This week I have finally got back to a bit of work on the book project. I’m actually quite excited because as I write this, tomorrow I’m going to be singing at Whalley Abbey, but more on that another week! I’ve done some reading, on the history of the north south divide, and on working with song texts when you don’t have the music, just the text.

But I’ve spent quite a bit of the last couple of days reading through the Letters and Papers via State Papers Online (oh what a joyful morning it was the day I got the email from work saying they had subscribed to State Papers Online). I am going through the entries for October 1536 looking at the descriptions of the rebels, and their examinations. It’s going to mean a lot of transcription work, but in the first instance I’m amassing the documents. Some of the documents, I have discovered, are transcribed in full in a version of the State Papers of Henry VIII published in the early 19th century. I found this out from my Fiend, this afternoon. It’s interesting how there can be really useful things out there that we just don’t come across unless someone points us in the right direction. Anyway, that might save me a bit of time, as I’ve found a copy on Google. But there’s a lot more of the Letters and Papers to get through before that…