Dear Bernard, first – In reply to Ian Hunt’s post of December the 16th asking whether Sharpe could get to Albuera from Fuentes-de-onro. In Ian Fletcher’s excellent Bloody Albuera he does state that there was a real life Rifleman who managed to fight at both battles (Name escapes me at the moment). Albuera was also the only battle were Napoleon’s maxim of a powerful column attack proceeded by a heavy artillery barage actually happened. It was the most vicious and nasty fight in the whole peninsular war. It seems to be perfect for Sharpe! Second – in regards to the next Sharpe book being at Barrossa due to the fact that the Spanish general Don-Manuela was so bad in that battle will the Spanish general Zayas be making an appearence since he more than did his job (and show’s that not every single Spanish commander was bad) in that fight and himself peformed excellent service at Albuera? And finally at the start of Sharpe’s Enemy Sharpe re-calls the seige of Burgos. Will a future Sharpe book be about that fight? It was arguably Wellington’s one real failure in Spain and he himself called Duberton a very good soldier. Anyway merry Xmas! Geraint