Hi Nathaniel, 

I happen to know why your parents called you Nathaniel. 

 Sometime in early '62, your father Peter had reason to meet up with a Mr Flaxman, who was, I believe, the chairman of Fletcher & Stuart in Derby.

 My mother 'Jean' was Mr F's personal secretary and was pregnant with myself at the time.  They struck up a conversation about babies as your mum was expecting you at the time, (you are only a couple of weeks older than I am.)

 Your father said that as this was their fourth child, they had started to run out of baby names, and my mother (who had recently been reading HG Well's 'War of the worlds') suggested 'Nathaniel', (He was the priest in the novel) and your father said "Hmmm, Nathaniel, I like that."

So, whether you like your name, or not, you can blame my mum.

 I got called Stephen, but it was a narrow escape, as she was also considering Roland, and as I turned out to be a tubby lad, I'd have been forever saddled with 'Roly Poly!'

I'm sat here watching a repeat of Merlin, and I thought 'I wonder if Nathaniel knows the story of how he was named?'

 I hope you found this interesting. 

 All the best, 

 'Big Steve'  :-)

hi!  I love listening to you read Bunburry and Mydworth. The voices are fantastic when are you going to do another Bunburry?? I miss Liz and Marge,!!

Hello there! I'm a Brit living in Flagstaff, Arizona and during this difficult time there is only so much Horse Training/Instruction/Competing I can do right now (I don't want to come off and use valuable medical resources). Soooo, Happy Birthday Nat! I have been watching Inspector Lynley, Trust, Far from the Madding Crowd, well the lot quite frankly and it has really helped divert my attention from worrying about family and friends back there in Blighty.  Not great here either, especially in the heat and dust of Northern Arizona (my horses hold me entirely responsible for the weather).

I hope you and yours are all well ?

Time does not change the Man you are, Nathaniel

Le temps ne change pas l'Homme que vous êtes, Nat

Je vous souhaite un HEUREUX ANNIVERSAIRE, riche en emotion.

To the hands of Time, avec toute mon Affection

Evelyne

Paris, Lundi 18 Mai 2020

Nathaniel

I am an author with four books published by HarperCollins, I write Historical fiction (one WW2 trilogy) and Crime ( one black funny one called Blood, Wine and Chocolate). I am a long term Elizabeth George fan, my first editor at Harpers New York was an old editor of hers, Carolyn Marino. I ADORE audio books and listen to them for research and for pure pleasure. Your accents and expression and timing are absolutely superb. As they say "I could listen to you read the phonebook."

In this unprecedented time could you read some extra stuff, film it and put it up on You Tube? Looking at you reading would be an extra bonus! I have a character who is the Duke of Lochmorland and he is surprisingly like Lynley. You'd love him...anyway,  my agent is investigating you reading my books. In the meantime, start a You Tube channel and read to amuse, distract, comfort and engage us. You would be doing a public service. (loved Injustice, it was superb writing and acting and directing). I hope you and your family are safe and well, and so many thanks for the hard work that has driven projects and given us the joy of your talent. This too will pass. The Arts will sustain the world and give it the hope to reshape itself as a better place. Cheers. Julie Thomas (Cambridge, New Zealand - isolated spot at the bottom of the world, quite an advantage right now!)