The Witan (Wise Men) of London chose the King of England. Bastards were not eligible that is until one, a Frenchman declared himself king.

Many beautiful Town Halls in France are re-jiggled châteaux which were built for royalty and the upper crust. Not so Tours. This grandiose palace - no exaggeration - fit for a king, was built by the people (the Council) for the people.

Its rather ugly plinth detracts from this wonderful work of art. It looks rather forlorn. Plonked down in a rather unlovely street. No wonder the half-man, half-bird looks as if it is preparing to take off.

On 30 September 1174, Montlouis-sur-Loire witnessed an important rapprochement between members of the most dysfunctional of all dysfunctional royal families.

Cunning, duplicitous John, favourite son of Henry II. He plotted to relieve his brother Richard, his mother’s favourite, of the throne and asked his father to keep Richard away from England for as long as possible.

In 1975, the UN invited member states to proclaim 8 March as an official holiday for women’s rights and world peace. Fat chance. Fifty years on, good luck with that. The UN has been shouting into the wind about the plight of millions of women since 1946. How sad that on 6 March 2023 the UN Commission said: ‘progress on women’s rights is vanishing including in countries such as Afghanistan, where women and girls have been, in effect, erased from public life’.

Among the photographs recording the horrific bombing of Odessa* is one of piled up sandbags protecting a statue.

It turns out, rather surprisingly, at least to the author, the statue commemorates the duke of Richelieu, called, affectionately in Odessa, as ‘our duke’.

Many folk who were born, grew up or live in Vendôme have never heard of Le Carillon de Vendôme the oldest (1420) known French children’s song.