Harald Hardrada

I have just finished reading a very interesting article in the new magazine "All About History". The magazine is very accessible with numerous illustrations. I thought it might make an easy read and was not expecting to learn very much. 

Well, I was pleasantly surprised by a very informative article about the life of Norwegian Viking, Harald Hardrada and his amazing career prior to the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September 1066.

I had only ever heard about Hardrada's attempt to seize the English Crown at the same time as Duke William of Normandy's successful attempt. His life had become a footnote. This article gives a fairly thorough account of his time in the lands of the Kiev Rus, in Poland, Estonia and later in the service of Byzantium.

The magazine is worth a look. I found some of the spelling and grammatical errors disappointing. Hopefully these will be corrected. However the range of articles is very wide and the subjects are often quite unusual. Let's see how it evolves.

Gettysburg 150th Anniversary

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3 1863, some of the the family watched with me the Blu Ray Director's Cut of the epic movie "Gettysburg". This is the way to watch the movie. The 17 minutes of additional footage makes a huge difference to the quality and clarity of the story-telling. 

The additional footage is most helpful in the re-telling of the first day's battle, adding a richness to the story of Buford and Reynold's defense of McPherson Ridge. It also adds depth and historical understanding to the fight for Little Round Top. A marvellous movie in its best possible form. Highly recommended.

Hard to believe that 50 years ago I was first intrigued by the National Geographic Magazine article (Vol 124, No.1 July 1963) that first captured my interest in this most important and interesting battle.

The magazine article featured the most amazing stylized 3D diagrams of the battle. These inspired not only my interest in Gettysburg and ACW history but also my life-long passion for collecting wargames miniatures.

Most importantly, I have a deep respect for the men in Blue and Gray and an abiding sadness for their struggle. Robert F. Maxwell's 1993 movie of Gettysburg captures the poignancy, bravery and drama so well. The 5,000 re-enactors who took part in the movie and the excellent professional cast make this  a must-watch movie for anyone who cares to understand the battle...and its protagonists.