This evening I have had not one but two emails on obscure historical epsiodes, which are worth noting here.

Jeffrey Dudgeon got in touch to urge me to read his article in tonight’s Belfast Telegraph about H. Montgomery Hyde, born a hundred years ago today.  Hyde was the Westminster MP for North Belfast from 1950 to 1959, when he was deselected because of his outspoken support for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, especially after the 1957 Wolfenden Report (published fifty years ago next month).  I replied pointing out that the Belfast Telegraph is in short supply on the streets of Brussels, and Jeff kindly sent me the article which is a fascinating read.  If anyone else would like to see it, I’ll happily put them in touch with him.  (NB I myself was a candidate for North Belfast in 1996; I don’t recall anyone asking me about this issue on the doorstep.)

Humphry Knipe got in touch about the assassination of the Roman emperor Domitian in 96 AD.  Admittedly this was largely in the hope that I would publicise his new novel about the emperor Nero (hey, it worked!) but also to put right a mistake in this essay by Michael Molnar about Domitian’s death on my website.  Molnar puts Mars in the wrong sign (Taurus instead of Gemini) at the time of Domitian‘s assassination (mid-morning on 18 September).  I am very irritated by the facts that that i) this is indeed a crucial difference to the interpretation of the horoscope and ii) I have had both Molnar’s essay and my own earlier analysis, in which I actually got the position of Mars correct, on my website for years, without myself noticing this crucial difference.  I’ve linked to Knipe’s article and website above; judge for yourselves if you want to read his book.

Just thought you would like to know.