Vigorous hand gestures
The opening lines of my current work in progress (WIP), following the almost entirely made-up adventures of Philip the Bastard, Richard the Lionheart’s bastard son.
‘I am Philippos, Toparches of Aetos. To look at me, you would think I am what I pretend; a doddering old Greek nobleman, former companion and adviser to the emperors of Romania.
There are few left alive who remember my true self. I was once Philip the Bastard, Philip of Cognac, illegitimate son of the warrior-king of England, Richard the Lionheart.
How did I end here, on the far side of the world? Read on, my dears, and see what a man will do for the sake of pride…’
This is very much a draft, so will be nipped and tucked and banged into shape before publication on 1 September. It is also an excuse to post some pics of Aetos castle, an ancient Byzantine fortress on the outskirts of Istanbul, which I was lucky enough to visit recently. Very lucky, since I headed off in the wrong direction, missed my taxi and had to ask directions from a kind man in a coffee shop. Since his English was only marginally better than my Turkish, the conversation consisted of vigorous hand gestures and (finally) a map sketched out on a napkin.
