The Revenge of The Tally Sticks

The Revenge of The Tally Sticks

Author: Simone Whitlow November 13, 2022 Duration: 25:40
Warning: The following is a long, shaggy dog tale about money, Anglo-Saxon England, things manufactured and things callously discarded. Mostly it’s about Tally Sticks, willow trees and revenge. It’s not me taking a new direction with the show so much as trying to write a ten minute ‘firebreak’ episode to get my second wind for the last couple of episodes and, oh boy did this one take off on me… Just like the ‘great fire of 1834’ did, by the way. Apologies for that I thought this one would run to about 10 minutes… it tripled on me when putting pen to paper.  We’ll be back to regular programming in two weeks’ time, if this worries you.. If there is something a little quirky you like in this episode, a reminder the Patreon tends to be a little quirkier than the main show in a similar way.           Sources this week include: Tim Harford’s ‘Fifty Inventions That Helped Shape the Modern Economy’Jacob Goldstein’s ‘Money; The True Story of a Made up Thing’Marc Morris’ ‘The Anglo Saxons’ This British government website article on the great fire of 1834A British Library article on Tally SticksProf Richard Murphy’s blog post on Charles II’s questionable financial behaviour in 1672, at Tax Research UKAnd this one from some company called Glint.  The blog post of the episode is here.   Support the show on Patreon for just $2 US a month and get access to exclusive content. I’m currently revamping, and will be dropping re-recorded bonus content weekly for the next two months. December 1 I’ll be dropping the equally unusual tale of the Enfundu.     Please leave a like and review wherever you listen. The best way you can help support the show is to share an episode with a friend - Creative works grow best by word of mouth. I post episodes fortnightly, Wednesdays. Tales of History and Imagination is on Facebook, Twitter (for now), Pinterest and Instagram. The show has a YouTube Channel, largely for Audiogram advertisements.          Music, writing, narration, mixing normally all yours truly. In this episode I use my own take on Ella Fitzgerald’s Lullaby of the Leaves (Bernice Petkere & Joe Young). I also use excerpts from NZ hard rock band Ishtar’s ‘Secret Love’ and ‘South of Sanity’ (S. Whitlow, D. Cannon, M. Wright). The rest of the music is all mine.    For more information on Simone click here.   

Simone Whitlow hosts Tales of History and Imagination, a podcast dedicated to unearthing those peculiar, overlooked stories that conventional history books often skip. Each episode feels like a conversation about a fascinating secret, whether it's delving into the life of an obscure figure who tried to alter our very concept of time or examining the panic caused by a legendary beast in eighteenth-century France. You'll encounter the clever pranksters and the enigmatic side characters-the individuals who played brief but unforgettable cameo roles on the world's stage. Rather than re-treading well-worn narratives, this show seeks out perspectives rarely considered, finding the extraordinary within the ordinary march of events. Listening to this podcast is an exercise in curiosity, where major historical moments are often reframed through a surprising, human lens. It’s for anyone who suspects the past is far weirder and more wonderful than they were taught, blending rigorous research with a storyteller's sense of wonder. The result is a consistently engaging mix that sits at the crossroads of history, culture, and sheer human imagination.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Tales of History and Imagination
Podcast Episodes
The Hammersmith Ghost [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:44
Last week when I covered the Tale of Spring Heeled Jack, I mentioned a couple of people in passing without explanation… Apologies all, I’ll be coming back to a few of those people sometime in the near future… But with re…
Spring Heeled Jack [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:35
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to an episode from the first season to give it a new coat of (red) paint… speaking of, we’re going back to London in 1837 to discuss newspapers, the death of ‘Silly…
Murder in Belgravia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:28
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we discuss a murdered nanny, the murderer… his awful ancestors, and said murderer’s mysterious disappearance. Trigger warnings: murder. Sources Include: A Different Class of…
The Batavia: Part Four - Batavia’s Graveyard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:34
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return one last time to the wreck of the Batavia. This is where things, finally, go all ‘Lord of the Flies’ on Batavia’s Graveyard. This is part four of a four parter - th…
The Batavia: Part Three - The Longboat [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:48
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to the wreck of the Batavia. In part two we follow the adventures of the 48 in the longboat as they make their way along Australia’s Western coast; learn a little m…
The Batavia: Part Two - The Heretic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:00
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to the wreck of the Batavia. In part two we discuss heresy, and the harrowing life of under-merchant Jeronimus Cornelisz. This is part two of a four parter. Trigger…
The Batavia: Part One - The Shipwreck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:39
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to Australia for a real life soap opera that was considerably more bloody than Neighbours or Home and Away. First we need to take a cruise on a Dutch VOC flagship c…
The Ballad of Tom Wills [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:06
This week we travel to Australia for a game of Marn Grook, to discuss origin stories; perhaps the archetypal troubled sportsman - and horrific massacres. Trigger warnings: Murder, suicide, colonialism, and to the Aborigi…
The Cancellation of Ilda Orme [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:40
The American actress Ilda Orme knew a thing or two about being cancelled, a long, long time before social media put the cancel button in the hands of the public at large. Her cancellers, she suspected were two hateful fo…
Archias The Exile Hunter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:04
On, or around 11th June 323 BC Alexander the Great died in Babylon. While there are mysteries surrounding his passing - did an Indian holy man prophesy his passing a year prior while self immolating in Alexander’s presen…