November 2013 in Review

This is an index and summary of the things I’ve talked about over the last month. Links for multi-post subjects go to the first post (even if it’s before this month), you can follow the internal navigation links from there.

Books

Fiction

“Crewel” Gennifer Albin. A rather disappointing YA dystopia. Library book.

“Enchanted Glass” Diana Wynne Jones. Childrens’ fantasy book about magicians & fairies. Library book.

“Poltergeist” Kat Richardson. Sequel to Greywalker, urban fantasy about a ghost-seeing PI in Seattle. Library book.

Total: 3

Concerts

Marillion playing at the Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury, 9/11/2013.

Steven Wilson at the Royal Albert Hall, 20/10/2013.

Total: 2

Photos

Camera Shy.

Expedition.

Gathering.

Past Glory.

Tattered.

Total: 5

Radio

The Book of Common Prayer. In Our Time episode about the history & contents of the Book of Common Prayer.

The Corn Laws. In Our Time episode about the Corn Laws of the early 19th Century.

Galen. In Our Time episode about Galen, the 2nd Century AD Greek physician.

Total: 2

Talks

“The Arts of War: Assyrian Narrative Art” Nigel Tallis. Talk at the British Museum Members’ Open Evening in November 2013.

“Ritual and Religion in Egyptian Mines and Quarries” Hannah Pethen. Talk given at the EEG meeting in November, about the rituals and mythology that the Ancient Egyptians had surrounding mining.

Total: 2

Television

Fiction

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor.

Total: 1

Non-Fiction

Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life. David Attenborough talks about Darwin, Darwin’s theory of evolution and Attenborough’s own past.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Film about the Chuavet cave paintings.

Dan Snow’s A History of Congo. Depressing look at the last 150 or so years of the history of Congo & how this has left the country in a state.

David Starkey’s Music and Monarchy. David Starkey tells us all about the influence the English monarchy has had on English music starting from Henry V through to the present day.

Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide. Programme about the 50 year backstory & history of Doctor Who.

Games Britannia. History of games in Britain, we only watched the first episode.

A Hundred Years of Us. Aired to coincide with the 2011 census this is a look at how British culture has changed over the last hundred years.

The King’s War on Witches: Revealed. Rather good Channel 5 documentary about James VI & I’s witchhunts.

Metal: How it Works. Series about the history & use of various materials (only the first episode is about metals).

Nelson’s Caribbean Hell-hole: An Eighteenth Century Navy Graveyard Uncovered. Sam Willis follows an archaeological excavation in Antigua, uncovering 18th Century Navy burials.

The Ottomans: Europe’s Muslim Emperors. Series about the history of the Ottoman Empire presented by Rageh Omaar.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Simon Armitage talks about the poem Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, and his translation of it.

Stories of the Dark Earth: Meet the Ancestors Revisted. Julian Richards returns to digs that were originally filmed for Meet the Ancestors more than a decade ago & sees what new things have been learnt.

Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Burnt Mummy. Cut down version of Ultimate Tut.

The Viking Sagas. Rather weak programme on the Viking sagas presented by Janina Ramirez.

When Coal Was King. Timeshift episode about the culture of coal miners in the 1940s & 50s. Not a full post.

Total: 16