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Catherine Clarke

@cathamclarke.bsky.social
7.3K followers 3.5K following 3.4K posts

Writer, historian, professor. Director @chppc.bsky.social and @vch-home.bsky.social. #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems (Penguin Allen Lane, 2025): a Book of the Year in The Times, FT & BBC History Extra. Find me in my beach hut. www.catherineclarke.info

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Reposted by Catherine Clarke
Mark Wallace @wallaceme.bsky.social · 12h
It’s a little known fact that all the words associated with paying to see the Bayeux Tapestry are derived from Anglo-Saxon while all the words for being invited to see it by a corporate sponsor derive from French.
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 13h
I loved this conversation with Dr John Burton for his #podcast, The Scholar's Armchair. Lots of very thoughtful questions and insights (of course John knows a thing or two about poetry himself!). Please have a watch / listen! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmsx...
youtube.com
A History of England in 25 Poems | Prof Catherine Clarke
YouTube video by Dr. John Burton
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 20h
How lovely to have a short piece in the new issue of The Deep Read, from indie bookseller institution Mr B's Emporium! At the start of October, I'm wondering what 'National' and 'Poetry' have got to do with each other...? It turns out - rather a lot! mrbsemporium.com/articles/202...
Cover image for this issue of The Deep Read, featuring a picture of Catherine Clarke and the book cover of A History of England in 25 Poems, plus a photo for another article (on pianos in literature!!)
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 20h
Want this so much.
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 21h
I've enjoyed checking out the newly re-vamped #Evellum site, from eminent Australian medievalist Bernard Muir. Loads of excellent resources for studying #medieval #manuscripts and their production. evellum.net
Screenshot of the Evellum website
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I had a wonderful time this morning speaking about A History of England in 25 Poems in the beautiful Casterbridge Room at The King's Arms, #Dorchester, as the guest of the brilliant Teasel & Skylark books. A lovely audience, with great questions and conversation. Signed copies now in the shop!
Catherine Clarke in the Casterbridge Room at The Kings Arms, holding a copy of A History of England in 25 PoemsAudience in the Casterbridge Room, seated around small tables, listening to Catherine's talkCatherine at the lectern giving her talk, with pictures of Edgecote House on the screen and the audience at tables
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Some of you know that I'm working on a book about mud. And I'm a big fan of @radiolento.bsky.social (check them out if you've not discovered their beautiful soundscapes). So this is just perfect!
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Yesterday I had an adventure by the #Thames with writer, author of the acclaimed book London Clay, #mudlark (and many other things!) Tom Chivers. He was #mudlarking and I observed: you need a licence to mudlark on the foreshore. Research for my new book #Mud: A Human History. See AltText for more!
Tom Chivers and Catherine Clarke (selfie photo) on the foreshoreThe soft mud (alluvium) layer deposited by the tide each day. Here it's scooped onto a trowel. GORGEOUS consistency - Tom compared it to 'ganache'Caribbean coral, used as ballast by the East India Company ships which moored hereTwo revetment posts. One of these is wood, the other is a huge whale bone!
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Oh but series 2 of The Four Seasons on Netflix is such a tonic for middle-aged despondency and weariness. Just finished the last episode and loved it.
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm thrilled that A History of England in 25 Poems has been chosen as one of the Waterstones Paperbacks of the Year! I'm so grateful for this support - and especially to the booksellers in shops across the country who've championed the book. It's on offer too: www.waterstones.com/campaign/pap...
Social media card reading 'Waterstones Paperbacks of the Year' with an image of the cover of A History of England in 25 Poems. Also reads 'Available from your local Waterestones or Waterstones.com'
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
That time when I brought a tray of home-made cupcakes to an important meeting at the Palace of Westminster (UK Parliament) and had to put them through several security scanners, then arrive at the meeting and tell everyone they were actually for something later and no one could eat any 👍
These were the very cakes. Small iced cupcakes, decorated with red jelly hearts, in a tray containerUK Houses of Parliament / Westminster, with the tower commonly known as 'Big Ben'
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Reposted by Catherine Clarke
Dr Laura Varnam @drlauravarnam.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I cannot recommend this book highly enough- CLOSE READING FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, ed Sinykin & Winant. It’s inspiring me for the term ahead! Eng Lit tutors, what are your favourite ways of teaching close reading in a university context?
Close Reading for the Twenty-First Century book, ed Dan Sinykin & Johanna Winant
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Perfect September #BeachHut evening
View across the beach with low sun, shadows from shells and pebbles on the sand, and silvery light on the seaView across the beach with a wave breaking, the hills of Purbeck dark in the distance, the sky banded with orange light and cloud at sunsetGlass lantern on a table in the beach hut with a flickering candle. Through the open beach hut door, the beach and sea are visible beyond
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I was delighted to be one of three judges for this year's Conversation Prize. Huge congratulations to @emilyrobinson.bsky.social, our unanimous choice as winner for her brilliant work on the vanishing island of Ravenser Odd. Congratulations too to Alison Garden on her powerful writing. Read more:
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Here's the proper social media card from Waterstones. Join me and the brilliant @willtullett.bsky.social on Monday 12 October at Gower Street! We'll be in conversation over our new #books and surprising ways into #history - through smell and time machine poems... www.waterstones.com/events/new-w...
https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-ways-into-history-from-smells-to-sonnets-with-will-tullett-and-catherine-clarke/london-gower-street
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
On Monday 12 October, I'll be at Waterstones Gower Street (London) with the brilliant @willtullett.bsky.social, for 'New Ways Into History: From Smells to Sonnets'. Come along to be surprised by #history as you've never heard (or sniffed) it before! Book a ticket: www.waterstones.com/events/new-w...
https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-ways-into-history-from-smells-to-sonnets-with-will-tullett-and-catherine-clarke/london-gower-street
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Reposted by Catherine Clarke
Chris Millard @chrismillard83.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“Universities have managed staff costs significantly below inflation,[between 2016-17 and 2023-24] increasing only 14% compared to the 41.2% increase in RPIX [measure of inflation]” Substantial real terms pay cut, which continues a trend existing years before that…
gov.uk
Cost of undergraduate provision and qualifications in England
A study of the full economic cost of providing undergraduate-level higher education and other qualifications in England.
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
#Dorset friends! On Saturday 3 October I'll be at the King's Arms Hotel, #Dorchester, as the guest of the brilliant Teasel & Skylark bookshop. I'll be sharing stories and behind-the-scenes insights from A History of England in 25 Poems. Come and join us! www.teaselandskylark.com/events/a-his...
teaselandskylark.com
A History of England in 25 Poems with Writer and Historian, Catherine Clarke — Teasel & Skylark
What if you could use a poem to time travel into England’s past? Catherine Clarke’s new history book tells the history of England in a brilliant new way
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Autumn days at the beach hut are the best ❤️
View from inside the beach hut out onto the beach and sea. Notebook and pen on the wooden table Beach with groyne and seagull sitting on the top. Blue sky with white and grey clouds View from the beach hut across the promenade and beach to the sea
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Walking back to Waterloo...
View from Waterloo Bridge towards Westminster. Blue sky and white clouds, sunshine. Brown but sparkling Thames water with a barge in the foreground. The Royal Festival Hall, London Eye and Westminster in the distance.
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Reposted by Catherine Clarke
Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
In case anyone would like to read an extract of this, I've uploaded one here: www.tom-cox.com/the-village-...
tom-cox.com
The Village Message Board
Its authenticity was discredited because of his reputation, but also because he was quick with gin at the time and wearing an item of knitwear back to front.
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School of Advanced Study, University of London @sas-news.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The @ihr.bsky.social, @senatehouselib.bsky.social and SAS are excited to announce that bookings are now open for History Day 2026! 🥳 Save the date for Wednesday 18 November and join us in Senate House for this celebration of all things history. Book your free place: bit.ly/4yw4zWt
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Reposted by Catherine Clarke
Radio Lento @radiolento.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
If you are new here, please say hi. 👋 How did you find out about us? Here's a good first listen. 🎧 Each episode is best with headphones to get the 3d experience. *Sleep safe* means there are no unpredictable louder sounds.
radiolento.podbean.com
78 The birds that sing on the cusp of night - a leafy ravine in the Peak District (sleep safe after 16 mins) | Radio Lento podcast
Early June days, up in the green of the Peak District hills, do not give way easily to night. The birds won't let them. Brimming over with life and song, they sing at the dying light to stay, with all...
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
They're finally here! A History of England in 25 Poems - in paperback! Definitely worth the wait. #history #book
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Victoria County History @vch-home.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
NEW JOB! We are pleased to share news from our friends at VCH Hampshire who are advertising for a contributing editor to edit, research, and write work towards the county's first #BigRedBook for over a century. Applications close 1 October. #Skystorians #LocalHistory
jobs.ac.uk
Contributing Editor at Victoria County History Hampshire
Recruiting now: Contributing Editor on jobs.ac.uk. Click for details and explore more academic job opportunities on the top job board
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Victoria County History @vch-home.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Support our project in Essex on 26 September by joining VCH Essex for an exciting in-person afternoon event exploring research about the Essex landscape and its history (£). Including talks from Prof. Steve Rippon, Ken Crowe, Emma Cannell and Ken Worpole - along with copious supplies of cake. 🗃️
eventbrite.co.uk
Exploring Essex History: Essex Landscape
The annual VCH Essex conference
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Leicestershire VCH Trust @leicsvcht.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Do you live in or near Bardon, Markfield or Stanton under Bardon? Would you like to find out more about their histories, or contribute what you already know? We have a new volunteer project starting this month. @charnwoodforest.bsky.social @vch-home.bsky.social
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Reposted by Catherine Clarke
Victoria County History @vch-home.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
We hope that, in time, this work will compliment the superb place-based work already done in #Dorset, including the wonder Royal Commission inventory volumes, already available @bho.bsky.social. There will, naturally, be much agonising as to exactly which pictures of Corfe Castle get used...
british-history.ac.uk
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset | British History Online
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
And my own home county too! So excited about this and looking forward to getting involved with the project locally, as well as in my @ihr.bsky.social / @vch-home.bsky.social role. #Dorset #history
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
10th of September and the first school email about head lice has dropped ✔️
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The definitive telling of the Battle of Hastings? (It's not the #BayeuxTapestry... And William was OFF SIDE!!!) A little homage to Marriott Edgar and Stanley Holloway. Part 1...
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Come and see me at Frinton Literary Festival on Thursday 22 October, 7.30pm! "As featured on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week. Discover over 1,000 years of England's history through 25 extraordinary poems." frintonliteraryfestival.littleboxoffice.com/events/170296
Composite image with the cover of A History of England in 25 Poems, the logo of the Frinton Literary Festival, and the event banner image: 'A History of England in 25 Poems with Professor Catherine Clarke', featuring a photo of Catherine Clarke in front of a stone wall, and a small inset of the book cover
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Congratulations, Will! I had the privilege to read this #book pre-publication and really cannot recommend it highly enough. Get sniffing that #history right now!
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Leonie V. Hicks @lvhicks.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I was lucky and got to go to the reception at the British Museum last night to see the #BayeuxTapestry. I've seen it before, but it makes a huge difference seeing it displayed in one continuous length, rather than the U shape in the old museum in Bayeux. #medievalsky #skystorians 1/
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Leonie V. Hicks @lvhicks.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Just in case you've lost the link to donate to the RNLI rnli.org. The sea does not discriminate, neither does the RNLI and nor should we.
rnli.org
RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution - Saving Lives at Sea
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. We do this through lifeboat search and rescue, lifeguards, water safety education and international interventions.
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School of Advanced Study, University of London @sas-news.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
In her latest article for @theconversation.com, @cathamclarke.bsky.social from the @ihr.bsky.social writes about a lesser-known Bayeux tapestry story: before Hastings, William and Harold were comrades and brothers in arms, not enemies. Read more: theconversation.com/the-bayeux-t...
theconversation.com
The Bayeux tapestry’s lesser-known tale of bromance: William and Harold were friends before they were enemies
In the tapestry’s early scenes depicting what happened before 1066, William of Normandy and Harold Godwinson helped each other.
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
The King lives! What if Harold didn't die at the Battle of Hastings? This strange medieval legend rewrites the story of the #BayeuxTapestry and the history we think we know. Disclaimer: Elvis sightings and Gerald of Wales to be treated with caution... 1/3
Composite image with Harold in the Bayeux Tapestry, and a newspaper front page about Elvis sightings
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Thank you to the lovely people at Waterstones Castlepoint #Bournemouth for this table display! Signed copies in store now. #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems #book #paperback
A table display of paperback books (A History of England in 25 Poems by Catherine Clarke). The sign above reads: A History of England in 25 Poems, Catherine Clarke. A fresh and immersive portal into England's past, this luminous history leads the reader from the Great Fire of London to the Miners' Strike and beyond through a study of the poetry of those who bore witness to transformative chapters in the nation's story.
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
A wonderful day at the Purbeck International Chamber Music Festival. My 15yo daughter played in a masterclass with cellist and Festival Artistic Director Natalie Clein. Now we're here in Wareham for this evening's concert of world-class chamber music. And all in golden September light...
My daughter, with cello on her back, facing out to sea on the front at Swanage Festival programme in St Mary's, Wareham Looking out across the bay in Swanage. Blue sky, sea, cliffs in the distance
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
80 years ago, in 1946, a group of babies were born who have changed medical science – and my Dad is one of them. They’ve been followed throughout their lives by the National Survey of Health and Development. And yesterday they gathered in London to celebrate 80 years of this amazing study! 1/3
My Dad standing outside Senate House, University of LondonMy Dad by a screen which says '80th Birthday Talks'. There are logos for the National Survey of Health and Development and the Medical Research Council, and the illustration of a tree with roots making '80', which was on their birthday cards from the study this year
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Et maintenant... en français! theconversation.com/avant-detre-...
theconversation.com
Avant d’être ennemis, ils étaient amis… La bromance méconnue de Guillaume le Conquérant et Harold
Avant de s’affronter à Hastings en 1066, Guillaume de Normandie et Harold Godwinson furent alliés et compagnons d’armes. La tapisserie de Bayeux raconte aussi cette étonnante histoire d’amitié.
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Happy official #paperback publication day to A History of England in 25 Poems! It's been a hectic morning here, with my son's first day at secondary school and more Bayeux Tapestry interviews... Lovely to escape briefly for a celebratory lunch with my favourite girl and raise a glass. Cheers!
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Leonie V. Hicks @lvhicks.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
As promised (threatened), here is a brief Norman history reading list for those who want to know more. It's not comprehensive becuase i haven't got all day, but it is a starting point normanlandscapes.wordpress.com/2026/09/03/l... #Normans #medievalsky #skystorians #BayeuxTapestry.
normanlandscapes.wordpress.com
Leonie’s Norman History reading list!
The blog has been quiet for a while [gestures at UK HE problems], but given BBC Radio 4 is having a Normans day to mark the opening of the Bayeux Tapestry, it seemed sensible to put up some sensibl…
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Leonie V. Hicks @lvhicks.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Given it is apparently 'Norman day', here's the piece I wrote when the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry was announced by Macron in 2018 to everyone's surprise. So much still pertains! normanlandscapes.wordpress.com/2018/01/18/p... #BayeuxTapestry #Normans #medievalsky #skytorians.
normanlandscapes.wordpress.com
Politically and historically conflicted: thoughts on the Macron, May, and the Bayeux Tapestry
As everyone knows by now President Macron has agreed to loan the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK, possibly in 2022 and definitely subject to conservation decisions.* Since the announcement, I’ve be…
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Amid all this #BayeuxTapestry excitement, have you spotted that the hardback of #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems has a tiny detail of it on the back cover? In both hardback & paperback, turn to Chapter 3 for the English version of the story: guerrilla, resistance poetry, holding the Conqueror to account.
Back cover of the hardback edition. Blurb and a small collage detail from the Bayeux Tapestry (we can see tiny details of garments in the embroidery), in the shape of a birdChapter title page for Chapter 3: Conquest and Resistance 'The Death of King William' from the Peterborough Chronicle (around 1087)Cover of A History of England in 25 Poems by Catherine Clarke. A design of three birds
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
#Paperback meet-cute! I haven't had my author copies yet, so this was my first encounter, in Foyles Waterloo this evening. I love them! Signed copies in store now - and thanks to lovely Zishi for buying the first one 🧡
Hand holding paperback book, A History of England in 25 Poems. Cover design of three birds. Little Penguin logo at top rightBack cover in classic Penguin orange, with author photo and review quotesPile of copies on the table with the classic orange Penguin spine
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Rosalind Ahmed @21rosa.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Any discussion opening with Benjamin Zephaniah in his own words is going to be riveting. And @cathamclarke.bsky.social is clearly having a blast here, sounding both scholarly and scatalogical. A lot of good stuff is packed into this all too brief convo; brilliant👌🏻🙏🏻 #humanities #poetry #literature
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
The final countdown to the paperback of A History of England in 25 Poems, out this Thursday 3 September! I'm especially excited that it actually has the little Penguin on the front cover - and the classic orange spine 🧡🐧. I'd be so grateful for any last pre-orders 🙏 www.penguin.co.uk/books/461263...
Cover of A History of England in 25 Poems by Catherine Clarke, with a design of three birds. A quote from The Times, Books of the Year (Dominic Sandbook): 'Marvellous, brilliantly realised'
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Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
That time when we stayed at a holiday park near Battle, East Sussex, and ate our fry-up breakfast under the #BayeuxTapestry (sort of)...
The restaurant in a holiday park with a mural inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry, partly in the style of the Tapestry and partly in a kind of 18th-century landscape style...
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Wendy Allen @wendycaitlin.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
V important Saturday listening re the brilliant @cathamclarke.bsky.social.
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