An ormolu and blue painted mantel clock, French, circa 1795.

UNESCO World Heritage Site and award-winning attraction, Blenheim Palace is celebrating the clocks going forward with an exclusive display of rare timepieces in Family Treasures, its forthcoming new visitor experience. 

As we prepare to set our clocks forward on Sunday (30th March), Blenheim Palace is marking the occasion by unveiling two remarkable and unusual clocks that will be featured in Family Treasures, a unique new visitor route into the Private Apartments, extending the Palace by five additional rooms.

Visitors will journey through some of the grandest rooms to unlock never before seen treasures, and follow in the footsteps of dukes, duchesses and their illustrious guests. The new extended tour will offer a new route through the Duke’s Bar into the corridor, as well as the Family Dining Room, The Smoking Room and the Duchess’s Sitting Room. Guests will then enter the spectacular Grand Cabinet, the most opulent room in the Palace normally reserved for special family occasions. The tour will then continue through the Palace Drawing Rooms, a route walked by royalty and the most important guests to the Palace. 

Not only is the Grand Cabinet a treasure trove, but it’s steeped in history as it was once used as a schoolroom during WWII by Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill, the daughter of the Duke of Marlborough and amongst the six Coronation Maids of Honour chosen to accompany Her Majesty the Queen at Westminster Abbey in 1953.

Family Treasures enhances the visitor experience by 20 minutes and features a host of priceless artefacts and collections including a special display of exquisite timepieces from different eras:

• In the Dining Room visitors will find a Chimney piece designed by Vanbrugh (above) and a rare skeleton timepiece. English, early 19th century, attributed to John Moxon
• Another masterpiece on the new tour can be found in the Grand Cabinet. An ormolu and blue painted mantel clock, French, circa 1795. The blue painted urn case surmounted by a spray of ormolu flowers flanked by leaf scroll handles and raised on a concave sided rectangular plinth applied with garlands of flowers.

Designed to showcase Britain’s Greatest Palace like never before, Family Treasures is one of three unique new visitor experiences at Blenheim Palace this year.  

An all-new Roof Top View platform experience, providing visitors with never seen before breathtaking views over the Estate including the famous Column of Victory as well as the surrounding Oxfordshire countryside and The Life Below Stairs experience, which will give visitors the opportunity to see the original Palace kitchens.  

These experiences are available alongside the launch of Blenheim Palace’s most ambitious restoration initiative to date, the historic roof project. 

Blenheim Palace first opened its doors to the public 75 years ago to raise funds for essential roof conservation work to preserve the architecture and safeguard the heritage for generations to come. This pivotal £12M project is centred on restoring a significant section of the roof of Britain’s Greatest Palace, ensuring it remains resilient against the elements that threaten its historical integrity.

To experience the new Family Treasures extended tour, visitors must have a valid Blenheim Palace Annual Pass or day tickets.

For information on the new visitor experiences at Blenheim Palace and to book tickets, visit www.blenheimpalace.com/whats-on/events/new-for-2025

To find out more about the roof restoration project, visit www.blenheimpalace.com/restoration

Andrew and Lee Child – image credit Tasha Alexander

2025’s featured guest is icon of the genre, Lee Child, who will be in conversation with his brother and co-writer of the Reacher series, Andrew Child. Oh, what a treat, I am re-reading Lee’s first in the Jack Reacher series: Killing Floor. I have read them all, as a devotee certainly should, as well as their joint Reacher books.

One of the UK’s leading crime fiction conventions supported by title sponsor, Specsavers, CrimeFest announced 2025 will be its final event after 16 years. Organisers have said they are putting all their energy into making the final event one to remember.

New authors announced for the final line-up include journalist, broadcaster, author and cultural historian and Doctor Who fan, Matthew Sweet. He’ll be joined by the actor, novelist, and screenwriter Mark Gatiss to discuss Bookish, the upcoming TV series created by Gatiss. Set in post-WWII London Bookish follows a bookseller who uses books to help crack crime cases. A novelisation by Sweet is published by Quercus in July. Gatiss is best known for his acting work and co-creating shows including The League of Gentleman and Sherlock, as well as writing for Doctor Who.

Also announced is TV writer Chris Chibnall, best known as the creator and writer of the award-winning TV drama, Broadchurch. He brings to CrimeFest his crime-writing debut Death at the White Hart, a whodunnit set in a small village with dark secrets.

A highlight of the event is the Ghost of Honour panel, which this year celebrates John le Carré, featuring his two sons, Simon Cornwell and Nick Harkaway. A film producer, Simon Cornwell is behind adaptations of his father’s work, including The Night Manager for the BBC starring Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Colman. Author Nick Harkaway recently brought back his father’s famous literary creation – George Smiley – with his acclaimed novel, Karla’s Choice. His new book, Sleeper Beach, is out 10 April.

Adrian Muller, co-host and founder of CrimeFest, said: “Programming CrimeFest for the past 16 years has been a labour of love. We’ve had the privilege of bringing together some of the best crime writers in the world, and the sense of community we’ve built is something truly special. While we’re saddened that this will be the final convention, we’re determined to make it one to remember—with an outstanding line-up of authors and panels to ensure CrimeFest goes out with a bang.”

As part of the celebrations the first 450 registered delegates will be gifted an advance copy of CrimeFest, Leaving the Scene, an anthology with 20 newly commissioned short stories from past (and present) attending authors. Contributors include Jeffery Deaver, Lindsey Davis, Simon Brett and many more. The celebratory finale features a record number of Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Diamond Dagger recipients in attendance. Alongside Lee Child, fellow Diamond Dagger recipients include Lindsey Davis, Martin Edwards, and John Harvey. Harvey has written over 100 books, including his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels. They’ll appear on the panel: A Cluster of Diamonds: Diamond Dagger Winners in Conversation.

Image credit: Richard Frew

The CWA chair, author Vaseem Khan, will also feature as Toastmaster at the CrimeFest Awards night. Panels include, amongst others, a focus on the adaption of crime fiction to film and TV, moderated by Lee Child with the award-winning Barbara Nadel, author of the much-loved Inspector Cetin Ikmen series, adapted for the BBC as The Turkish Detective starring Haluk Bilginer. The panel also welcomes Barry Ryan – managing director and creative director of TV production company Free@LastTV, best known for its flagship series for Sky TV, Agatha Raisin. Which I absolutely loved, with a passion as I do her books, which I also re-read.

Author Donna Moore, co-host and founder of CrimeFest, said: “It has been an absolute joy to organise CrimeFest over the years, and we are so grateful to everyone—authors, readers, and panellists—who have made it such a vibrant and welcoming event. While it’s bittersweet to say goodbye, we couldn’t be prouder of this final year’s programme, which promises to be one of our best yet. We’re going out in true CrimeFest style—with unforgettable discussions, brilliant talent, and plenty of surprises along the way.”

CrimeFest was created following the hugely successful one-off visit to Bristol in 2006 of the American Left Coast Crime convention, and CrimeFest runs on the US model. The first CrimeFest was organised in June 2008. Unlike other major crime fiction events in the UK, any commercially published author who signs up can feature on a panel. In this way, CrimeFest has provided many authors with a platform they would not have been offered elsewhere in the UK. The convention also continues its Community Outreach Programme. In partnership with the independent Max Minerva’s Bookshop and participating publishers, CrimeFest gifts thousands of pounds of crime fiction books for children and young adults to school libraries.

With thanks to sponsor Specsavers, librarians, students, and those on benefits are offered significantly discounted tickets.

Full passes are now available, and individual entry is open on the door dependant on availability: https://www.crimefest.com/

The Slave-Owner’s Dilemma by Simon Holder is compelling in its scope and subject and I consider that the jacket most certainly reflects the course the novel takes. But let’s look in more detail at Holder’s creation, which is written in a style which suggests its times and environs and in which he reveals, imagines and reflects the issues of those times.

In 1778 Walton Grimley inherits his father’s Jamaican sugar plantation at aged just 4. Even at such a young age he realises that slavery is wrong. But what can he do about it?

Is it enough to realise that he must improve his own slaves’ lives? What about the evil of the whole of the slave trade – how can that be altered? Finally he feels change must come from the top, which means following Wilberforce, the anti-slavery campaigner. To this end, Walton leaves Jamaica, travels to England, and becomes an MP, building, of course, a manor suitable to his position in Derbyshire. What does a manor need? A Housekeeper. A Mrs Burrows agrees. A Butler, and who better than Tobias, his Jamaican man servant. Goodness, the entry of this young man into Mulberry Hall most certainly causes a quickening heart for one particular female servant. The insertion of Tobias into the English gentry also serves, for Walton, as evidence to his peers of his belief in, if you like, his respect for all races.

In view of Tobias’s arrival, it seems sensible to bring Alice, Tobias’s lass, over to keep Tobias company. Well, things don’t play out as expected, not below, or above stairs and there are surprising secret ‘alliances’ that are, unsurprisingly, under constant pressure.

In the face of these pressures, and the mores of the time, Sir Walton fits into the establishment by choosing and English wife in order to produce a suitable heir. At the wedding, Alice is bridesmaid, which discomforts the society guests. but it is what Sir Walton wishes – in part to make evident his belief in equality. The attitude at the wedding service thaws with the appearance of Tobias, as it is assumed that Alice and he are connected as servants. Ah, but connected to whom? That is the question.Compromises, compromises.

Children are born, and grow into adults. The complexities continue. Will it all work out? Oh come on, I won’t tell, but remember… There are women at work… Feelings, suspicions, skullduggery, revenge, jealousy and all the time the abolition of slavery draws nearer… So what then happens to Sir Walton’s wealth which supports everyone? Read it. You really must read this book. Gift it too, with Easter on the horizon. Time to read during hols, remember.

The Slave-Owner’s Dilemma by Simon Holder

Sit in the driver’s seat of the cars from your past and relive your fondest motoring memories as Beaulieu proudly unveils its newest attraction, We Had One of Those. Opening 5th April 2025, this nostalgic new attraction will take visitors on a trip down memory lane, celebrating the cars, gadgets, and everyday objects that shaped life from the 1960s through to the 2000s and beyond.

Located just outside the National Motor Museum, We Had One of Those is a hands-on tribute to the vehicles and memories that shaped generations. From the family cars that filled Britain’s roads to the pop-culture that defined each era, this new attraction is set to be enjoyed by visitors of all ages.

Get up close to an impressive collection of much-loved motoring icons from the past, including the ever-reliable Morris Minor and the Austin Allegro, the car everyone loved to hate.  Explore classics like the original VW Beetle, the Vauxhall Cavalier and the Ford Mondeo, as well as favourites from the noughties including the MG ZS, which will be sure to turn heads. Beyond the cars themselves, a carefully curated selection of memorabilia from each decade invites memories and conversations to flow across generations.

We Had One of Those is a new experiential attraction at Beaulieu. Visitors will be actively encouraged to get involved with the cars; open the doors, sit in the seats, get their hands on the steering wheels and interact with the retro buttons and dials. The vehicles will give you the feeling of going back in time with the scent of well-worn seats being just as you remember, and the clunky sound of an old car door almost guaranteed to spark those memories. Grab the whole family, take a seat inside, and recreate the images of family road trips gone-by.

Head of Visitor Experience & Operations, Jon Tee, shares Beaulieu’s excitement: “We Had One of Those is more than just a motoring attraction at Beaulieu. Whether you’re reminiscing about childhood road trips or introducing younger generations to the past, this attraction is sure to spark fond memories and create new ones. We really welcome visitors to interact with the cars in every way possible and share with us their memories of the past.”

Jon Murden, Chief Executive of the National Motor Museum says, “The National Motor Museum is renewing its focus on the social and cultural history of the motor vehicle, backed up by new exhibitions and displays, and online content. The We Had One of Those experience will allow visitors to renew their memories by sitting in the cars of their youth – an element of nostalgia that we know is popular with our visitors.”

Beaulieu invites visitors to be one of the first to see this brand-new attraction when it opens in time for the Easter holidays. So, dig out your old photo albums, gather your loved ones, and come ready to say, “I remember when we had one of those!”. Plus, there’s lots more at Beaulieu for the whole family to get stuck into during the Easter holidays between the 5^th – 21^st April. Hop into spring and celebrate Easter with our popular motoring parades, a new trail for kids to follow around the grounds, phantasmagorical rides in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang*, bonnets galore and impressive newly refurbished rooms of Palace House.

As with all Beaulieu attractions, We Had One of Those is included in a general admission ticket, offering visitors access to the National Motor Museum, Palace House, Beaulieu Abbey, Little Beaulieu adventure play area, rides on the Monorail and Veteran Bus and more.

Visit www.beaulieu.co.uk for more information.

*Extra charges apply

Worth £10,000, this new literary award recognises non-fiction writers in the earlier stages of their careers as authors, whose work is considered to have made a significant contribution to the world. Made possible following a donation from the Unwin Charitable Trust and administered by the Publishers Association, the Unwin Award is intended to champion and showcase the value of the UK publishing industry to the world, and rewards an author for their overall body of work.

Caroline Criado Perez – the author of two works of non-fiction: Invisible Women (2019) The Sunday Times No I bestseller and Do It Like a Woman was revealed as the winner during a ceremony held at The Royal Institution, London.

The Unwin Award Judging Panel 2025 praised this political, passionate, and persuasive author’s scope of research, use of statistics, and sharing of personal insights – as well as her undeniable tireless fervour in pursuit of illuminating the truth, and her pure skill and strength as writer. The panel recognised the countless and clear global impacts of Caroline Criado Perez’s work in influencing policy, research, news commentary and conversation, alongside the astonishing afterlife of her books that continue to resonate with readers around the work long after publication.

Caroline Criado Perez, winner of the inaugural Unwin Award 2025, said: “I wrote Invisible Women because I wanted people to see the world as I saw it; to recognise the damage that we do when we render 50% of the global population invisible; and to be inspired to make a difference. I wrote because I wanted things to change — and so I’m honoured and delighted to receive this award, which recognises the power of books and publishing to do exactly that.”

Professor Shahidha Bari, Chair of The Unwin Award 2025 Judging Panel, commented: “The impact of Caroline Criado Perez’s work is phenomenal – irrefutably evidenced in the torrent of recommendations and endorsements from an astonishing array of sources. The Unwin Award is given to Criado Perez in acknowledgement of the wide and deep impact of her work. These are galvanising books, written with equal measures of knowledge and passion.  She has the gift of imparting to her readers the sense of righteous fury that comes from systemic and structural inequalities. Criado Perez is a diligent researcher, moving deftly between science writing, feminist politics and data analysis to produce what are compelling and crucial interrogations of culture, government, history and society. These books are calls to arms that have, and will continue to, inspire change. We offer our sincere congratulations to Caroline and look forward to what comes next.”

Dan Conway, CEO of the Publishers Association, said: “The Unwin Award aims to celebrate authors whose work has made a truly valuable  impact on society. Caroline Criado Perez’s impact on the cultural conversation in the UK and beyond is incredibly significant and this is testament to the quality of her research and the energy of her writing. Huge congratulations to Caroline and her publishing team.”

The Unwin Award Lecture runs in tandem with the literary award, and the 2025 Lecture was delivered at the winner ceremony on 1 April by quantum physicist, academic, author, broadcaster and one of the UK’s best known science communicators, Professor Jim Al-Khalili.

Focusing on the value that publishing brings to society, Professor Jim Al-Khalili spoke about his career balancing a university role as an academic scientist as well as a public scientist, broadcaster and author. In particular, Professor Al-Khalili will reflect upon the undiminished thirst for popular science books that has continued unabated ever since Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, and his part in it.