[Sandra Mara McHale]

Now there's a blast from the past ! Hope you are keeping well Andrew .
I'm still involved in Aviation in Dublin - though not the Pilot Shop - Heli Services Ireland ; www.heliservicesireland.com
Where are you flying now - know you were in Dubai - are you still there? Never realised you were interested in Military History - wrote a book on it in 2007 To the Limits of Endurance -One Irishman's War - you might find it interesting. email me @ sandra.mara@ireland.com and I'll send you a copy.
published by Poolbeg Press - more details on www.sandramarawriter.com.

Hello Dave my name is Andrew Masterson and as the tag say's I am Irish and a Pilot with a particular interest in 20th Century Irish Military history and Irish historical aviation, primarily the early days of the formation of the Irish Free State Army and the early Irish Army Air Corps and also all aspects of early 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Century British and European historical aviation up to the early jet age. My background is both Irish military and civil aviation in fixed wing and helicopter flying and I find accounts of both the development of the early aircraft and the experiences of the crews who operated and serviced them fascinating.

I am also addicted to all history in general from the Crusades to the conflict in Afghanistan and especially social history where we can get a feel for what life must have been like for the individual in specific circumstances in past times. Recent examples books I have read and which inspired me to visit related museums would be "Jack Tar" by Roy and Leslie Adkins which explores the lives of ordinary seamen and officers in the time of Nelson's navy. I couldn't put it down and read it in a week and "The Knife Man" by Wendy Moore about the surgeon John Hunter and how his pioneering work in anatomy shaped modern medicine and whose work can still be seen and appreciated in London's Hunterian museum at the Royal College of Surgeons.

Perhaps a little more focus on the development of aviation in the magazine, especially from the European context would be of interest to the general reader. Everyone knows about the Wright Brothers, but what about Sir George Cayley "The Father of Aerial Navigation", Otto Lilienthal, Clement Ader and the "Eole", Samuel Langley, Raymonde de Laroche, the first woman to recieve a pilots licence, Henry George "Harry" Ferguson developer of the first practical tractor and the first Irishman to build and fly his own aeroplane, Alberto-Santos-Dumont, Hubert Latham, Louis Bleriot, A.V. Roe, Colonel James Fitzmaurice and the Bremen among many who are not as well known in this day and age?

I have been reading BBC History for about four years and have collected all the podcast's which I regularly re-listen to. On that note, please do not drop back to one podcast per month!

I reside in the middle east, I am married with 3 boys and when not committing aviation I spend hours trawling the internet for anything of interest. it is a great magazine which I pick up as soon as I touch down in the UK and I have dropped a major hint to my wife for a subscription for my birthday this year

Great magazine, keep up the good work.

Regards

Andrew

[Helen55]

Hi I'm Helen from Kent. I never really got into history in secondary school, I have vague memories of colouring in a Roman Standard Bearer for homework once, but that's about it.
After leaving school with a less than brilliant grade in history GSCE, I set a mission to undo all my past failings and try to make all my grades C and above and history was one of them. This I managed to do, however, I got a bit carried away with History and eventually ended up with a Hons Degree at Canterbury Uni as a parttime mature student.
My interests in history are varied, though I have a particular interest in the pre Roman Iron Age. I have been a voluntary worker/archivist for a local museum for about 10 years along with other history societies as well as being a full time mum.
Love the BBC History Magazine and the podcasts btw, I look forward to putting my feet up with a cuppa and reading it from cover to cover every month! It's great to meet everyone!

[mckay1402]

Hi

I'm James Mckay-Mount. My historical interests range from the beginnings of civilisation (what did happen to make man start decorating things?) to world war one. I recently contacted joerg Fassbender with regards to the Gilgamesh tomb (find) and was happy to receive a very nice email in response.

I have been listening to the podcast for about 2 years and enjoy most of the topics...I do find it a bit ww2 heavy but I understand that it's difficult to find so much to discuss with primary source material. Would like to see more Scottish and Welsh history if you're taking requests...
Thanks
James

[Baldwin]

Hi, my name is Bob, i'm native American, but now i'm living in France. I'm deeply interested in history, in particular I truly enjoy Colonial/Revolutionary America, The Salem Witch Trials, and the French Revolution.

[eliza robinson]

i'm eliza, i'm fourteen in january,
i'm from new zealand but my dads english and i've lived in england since i was about one, and i'm totally obbsessed with english history. i now live in cumbria, which seemed to be really boring history wise until last month when i found out that bonnie prince charlie stayed at a hotel in penrith which is my local town on 22 november seventeen forty five. except, it's called the george hotel, and if it was called that then, it would have been kind of ironic, seeing as it was king george he wanted off the throne.
i'm home educated, so i instead of doing stuff which gives me a head ache like science, i do loads of history.
i've written one and about a seventh historical novels, the first one set in the english civil wars and the seventh of one set in the restoration.
the time in history i'm most interested in is roughly just before fourteen eighty five, to nineteen fourty five, so roughly the last five hundred years.
and i'm really interested in marie antoinette, and i have been for the past roughly two years, though i think it freaks people out when i tell them the exact time of day when she died, (12:15, 16 october 1793 at what is now place de la concord in paris).
and also i'm quite interested in the suffragettes though i dont know that much about them, i just think they were really inspirational, cos allthough it was the right to vote that they were fighting for, it was also womens rights in general. so yeah, i didnt mean to write this much.
also, what really weird, is all the male cats i've ever owned have some how had the names of kings, there was henry, william, charlie (charles, charlemagne bonnie prince charlie), and then there was elvis, wasnt he the king of rock?

[Ghosts_of_1914]

Hello from Fiona in Connecticut, U.S.,
I am a Ph.D. student in English literature and work on British life writing (biography, memoirs, autobiography) in the Great War era. I love the history and arts of the WWI period and am fascinated by the relationship between individual and collective narratives of such a sweeping and catastrophic international event. I thought I'd share my blog with everyone here who might share an interest in WWI history. I write about various aspects of the Great War on the front and at home, using various "artifacts" as touchstones for exploration of the experience of war. Please enjoy!

http://ghostsof1914.blogspot.com

Regards,
Fiona

[antonio81]

Hello,

My name is Anthony and I live in New York, not in the city, but 40 minutes away. I, am currently 30, and am in Human Resources, but have always had a TRUE passion for History, especially Tudor History, and even specifically, the Elizabethan Era. I have studied the Tudor era ever since my early twenties. I went to school and majored in a interdisciplinary program, called Philosophy, Politics, & Law. I am highly considering getting my Masters in Global History and would do my theses on the Tudors (don't have the specifics yet). In addition, I just started a blog: www.thetudormonarch.com. If interested, feel free to check it out. I am also on facebook and twitter. I love blogging about the Tudors as it's my True Passion. Thank you for letting me share this. Have a good weekend.

[babyfacelu]

Hello!

I'm Lucy and my buzz is Medieval history, although I love learning in general and get excited about most other periods of history, too. My univeristy and academic experiences have mainly focussed on religious history, although I have also studied International Development and am interested in the history of development in general.

I run an international development charity based in Wales, but working all over the world and I'm lucky enough to have lived and worked in lots of different places. If I have time to relax when working abroad I often make time to study a little about the history of the country in which I'm based. Having said that, my memory is rubbish, so I can't impress anyone with any special knowledge of exotic places. I can tell you, though, that Genghis Khan seemed to me to be pretty short.

In my spare time I write music.I have toured in the past with a band, but I generally write for other performing musicians these days. I also love walking, dancing and drinking red wine while someone else cooks for me. I'm a terrible cook.

I love BBC History magazine. It disrupts my working day a lot, it has ruined a massive part of my social life, its does nothing to calm the addictive side of personality and I can NEVER do the quiz, but I love it. Its produced by some of the brainiest people ever and filled with amazing stuff all the time, so I'm excited to have discovered this forum where I can hopefully geek out even more without being embarrassed....

[LadyWriter]

Greetings everyone. My name is Monique Bolduc and I am writing from Cranbrook, British Columbia Canada, although I am originally from Timmins, Ontario Canada (home of Shania Twain) I am a Freelance writer and although English is my second language, I'm doing not too bad.

I am particularly fond of Aristocratic and Royal history that's mainly centered around Wales, England, Ireland, Scotland and France. I love ancient castles, old lands, myths & legends. I write short stories, poems, and newspaper articles. However there is no great class in schools to take here that would do these countries justice than seeing them first hand. I like learning new skills in research and bringing something new to the table in the field of poetry. I like meeting intelligent people and my pride is not so big that I mind people smarter than I am. *grins* Life is all about learning and that's quite alright with me.

[JohnLewis48]

Hi Dave
I have recently discovered your History Extra Podcasts and am really enjoying them. However I do find them a bit 20th Century. You make constant references to the magazine, which to my knowledge we do not get in Australia while I think the podcast should stand on its own. I also find your description of yourself as the Editor and your colleague as the "Deputy Editor" a bit quaint - in a multi-media world who has Editors these days? Also the Mozart fanfare you play at the end of each feature gets a bit annoying. Having said that, I really enjoy the content and am avidly listening to your features on the Crusades. Can we have a bit more on the English Civil War as I find the moves back and forth between Monarchy and Parliament fascinating. On a recent trip to the UK I walked the Cotswold Way and walked through the Civil War battle site at Lansdown Hill . It would be great if you could feature that battle on the program. Keep the podcasts coming. Regards John Lewis