Pirates

The hitherto unknown little treasures in private collections, when they come up for auction, never cease to amaze me. I was taken with this curiosity that is from the collection of the late Bill Terry and is coming under the hammer soon at Olympia Auctions.Of course The Royal Company of Archers (the Sovereign's official bodyguard when in Scotland) were not, and are not now, archers of military ability (just look at their slender bows and shooting style), their function is purely ceremonial. However they do look very splendid on this screen, depicting them in impressive numbers out side Holyrood Palace.www.olympiaauctions.com/auction/lot/lot-3---a-painted-leather-screen-royal-company-of-archers-18t... ... See MoreSee Less

I love this photo of a drover and his, now extinct, Welsh Grey sheepdog. The droving sequence, with Bearded Collies, in my film ‘Dogs in the Age of Revolutions’ (on History Hit) is possibly my favourite. This photo of an extinct type is a reminder that our dogs are a fragile heritage. We need to conserve them every bit as much as we do elephants and tigers. One of my own dogs is a rescue mongrel and I adore him. All dogs deserve a safe and loving home - if you can give an abandoned dog a home, please do. At the same time it is important to remember that purposely bred dogs can disappear if we don’t take care of them. They don’t occur naturally in Nature. I don't want to live in a world with no spaniels, poodles, salukis, Corgis, Labradors or Golden Retrievers. There is a LOT that needs to be fixed with how we do this but never forget that unless we have purposely bred dogs - their types will completely disappear. ... See MoreSee Less

Pirates

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