Some time ago I wrote to complain that the Arthurian series was set in the wrong place. Arthur was one of the last of the old Kings of Powys and is buried outside Shrewsbury where his grave is still visible. Anyway having read the books found it easy to swap Powys with Dumnonia and the cracking storytelling easily overcame my original rage over the poncy medieval southern biasis. Now Alfred! just read the Last Kingdom, fantastic. I am longing to see how Aethelstan is treated. He has been relegated to relative oblivion for so long but without the Battle of Brunanburh, all that Alfred had started would have failed and we wouldn’t be speaking English today; the English imperial adventure would have been destroyed before it got off the ground. Aethelstan,it seems from the poor records available, to be a more more likeable, humble, human figure compared to Alfred and sadly ignored?? I am sure you can raise this great leader out of obscurity. Sorry to go on but what do you think of Francis Pryor’s theory of the peaceful Anglo-Saxification of the East in late Roman times? A sort of peaceful cultural imperialism with the Saxon shore forts as customs’ posts. I could never understand how a few ships of Anglo-Saxons could take over from a native population so easily.But here on the western front on the Welsh Borders one can’t help but see the battle of Welsh against Saxon as a sort of Balkan genocidal struggle. It does seem that the Anglo Saxons had got their feet under the table before the Romans officially handed over the defences to the locals (as seems tempting to imperialists when the faeces hits the fan) And I know where the critical lost Battle of Brunanburgh was fought in 937, as well as where king Arthur is buried!! I used to live in Burnley Lancs, or Brunlea as it was known…(gedditt?) there is a hill, a temple, and a pass over the Pennines. Chester they say, as if! Crack on with the Alfred series-don’t waste time reading this! Cheers Tim