We were stuck in an ill-equipped classroom several miles out of town away from the excellent resources of our main campus. Somehow I had to entertain this small class of postgrad students with no access to the online materials that I had prepared.

Then I struck upon an idea. One of the girls hinted that she came from a tiny place in north Northumberland. I took the chance that this was Branxton. I astonished Louise (the student in question) and all her friends with my encyclopaedic knowledge of the village, as well as the forthcoming commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden, planned for September 2013.