Pepys organises the painting of the new King’s Arms

Listener mail is warmly welcomed 🙋‍♀️The obsessing over signage by all people and institutions in May of 1660 is so fascinating and so relatable and explains why so many English pubs are the King’s Arms.  What quicker, surer way to reassure people of your loyalty to the new King?   Signs and symbols matter because we use them to be noticed by others who we know will know what we meant by them.  They are equivalent to the nod of the head from one local to another as he enters the pub.   Bonne nuit et grands mercis 🕯️ Support the showGretel le Maître likes to look for the beauty and curiosities in life, one day at a time.  She shares with you snippets from books about history, art and literature and regularly takes you on adventures to new locations, to explore churches, cathedrals and architecture.  We’ve reached nearly 80,000 downloads.  Don’t try to listen in order, unless you’re very committed.  Dip in and out, choosing an episode based on the title information.  Whether you are interested in history, literature, poetry or one-to-one chatting, I try to give you something that will interest you.  This is a podcast for the curious, the kind and - possibly - the suffering or lonely.  Historian Tom Holland is the Honorary Patron of this podcast.  Thank you Tom🙏 Gretel invites you to accompany her as she navigates the world a day at a time;  the podcast is unscripted, it’s ad-free.Gretel loves the world and history, architecture, literature and people. And so is determined to walk this path with light footsteps and with humour and warmth.  Let’s gather up the beautiful things and ponder them in our hearts.Top 10 in Global Rankings according to Listen Notes.  I would be so grateful if you would spare the time to give me a kind review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 😬☺️🥴Previous guests include  historian Tom Holland; Sir Richard Eyre; Actors Guy Henry and Enzo Cilenti; Art historian Philip Mould; Writer David Willem; Author Nicola Cornick; Composer Matthew Coleridge; Vicar Angela...