Photo © Sara Roque Peres

I Imagined John Blanke as not backward in coming forward, daring to write to the King requesting a rise in pay, I imagine John Blanke to be a man aware of his own contribution to the royal retinue of trumpeters.

I imagine John Blanke as a dignified presence yet possessing a wry sense of humour. I can see him playing a game of chess with a Tudor mate, and suddenly breaking into classical Arabic  كش ملك  "Kish Malek" (Checkmate!) just to test the puzzled expression on the white faces surrounding him.

I also imagine him as a man with consideration for his neighbours. I don't imagine him practising syncopated riffs on his trumpet just after midnight. That wouldn't go down too well with a leafy suburban Tudor postcode!

John Agard
Poet and Playwright