55 Days @ Hampstead Theatre

Mark Gatiss as Charles I in Howard Brenton's 55 Days.

As a League of Gentlemen fan I was particularly looking forward to seeing Mark Gatiss as Charles I in Howard Brenton's 55 Days at the Hampstead Theatre, and I managed to catch it just before the end of its sell-out run ...

Tracing the Siege of Colchester

Maps of Colchester, old and new.

Update: My interactive map - the companion to this article - can be found here (opens in new window).

A couple of weekends back I managed a quick jaunt around the surviving sites from the 1648 Siege of Colchester.

My guides: the excellent 1997 reprinting of a contemporary siege map produced by Colchester Archaeological Society and the detailed account transcribed in Daniel Defoe's 1722 Essex tour diary ...