A Load of B-S | Substack

A Load of B-S

Editor and podcast host at Aspects of History, Classics Teacher at the 'Eton of Africa', long-distance host of Frome Town FC's podcast. Documenting my tour of duty in Malawi and my African adventures, both actual and literary!

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A Load of B-S

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A Load of B-S

@zebbakersmith

A Load of B-S

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A Load of B-S Jun 8

A real joy to record with two academics – to understand the plutocratic brigandage to which Fifa and football has turned and will be on display this summer, it’s even more important to understand where the sport was in the late 20th century…

A Load of B-S

Aspects of History Podcast: Cold War Football with Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall

A Load of B-S May 25

Really fascinating discussion around the intersection between religion, slavery and empire with Durham Uni’s Prof. Alec Ryrie…

A Load of B-S

Aspects of History Podcast: The World's Reformation with Alec Ryrie

A Load of B-S May 23

to them, it is a route from A to B, a necessary one for so many Malawians living on the shores; to me, it is an extraordinary three days, a timeless concoction of story and conversation, solitude and company, landmarks and boundless water\ \ to them, it is a route from A to B, a necessary one for so many Malawians living on the shores; to me, it is an extraordinary three days, a timeless concoction of story and conversation, solitude and company, landmarks and boundless water\ \ A Load of B-S

A Load of B-S May 19

A Farewell to Malawi: The Lake I \ \ The first instalment of a retrospective look at nine months in 'the Warm Heart of Africa' and a voyage on the cerulean gem at the core of it all – now available in self-read audio format...!\ \ A Load of B-S

A Load of B-S May 18

There is a story that often pops up by the lake, a tale that the first naval encounter of WWI happened just up the coast near Mbamba Bay on the Tanzanian side.

A Load of B-S

A Farewell to Malawi: The Lake II

A Load of B-S May 16

I’ll be leaving Malawi sometime this week. Bittersweet…

It already feels long ago, many miles and days since but I’ve yet to come to terms with it, to forge the narrative of how I feel about those eight months, the decision I made to leave. That will come, of course – these things have a habit of doing so later on\ \ It already feels long ago, many miles and days since but I’ve yet to come to terms with it, to forge the narrative of how I feel about those eight months, the decision I made to leave. That will come, of course – these things have a habit of doing so later on\ \ A Load of B-S

A Load of B-S May 15

Really interesting look at the ‘oral’ world of the Roman imperial system with Caillan Davenport!

A Load of B-S

Aspects of History Podcast: Behind Caesar's Back with Caillan Davenport

A Load of B-S May 14

Sleep overcomes ambition, though it is uncomfortable and fitful, always aware of the conversation outside the window. The glow of sunset upon the waters is sublime when I emerge, that abundant, heady wine-dark quality visible on the surface again as dusk soon takes control of the scene.\ \ Sleep overcomes ambition, though it is uncomfortable and fitful, always aware of the conversation outside the window. The glow of sunset upon the waters is sublime when I emerge, that abundant, heady wine-dark quality visible on the surface again as dusk soon takes control of the scene.\ \ A Load of B-S

A Load of B-S May 13

If I were to pinpoint just one of the redeeming features of what will be a year-long African interlude, it would be Malawi’s landscape, its scarcely believable variety, a topography so fantastic and fabulous (both adjectives maintaining their archaic meanings), the vistas’ ability to make one gasp. Sat at the heart of it all is Lake Malawi with its impossible hues that I need not describe again.

A Load of B-S

A Farewell to Malawi: The Lake I

A Load of B-S May 7

Great chat for Aspects of History on a really timely book about the descent into conflict between two states, opposed in ideology and notions of identity. There’s a reason people throughout the last century and beyond hark back to Thucydides…!

A Load of B-S

Aspects of History Podcast: Athens and Sparta with Adrian Goldsworthy

A Load of B-SApr 29

Aspects’s Substack

James Dunford Wood on The Big Little War

A Load of B-SMar 25

Aspects’s Substack

Berenice: Queen in Roman Judea - An Interview with Bruce Chilton

A Load of B-S Mar 13

Between the 490s and 470s, we see a pattern: the people elevate someone who delivers results, and then discard him if he appears too prominent. The system flexes its muscle. In the 480s alone, ostracism is used five times – half its total use in the entire century. That shows how determined the Athenians were to ensure no individual dominated the state.”\ \ Between the 490s and 470s, we see a pattern: the people elevate someone who delivers results, and then discard him if he appears too prominent. The system flexes its muscle. In the 480s alone, ostracism is used five times – half its total use in the entire century. That shows how determined the Athenians were to ensure no individual dominated the state.”\ \ A Load of B-S

A Load of B-S Mar 7

This weekend’s pod for Aspects of History…

His is a name that conjures up many adjectives and epithets - a visionary, an outsider, the architect of Athenian maritime success, and, ultimately, an exile.

Professor Michael Scott’s biography of Themistocles observes a city’s political upheaval, Greece’s fight for survival against the invading Persians and that audacious gamble at Salamis.

A Load of B-S

Aspects of History Podcast: Themistocles with Professor Michael Scott

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Fiona Forsyth Mar 5

Just a few of the books I found useful when writing my mysteries starring the Roman love poet, Ovid. There are some nice pictures from my trip to Rome in 2017 as well!

Roman Skullduggery by Fiona Forsyth

An Ovidian reading list

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Zoë Routh

Mar 1

Replying to A Load of B-S

Berenice’s story is incredible. What a long and sad road.

A Load of B-S Feb 28

Writing Berenice’s life requires navigating fragmentary and partisan sources, from Josephus’ shifting portrayals to Juvenal’s barbed satire, and Chilton is candid about the challenge. His broader aim, he explains, is to correct a distortion in New Testament-centred history: ‘The people wielding power were not Christians. The ones wielding power, most importantly, were the Herodians.’\ \ Writing Berenice’s life requires navigating fragmentary and partisan sources, from Josephus’ shifting portrayals to Juvenal’s barbed satire, and Chilton is candid about the challenge. His broader aim, he explains, is to correct a distortion in New Testament-centred history: ‘The people wielding power were not Christians. The ones wielding power, most importantly, were the Herodians.’\ \ A Load of B-S

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Fiona Forsyth Feb 27

A fascinating podcast and a very impressive book which I review Aspects of History

A Load of B-S

Aspects of History Podcast: Berenice: Queen in Roman Judea with Bruce Chilton

A Load of B-S Feb 27

More podding for Aspects of History! This week’s offering is a look at the subject of scurrilous rumours of incest and a target of Juvenal’s anti-Semitic ranting - but who exactly was Berenice and why must her life viewed through these prejudiced lenses?

A Load of B-S

Aspects of History Podcast: Berenice: Queen in Roman Judea with Bruce Chilton

A Load of B-S Feb 25

My Editor’s Note from the February issue of Aspects of History… plenty of great stuff with which to distract oneself!

When the news cycle all feels a bit too much, one must take solace in what one can control: those pleasant distractions such as commissioning articles and features for a history magazine, and interviewing authors on their newest releases. My recent delve back into ancient history – Harry Sidebottom’s comprehensive gladiatorial narrative and Bruce Chilton’s life of Queen Berenice, both of which feature this month – has got me thinking about thought and motive itself.\ \ When the news cycle all feels a bit too much, one must take solace in what one can control: those pleasant distractions such as commissioning articles and features for a history magazine, and interviewing authors on their newest releases. My recent delve back into ancient history – Harry Sidebottom’s comprehensive gladiatorial narrative and Bruce Chilton’s life of Queen Berenice, both of which feature this month – has got me thinking about thought and motive itself.\ \ A Load of B-S

A Load of B-S Feb 24

First issue of the year for Aspects of History and it’s a good’un!

A Load of B-S

Editor's Note: February - March 2026

A Load of B-S Feb 16

And, even despite all that, I do quite miss it…

Termite-like, one hurries from A to B and back to A in the hope of producing something profitable and meaningful (often in that order…). Cogs with varying degrees of influence and effect in the faltering machine that is London. Within the hustle, though, there is an unmistakeable sense of solidarity in the day-to-day meanderings and a notion of democracy among those Londoners doing London things.\ \ Termite-like, one hurries from A to B and back to A in the hope of producing something profitable and meaningful (often in that order…). Cogs with varying degrees of influence and effect in the faltering machine that is London. Within the hustle, though, there is an unmistakeable sense of solidarity in the day-to-day meanderings and a notion of democracy among those Londoners doing London things.\ \ A Load of B-S

A Load of B-S Feb 16

Just over a year ago… how dramatically one’s life and surrounds change!

A Load of B-S

A Reluctant Londoner

A Load of B-S Feb 14

The Postcolonial Book Club - Naguib Mahfouz

A Load of B-S Feb 14

The transformation of Egypt is the central focus of the splendid narrative, which spans the years prior to World War One and takes the reader into the 1950s and addresses themes such as the changing role of women, marriage, homosexuality, class-based society and, of course, politics.\ \ The transformation of Egypt is the central focus of the splendid narrative, which spans the years prior to World War One and takes the reader into the 1950s and addresses themes such as the changing role of women, marriage, homosexuality, class-based society and, of course, politics.\ \ A Load of B-S

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Fiona Forsyth Feb 13

An unashamed plug for my new Ovid book, released today.

I nearly clicked “post” before I realised this read “An unashamed pug”. Please reply with pictures of pugs looking unashamed

Roman Skullduggery by Fiona Forsyth

The Ides of February

A Load of B-S Feb 12

‘Cassius Dio, the elite writer, says they stayed away from the games out of sheer disgust at this degrading behaviour of the emperor. But he then gives another reason: that Commodus was insane and fancied acting out a myth of Hercules and the Stymphalian birds – he was planning on getting a bow and arrow and shooting some of the audience, which would be quite a good reason not to go, really, wouldn’t it?’\ \ ‘Cassius Dio, the elite writer, says they stayed away from the games out of sheer disgust at this degrading behaviour of the emperor. But he then gives another reason: that Commodus was insane and fancied acting out a myth of Hercules and the Stymphalian birds – he was planning on getting a bow and arrow and shooting some of the audience, which would be quite a good reason not to go, really, wouldn’t it?’\ \ A Load of B-S

A Load of B-S Feb 12

Interview with Harry now written up for those who don’t like podcasts…

And soon to be published alongside a review of Those Who Are About To Die in February’s Aspects of History magazine!

A Load of B-S

Aspects of History Podcast: Those Who Are About To Die with Harry Sidebottom

A Load of B-S Feb 10

An assassination attempt was made on his life in 1994 five years after Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie, the author of The Satanic Verses. Stabbed several times in the neck, Mahfouz had criticised the novel as insulting, but also defended Rushdie’s freedom to expression.\ \ An assassination attempt was made on his life in 1994 five years after Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie, the author of The Satanic Verses. Stabbed several times in the neck, Mahfouz had criticised the novel as insulting, but also defended Rushdie’s freedom to expression.\ \ A Load of B-S

A Load of B-S Feb 10

First of my pieces documenting 2026’s literary ‘tour’ of Africa - January saw me finish Mahfouz’s Cairo Trilogy. The Nobel laureate lived through Egypt’s turbulent 20th century.

A Load of B-S

The Postcolonial Book Club - Naguib Mahfouz

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Fiona ForsythFeb 6

Roman Skullduggery by Fiona Forsyth

Ovid 3: Written in Blood

A Load of B-S Jan 30

A Load of B-S

Rewind: Telangana to Andhra Pradesh - Monoliths, Offbeat Encounters and a Sublime Temple

A Load of B-S Jan 30

“As I trudged up the steps, past the first couple of gates, it became clear that the geology of the area was unlike anything I’d seen before, flat in its entirety except for these epic egg-shaped ructions of stone, all the more eye-catching for the arid, unremarkable flats from which they rose. It was well worth the climb, more for the l…

Rewind: Telangana to Andhra Pradesh - Monoliths, Offbeat Encounters and a Sublime Temple

A Load of B-S Jan 30

Two years ago to the day, I took the train east out of Hyderabad into Telangana en route to the coast… so many spectacular sites including the temple at Ramappa and the hillfort at Bhongir.

Rewind: Telangana to Andhra Pradesh - Monoliths, Offbeat Encounters and a Sublime Temple

A Load of B-SJan 29

Dodge the Question

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A Load of B-S Jan 28

We think we know about gladiators, toned biceps on show during a deadly bout in the arena. But is that Hollywood depiction less interesting than the actual truth? I’d venture so… Joining me for my first outing on the Aspects of History pod is historian, writer and author Harry Sidebottom, whose day-at-the-games account shines light on the life of a gladiator and the realities behind Rome’s most enduring spectacle in his book, Those Who Are About To Die: Gladiators and the Roman Mind.\ \ We think we know about gladiators, toned biceps on show during a deadly bout in the arena. But is that Hollywood depiction less interesting than the actual truth? I’d venture so… Joining me for my first outing on the Aspects of History pod is historian, writer and author Harry Sidebottom, whose day-at-the-games account shines light on the life of a gladiator and the realities behind Rome’s most enduring spectacle in his book, Those Who Are About To Die: Gladiators and the Roman Mind.\ \ A Load of B-S

A Load of B-S Jan 27

My debut on the sands of history's podcasting arena, discussing all things gladiatorial! Some compelling insight from Harry Sidebottom!

A Load of B-S

Aspects of History Podcast: Those Who Are About To Die with Harry Sidebottom

A Load of B-S Jan 24

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A Load of B-S Jan 23

Two years to the day since I arrived in India to follow the cricket and begin a four-month long tour!

A Load of B-S

Rewind: Hyderabad - Boatloads of Biryani, Spurious Slums and a First-Class Fort

A Load of B-SJan 22

Dodge the Question

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Hugh Jan 15

Replying to A Load of B-S

Ploughing through ‘A Dance’ would indeed have been a big reading project - all a bit too polished and civilised for my taste. I have just re-read its vulgar younger brother, Alms for Oblivion, which - as a vulgar younger brother myself - I consider infinitely more entertaining.

A Load of B-SJan 15

Dodge the Question

S02 E28

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A Load of B-SJan 8

Dodge the Question

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A Load of B-S Jan 6

“It was a nervous few hours, that liminal space between the exhilarating and sudden jeopardy, perhaps even life and death, again feeling that much more narrow in Africa.”

Things get hairy on a dinghy on Lake Malawi after a sublime few days at Usisya…

A Load of B-S

Letters from The Lake: Amid Calm and Storm

A Load of B-S Jan 2

Hectic jetties and a ferry that pre-dates the country - next snippet in my jaunt around Malawi’s north.

A Load of B-S

Letters from The Lake: Waiting for the MV Ilala

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Steve McCarthyDec 31

2025: The Year I Hit Publish (and Kept Chasing the Light) \ \ There’s a particular kind of feeling that arrives when something stops being a plan and becomes a thing that exists in the world.\ \ Steve McCarthy

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Philip Womack Dec 30

Replying to A Load of B-S

Lovely piece, Zeb.

A Load of B-S restacked

The Uffington Post Dec 30

Replying to A Load of B-S

I’m glad your enjoyed ‘The Dance’ (as aficionados apparently call it). It is a favourite of mine, I finished it two years ago. So many funny vignettes from the start (Braddock alias Thorne) and that extraordinary portrait of a Housemaster that is Le Bas. A party ending in a drunken road accident always reminds your father of a memorable night we had in Oxford that culminated in a scene at St Aldates Police Station that could have been lifted from the pages of the novel. Curiously, it also invol…

A Load of B-SDec 30

Dodge the Question

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A Load of B-S Dec 30

A piece for the New Year about Anthony Powell’s novel sequence and the recurrence of people and place on a nostalgic return to London.

Plus a new reading challenge for 2026 - a ‘tour’ of Africa!

A Load of B-S

A Letter from London: A Dance to the Music of Time

A Load of B-S Dec 28

A recent interview on behalf of Aspects of History - Matthew Parker’s One Fine Day, an imperial history, hinges on the 29th September 1923, that being the date of the British Empire’s territorial zenith.

A Load of B-S

Aspects of History Book Club: Matthew Parker on One Fine Day

A Load of B-S Dec 26

Plenty of great tales to be found in Jonathan Wilson’s World Cup history on an otherwise very quiet Boxing Day for football fans…

My review for Aspects of History and one of my picks of the year…

A Load of B-S

The Power and the Glory, by Jonathan Wilson - Review

A Load of B-SDec 24

Dodge the Question

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A Load of B-S Dec 23

“But it’s a dead language, isn’t it, sir?”

A letter from Malawi on teaching Latin and Greek and the strange way in which the Classics refuse to die…

A Load of B-S

Letters from The Lake: Dead Languages