The Richard III Society
Adelaide South Australia Branch (Inc)
Newsletter July 2015
Our coronation lunch and we look so serious! Yet we had a delightful lunch with plenty of food to
choose from for main course and dessert. Plus lots of conversation then Judith talked about her trip to
the UK and what she saw of the reburial. She also had photos, programs and other mementoes to
share. Margaret also shared some of her experiences but has no photos as they seem to be lost on her
son’s computer.
Lisa, Di, Judy and Margaret
Judith, Anne and Margaret
Lyn, Chris and John
Judy, Ruth and Judith
Meetings
August 1st is John Forster telling us about the Children’s Book Week books. $5 plus mantelpiece
raffle, 1.30pm for 2pm at NCW 95 South Tce Adelaide.
Any apologies to me asap please.
September 5th is Margaret Collings talking about the history of our branch. There are also 3 photo
albums and other bits and pieces. Long serving members may also contribute. (I’ve been writing up
the minutes and have found some interesting information in some of the old folders)
October 3rd is AGM.
The first part is what Judith wrote for the SA museum newsletter.
King Richard iii
The city of Leicester has certainly focused its whole attention on King Richard iii, from the
University and Cathedral to quite small cafes who invite you to come in and 'Eat like a King', not
taking into account that most of the food they are offering would be unrecognisable to the king!
My daughter Louise and I drove from Liverpool on Saturday 21st March and headed straight for the
University who had a programme of free activities and talks.
I will write about some of the things which I found interesting from these presentations.
'Bones of the Past'. Dr Jo Appleby
If you have seen any footage of the discovery you will have seen Jo in a white suit in the trench with
the skeleton. She said she wore this on the hotter days that Summer and if she needed a drink the
mask and gloves had to be renewed each time. She told us that bones tell you alot about the life of an
individual, especially diet. After Richard became king he drank far more French wine than before ,
infact it made up about 26% of his liquid intake. He had round worms which he probably caught
from the food preparers whose hygiene practices were possibly not of such a high standard as his
own. We know that the upper classes usually washed their hands before meals and were encouraged
not to wipe them on the tablecloth! Status affected the teeth, more sugary foods but no toothbrush,
perhaps just a tooth pick, meant tartar, tooth decay and gum disease. Richard's missing front tooth
fell out after death. He had underdeveloped molars and this is a family trait seen in the remains of
known relatives.
'X marks the Spot' Dr Richard Buckley
Richard has been involved with various projects in Leicester for over 30 years and was pleased to
lead the Greyfriar's project as it was in an area where little excavating had occurred. Leicester has
limited access to building materials so much recycling has been done over the centuries. There is a
belief that some of the materials from the Greyfriars buildings may have been used in the Cathedral
building. Archaeologists often are given access to areas being redeveloped but in the area of the
famous car park there are many substantial Victorian buildings quite close together so there has not
been the opportunity to investigate there. When the initial suggestion was made to search for the
remains of the church (not King Richard, that was in the realm of fantasy, archaeologists do not go
looking for specific people) there were three possible sites. Issues about cost, under ground cables
and providing alternative accommodation for the present users meant that the Social Services
employees car park was chosen. And the rest is history! On the first day, in the first trench the
remains were found.
'Body of Evidence ' Dominic Smee.
This young man (late 20s?) has a similar form of scoliosis to King Richard; one which starts in
adolescence and he has been involved in a project to find out how this condition might have affected
the king's ability to fight in battle. To begin with Dominic was given ready made armour but it was
realised that it needed to be made for him. 'Bespoke Armour '. He was taken to a specialist in
Holland. He had to learn to ride a horse using various weapons all while being filmed. There was a
programme on SBS last year which you may have seen. He found that once he was given a Medieval
style saddle he coped much better, it was more of a chair style and with the legs straight in the
stirrups he had better control. Dominic's training was quite short , King Richard would have started
his as a young boy before the onset of his scoliosis. It was impressive to see this young man cope
with these new experiences and it appears that King Richard was definitely not the hunchback
cripple portrayed in literature. I spoke to Dominic's mother and she said his involvement with this
project had affected the whole family, another son had been the fight partner. It had also raised
people's awareness of the condition, Dominic had chosen not to have an operation and while he had
difficulty lifting heavy objects he was not in pain, the 'look' of his body had caused him concern
when it first started to appear as he was a young teenage then. He is trying to raise money to buy his
own suit of armour as he participates in re-enactments
You may remember that my daughter Louise wrote an article last year for FOSAM Newsletter about
how she managed the display of the remains of King Richard and ironed the cloths for his remains to
be laid out on. This is mentioned in the new book 'The Bones of a King', Louise was interviewed by
Maev Kennedy and I met her at the book launch. Her account is not quite accurate but Maev told me
it was her favourite anecdote in the book. Through my daughter I have met or seen most of the
people who have been part of this amazing story. We decided not to go back to Leicester until later
to view the tomb because of the crowds as we had both seen the coffin.
These are some of the messages Judith emailed.(edited)
22/3/15
Hi Sue. Louise and I drove down from Liverpool this morning and had a very interesting
afternoon at some of the presentations. 'Bones of the Past' Jo Appleby. 'Leicester's Lost King' David
Baldwin. 'X Marks the Spot Richard Buckley. 'Body of Evidence' Dominic Smee. 'The King's
Speech' Philip Shaw. We also went to the book launch of 'The Bones of a King'by Maev Kennedy
and Lin Foxhall. Louise has about one and a half pages about her involvement, not all quite accurate!
I bought a copy for the library and it has been signed by a number of the academics. It was £16.99.
Sunday Louise is helping in the morning when Richard leaves the university and then while she
catches up with friends I will have a look around. Quite cool, about 8°.Not sure if we will come
back on Thursday. Regards Judith
23/3/15 Louise and I drove to Leicester yesterday and had a very enjoyable afternoon listening to
4 talks and attending the launch of the book which has about one and a half pages with a slightly
embellished account of her role. Today she left the hotel about 8am to help with ushering at the
university, I went there about 10 and got quite close to where the short ceremony took place as King
Richard left there for tour around the city and out to the battlefield. While Louise caught up with
friends I had lunch and a walk around the city, very crowded. We left about 3 and got back to
Liverpool about 5.15 so had a good quick drive home. We have watched the ceremony in the
cathedral on tv and are not sure if we will go down there again this week, maybe leave it until it's not
so crowded. The photo of the coffin not good as I was trying to take it over people's heads, the statue
is near the cathedral. Rest day for me tomorrow I think.
The coffin leaving the University.
The Statue in its new position near the Visitors
centre.
14/4/15
I have been to Leicester today with Louise and 2 friends to visit Richard's tomb in the
cathedral and the Visitor Centre. I was very impressed with both and we didn't have to wait at either
place, no crowds now. I think most has been done in a very dignified and fitting manner. It has been
sunny and about 14° so very pleasant.
(26/7/15 comment from Sue- it’s about 14 degrees as I’m doing this newsletter and I think it’s cold!!)
Louise Carr
Judith Carr by the Richard III statue
The holographic representation of the bones in the grave- Visitors centre Leicester
FYI from Wendy Moorhen
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to give you the heads up that I am handing over the membership function, effective
September 2015, to E-Mediacy, the company who distribute the Society’s journals and run the sales
function.
I’ve been involved in the membership since we moved from our original provider, RIMMS Limited,
back in 2003 and when James Petrie resigned a couple of years later I took over the role with my late
husband. It’s been enjoyable but a tremendous amount of work, particularly the past three years since
Richard’s remains were discovered and our membership has doubled!
A little nearer the renewal date, probably end of August/beginning September I will email you with
a spreadsheet of your current members and I would ask you to use the spreadsheet as the basis for
your 2015/2016 returns. This will greatly help E-M to manage your renewals with the minimum of
queries.
For your information the subscription rates and overseas postal supplement remain unchanged :
Full members £24.50
Senior members £18.50
Senior family membership £24.50
Family membership £30.50
Students & Juniors £18.50
Postage charge £9
Kind regards Wendy
A witty, fairly accurate and strangely informative essay about Australia. (Thank you Judith)
AUSTRALIA AND AUSTRALIANS
The following is by Douglas Adams of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" fame.
"Australia is a very confusing place, taking up a large amount of the bottom half of the planet. It
is recognizable from orbit because of many unusual features, including what at first looks like an
enormous bite taken out of its southern edge; a wall of sheer cliffs which plunge into the girting sea.
Geologists assure us that this is simply an accident of geomorphology, but they still call it the "Great
Australian Bight", proving that not only are they covering up a more frightening theory but they can't
spell either.
The first of the confusing things about Australia is the status of the place. Where other
landmasses and sovereign lands are classified as continent, island or country, Australia is considered
all three. Typically, it is unique in this.
The second confusing thing about Australia is the animals. They can be divided into three
categories: Poisonous, Odd, and Sheep. It is true that of the 10 most poisonous arachnids on the
planet, Australia has 9 of them. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that of the 9 most
poisonous arachnids, Australia has all of them. However, there are few snakes, possibly because the
spiders have killed them all.
But even the spiders won't go near the sea. Any visitors should be careful to check inside boots
(before putting them on), under toilet seats (before sitting down) and generally everywhere else. A
stick is very useful for this task.
The last confusing thing about Australia is the inhabitants.
A short history: Sometime around 40,000 years ago some people arrived in boats from the north.
They ate all the available food, and a lot of them died. The ones who survived learned respect for the
balance of nature, man's proper place in the scheme of things, and spiders. They settled in and spent
a lot of the intervening time making up strange stories.
Then, around 200 years ago, Europeans arrived in boats from the north. More accurately,
European convicts were sent, with a few deranged people in charge. They tried to plant their crops
in autumn (failing to take account of the reversal of the seasons), ate all their food, and a lot of them
died.
About then the sheep arrived, and have been treasured ever since. It is interesting to note here
that the Europeans always consider themselves vastly superior to any other race they encounter,
since they can lie, cheat, steal and litigate (marks of a civilized culture they say), whereas all the
Aboriginals can do is happily survive being left in the middle of a vast red-hot desert, equipped with
a stick.
Eventually, the new lot of people stopped being Europeans on 'extended holiday' and became
Australians. The changes are subtle, but deep, caused by the mind-stretching expanses of
nothingness and eerie quiet, where a person can sit perfectly still and look deep inside themselves to
the core of their essence, their reasons for being, and the necessity of checking inside their boots
every morning for fatal surprises. They also picked up the most finely tuned sense of irony in the
world, and the Aboriginal gift for making up stories. Be warned.
There is also the matter of the beaches. Australian beaches are simply the nicest and best in the
world, although anyone actually venturing into the sea will have to contend with sharks, stinging
jellyfish, stonefish (a fish which sits on the bottom of the sea, pretends to be a rock and has
venomous barbs sticking out of its back that will kill just from the pain) and surfboarders. However,
watching a beach sunset is worth the risk.
As a result of all this hardship, dirt, thirst and wombats, you would expect Australians to be a
dour lot. Instead, they are genial, jolly, cheerful and always willing to share a kind word with a
stranger. Faced with insurmountable odds and impossible problems, they smile disarmingly and look
for a stick. Major engineering feats have been performed with sheets of corrugated iron, string and
mud.
Alone of all the races on earth, they seem to be free from the 'Grass is greener on the other side
of the fence' syndrome, and roundly proclaim that Australia is, in fact, the other side of that fence.
They call the land "Oz" or "Godzone" (a verbal contraction of "God's Own Country"). THE
IRRITATING THING ABOUT THIS IS THEY MAY BE RIGHT.
TIPS TO SURVIVING AUSTRALIA
Don't ever put your hand down a hole for any reason WHATSOEVER.
The beer is stronger than you think, regardless of how strong you think it is.
Always carry a stick.
Air-conditioning is imperative.
Do not attempt to use Australian slang unless you are a trained linguist and extremely good in a fist
fight.
Wear thick socks.
Take good maps. Stopping to ask directions only works when there are people nearby
If you leave the urban areas, carry several litres of water with you at all times, or you will die. And
don't forget a stick.
Even in the most embellished stories told by Australians, there is always a core of truth that it is
unwise to ignore.
HOW TO IDENTIFY AUSTRALIANS
They waddle when they walk due to the 53 expired petrol discount vouchers stuffed in their wallet or
purse.
They pronounce Melbourne as "Mel-bin".
They think it makes perfect sense to decorate highways with large fibreglass bananas, prawns and
sheep.
They think "Woolloomooloo" is a perfectly reasonable name for a place, that "Wagga Wagga" can
be abbreviated to "Wagga", but "Woy Woy" can't be called "Woy".
Their hamburgers will contain beetroot. Apparently it's a must-have.
They don't think it's summer until the steering wheel is too hot to handle.
They believe that all train timetables are works of fiction.
And they all carry a stick!