Talking Tudors Listener Spotlight

Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background.

My name is Carrie, I’m 42 years old and I live in the United States. I have been married for 18 years and I have two daughters, ages 17 and 11. We have three dogs, a rabbit, and a hamster.

We live in a 19^th century farm house in a tiny little town on the banks of the Choptank River, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The Eastern Shore of Maryland is on a peninsula bordered by the Chesapeake Bay on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and I have worked primarily for the state legislature since 2002. On my few “breaks” from the legislature I have worked for election campaigns for the Governor, state legislative offices, and local government seats.

What ignited your passion for Tudor history?

It must have been seeing the movie “Lady Jane”, with Helena Bonham Carter. I remember being home sick from school in middle school and watching it and just getting hooked. We didn’t get a lot of Tudor history through school but I always devoured any little bit. In college I minored in history, but a lot of that focus was on American History and Russian History. Tudor history has always been my “recreational history” – what I turn to when I want to kick back and relax.

What’s something you love about where you live?

At my house, I love my front porch. It is just a lovely little spot with rose bushes and other flowers. There has been a pair of birds nesting there since the early spring. I have these old wicker rockers that are so cozy. It’s one of my favourite places in the world.

We live in a very rural and agricultural area, surrounded by fields of corn, wheat, barley, and soy beans – depending on the time of year. I love watching the sunset over a wheat field or the breeze blowing across the fields of grain, it sounds like the ocean. Our town community is small, and we take care of each other.

Generally, Maryland is beautiful. It is full of history and still has a lot of ties to England. The original colony was named in honour of Queen Henrietta Maria. I grew up in Queen Anne’s County, named for Anne, Queen of Britain. A statue of Queen Anne sits in front of the court house in the town I went to high school in. Our state flag is the only one in the nation (I think) that uses heraldic colours and symbols (it is beautiful, but I am a bit biased).

Maryland is often called “America in Miniature” – I live near beaches and marshes, but within a few hours’ drive I can be in the mountains with rivers and waterfalls – all without having to leave the state. We’re quite lucky that way.

Also, the State House that I work in is the oldest state house in the nation in continuous legislative use. It is also the only one that was ever the Capitol of the United States, the Continental Congress met there and George Washington resigned his military commission there. The halls were walked by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison walked some of the same halls that I walk. It is very humbling to work in a building with so many links to our nation’s history.

What are your hobbies?

I read – a lot. During the quarantine, I have also taken up cross-stitch which is a type of embroidery. I also love gardening – I love planting flowers and the smell of good soil. I love to get my hands in the dirt and watching things grow; it’s good for the soul!

What’s been one of your favourite episodes of ‘Talking Tudors’, and why?

That’s a really hard choice. I don’t think I can pick just one. I love the ones with Alison Weir because she’s such a great author and everything she does is so flawlessly researched. I also love the episodes with Dr. Owen Emmerson – I’m so envious of his job and I love to hear him talk about Hever. I really enjoyed the episode with Nathen Amin and the episode with Tony Riches – it lead me to their books on the Beauforts and the early Tudors. I love the episodes that lead me to a new book!

Share a brief story. It can be inspiring, funny, spooky, heartwarming or historical. Anything you like!

Okay, I think – at least looking back now – that this is pretty funny. It happened a few years ago. My brother keeps chickens, roughly 8-10 chickens. My nephew loves these chickens, they’re more like pets than livestock. They all have names, he picks them up and carries them around, etc. My brother and his family were going out of town on a trip and I was one of several people “chicken sitting”; stopping at his house to let them out of the coop in the morning and making sure they were all back inside and secured in the coop before dark. It isn’t hard work, and is typically uneventful.

I’m coming back from the store one evening, and I notice these HUGE black clouds and know a big thunderstorm is coming. I tried to reach the person who was supposed to put up the chickens but wasn’t able to. I stopped by his house and the chickens were still out. Now, I enter the pen and most of these chickens know the drill and all hop up into the coop. Except one. This chicken will not get into the coop. I try to shoo her in, but she’s just not having it. Meanwhile, this storm is coming in fast. It’s getting really dark, I can see lightning and it’s starting to drizzle. But I cannot convince this stupid chicken to get in the coop. I zig, she zags, I get close enough to pick her up and she takes off. I thought about leaving her out, but remembered how much my nephew LOVES these chickens. It begins to pour and the lightning starts gets closer and closer and I’m still chasing this chicken. The thought occurs to me: “I’m going to get struck by lightning chasing this chicken – this is how it’s going to end. I’m going to be one of those sickly-funny internet stories”. I could see the headlines! The chicken finally relented and hopped up in the coop. I closed it all up and made it back to my car – soaked to the bone. It didn’t seem funny at the time, but it does make me chuckle now.

When do you listen to Talking Tudors?

When the world was “normal” I was in the car a lot. I have at least an hour commute to work each way and I am often shuttling children to some activity or event. So I’d listen in the car typically, it was my “me time”. Since the quarantine, I’ve been at home a lot more. So I’ve taken to listening while I’m working on cross stitch or when I’m cooking or doing other chores around the house.

Finish this sentence: I’d like to learn more about… Anne Boelyn in her own words. I, like I’m sure many others, am longing for more of her letters to be uncovered. She is so fascinating and yet we still know so little about her.

Tell us about someone you admire.

My cousin Laura was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer last year, just before Christmas. She’s 33 and is the mother of three small children under the age of 8. She is also a school teacher. She has been so strong and courageous while fighting this disease. She has also used so much humor in this fight – from creating funny snapchat videos during chemo to playing hilarious pranks on her nurses and doctors. Overall, she’s doing well. She’s finished her second round of chemo (she had a double mastectomy in late March) and will begin radiation soon. She’s basically a super-hero.

What’s something you’re looking forward to in the next twelve months?

The world is in such a state of upheaval right now. My daughter will be entering her senior year of high school in the fall. Many of the milestone events of a senior year will be a lot different, or will have to be cancelled. But I’m looking forwarding to finding new and inventive ways of celebrating this special time with her.