Sibyl Service

England's most infamous monarch. 

The man who bravely battled the ‘happy wife, happy life’ mantra. 

The man who sensibly sidelined Rome to create a new Church and get divorced. 

The man who pride himself on a good bedding and a good beheading. 

Yes, this is Henry 8th.

You think you know him, salacious listeners, but you do not. 

Long before the portraits by Holbein showed an ageing monarch with an enormous waistline and jewels dripping from every sleeve, Henry was something different.

He was athletic. 

Handsome.

Fluent in several languages.

A gifted musician.

A published theologian.

A prince hailed across Europe as the very image of Renaissance perfection.

So what happened?

How did Europe's brightest young ruler become one of history's most feared kings?

Well...

There's only one man who can answer that. 

Your Majesty IS ENTERING THE STUDIO…

WAFFLE takes on Belgian and all its bounty.  3 girls, two cities, one mission.

In the first half, we visit the the fine Art Museum of Ghent and hear an expert Art Historians discuss cutting edge Flemish and Dutch art,  they will discuss Bruegel, Frans Hals to they will passionately defend Still Life. All warming up to the one of greatest masterpieces in Western art: the Ghent Altarpiece.

 The second part is In Bruges. It may not be two Irish Assassins trying to make peace with themselves, but two British Artists share pretty philosophical thoughts in churches and in front of stunning art pieces by the GOAT Michelangelo and the lesser known yet arguably more impressive Hans Memling.

"And that's why they called me the Incorruptible…..”

Robespierre speaks proudly about his days in the public office during the French Revolution. No regrets, just major concerns about the feeble and weak minded men surrounding him. 

Reincarnated from the 1780’s, things are looking a bit different for Robespierre. But he can certainly relate to the contradictory Tweets and irrational politics. 

Robespierre in the hot seat.

The  man who saw himself as a moral reformer, a fixer of corruption, a builder of a new Jerusalem. Instead, he signed away thousands of lives… and ultimately lost his own, executed by the people he once called his friends.

Wearing a red blood waist coat with a loose bandaged jaw, he is entering the studio….

SHE HAS RISEN. MARIE ANTOINETTE HAS RISEN AGAIN.

She's hot, she's cross and she's a bun. On this glorious Easter Sunday, we celebrate the eating of chocolate cake as well as contradicting and confirming famous Versailles myths and legends.

Was Marie the reckless queen who let France starve while she indulged in shoes and strange theatrical performances? Or was she the victim of extreme misogyny who functioned as a scapegoat for France's political failures?

She's back (with a head) from 1793 both restore and redeem her reputation. She is entering the studio...

Alexander the Great graced us with his dishevelled but delightful presence in the Sibyl Service studio. Hands shaking for the bottle and wounds reeking of sepsis, he let it all out. Loud and proud. His father’s assassination (or patricide!?) his obsession with Persia, his belief that Zeus was his own father, his teachings from Aristotle and his vast empire.

Giving therapy to 'One of the Greats' taught me many things. 1. Even the greatest imperialists of all time need love and affection.

2. Being a philosopher king makes you an excellent battle strategist.

3. In 350BC, 'I was so drunk last night' basically justified everything.

We explore the vast legacy he left behind after his death in Babylon in 323 BCE: an empire stretching across territories that now form modern-day Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan and India.

Alex the Great is entering the studio.....

A British person, especially a man, who treats other people very badly and has no moral principles. This is Jeremy Thorpe. But this witty, flamboyant man from the 1970's liberal politics movement did not plan on being the first British MP to stand trial for murder, he planned on stopping the Apartheid in South Africa and creating positive social reform.

So how did it all go wrong? And will Jeremy continue to deny his attempted murder or will he come clean?

Sibyl Service has returned after two years of dead people quaking in their graves because of mistruths, misinformation and misguided modern individuals. Jeremy is back from the dead and in the studio.

Music by the very talented Tertia.

Jeremy Thorpe played by Jim Crossland.

Welcome to an episode of Sappho, sex, rock and roll. Discover the first female voice of Western literature. 

This singer-songwriter from Lesbos pioneered female poetry and music. Only 1 percent of her work is left so this exclusive interview is seriously exclusive. It is a common misconception that Sappho wrote about desire, childbirth, the beauties of the natural world, and just girly things. But the reality is she wrote about politics, tyranny, and sexuality. This was all burnt by some angry, prudish Christians. 

We ask compelling questions such as, what constitutes the female gaze, and how does it differ from the male gaze? And, how different were female drinking parties from male 'symposiums?' 

Louise Walsh tells the fascinating story behind her 'Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker.' This sculpture sparked the longest ever debate in the Belfast city council. 

The controversy was all about sex work, the commemoration of women, and sectarian politics. 

This expression is thrown around a lot, but Walsh does truly talk for Ireland. Enjoy. 

Spinoza is back to make everyone wake up and smell the coffee - you are never free until you recognise that you are not free. 

He questioned the Torah's sacredness and was excommunicated from his Jewish community at only 23 years old. 

Fear not; his relationship with God and spider-fighting is explored and analysed. 

This man is gentle, fascinating, and pretty controversial. 

This episode was originally on a radio show. 

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