Friday 31 October 2014

Not one but TWO fabulous October competitions!

We are lucky enough to have two competitions this month. Both are open only to UK residents.

Firstly, our usual one linked to this month's guest. You can win one of five copies of Helen Castor's Joan of Arc: a History, by answering this question in the Comments section below:

"Why do you think Joan of Arc has had more pop songs written about her than any other historical figure?"

Please also copy your answers to me at: readers@maryhoffman.co.uk so I can contact the winners.

Secondly, Flybe have generously offered a pair of tickets for return flights from London Southend Airport to Caen. I wrote about the sights to be found at Caen and Bayeux. And more about Bayeux here and here, both places I visited courtesy of the airline Flybe and the Normandy Tourist Board.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning the tickets is Follow us on Twitter and send me an email at: readers@maryhoffman.co.uk to say you have done so. We are @history_girls. We will pick the winner out of a hat and notify you by email.

Closing date for both competitions is 7th November.

Terms & conditions for the Flybe competition:

Flybe operated by Stobart Air Travel Voucher Terms and Conditions
1. Flight vouchers can only be redeemed on www.flybe.com.
2. You will be required to enter the voucher reference number provided at the time of
booking.
3. Seats can only be booked in Q Class or lower.
4. Seats must be redeemed together and seat availability is at Stobart Air’s discretion.
5. While every effort will be made to facilitate your preferred travel dates bookings are
subject to applicable seat availability on flights. Furthermore please be aware that
weekend availability is limited and a minimum of 14 days advance booking request is
required.
6. The voucher cannot be used to redeem flights on bank holiday weekends, school
holidays or dates for major sporting events.
7. This voucher covers the cost of one piece of checked baggage per person per flight
(up to 20kgs) and one piece of cabin baggage (up to 7kg, subject to cabin baggage
terms & conditions). Please note this excludes all sporting equipment.
8. Routes and validity dates are not changeable.
9. Please retain this voucher as confirmation of winning.
10. The voucher does not entitle you to a cash value in lieu and is non-transferable. The
prize must be used by the winner and a companion travelling together.
11. Please check with your local authorities regarding passport and visa requirements
12. The prizewinner, if under 18, must be accompanied by an adult on the flight.
13. The winner may be required to take part in any publicity accompanying or resulting
from this competition.


The tickets must be redeemed by 26 February 2015. Also, please bear in mind that Flybe is only covering the flights, not accommodation, transfers etc.





10 comments:

Clare the Reader said...

How many other crusading female soldiers who stood up to the Establishment and died a gory death are there?

One of the few French we wish were British!

Mary Hoffman said...

Clare, don't forget to email me your details if you want to have a chance of winning the book (see above). I need to be able to let you know if successful.

Unknown said...

I think it's to do with her looking and acting like a man. There have been countless courageous and defiant women throughout history but not too many voice-hearing, fanatically devout cross-dressers ...

Ruan Peat said...

Joan is such a romantic figure, not enough true information and standing against impossible odds! Almost a modern hero, which is what draws us to dream about her world and aims.

Marjorie said...

I think because she is one of those who can be reinterpreted in so many different ways - a Patriotic fighter, a religious heroine fighting for her faith, victim of persecution, deluded, or perhaps genuinely touched by god, but always powerful and memorable.
And she didn't live long enough to disappoint anyone.

Is everyone here familiar with "The Problem with Saints"? Mr Neil Gaiman's musical tke on Joan of Arc?

http://youtu.be/cFTOKEkk8rY
(from '8-in-8/')

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Elspeth Scott said...

I think it's partly because she is so much a lone figure; a peasant girl in male dress leading an army to victory, but not perhaps fitting in and then abandoned to her fate to suit politics.

Linda said...

She's such a mass of contradictions (or has been presented as such by history) that she permits people to see in her whatever they want. A courageous proto-feminist or a hysterical girl? An enraptured saint or a hard-headed 'fixer'? A real participant in the war, or a product of spin?

Mark Burgess said...

There appears to be something irresistibly attractive about a woman who behaves in a more masculine way than most men - who has great prowess in fighting. Look at the Kurdish fighter Rehana, for example. But with Joan it went further because she became the embodiment of a nation's identity. I think the fact that Joan achieved this as an ordinary woman from a humble background is what's made her story so enduring in popular culture.

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