...And provided much motivation for a move to the Colonies!

Great to see this thread back in action. So interested in the sidetrips to discuss the then state-of-the-art considerations to longbow technology. In fact, if they had the ability to print 'Bow & Arrow' as a magazine the way we have 'Guns & Ammo' we'd have articles like: "Affairs of the heart(wood)", "foreign-made arrows- hidden knots?", "Northern Yew versus Southern Yew: Our testers compare at the Faire", "What to do when your goodwife stores your spare wood below ground...", "Which will improve your aim, a dogwatch of practice, a talisman, a spell or a hex (we explain the difference)"

Meanwhile, I've watched the three part mini-series "Gunpowder" which I found just watchable and mostly dramatized non-historical events, though the depictions of drawing and quartering and pressing were memorable. And I watched a marvelous documentary called "The Book That Changed the World" which I found quite informative. In much less time than "Gunpowder" it provided vastly more background about King James, his education, reign, and significance. He is a huge counterpoint to Henry VIII. We should know more about him.