Alfonso VI was the first of the Spanish kings to modernise the castle. Alfonso X "The Wise" made Alcázar into one of his favourite residences.

Alcazar castle in Segovia, Spain, was first mentioned in records dating back to 1122 as a hill-fort set atop a rocky outcrop between the rivers Eresma and Clamores. By 1155 this hill-fort became known as “Alcazar”, which in Arabic meant royal residence. It was from here that Columbus was promised the funds required for his venture to discover a new route to Asia but instead he came across a new and untamed land…. The rest is history.

Alfonso VI was the first of the Spanish kings to modernise the castle. Alfonso X "The Wise" made Alcázar into one of his favourite residences.

In the 14th century the castle was the centre of a fight between factions of the nobility. The use of cannons caused Alcázar to strengthen her walls and extend its defences as the nobility fought for control. The fortress played an integral part in Isabella being crowned Queen of Castile.

Around the start of the 13th century, Alcazar was again altered and enlarged. King John II during the period 1405 and 1454 extended the moat that surrounded the castle. He also extended the east tower which bears his name.

King Phillip II married his fourth wife, Anne of Austria at Alcazar. He also covered the roofs with conical slate spires which were popular in Central Europe at the time.

Alcazar played an important role during the civil wars in the 19th century and was used as a prison until 1764, when it became the Royal School of Artillery. The school was moved to the Convent of Saint Francis after a fire in 1862 destroyed many of the castles roofs. It was restore some twenty years later in a romantic style grander than the original building.

In 1898, the General Military Archives were moved to the castles upper floors and in 1953; the "Patronato del Alcázar" (Alcázar Trust) of Segovia was created.

• bottle (750 mll) of an inexpensive, sweet white wine

• 1 -2 cups honey

• 1 tbs. each cinnamon, galingale (or substitute ginger), & cardamom

• 1 tsp. white pepper

• cheesecloth

Method :

Bring the wine and honey to a boil; reduce heat & skim off the scum as it rises. Taste for sweetness; add honey as necessary.

Remove from heat, stir in spices, and allow sitting covered for 24 hours.

After sitting, the spices will create a thick residue which will settle to the bottom. Using a ladle, pass the wine into another container through a strainer lined with 2 or 3 layers of cheesecloth to remove the spices, being careful to leave as much of the spice residue in the pot as possible.

Bottle.

Make at least 1 month before serving.

A good Clarrey aged for a year or more is exquisite!

Drink and be Merry

Town Life Pt1

During the 11th century, under new found peace and order, peasants began to venture deeper and deeper in to the local countryside, expanding their farms and villages.

This new found security meant that peddlers had the confidence to venture further a field. They went from village to village selling their goods. As demand for goods grew, more luxurious items like gemstones and silks from the newly opened east found new markets. These peddlers now found that they had to deal with the merchants from Genoa and Venice and become more coherent with the complex issues of trade, accounting, commerce and contracts. They learnt to become businessmen. The English and other European traders were able to take their coal, iron and other commodities and trade them for wine and olive oil.

With the arrival of these new found skills, feudal life began to change. Tradesmen became wealthier and resented having to give their hard earned wealth to the lords of the land. This led to the first ever system of taxation. The townspeople worked out arrangements with their lords or king, to pay them a sum of all monies earned. For this they gained independence for their town and were able to take on the status of “borough” and govern themselves.

In part 2 we take a brief look at how the first governments and companies were formed.

Reconfirm all your reservations.

Get traveller’s checks from the bank.

Make arrangements to purchase some foreign currency if you are travelling abroad.

Check your insurance for expiration dates and coverage for your car, home and the valuables that you’ll take with you, as well as those you’ll leave at home.

If travelling by car, get the car checked and have the oil changed. Don’t wait until the last minute, it may take time to get an appointment and parts may need to be ordered. You also want some time to drive around town and make sure that whatever they fixed stays fixed.

Put your valuables and jewellery in a safety deposit box.

If you don’t have, or can’t get access to a safety deposit box, you still want to hinder a hurried burglar by hiding valuable items in your house

ONE WEEK AHEAD

Reduce the amount of fresh items you buy at the supermarket, such as milk, fruit and other perishables you’ll need to throw out before you leave. Get out the suitcase and start your packing.

Be sure your luggage is marked with identification on the inside and out.

Start adjusting your sleeping and eating habits closer to your destination’s time zone to help avoid jetlag.

Make at least two lists of credit card numbers and travellers check serial numbers.

Make several copies of your passport. Leave one list at home and keep the other with you in case you lose your passport. Do not keep the copies on your person, rather keep a copy in your suitcase and/or give your travelling companion a copy.

Notify the local police and if you have one installed, the security system company to immediately consider any alarms as real.

Leave with them the names of anyone responsible to watch over your house.

Check prescriptions for necessary refills; bring a list with the drug’s generic name listed since the brand names available can differ in other areas.

After a month I needed to do something else, a new direction. I gave myself a £1000 budget to get a small business up and running and try to create a small income to add to my pension, but what type of business? Some years ago I ran my own furniture business alongside my teaching and I loved it, but the dust and the pressure were too much to bear so I stopped it. I didn’t want a manual job; I wanted to be an actor. Let’s be clear about this, my teaching experience, my design ability and lack of nerves speaking in public all are good qualifications for an actor. But how do I get to be an actor in an over populated field when so many talented people are already there?

Ever woken up after a night of deep sleep and had the answer in your head? Well I did, May 2004 it was, I had dreamt of being King Henry VIII the actor, not a silly notion really because my nickname at school had always been Henry because of my uncanny likeness to the fellow. I will become King Henry VIII, the best reenactor available, I will do all myself, no manager, no team effort and I will own every right to my act. I started straight away, biggest job was to convince my wife Margaret that I wasn’t a crazy person and that the £1000 budget was a good investment. Next I needed an accurate costume that was tricky, I needed a good costumier nearby for fittings who appreciated the problems involved and could find unusual materials. I needn’t have worried, I found a dressmaker in my own village who understood straight away the costume I wanted, my copy of Holbien’s portrait from the Walker gallery was my master. She worked on it for 6 weeks and the outcome was astonishing, not only did the complicated costume fit first time it was perfect in every detail.

During this 6 week period I gave myself the task of learning to be Henry, reading all the books available, 15 books, 6 video’s, 100’s of websites. The main thing missing was experience memories, I needed to live Henry to go to his places and feel what he felt. I planned a series of trips to Castles, Houses and even his Progresses, in total 15000 miles. Then I went to Henry VII places and even Margaret Beaufort’s until I felt I could answer any question asked and better still fall back on visual memories when in conversation. It may sound fanatical, but I had to relive another person’s life in 6 weeks.

August 2004 my costume was ready, my brain was full of King Henry my body could walk like him, I could talk like him my attitude and personality became Henry as soon as I put it on. But I hadn’t got any work. Sometimes pure luck takes a hand, only 3 days after I had become King Henry VIII my local Tudor house, Astley Hall, was in desperate need to fill in a gap caused by Jugglers not tuning up for a 3 day bank holiday show. This was my curtain call, I rang up and offered them King Henry VIII, emailed them a photograph in my costume, they offered me my first gig.

Hey hang on I thought to myself, you’re going to enter the public arena dressed as King Henry VIII, talk to hundred’s of people and try to convince them your genuine! The thought was only in my mind for milliseconds because I knew I could pull it off, my confidence was as high as Henry’s ego. The three days went wonderfully fast, I enjoyed every minute, the visitors were enthralled. Better still a newspaper reporter was in the crowd and my story was published “King Henry lives!”, then another took up the copy, then another until I have had 10 newspaper stories, 2 magazines and The Discovery Channel have included my in their “My Other Life” series.

The week after the Astley Hall gig another Tudor hall, Samlesbury hall, near Preston asked me to come over for a coffee and a chat, oh and bring Henry with you. They took the chance and offered me a weekly gig every Sunday to take visitors around the hall. This has developed into “Henry’s Tour” which is so popular I get 50 a time and it takes 60 minutes as I drift off into Henry territory and tell them about my royal life.

It was time now to expand, I found an agent in London called Susan Scott, she only deals with very accurate lookalikes who can also act the part, they took me on and have found me two great jobs in London, I sent letters to 250 schools describing the Tudor experience that their students can undertake in my “Children’s Court of King Henry VIII” my book s are now full until Christmas 2005, my books are also beginning to flow in for 2006. I needed a Website, lady luck was there again, who would have thought it that www.HenryTudor.co.uk would be available, and surely somebody would have got it by now? Nope. I got it. That was 8 weeks ago, the website has been growing ever since, letters from visitors to Samlesbury Hall, curious web surfers has given me 1000 hits without any advertising at all.

That’s it, my story up to date. I am now making money; I have been working with Birmingham Theatre who is the Old Vic Company in a promotion for their “Murderous Monarchs” and hope for more of this kind of work in the future. Problem on the horizon is when my wife does actually retire, do I as well or do I make her my honouree Queen? Who knows only Henry and me can decide.

Ray Irving alias King Henry VIII