I'M NOT PROUD of it, but I might as well confess. I recently purchased my very own copy of "British History for Dummies."
Now granted, there are many areas of expertise in which I would quickly qualify as a dummy. Plumbing and cooking are two that come to mind.
But being a dummy on British history hurts.
After all, I took a course on the Tudors in college. I subscribe to The Spectator, a weekly opinion journal from Britain that keeps me on top of politics across the pond.
I once had an electronic subscription to The Times of London. I still read an array of newspapers and magazines about the Church of England.
But as my wife, Peggy, and I prepare for a short trip to the Cotswolds, that rolling slice of England three hours west of London, I still feel like a dummy.
I just can't keep all those kings, queens, wars and invaders straight.
How different were the Angles from the Saxons? Why did Julius Caesar have such a low opinion of the Celts? What about all those other kings named Henry who didn't make it into Shakespeare's plays and who didn't focus on executing their wives?
I also want to avoid those ignorant-American moments that might pop up as we motor around the narrow roads of the Cotswolds, soaking up all that Agatha Christie atmosphere.
For example, the appropriate response to a historical marker about the Civil War is not to think of Stonewall Jackson of the 19th century, but of Oliver Cromwell of the 17th century.
The War of the Roses is not the movie starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, but a nasty, 15th-century feud between the Houses of York and Lancaster.
But perhaps many of these details will soon pale, as we absorb the beauty of a limestone-laden region buffeted by waves of invaders over the centuries. Stone cottages and sheep still dot the rolling landscape.
In the Cotswolds, you'll find a shrine to William Tyndale, the first man to translate the Bible into English. Prince Charles has a place there, where he has dabbled in agricultural innovation. And yes, one of those Harry Potter movies was filmed in the cathedral at Gloucester.
But I have more than sightseeing on my agenda. I'm hoping to engage enough Brits in political chitchat to get some sense of how Prime Minister Tony Blair, the leader of the left-leaning Labor Party somehow became George
Their "special relationship" has to go down as one of the most fascinating in modern political history.
But then again, perhaps I should leave my notebook home. My guess is that hiking along the ridges of the Cotswolds, with the mountains of Wales in the distance, will be more than enough
ED JONES is editor of The Free Lance-Star. He can be reached at 540/374-5401 or at edjones@