middle-grade fiction thrived in the 1960s and 70s. Roald Dahl captivated imaginations with classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where magical worlds unfolded alongside pointed life lessons. Dahl’s books represented the changes taking place in Britain in the 60s: they were still very moralistic, with clear ideas of right and wrong—but they were also anarchic and anti-authority, reacting against the strict upbringing that many of the children's authors of this period had experienced.
Across the Atlantic, Judy Blume’s classic Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret opened up the mind of a preteen girl and dealt frankly with topics such as young love and periods, while in the UK The Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend explored a teenage boy’s attitudes towards adolescence and 1980s politics. While there was no such market as ‘young adult’ yet, these books were some of the first to explicitly explore the teenage experience for a teen audience.
Fantasy experienced a resurgence in the later part of the twentieth century, as readers and publishers rediscovered Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Building on Tolkien's vision of a rich fantasy world, British authors like Susan Cooper (The Dark is Rising series), Alan Garner (Elidor) and Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials trilogy) explored surprisingly adult themes, offering young readers narratives rich in fantasy, mythology, and moral complexity.
The second half of the century also saw a growth in children’s picture books, with more experimental formats and surprising stories being explored. Shirley Hughes painted vivid pictures of childhood with the Alfie books and Dogger; Dr. Suess created a madcap rhyming world in classics like The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham; Maurice Sendak’s dark and atmospheric Where the Wild Things Are resonated with the heightened emotions of children; and Raymond Briggs bridged the gap between children and adults with his modern fairytale The Snowman and the firmly adult reflections on Cold War fears in When the Wind Blows.
The latter part of the twentieth century also witnessed a growing commitment to diversity in British children's literature. Authors like Malorie Blackman addressed issues of identity, discrimination, and inclusion, resonating with readers of all backgrounds. Representation of class and race was still not comprehensive, however, and working class and Black authors struggled for legitimacy in an industry that still favoured white, middle class writers.
Between the Second World War and the dawn of the next millennium, Children’s publishing had grown from a cottage industry to a thriving business model.
Readers are spoiled for choice with books
written in the 1990s and onwards!
Photo Barbara Henderson
And then came along a single Mum in
Edinburgh, who exploded the world of children’s publishing while jobbing as a
teacher. You have guessed it: JK Rowling and her generation-defining boy
wizard, Harry Potter, changed our world!
The first book in the series, The Philosopher’s Stone (1997),
was published quietly with an initial print run of only 500. No one could have
possibly foreseen how huge and influential Rowling’s wizarding world would
become – least of all the author who had received a considerable clutch of
rejections from publishers and agents.
The groundwork had been laid in the months before: Philip Pullman’s
ambitious His Dark Materials trilogy was already underway.
Both his and Rowling’s series would be turned into multi-million budget film
franchises, further extending the reach of their books.
No one could deny it now – a new golden age of children’s publishing had begun,
and children’s books were selling in their millions.
Those new instant classics kept coming thick and fast: Louis
Sachar’s Holes (1998), Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo (1999),
Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl (2001), Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002)
and Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series.
While Donaldson has dominated the picture book market in the UK ever since, the
crowded Middle Grade category sported four genres in the main: humour,
including Horrid Henry and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jacqueline Wilson’s real-life
contemporary heroines, action series such as Alex Rider and fantasy, including
the massively successful How to Train Your Dragon series.
Rowling and Pullman occupied the upper limits of the age group
edging into YA territory which would have its own renaissance with dystopian
series fiction like Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses (2001)
and American imports such as The Hunger Games (2008) and
the Mazerunner (2009) and Divergent (2011)
series.
Vampires also had their moment with the Twilight (2005)
Saga. Back in Middle Grade territory, Robin Stevens and her Murder Most
Unladylike (2014) series and Katherine Rundell with her range of
quirky adventures ushered in a bunch of new kids on the block.
But recently, there has been another trend: the celebrity author. The most
ubiquitous of these is one David Walliams, sure to be stacked sky-high on a
supermarket shelf near you. But all is not lost! Riding on the waves of these
phenomenally successful books are hundreds of quieter authors with quirky and
imaginative books in more genres one could count.
If I may pick one particular favourite? The Executioner’s
Daughterby Jane Hardstaff (2014) where history meets just the right
amount of magic.
Where do you get your ideas? For me the things I want
to write about are the same things I was passionate about as a child.
I loved daytrips to Blackpool with my family when I
was growing up, visiting Blackpool Tower, the Illuminations and its
many other attractions. So, it felt right to set my 1930s Gracie Fairshaw mystery
series there.
For the third book in the series, Gracie Fairshaw and the
Missing Reel (published on World Book Day, March 7th) I decided to
set the story around the filming of a movie in the resort.
I knew that another Gracie, Gracie Fields – the Rochdale
born superstar singer and actress had made a film in Blackpool in 1934. In fact,
I had watched and studied Sing as We Go as part of my degree in journalism,
film & broadcasting as well as writing my dissertation on the actress!
Gracie Fields in a special issue of Picturegoer Magazine about Sing as We Go
(author's photograph)
I loved that the film was shot on location, with key
scenes recorded at the Pleasurebeach funfair, the open-air baths, sideshows and
the Blackpool Tower circus.
Basil Dean directing Sing as we Go at the open-air baths, Blackpool.
In my book, the cast and crew are recording a fictional thriller
called Room for a Traitor, when my heroine, young newspaper reporter, Gracie Fairshaw, learns that an important reel of film has gone missing.
To add authenticity to the film-making scenes, I visited Blackpool Central
Library and looked at old copies of the Gazette newspaper on microfiche (as I
had with the previous two Gracie books.)
I was able to see the cameras that were used and was
intrigued by the fact that Gracie had had a body double/stuntwoman. I went on to
learn that Lilian Tollis had been a stage actress herself as well as a dancer,
sometimes using the name Zetta Morenta.
Body double/Stunt woman Zetta Morenta had a close resemblance to actress Gracie Fields (photo Jackie Settle)
I knew I wanted to include a similar character in my
story – but I didn’t know much about stunt work. So, I did more research, reading a number of books on the subject.
I learned that in the early days of moviemaking, the
stars often performed their own stunts.
In the silent film era, directors, script writers and
performers were often women.
Half of all American films made before 1925 were
written by women!
Dramatic serials like the Perils of Pauline were very
popular with their cliffhangers, and gutsy heroines.
The female stars often performed their own stunts,
with many hired because they were strong swimmers, good at driving motorcars,
or were skilled acrobats.
Sometimes stuntwomen were hired, and then became leads
themselves, but as the work became better paid, men started to take over –
wearing wigs and dresses to look like the stars.
It was said that most stunt workers only lasted five
years. Lots were killed or badly injured. For example, in 1929, sixteen men
were killed, including three stunt pilots making the film Hell’s Angels!
(Sadly, stunt work is still very dangerous. Actor Rory
Kinnear, whose father died in a stunt accident, continues to campaign for
better training and awareness of the dangers involved.)
With the introduction of sound, cinema attendance grew
and the film making became big business – women were pushed aside, and only
certain poorer paid roles were generally deemed suitable for them.
Although Hollywood is often the place we associate with film making, Britain had its own studios, most were in London, but there was a northern company - Mancunian Films based in Manchester who also shot a movie in Blackpool - Holidays with Pay.
In 1927 the Cinematograph Films Act was introduced which insisted that a specific percentage of British produced movies that had to be shown domestically. Unfortunately while some brilliant movies were produced, this led to a lot of poorer quality ones too, dubbed 'Quota Quickies.'
The former Odeon cinema, Blackpool. It opened in 1939 and had 3,088 seats!
(author's photograph)
Unemployment in the 1930s saw people visiting the cinema as an escape from their worries. Many new cinemas were built, some in exotic architectural styles.
By 1938 there were 4,907 cinemas in the UK and around that same time Blackpool alone had 17!
Inspiration for two more characters in my book came
from a real-life director Alfred Hitchcock and editor/screenwriter Alma Reville.
They were married and often worked together on exciting thrillers including the
first British made ‘talkie’ Blackmail.
I also enjoyed setting scenes in Blackpool’s stunning
Winter Gardens. This Victorian era entertainment complex went through a
transformation in the 1930s. New rooms were created that looked like a Spanish
village, a pirate ship and a baronial hall! These new designs were created by
Andrew Mazzei, who also worked as an art director on British films!
The Spanish Hall, Winter Gardens (photograph Susan Brownrigg)
The climax of Gracie Fairshaw and the Missing Reel takes place on the roof of the Regent Cinema in Blackpool – which still exists today, as well as showing popular classic movies, it also houses an antiques centre. I was lucky to be allowed into the projection room - a real treat for a movie lover like me!
Susan Brownrigg in the projection room, The Regent Cinema,
Blackpool ( author's photograph)
Lights, camera, action!
A new movie being filmed in Blackpool is a real scoop for trainee reporter Gracie Fairshaw.
When she's invited to interview the star, Sally Sunshine, Gracie uncovers a plot as exciting as the one being filmed. Someone has stolen a vital film reel - and then a vicious attack is attempted on Sally!
In a world of body-doubles, stunts, costumes and makeup, not everything is what it seems. Gracie must go behind the scenes and work out, which of the cast and crew can;t be trusted before the shoot comes to a thrilling climax at the town's cinema.
Susan Brownrigg is the author of the Gracie Fairshaw mystery series and Kintana and the Captain's Curse, a treasure hunt adventure featuring pirates and lemurs! (UCLan Publishing)
In
1905 the football legend Lily Parr was born. Some readers will be frowning;
they’ve never heard of Lily Parr, so how can she be a football legend?
Ah,
but that’s exactly why Lily’s story is so fascinating!
Lily
Parr was the fourth child of a hardworking family, living in the industrial
outskirts of the city of Liverpool. The gas-lit, smoggy streets running between
rows of back-to-back housing, were where this small girl decided she much
preferred a kick about with her brothers to household pastimes. The older boys
soon stopped laughing at little Lily when they saw the strength of her kick,
speed and skill.
Lily Parr’s school portrait
When
World War 1 began in 1914, Lily was nine years old. Britain needed every
available man to defend Europe from invasion by the Germans. Men and boys
signed up to join the army in their thousands, but it wasn’t enough, and soon
it was compulsory for young fit men to go away to fight.
The
normal pattern of life turned on its head.
With huge numbers of men at war, the women and girls now worked in the
factories making the ammunition needed by the army. They played football in
their breaks, and soon began playing matches against other factories.
Crowds
flocked to watch matches played for wartime charities, and the quality of the
ladies football game grew. With so many men at war, women’s football surged in
popularity with matches every weekend.
When
the war ended in 1918, the men began to take their factory jobs back from the
women, who were expected to return to their roles in the home. But ladies
football had become a very popular sport in its own right. Some of the teams
had legions of adoring fans.
By
1919, aged just 14, Lily Parr was nearly 6 foot tall, strong and fit. Her
football skills had not gone unnoticed. She was playing for a local ladies
team, when she was talent spotted by the best team in the country, Dick Kerr
Ladies, based at the factory of the same name. Offered a factory job, a family
to board with, and a chance to play for money, her concerned parents are forced
to agree. Lily loved football and this was her big chance.
In
Lily’s first season with Dick Kerr Ladies, she scored 43 goals. By 1920 her
skills were being noticed by a wider audience and she was considered a star.
Lindsay Galvin is the author of Darwin's Dragons, My Friend the Octopus and The Call of the Titanic. After working for over 20 years as a teacher, Lindsay is now a full-time writer. To find out more visit lindsaygalvin.com/
Since our humble beginnings in August 2021 we’ve welcomed twenty-four guest contributors to our YouTube channel and blog, as well as two new additions to our original line-up of five.
We’ve also bid farewell to two Time Tunnellers: Jeannie Waudby and Catherine Randall. Parting is always such sweet sorrow, but the friendships we have made have not ended with their time in the group.
Part of the reason we formed the Time Tunnellers was as a place for authors of historical fiction for children to support and encourage each other, and this will always be the case: once a Time Tunneller, always a Time Tunneller!
Thousands of people have watched over 200 hours of our videos, and over 150 people have joined us as regular YouTube subscribers. If you’ve not subscribed yet, you can do it today! Head on over to our YouTube channel and click ’subscribe’ - and don’t forget to click the bell icon to allow all notifications: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY7LQZiq-eVaIg4AINuLpKg
We’ve covered almost the entire history of the world, from Ancient Egypt up to the Second World War and beyond - and we’re not going to stop now! We’ve had a blast researching subjects as varied as the history of soap and glass, the legacy of slavery in the London Docklands, Christmas traditions, gladiatorial combat, pirates, queens, earls and criminals - and setting a weekly writing challenge to go with each one.
We’d like to take a moment to thank you, dear reader, for reading our blog and watching our videos. If you’ve shared the Time Tunnellers with teachers and librarians that you know, then thank you again! Without our readers and watchers we are nothing. We look forward to delving further into the stories in history with you, and sharing the fascinating things we find.
A new member of the team …
The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that we said we’ve welcomed two new additions to the team. So far you will only have met one, and we’re pleased and proud to be able to introduce the second one to you today!
Robin Scott-Elliot is a Scottish author of children's historical fiction, including 'Sweet Skies', 'The Acrobats of Agra', and his latest book 'Finding Treasure Island', which traces the origins of Robert Louis Stevenson's famous adventure. Robin worked for many years as a sports journalist, writing for the BBC, ITV, Sunday Times and Independent, before packing it all in to become a children's author. We asked Robin to tell our followers a little bit more about himself ...
Hi Robin. To start with, can you tell us what led you to exchange journalism for children's fiction?
My children! It was a combination of moving home to Scotland and our two daughters making me promise to write a story for them – on long journeys I used to tell them Scottish stories, a mix of myth and history, part made up, part what I could remember my granny and mum telling me. Now they wanted me to write one down. So I made a promise.
Ten years ago, when we decided to leave London for Scotland, I swapped roles with my partner. She travels a lot for her job in TV so I stayed home with the kids and gradually did less journalism and more story writing. It was Karen who gave me the opportunity to have a proper go at writing for children – and Iona and Torrin who pestered me to write for children. I owe the three of them big time!
So why did you make historical fiction your genre of choice?
History was my favourite subject at school and I’ve never lost interest in it. I’m probably a frustrated historian at heart. It was also my favourite genre to read for as long as I can remember. I used to like Rosemary Sutcliffe’s Roman stories or DK Broster’s Jacobite trilogy. Even my comics/graphic novels were historical when I was at school – Tintin or Asterix.
When it comes to writing historical fiction, I like the idea of putting a character of mine into a real moment in time. Or trying to write a real person, like Robert Louis Stevenson in Finding Treasure Island; work out what they might have been like and bring them back to life – while making sure you try to be true to who they were.
Is there an era, event or person you'd really love to cover, but you haven't been able to yet?
Lots! That’s the great thing about writing historical fiction – there are so many places to go, stories to discover. For the Acrobats of Agra it was one line in an old history book – “among those trapped in the siege was a French travelling circus” – that sparked the story. You never know what you’re going to find or where it might take you.
I’ve always wanted to write something about Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite march to Derby. Or one set way back in the days when the Lord of the Isles held sway in Scotland. Or a story set around the Russian Revolution and Civil War. Or the French Revolution – revolutions and rebellions are always good settings for a story I think! Or how about fictionalising Camille Fily, who rode the Tour de France in 1904 aged 17, the youngest ever rider, a race full of cheating and fighting and guns – and some cycling!
The book I’ve just finished writing is set in the years after the Second World War. It’s about the Ratlines, the escape routes Nazis used to get out of Europe, and revenge. I’m interested in what happens to people after major events. Because that’s the thing that fascinates – history never ends. What happened next? There’s always something to find.
And what are you hoping for as a member of the Time Tunnellers?
To burrow into all sorts of different periods of history and help retell the stories. History is not just about kings and queens and generals and prime ministers. The history of children, and children’s contribution to history, is so often overlooked – Svetlana Alexeivich, a brilliant oral historian, wrote a staggering book called Last Witnesses, recording memories of children in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. She’s tried to make sure what young people went through is not forgotten.
You Time Tunnellers make history come alive and I’d like to help do that as well. Some of the most successful podcasts at the moment, being downloaded in their millions, are about history – people are interested in our pasts. Because history is exciting. And history matters, always has and always will.
Thanks so much for answering our questions, Robin. We can’t wait to see where our time tunnelling adventures take us next!
Looking back
Our 100 videos so far have provided us with some great moments and brilliant memories. Here are some reflections from Time Tunnellers old and new:
Ally Sherrick
Settings are often the first spark for my own stories and I've particularly enjoyed my fellow Time Tunnellers' 'on location' videos.
Favourites include Susan's trip into the brilliant miniature world of engineering toymaker maestro, Frank Hornby at the museum dedicated to his inspirational creations at Maghull, near Liverpool.
Also Barbara's guided tour of the atmospheric Culloden Battlefield site, near Inverness, the setting for her exciting Jacobite Rebellion book 'The Reluctant Rebel'.
And then there's Catherine's post from the Wright Brothers National Memorial Museum in North Carolina, USA all about the famous early pioneers of aviation - 'First to Flight'.
And I had great fun out in the wilds myself doing a spot of Time Tunnelling filming at one of my best-loved historic sites in the UK, the ruins of Chysauster Romano-British village near Penzance.
History and the stories hidden inside it are all around us - you just need to remember to pack your curiosity. Oh, and something to dig with too!
Barbara Henderson
What a long way we have come since those very early tentative conversations about ‘maybe doing something for those of us who write historical fiction’. What a learning curve it has been too - I had done very little video recording and editing until we started the YouTube channel.
I am obviously thrilled to have another Scot on the Time Tunnellers team in Robin now, too - and for me, time-tunnelling has been a brilliant excuse to explore some places which were significant in Scotland’s past for myself. Yes, all these videos have been challenging to record or edit at times - but what I love is that they are now there as a resource for schools whenever they may want them. Take a look!
Sometimes the best videos are the ones about history you didn’t know you wanted to know about! For me, an example of that was Catherine’s video about the history of holidays, Thomas Cook and all that! She gets extra brownie points for dressing up too - I loved it, and I think that any youngsters will find it interesting too.
The same goes for Ally Sherrick’s mediaeval banquet video- who knew that putting a meal on the table could be so complicated! And again, much kudos for the dramatic presentation and props - it goes a long way for me as a Drama teacher.
Another favourite was Susan Browrigg’s video on female pirates - I had never given any thought to the fact that pirates may have been women, not had I heard of the famous pirate graveyard!
I also loved Matt’s recent video offering a tour of a Tudor hall - especially the nifty manoeuvring across an actual map - an ideal resource for anyone studying the Tudors.
My favourite video by Matt must be the one on the ghost signs - I had never, ever really noticed them, but on a recent trip to London I could not help looking up - only because I had watched his video. As I said - a bit of history that I didn’t know I wanted to know about - but I really did!
In terms of Guest Time Tunnellers, Lindsay Littleson’s video on travelling in 3rd class on Titanic was a real eye opener, and I think that schools would find it really fascinating. We should be proud of our back catalogue!
Matthew Wainwright
From the first time I saw one of the Time Tunnellers’ videos I was hooked! Their enthusiasm and passion for history shone through, and I learned more than I thought possible in the space of three and a half minutes. TED Talks, eat your heart out!
I remember thinking what a precious thing it was to have authors talking about history. Children relate to authors in a particular way - they trust them as custodians of stories, and often feel like they've come to know their favourite authors just through reading their books … which I suppose is quite possible, in a way.
Having authors talk about historical subjects gave them a special kind of life - and there was always the fact that you then had a brilliant book to go to if you wanted to learn even more!
The first videos I remember seeing were their Birth of a Book series for World Book Day 2022, followed closely by a powerful run of videos for Women's History Month. They got me hooked!
Aside from those, one of my favourites was Catherine Randall's overseas location shoot for The Lost Colony - the story of the first English settlers on Roanoke Island in North Carolina, who vanished without a trace in the late 16th century. I love a good mystery, and it felt very exotic to have a Time Tunneller reporting from the states!
I was thrilled, honoured, and a little disbelieving when I was asked, first to contribute as a guest, and then to join the team in late 2022. It's been a fantastic year, working with brilliant colleagues to produce outstanding videos that I know will be used and enjoyed for many years to come.
Susan Brownrigg
I am so proud that the Time Tunnellers have achieved 100 videos! I have relished the opportunity to explore a new topic when it has been my turn and I have ventured out to some fab locations for research including Windermere, Worsley Delph, Maghull, Pendle Hill and of course Blackpool!
I have also had great pleasure inviting some of my favourite authors to take part including M A Bennett, Jenni Spangler, Marie Basting, Laura Noakes and Richard O'Neill among them! I do hope you will watch their videos, if you haven't already!
I have learned so much history from watching the Time Tunnellers videos and I hope you will investigate our playlists and see just what a variety of subjects we have covered since we began back in in August 2021.
Recording the videos is always fun, even if it takes several takes, but the one I most enjoyed making was the BBC one when I got to play homage to presenter Annette Mills and the famous puppet!
Congratulations Time Tunnellers! Here's to the next 100 videos!
Competition Time!
To celebrate our 100th video, we’ve joined forces for a historical hamper giveaway! We’ve all donated books, making a great mini-library for any classroom or home bookshelf.
Ally Sherrick
The Queen's Fool
Vita and the Gladiator
Barbara Henderson
Rivet Boy
The Chessmen Thief
The Siege of Caerlaverock
Matthew Wainwright
Out of the Smoke
Through Water and Fire
Robin Scott-Elliot
Sweet Skies
Finding Treasure Island
Susan Brownrigg
Gracie Fairshaw and the Mysterious Guest
Kintana and the Captain’s Curse
Entering is very simple: just head on over to the giveaway posts on our social media channels and like, repost (where possible) and tag a friend in the comments. Don’t forget to make sure you’re following us so we can get in touch if there’s good news!
