History has always interested me. As a child living in the English West Midlands, two of the delights of visiting my grandparents in South Wales were to stop at Raglan Castle on the way down, and Carreg Cennen Castle when we arrived. Local history always attracted - so I read a lot about the places I have lived in: Aldridge; Sheffield; Northampton; Rugby and now Milton Keynes.
A few weeks after we arrived in Britain's newest city, an American friend visited - and told me that while they were thrilled that we clearly enjoyed the delights of MK, for an American it was a disappointment. Old English towns and cities were great, but "Milton Keynes has no history". It was like a red rag to a bull - and in the last seven years I've spent a lot of my spare time finding out about the history of the area covered by MK. One of the advantages of a new-build city is that the archaeologists went in first - and excavated the areas before the builders moved in. As a result there is a wealth of information about the city's ancient past. I live only yards from an iron age settlement - and the Roman Watling Street runs at the eastern end of Furzton, the estate in which I live.
In my spare time, I love to visit historic sites - last week I visited both Waddesdon Manor (near Aylesbury) and the Tower of London. Reading about people, places and events in history is a delight for me.
JDM's History Explorer will share that with you. I will regularly include hyperlinks to web sites about the topics being discussed (just click on the highlighted words). I have also been building up a library of photos and information. My aim is to entertain and inform you.
Do send your comments and suggestions to jdavidmorgan@googlemail.com
