A couple of weeks ago John Nevison the highwayman visited the new starters’ literacy summer school at Andrew Marvell Business and Enterprise College in Hull. He reckoned it was the biggest place he has ever hidden in, though not quite as fortified as Skipton Castle where he hid this last weekend.

Not only was he kept safely concealed from the constables and watchmen who were hunting for him, he had a fantastic time. He described exactly how he went about robbing folk in a most courteous manner…

… showed the things he was carrying …

… told a tale or two about his adventures …

… and listened to the children’s corrected accounts of his stories.

Of course the children wrote down what really happened and not the lies printed about Nevison. They put all the best bits back into the stories, made the ballad a song he would be proud of and wrote several stern letters of complaint to the London Gazette concerning the recently published wanted notice. They even kindly offered to fashion up some wanted posters in which he did not look like himself, thus confusing the lawmen now trying to find him.

The children worked hard and enthusiastically and proved themselves to be real scholars. Nevison even began to wish he had stayed at school and not run away at such a young and tender age.

Never one to miss a chance for a game of cards or dice, Nevison even took the opportunity, whilst the children worked upon their labours, to play a round or two with them a group at a time. He reassured the teachers that they would not gamble, for he would not want to lead them astray.

All in all a fine afternoon with some great children at Andrew Marvell Business and Enterprise College. And best of all, the children really enjoyed having him there.

Please click here to find out more about the famous highwayman John Nevison.

* Permission was obtained from the school to use the pictures including children above. 

This summer term Captain Burwash has visited more schools than he has visited islands along the coast of the Americas, and thoroughly enjoyed his journey. Below are some pictures from his visit to a Barnsley school only last week.

The captain is veritable cornucopia of tales about pirates and privateers, buccaneers and filibusters, and here you can see him about to launch into a story about the famous Blackbeard.

Burwash also likes to describe a pirate’s life to the little maids and mannikins, and to show them all sorts of piratical things. Luckily he has all sorts to show them. Here he is waxing lyrical about his trusty cutlass.

Children, being curious by nature, want to know all they can, especially when it comes to pirates. So after describing what his musket is for, and how he stole if from the French during Queen Anne’s War, Burwash showed the children how it is loaded …

… as well as how it is aimed.

After a sturdy lad had a go at carrying and aiming the musket, another came forward to examine the flintstone, learning that a musket is more than just lock, stock and barrel!

The children were excited when the captain handed out a great pile of silver pieces of eight for them to study closely …

… but perhaps not so happy when the captain collected them all back in! Burwash went on to show them a roundshot and grenado, chainshot and doublehead, a boarding axe, clay pipe, ship’s articles, pistols etc etc.

Thank you Sian for these great pictures. I had a fantastic day with all three of your classes.

If you want to know more about Captain Burwash, click here.

Captain Burwash the pirate has been raiding school after school across the county recently, as well as a good number of more distant schools too. (He’s a well traveled man!)

Here you can see him earlier this month during an introductory assembly in a Wakefield school, waxing lyrical about a pirate’s life and adventures. I presume here he was looking up not because he was faced by the tallest child in England (I would have remembered that), but rather he must have been picturing some event from his past, or maybe from another pirate’s past. He does have a habit of stealing not just gold and silver but other pirates’ stories!

Burwash has changed somewhat over the past few years. Below you can see him in his earlier days. Since then he has got a new waistcoat, tricorne, cutlass, musket, pistol, boarding axe, cartouche, and much more besides.

Still, he looks like he was having fun back then too!

If you want to know more about Captain Burwash, click here.

Here I present a medley of miniatures painted by the artistic children of Asquith Primary School. The good captain Eynos posed for them as they sketched with (what he presumed was) their silver point, lead and wad. Afterwards several children insisted he take their portraits away with him, which he was very happy to do.

Click here to find out more about Captain Eynos.

On the topic of portraits, I recently found one of John Nevison the highwayman that was drawn a good few years ago. For a start, its at least four years since Nevison  wore a blue waistcoat, which means the artist is probably a good foot taller by now.

I love the little insert of the stable stalls with two horses peering over the doors, with lanterns and horseshoes hanging behind. I wonder which one is Nutmeg.

Click here to find out more about the famous highwayman John Nevison.

Last weekend I traveled south to the famous ‘re-enactors fair’, as is my wont about once a year. There I was on the look out for new, old things – if you see what I mean? Among the items I purchased were the following three rather contrasting items …

It is hard to say which is my favourite out of these three. The leather flask, shaped like a bottle, is just gorgeous. It is lined with pitch and was the sort of thing used throughout the period all my characters hail from, and so it should prove very useful for keeping my throat moist, as well as an interesting artifact to look at.

The chain shot is something I have been after for some time. My pirate captain Burwash has oft’ spoke of such shot – the sort used to break a potential prize’s spars (masts and yards) and rigging – but up until now he has only been able to show round shot and double head. Now the children can see another variety of artillery shot too.

The little flea glass is a lovely thing, made of wood and horn. It is intended for my character Sir William Petty when I start doing Scientific Revolution sessions with him (which will very much suit the new national curriculum). I am currently tracking down a variety of instruments and apparatus he can demonstrate – from Napier’s Bones to a camera obscura, from Van Leeuwenhoek’s early microscope to a glass prism, to name but a few of the things I would like to get.

I’ll put up news stories here as I obtain or make more things.