Tie-in Tuesday: Hooded Men and Apocalyptic Knights

The last two weeks have been busy. As well as all the usual stuff that fills up what is commonly known as 'daily life', the last two weekends I have been indulging a passion of mine... for cult '80s TV drama Robin of Sherwood*.

The May Bank Holiday weekend saw the second The Hooded Man event, organised by the inestimable Barnaby Eaton-Jones, following on from the first such event back in 2014. I joined around 300 other fans in Chepstow for a weekend of geeking out, highly entertaining interviews, banqueting, lots of laughter, and such impromptu delights as the wedding of Little John and Meg of Wickham, and a reading of a 'cut scene' that explained what happened to Marion at the end of the last series. (Fans of the show will know what I'm talking about.)

The suitably atmospheric venue for the event.

Waiting for the fun to start at The Hooded Man II.

Chepstow Castle, which featured in the series back in the '80s.

However, the highlight of the weekend had to be the first play of the trailer for the brand new audio drama Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse. I say 'brand new', but it's adapted from a script written by Richard Carpenter, the show's creator, back in the 1980s. And I'm writing the novelisation of the same script, and was even doing so over the weekend, while I was attending The Hooded Man II.

If you've not heard the trailer for yourself yet - and when I heard it, it was a real goosebumps moment for me - then you can do so here.

If you would like a copy of my novelisation, the only way you can get hold of it is by backing the KOTA Indiegogo campaign and selecting the appropriate perk. The campaign will only remain open until mid-May, so don't delay - back today!

Whilst I was at The Hooded Man II, I met Jenny Kane (who is organising TivLitFest) for the first time, and picked up the second volume of Andrew Orton's comprehensive history of the show, which now features a paragraph about yours truly. And, of course, I made new friends.

Jenny Kane, author of Romancing Robin Hood.

From Andrew Orton's Hooded Man Volume 2.

(Some of) The Swords of Wayland.

I also got to meet Judi Trott (Maid Marion) and Peter Llewellyn Williams (Much the Miller's Son) for the first time, as well as meeting Jason Connery (Robert of Huntingdon) and Mark Ryan (Nasir, and a real gent) for a second time.

But the fun didn't stop when The Hooded Man II came to an end. For just this weekend gone, I was in London to attend the premiere of the Knights of the Apocalypse audio, which included a champagne reception, a preview screening of the 'Making Of...' documentary, the first 30 minutes of the audio, and a Q&A session with those members of the cast in attendance. Andrew Orton and I formed our own writers' huddle at the back of the auditorium and ended the premiere having our photograph taken with the stars.

Waiting for the fun to start at The Knights of the Apocalypse premiere.

Robin of Sherwood's official historian Andrew Orton, fellow fans Lutine and Annette, and some bloke in a jacket and tie.

Then it was off to the pub, naturally (courtesy of fellow fan Annette's organisational skills), where yet more new acquaintances were made.

Jason Connery holding court at the Cock & Lion.

It is certainly a May that I won't forget in a hurry. After all, nothing's forgotten... Nothing is ever forgotten**.




* There are four things that really define me as a writer***, and they all come from my formative years in the 1980s - Doctor Who, Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, Robin of Sherwood, and Brother Cadfael mysteries.

** Especially not helping Much the Miller's Son find his way back to the nearest Tube station.

*** If you ignore all the Steampunk stuff!