FROM ANNE GRACIE

answer to comment # 17 (andreina)

Hi Andreina, thanks. I grew up with bees -- my father and my grandfather kept bees and my great-grandfather, and so on. The honey isn't for sale, though -- it's just enough for family and friends. And yes, you're right about Henry's sister being married to King Louis. I suspect Michael Hirst, the scriptwriter changed that so that TV viewers wouldn't be confused by too many events -- he telescoped many events into a short time. But despite the historical inacuracy, there was an essential truth in that his sister did marry an elderly king.

As for what I do in my free time, there isn't a lot of that. I keep pretty busy. But I like to do craft sometimes -- I'm not all that good at it, but I enjoy it. For a time I had doll's house disease and I made many small things for a doll's house. I was looking after a friend's daughter when I started, and I was given a house. So every week the little girl would request new items for the house or the dolls. I like making jewellery, too, and at the moment I'm doing a course in resin casting, and soon I will learn pearl-threading and knotting. And I garden and cook and I walk my dog and I like music. And of course, I read. What kind of dish? Hmm, I make all sorts of different dishes, so it's hard to choose. The strongest influences on my cooking are Italian and Asian... but I do make a greek-style cheese and leek pie that is popular with all my friends.

Anne