Memento Mori

I had all these bright ideas yesterday, when I was listening to the conference speakers, but somewhere between then and now it disappeared into the ether..never to be seen again.

So instead, I give you 'Remember you are mortal'

During the conference, we held a two minute silence at 11am, which was nice to see; though I would rather see Armistice Day become a new bank holiday as it deserves a special moment of thanks as we see fewer and fewer veterans of the Great War.

Linked to this : when SOH and I were down with his family in Cornwall, SOH-Dad showed me some details of his Uncle Harold Dawe, who sadly died in France in early Oct 1917. SOH-DAD provided me with visual copies of the papers received, including the letter saying he was killed in action, also a letter from the pensions office. This information included his rank, army number, regiment and I am now trying to find out a little more about him.

On to the war graves site, only to no avail, the only gentlemen on there were either not in the right regiment or were not on the right date having been killed earlier in the war.

I had a breakthrough when I queried the dates involved, as this was Passchendaele or the third Ypres offensive, and so far I have 'interrogated' a number of websites trying to find out a little more information.

I have also contacted the war graves commission with the information I have as many of the WW1 records were lost in the blitz bombing of London in WW11 and it may well be that his details were lost at this point in time; but hopefully they will come back with yet more information than I have currently.

It is equally valid to say that as this was a difficult time just after the heat of battle and many men were buried without the details being kept for identification; partially the numbers of men involved and the conditions of the battleground.

If Harold is known, buried etc, it is likely to be at the Tyne Cot cemetery which was first used in October 1917 when one of several German blockhouses on the Passchendaele Ridge was captured by the British Army on 4th October 1917 and then and used as an Advanced Dressing Station. As a result of this there were some 350 burials in the vicinity of the Dressing Station between then and the end of March 1918.

This photograph is taken from the high ground of the Passchendaele Ridge, looking south-west towards Ypres. This was the dominating view over the northern part of the Ypres Salient which the Germans had from the Passchenaele Ridge as the Allied soldiers tried to approach them during the Third Battle of Ypres (Battle of Passchendaele) 31 July - 10 November 1917.

The cemetery is the last resting place of more than 12,000 soldiers from Oct 1914 to September 1918. Many were reburied when the cemetery was enlarged after the cessation of hostilities and many of the gravestones are engraved with no-known name only 'an unknown soldier of the great war'.

I have one more casualty I am still trying to find out more details on, and that is my Great Uncle Charlie who also died during WW1 but we don't have any details on which regiment he was with, where he died in the field of conflict nor when so it is an uphil struggle and may not even be known.

Sent to Coventry

Not to worry, I haven't done anything wrong (well not that I know anyway).. just that today I am going to Coventry to attend a conference on a recording system for lectures..

But it set me thinking as to the origins of the phrase, and a quick search of the internet revealed :

It is quite probable that events in Coventry in the English Civil War in the 1640s play a part in the phrase. Coventry is an industrial city in Warwickshire, England. In the 17th century, when this phrase is supposed to have originated, Coventry was a small town. It is suggested that the phrase originated from people being physically sent there as a punishment.

One story is that Cromwell sent a group of Royalist soldiers to be imprisoned in Coventry, around 1648. The locals, who were parliamentary supporters, shunned them and refused to consort with them.

The other story is that there was once a garrison in Coventry, a fact which was massively unpopular with the local inhabitants (usually because of the drunken conduct of the soldiers), so much so that they would not even speak with any of the soldiers stationed there and certainly the women were strongly discouraged from discoursing with them.

Hence, it was effectively guaranteed that any soldier posted to Coventry would be in for some serious shunning.

I like the second idea, but the reality is we will never know.

The Weekend in a Word

Tiring

SOH did all the driving, as I have never towed a caravan at all before and I don’t think now would be a good time to start. So thank you SOH, hope you are not too tired today at work :0)

We set off later than we had liked to Cornwall, getting away just after 11am on Friday, and not arriving at our destination (just outside of Redruth) until gone 6pm, and setting up a caravan in the dark is not a good idea but help was given by the family and soon we were partaking of a cup of tea. This was most welcome as the next destination was the bmx track where the youngsters were giving us a demonstration of their abilities on a bike. Surprisingly the bikes seem to be much of a size though the riders were all different heights.. I didn’t go around the track myself, but SOH’s niece did and it looked like it would keep anyone fit if they did it a couple of times a week. Pictures would have been forthcoming except that because we left in a hurry (and ok I didn’t think to do it the night before) I forgot my camera, so apologies for the lack of photos.

We dined on Sausage and chips, washed down with hot chocolate and when the youngster had done enough we headed back to the caravan for another hot drink before finally getting to bed just before midnight. Needless to say we were bushed.

Saturday morning was a delight of blue skies, given the storms of the night before when we gently rocked in the caravan, it was a nice relief to not be faced with more rain. We drove into Redruth itself, as I needed to get part of SOH’s Christmas present (he knows what it is, but I am not going to put it on here as it would spoil the big day I think). Then we did a few other chores before heading over to Portreath where SOH lived for a while and walked on the beach watching the storms heading in to us. I love the winter tides as the sea is a green glassy colour which matches the grey stormy skies with only the breaking waves adding a tinge of colour.. how I wished I had brought the camera at this point.

Saturday evening, I was treated to some Cornish mead, strawberry flavoured. It was very nice, and though it doesn’t taste as though it is alcoholic, you do notice the kick as it warms you up from inside. We had a stew and dumplings made by SOH’s oldest sister which was lovely, and went down well given the stormy weather outside again.

Sunday, was grey and dank. We packed up the stuff from the caravan that we weren’t leaving down there and put it in the car. Said our final farewells, though we will be back just after Christmas, and headed off to see SOH’s Dad who lives a few miles away. I forgot to take the apples down that I promised, but they should still be good at Christmastime, either that or I will pack some up and send them down by post.

We got home just after 7pm last night, tired. We took the stuff out of the car, though unpacking would be incorrect as we have that to do tonight. After a supper of beans on toast, we watched a fascinating documentary on BBC Four about a French photographer Albert Kahn. It was interesting as not only did it cover the first world war, it showed how quickly the art of photography developed.. hah even a pun.

Remembrance Sunday

Today at 11am, we will stand silently and think of the sacrifices that the men (and women) in the British armed forces, both today and in the past, have lost their lives so we may enjoy our freedom.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Liet.-Col. John McCrae

Saturday Satire - An English wife abroad

Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had Given their new wives duties.

Terry had married a woman from America , and bragged that he had told his wife she needed to do all the dishes and housework. He said that it took a couple days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were all washed and put away.

Jimmie had married a woman from Canada . He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes, and the cooking. He told them that the first day he didn't see any results, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done, and he had a huge dinner on the table.

The third man had married a English girl. He boasted that he told her that her duties were to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, laundry and ironing twice a week, lawns mowed, windows cleaned and hot meals on the table for every meal.

He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything, but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye, just enough to fix himself a bite to eat, load the dishwasher, and call a handyman.

NB I could not possibly comment on this post being of English origin :0)

Off to Cornwall with a Caravan

SOH and I are heading off to Cornwall today, with a caravan in tow. This is because it is currently being stored at this end of the world, but realistically we will only use it down in Cornwall - so we are finding new storage for it down home and family way.

Apologies for being a less than witty post, but sometimes you can't just make things up on a whim when it is late at night and we have to head off early in the morning to drive 300 plus miles.

On the other hand, the positive side is that we will have free accommodation when we go down to Cornwall and will be able to use the bikes to get there - double bonus for that.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Today's Post Brought to You By the Letter T

Janet over at 32 aker wood participated in a sort of voluntary meme. If you want to play, you just leave a comment on the post and ask for a letter. Then you list 10 things you love that start with that letter. So I asked for a letter and she gave me the letter T.

1. Tea - who wouldn't love a nice cup of tea on a wet autumnal morning or Winter's afternoon

2. Tomatoes - especially when picked warm from the plant, that lovely flavour that shop brought ones simply don't have

3. Thyme - I haven't been very lucky with this herb, but I keep trying as I love the smell

4. Tools - I like looking at DIY tool catalogues and imagining what I could do with them if I knew how to use them. My Dad was the handyman, it didn't pass down the genes to me.

5. Two wheels - my motorbike, being able to go out on it, the sheer grin factor it provides me with.

6. T'other half - we might have met late in life, but at least we met. Some people go through life not ever meeting someone as special as he is to me. All together now 'aaaawwwww'

7. The pasT - I am fascinated by history, not just English history. I spent about 6 months drilling into the background of the American Civil war, just for fun, and found a number of fascinating facts such as the first submarine was used during this period. Who would have thought it possible that modern inventions are actually many years of research/work and not necessarily highlighted.

8. Tinned foods - how did someone think of doing tinned foods? for years they would preserve in kilner (or preserving jars) but when did someone make the leap to tinning the items and what will we be doing in the future? I do admit to loving Spam... yes well someone had to say it..

9. Teaching - something that I have to do as part of my job, and love doing it despite not being a natural (in front of people) speaker; Wish my job involved more of this and less of the boring stuff.

10. ChocolaTe - see the T was in there all along.. any and all chocolate tastes lovely, even the one with Chilli in... you don't taste the chilli until right at the end and then your mouth suddenly goes warm.

So if anyone else wants to play, leave me a comment and and I'll assign you a letter but it is purely for fun this meme.

November 5th - Bonfire Night, fireworks and why we celebrate it

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

It is primarily remembered and marked in the United Kingdom where it was compulsory, by Royal Decree, to celebrate the deliverance of the King until 1859. These days it is purely a good reason to launch fireworks into the cold November skies and enjoy the pyrotechnic display whilst eating hot dogs, roasted potatoes with warm soup and hearty helpings of hot chocolate suitably laced with alcohol.

Guido Fawkes is notorious for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was probably placed in charge of executing the plot because of his military and explosives experience. The plot, masterminded by Robert Catesby, was an attempt by a group of religious conspirators to kill King James I of England, his family, and most of the aristocracy by blowing up the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster during the State Opening of Parliament.

After being tortured on King James's orders, Fawkes and a number of others implicated in the conspiracy were tried in Westminster Hall. After being found guilty, they were taken to Old Palace Yard in Westminster and St Paul's Yard, where they were hanged, drawn and quartered on 31 January 1606.

For the uninitiated : this means they were hung, but not killed - before they could die from suffocation they were taken down and disembowelled with the final cut being the still beating heart. This was a punishment given for the severest of crimes, and others who suffered the same fate included William Wallace (filmed as Braveheart) and a film I have never been able to watch twice.

Common foods served at bonfire parties are black treacle goods such as bonfire toffee (aka Cinder toffee), parkin, toffee apples, baked potatoes, which are wrapped in foil and cooked in the bonfire or its embers and devilled sausages.

So enjoy the blood thirstiness of Bonfire night...

Wishful thinking

5 Interesting Places I want to visit one day

1. Petra - The pink valley in Jordan, ever since I saw it in Indiana Jones I have wanted to go there and on horseback.
2. Canadian Rockies - what could be better than to take the rockies express and gently sway across these majestic mountains.
3. California - I want to see the Giant Sequoia trees or Redwoods, and visit the fishermans wharf area of San Francisco
4. Iceland - (yes even after the last bank crisis) I want to see the land where the hot springs stay hot even in the middle of winter.
5. Galapagos Islands - home to the largest species of tortoise and just somewhere that time left untouched.

5 Interesting Places I have stayed/visited

1. Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh. My room was just outside of the main gates and though I didn't see much of the Palace other than the kitchen I did feel it was rather special.
2. Balmoral Castle - I fell in love with Scotland in 1977 when I first went to Balmoral as a teenager. My first job away from home and I loved the wildness of the countryside surrounding the Castle. I would still love to live there one day.
3. Paris - who couldn't fail to enjoy this majestic city, it has such joy and passion about it (not to mention an abundance of pick pockets)
4. Cameron Highlands - like England on a warm Summer's day though after the heat of Malaya it was like walking into a room with air conditioning on at full blast.
5. Venice - I was too young to get the best out of this family holiday to Italy which included a day trip to Venice, but I remember standing looking at San Marco's Piazza and just taking in the scenery (ok and the smell was a bit fresh)

5 things I want to do one day

1. Fly in a hot air balloon - despite being scared of heights
2. Stalk a deer, and get close enough to get a great shot (with a camera - hands up if you thought I would stalk and kill a bambi!)
3. Surfing in Cornwall - have never done it, want to do it one day before I get too old or it is too cold to do it and SOH can and has done it.
4. Take a safari trip to Africa, I quite fancy the idea of doing it on horseback and I think there is a firm that does this
5. Take the motorbike and ride the Route Napoleon - The N85 from the french coast (Golfe Juan) to Grenoble

This post is designed to amuse and replace any negative thoughts of the American Elections which may or may not have an affect on any readers of today's news

Feast of Saint Winifred

Today is the feast day of Saint Winefride (Welsh name Gwenffrewi) who was a legendary 7th century Welsh noblewoman who was canonized after dying for the sake of her chastity. Winefride was the daughter of a Welsh nobleman, Tyfid ap Eiludd. Her suitor, Caradog, was enraged when she decided to become a nun, and decapitated her. In one version of the tale, her head rolled downhill, and, where it stopped, a healing spring appeared. Winefride's head was subsequently rejoined to her body due to the efforts of her maternal uncle, Saint Beuno, and she was restored to life. She later became a nun and abbess at Gwytherin in Denbighshire, and Caradog, cursed by Beuno, melted into the ground.

The moving of Winefride's bones to Shrewsbury is woven into A Morbid Taste for Bones, the first of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels. Throughout the series, the protagonist - a Welsh monk at the English monastery at Shrewsbury - has a kind of "special understanding" with the saint, whom he affectionately calls "The Girl".

Some of the Cadfael (pronounced Cadvile) books were made into films starring Derek Jacobi as the modest monk with a deep history, and were filmed in poland. But he was also narrated by Philip Madoc in some BBC dramatisations.

21 books make up the total number of Cadfael novels, and are well worn on my bookshelves along with the companion of the series showing locations on the Welsh/English border where the fictional monk visited or were close to Shrewsbury Abbey. Worth a read if you like this period of history with Stephen and Maud fighting for control of England.

Gimme an Arrrgh*

Cornish Pirates won convincingly at Bedford yesterday afternoon, kick off was at 3pm so before long the gloom set in and so did the rain. It didn't spoil the game, nor our enjoyment of it, by half time the Pirates were leading 9-3 and in the second half dominated the game to finish on a score of 26-6.

Not sure what happened to Bedford's game, but it was almost as if they weren't playing cohesively as a pack and on more than one occasion they launched fists at the Pirates players with one player being sent to the sin bin after an earlier warning.

We were lucky in that where we were standing was with our backs to the winds, and with some trees behind us we were fairly well sheltered but by the end it was a soggy end to the game. We headed home for a well earned tea of Chicken Chasseur which had been cooking while we were at the match.

I'm afraid though, that we had to sacrifice going to the Ace cafe to hear Sam's launch of his new book Distant Suns but we were too late after the game to head down another hour to London just to get there at the end. I hope Sam's launch went well and from his other books I am sure Distant Suns will be just a big a hit as his previous two.

* The pirates supporters have a chant, gimme an p, gimme an i, gimme an r to which the response from the crowd is p, i and arrrghhh hence the name of this post

Saturday Satire - The Wasp Expert

The world expert on European wasps and the sounds that they make is taking a stroll down his local high street. As he passes by the record shop, a sign catches his eye.

"Just Released: New LP - Wasps of the World & the sounds that they make - available now!"

Unable to resist the temptation, the man goes into the shop.

"I am the world expert on European wasps and the sounds that they make. I'd very much like to listen to the new LP you have advertised in the window."

"Certainly, Sir," says the young man behind the counter. "If you'd like to step into the booth and put on the headphones, I'll put the LP on for you."

The world expert on European wasps goes into the booth and puts on the earphones. Ten minutes later, he comes out of the booth and announces, "I am the world expert on European wasps and the sounds that they make and yet I recognised none of those."

"I'm sorry sir," says the young assistant. "If you'd care to step into the booth, I can let you have another 10 minutes." The world expert on European wasps and the sounds that they make steps back into the booth and replaces the headphones.

Ten minutes later, he comes out of the booth shaking his head. "I don't understand it," he says, "I am the world expert on European wasps and the sounds that they make, and yet I still can't recognise any of those!"

"I'm terribly sorry, sir" says the young man, "perhaps if you'd like to step into the booth again, you could have 5 more minutes."

Sighing, the world expert on European wasps and the sounds that they make steps back into the booth.

Five minutes later, he comes out again, clearly agitated. "I am the world expert on European wasps and the sounds that they make and yet I have recognised none of the wasps on this LP."
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"I really am terribly sorry," says the young assistant. "I've just realised I was playing you the bee side"