November 21, 2009
On This Day ... in 1787 & Others
Sir Samuel Cunard was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Cunard started working in the timber business with his father, then expanded into shipping. He was a founder of the Halifax Bank in 1825 and became a shareholder in the Royal William in 1833.
By 1838 he had founded the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, later known as the Cunard Line, and won the Royal Mail contract for ten years. In 1840, his company’s first steamship, the Britannia, with Cunard himself at the helm, made the voyage from Liverpool to Boston in 14 days and 8 hours, beginning the first regular transatlantic service by steamship.
Cunard launched his first iron ship, the Persia, in 1855, and by his first screw-propelled ship, the China, in 1862. He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1859 for his contributions to British shipping. He died in London on 28 Apr 1865
November 20, 2009
& the scores on the doors?
I have no idea quite how many cartridges I went through today but over 5 drives, 8 of us had a bag of 370 pheasants
Of course, the percussive affect of so much shooting is the reason that I have a headache this evening, definitely not as a result of a very long liquid dinner last night, taken at Northmoor House, where we were staying
At least the forecast rain stayed away & on several drives, it was sunglasses not waterproofs that were required
& now, if you don’t mind I’m going to turn in as I’m feeling a tad tired & emotional. Tomorrow is going to be nearly as busy
On This Day ... in 1759 & Others
Admiral Sir Edward Hawke won his great victory at Quiberon Bay. Bad weather had forced Hawke to suspend his blockade of the French fleet under the Comte de Conflans in Brest. Conflans seized the chance to put to sea to rendezvous with an invasion fleet assembling in Quiberon Bay. Hawke pursued, but Conflans hoped that, without local knowledge, he would not dare to follow him in amidst the treacherous rocks of the Bay during a gale. Hawke followed him, trusting in the seamanship of his crews.
A ferocious action was fought in appalling conditions, with collision between ships proving particularly common. Two Royal Navy ships - Essex and Resolution - were wrecked on the Four Shoal, but eleven of the French fleet of 21 were captured or sunk.
November 19, 2009
The back of Larry Land Rover this evening
Kit, Beretta, 250 cartridges ... because tomorrow is going to be a big day & a lot of waterproofs because it is going to be very very very wet. Your humble correspondent is off to the darkest West Country to shoot some pheasants
Sandwell Council - this mornings candidates for a shallow grave
Found by Matt (Minister for Womens Prisons)
A mother who was fined for feeding the ducks with her young son in the park will not now have to pay the charge.Vanessa Kelly was in Smethwick Hall Park, in Smethwick, West Midlands, when she was approached by a warden and given a £75 on-the-spot littering fine.
The warden then told Ms Kelly her son could continue to feed the ducks as he was too young to be fined. Sandwell Council, which at first defended the action, said it was now taking a "commonsense" approach.
These days, I'm just the Minister for Uniforms so could whoevers portfolio this falls under kindly go & sort matters out reasonably quickly
Thank you
Secret Service job applications
As I pointed out yesterday, if under the new regime you fancy life as secret squirrel, you are not really supposed to tell anyone that you had applied for a job. Frankly applying to be Head of the Mauritius Station on this blog is generally felt by those in that particular line of business to be not really secret enough. Therefore rather than simply provide a downloadable application form; our new clandestine service selection criteria will be a little more subtle. Think of it less of a normal interview process & more as Rowan Atkinson once described it, like a blind man, in a dark room, looking for a black cat … that isn’t there.
It goes without saying that despite being an equal opportunities employer secretive types will be preferred; previous experience with raincoats & sunglasses would be an advantage but not essential. Applicants must be able to keep secrets but at the same time be able to lie like a cheap NAAFI watch if caught in the act (& in view of this requirement, preference will be shown to married men). The job specification will include being seduced by glamorous foreign operatives (seeking our state secrets). These advances must be occasionally spurned for the sake of appearances.
Results of all job applications will remain subject to the provisions of the Official Secrets Act until the new Government has actually discovered the identity of M.
A generous remuneration package is offered together with index linked pension - the details are however secret, so cannot be released until after applicants join the service.
Salaries will be paid into secret bank accounts at secret intervals in unspecified countries under assumed names from a secret slush fund, that the Government does not know exists Successful applicants are expected to find out for themselves where and when, and how much they will earn.
As a preliminary test, applicants are invited to help solve the coded text of a postcard received from the as yet unidentified M and inform the appropriate Minister (who cannot be named) of his real identity and whereabouts at this time. Postcard displays voluptuous thong clad blonde sitting on the beach (obviously intended to mislead). The text on back reads Putting the slush fund to good use finding suitable candidates for under-covers activities, glad you're not here, cheers, M & is postmarked Antigua
Continue reading "Secret Service job applications"National Ammo Day
I am sure that none of you need reminding but today is National Ammo Day. As I knew that I wouldn't be able to get to a gunshop today, over the weekend I picked up some .222.
What have you bought?
On This Day ... in 1095 & Others
The Council of Clermont was called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land: The actual Council began on the 27th. The church had fallen on hard times following the lifelong clash between Pope Hildebrand and Emperor Henry IV but Urban II was a vigorous leader who sought peace in Western Europe. Five differing accounts of the Pope's speech survive
To whom therefore has the labor of avenging these wrongs and of recovering the territory fallen, if not upon you? You, upon whom above other nations God has conferred remarkable glory in arms, great courage, bodily activity, and strength to humble the hairy scalp of those who resist you ... advance boldly, as knights of Christ, and rush as quickly as you can to the defense of the Eastern Church. For she it is from whom the joys of your whole salvation have come forth, who poured into your mouths the milk of divine wisdom, who set before you the holy teachings of the gospel
At the Council, Pope Urban promoted the concept of a Truce of God which would restrain violence at home and move it to the Middle East where it resides to this day
Continue reading "On This Day ... in 1095 & Others"November 18, 2009
Jobs for the boys ( & girls)
We recently touched upon how you could help, come The Glorious Day & frankly I have to say that I was quite overwhelmed the many generous offers assistance. However this morning I would like to move on from that & assume that the shallow graves have been filled & the crows have picked the bones of the liberals that still hang from the lampposts, clean.
The task that would then sit ahead of us would be how to divi up the loot as well as who wants what job. Contrary to a lot of recent media speculation, I wouldn’t want the post of Benevolent Dictator as it frankly sounds like far too much hard work & I would hope that in a saner world to devote much more time to general carousing activities. Therefore I would seek immediate appointment as Minister of Uniforms on the basis that I hold very sound views on both the proper use of epaulettes, exactly how many medals should be awarded & how often
Jobs in the newly formed Secret Service are highly confidential (but we will deal with the secret selection criteria tomorrow) & in a piece of audacious pre-emptive commenting yesterday morning, Col. Beausaber blagged himself the post of Chief Inspector of Brothels.
Other than that, everything else is up for grabs … so which job do you want?
Guns & women
Found somewhere by Johno
6 reasons men prefer guns to women…
1. You can trade in that ratty old 45 for a new 22
2. You can admire a friends gun & he will let you try it out
3. Your gun stays with you even if you run out of ammo
4. Guns function normally everyday
5. A gun doesn’t mind if you fall asleep after you use it
And…
6. You can buy a silencer for a gun
In fact I spent a little time on yesterdays flight thinking up of a few more that all seemed to entail getting actions tightened up & barrels re-sleeved; however in an uncharacteristic bout of decorum, haven’t posted them. Now ladies you’re a cordially invited to comment … (hint: trigger sears etc)
Behind enemy lines
Tonight I find myself sausageside. The evening however has not been without its errrrrrrrrr compensations
More African Infantryman of the Year contestants
If you take a quick look at the left hand side bar you will see that I have now created a new section for our African Infantryman of the Year competition – all that I have to do is to go back through all of the old posts – a task which if the bollroll update is anything to go by should take something like 18 months.
However while you are waiting for that we have a couple of new contestants in the ‘Hoodies from da Hood’ category. Now when we say hoodie, we don’t mean the sort of garment favoured by one Great Britain’s knife wielding feral yoof…we mean the full nine yards… hoods so bitchin’ that Abubakar
& Jay Jay Nough no longer need their weapon sights
they just use the Force
On This Day ... in 1776 & Others
Fort Washington was captured from American revolutionary forces. Meanwhile the United Provinces recognized the independence of the United States
In November 1776 the last position the Americans held on Manhattan Island was the area around Fort Washington on the northern tip, known as Harlem Heights. General Nathan Greene commanded the American positions with a discretion to withdraw if he considered it necessary.
General Howe planned three attacks. Brigadier Lord Percy was to attack from the South up the island. Brigadier Matthews with the light infantry and Guards to cross the Harlem River and attack Baxter on the east side, supported by Lord Cornwallis with the grenadiers and the 33rd Foot. The main attack was to be on Rawlings’ position by Hessian troops commanded by General Von Knyphausen. An additional assault was to be carried out on the same side by the 42nd under Colonel Sterling. (the grenadiers, light infantry, Guards, 33rd and 42nd were the corps regularly used for particularly demanding assignments. It is interesting that the 33rd had a consistently high reputation throughout the1740s and 1750s).
Early on the 18th November, Howe called on the fort to surrender. This was refused. A bombardment broke out from British batteries across the Harlem River and the frigate Pearl on the American positions.At 10am Percy advanced to the attack. At noon Matthews landed on Manhattan and began his assault. Baxter was killed and is militia fled into the fort.
Knyphausen crossed onto Manhattan at Kingsbridge and at 10am began his move south. The two Hessian columns assaulted American positions and after a hard fight with Rawlings’ riflemen the Americans fell back into the fort.
Percy attacked Cadwallader in the South and the 42nd landed on the east side and pushed inland behind Cadwallader’s position, forcing the Americans to fall back to the fort. With all his troops pinned in Fort Washington under heavy fire, Magaw was forced to surrender to the Hessian general Knyphausen.
The British side suffered 450 casualties of which 320 were Hessians. The Americans suffered 2,900 casualties of which the preponderance were prisoners. Following the battle Fort Lee on the west bank of the Hudson was abandoned and Washington and the Continental Arm retreated to the Delaware.
Continue reading "On This Day ... in 1776 & Others"November 17, 2009
This morning I shall be in Oxford
I know that it is very easy to form a poor opinion of a place when it is tonking with rain but shall we just say that my worst fears of Cardiff were entirely justified. Walk through the city centre at ten thirty on a Monday morning & you realise that it isn’t so much the heart of a reinvigorated Principality as a repository of the unemployed unemployable. Even a cursory glace might lead the casual observer to conclude that main thing that both men & women have in common (aside from BMI scores in the low 50s) are the tattoos. In fact one feral couple arguing in the middle of Queen Street were so dense that light had started to bend towards them: I cannot not begin to articulate how pleased I was to see that M4 Eastbound motorway sign.
This morning & as if by way of contrast, you find me on my way to Oxford; an altogether more civilised destination. It’s off to Oxford today before getting on a plane this evening.
Pip pip.
Cheryl Cole update
Reader AJDS saw this comment about Cheryl Cole in a newspaper
"Somewere in the north a supermarket checkout goes unattended......"
Yep, I'd say that that has the right line & length on it
Peasant Chic
According to lifestyle magazine Peasant World, men's feet will be "in" this coming season. Accessorize with a wheelbarrow full of horse manure.
Ex-soldier faces jail for handing in gun
Yesterday we touched upon how our terminally flawed penal system deals with psychotic murderers, well this morning dear readers & by way of contrast, we see how the equally screwed legal system treats a law abiding member of society undertaking what in any sane country would be seen as a civic duty
A former soldier who handed a discarded shotgun in to police faces at least five years imprisonment for "doing his duty". Paul Clarke, 27, was found guilty of possessing a firearm at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday – after finding the gun and handing it personally to police officers on March 20 this year.
The jury took 20 minutes to make its conviction, and Mr Clarke now faces a minimum of five year's imprisonment for handing in the weapon. In a statement read out in court, Mr Clarke said: "I didn't think for one moment I would be arrested. I thought it was my duty to hand it in and get it off the streets."
The court heard how Mr Clarke was on the balcony of his home in Nailsworth Crescent, Merstham, when he spotted a black bin liner at the bottom of his garden. In his statement, he said:
"I took it indoors and inside found a shorn-off shotgun and two cartridges.I didn't know what to do, so the next morning I rang the Chief Superintendent, Adrian Harper, and asked if I could pop in and see him. At the police station, I took the gun out of the bag and placed it on the table so it was pointing towards the wall."
Mr Clarke was then arrested immediately for possession of a firearm at Reigate police station, and taken to the cells.
Continue reading "Ex-soldier faces jail for handing in gun"Is this the job you always wanted?
Found by McHugh
Ale taster needed for town market - A job tasting drink and food is being advertised in Bedfordshire. Luton's indoor market is resurrecting the role of ale taster and is looking for suitable volunteer candidates. In medieval times the ale taster would visit stalls and inns on market days and at fairs to ensure alcoholic drinks and other produce were of good quality. The role disappeared in the early 19th Century, but is now being brought back. The future employer said a "genuine love of food and drink" is essential.
Town and Country Markets, which runs the market, is advertising the job. Chief executive Malcolm Ball said: "Although the attraction of such a role may seem obvious at first, the 21st Century version would incorporate many more responsibilities than the original.
"Modern tastes have evolved and become so much more sophisticated in recent times and people demand ever greater levels of quality and variety. We fully expect this to be reflected in the calibre of applicants. The successful candidate will have a sound knowledge and genuine love of food and drink, local expertise in these areas being particularly attractive."
Applicants will be considered by a panel of judges and four people will be short-listed to complete a number of challenges to demonstrate their knowledge and ability.
Let's just say that my application is already in & I am looking forward to domonstrating both my knowledge & ability
On This Day ... in 1812 & Others
The Battle of Krasnoi was a series of skirmishes fought over 4 days during in the final stage of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. These enguagements are noteworthy because of the heavy losses inflicted on the remnants of the Grande Armée by the Russians under the command of General Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov.
Lacking sufficient artillery, cavalry and supplies to wage battle, Napoleon’s objective was to collect his scattered troops and to resume his retreat. Despite the vast superiority of his forces, Kutusov refrained from launching a full-scale offensive during the of fighting.
The climax of the engagement occurred on November 17th, when an aggressive feint by the French Imperial Guard induced Kutusov to delay a potentially decisive final Russian attack. Napoleon was thus able to withdraw part of his army before the Russians seized Krasnoi.
Despite Napoleon's success in saving part of his army from destruction at Krasnoi, overall the encounter was ruinous to the French.
During the four days of combat Napoleon’s subordinate commanders suffered heavy defeats in individual actions, and large numbers of French stragglers were captured by the Russians. The Grande Armee was also compelled to abandon much of its remaining artillery and baggage train.
November 16, 2009
Why exactly?
A woman convicted of murder who went on the run from hospital during an escorted visit to shops has been arrested in south London
Patricia Gillette, 41, was arrested on Sunday morning in Streatham after officers saw her in Churchmore Road. Gillette, who was being held at Bethlem Royal Hospital, was on a visit to shops in West Wickham High Street, Bromley, when she escaped on Friday afternoon
Let me see here, Ms Gillette has been indefinitely detained in Bethlem Royal Hospital which is a legal euphemism for being sent to the nut house because she is stark raving bonkers & not only that, but she has been convicted of murder & yet we have a penal system that allows her to go shopping. The more you look, the less you understand.
Apparently its swine flu season again
However assuming that western civilisation doesn’t grind to a halt in a sea of mass graves & hysterical newspaper reports, we will need to find a use for all of those face masks, a bit like these Ukrainian ladies
On This Day ... in 1857 & Others
The Shah Nuliff Fort at Lucknow was attacked and captured by British and Sikh forces during the Indian Mutiny. William Hall, a Canadian serving with the Royal Marines onboard HMS Shannon, distinguished himself in combat, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
British military forces and many foreign civilians were besieged at Lucknow. In September, a relief column managed to fight through to the city but was also cut off by the attackers, who numbered approximately 50,000. The second relief column numbered approximately 5,000 troops and brought with them two 24-pound howitzers from HMS Shannon.
Hall was serving as a marine gunner in this ship and volunteered to be a member of “The Shannon Brigade.” A preliminary bombardment of the enemy strongpoint at the Shah Nuliff Fort produced no results. To breach the walls, the guns were moved forward to fire directly at low angel from very close range. The defenders’ fire killed the entire crew of one howitzer and all but two from Hall’s gun; the second man Lieutenant Thomas James Young was seriously wounded.
Despite the fierceness of the enemy fire, the two men methodically fired upon the fort until the wall was breached, whereupon a bayonet charge caused the defenders to flee from their stronghold. The rebels withdrew temporarily, giving the besieged forces and civilians at Lucknow the opportunity to withdraw from the city, which was not recaptured until March 1858. The rebellion was finally crushed in November.
Both Hall and Young were awarded the Victoria Cross.
On 25 Oct 1859, Hall was presented with his award in a ceremony held onboard HMS Donegal, at Queenstown, Ireland. Hall, a freed slave, was the first man of African origin to receive the award and was the first person from any of the Dominions of the Commonwealth to be so recognized
During the same engagement, volunteers were called for to climb a tree near the wall of the Shah Nujeff mosque in order to spot the enemy's position and then to dislodge the mutineers who were throwing grenades and firing on the gun crews below. Lieutenant Nowell Salmon, Leading Seaman John Harrison and an able seaman responded to the call and succeeded in performing this dangerous service, but Lieutenant Salmon was wounded in the thigh and the able seaman was killed.Salmon received the Victoria Cross, later achieving the rank of Admiral of the Fleet
November 15, 2009
This morning I have been toiling over a hot aga
The vension (with some smoked bacon & field mushrooms) has been simmering away in a lot of red wine, for a few hours now
& now its time to pop it into the Aga's bottom oven & leave it until supper time
Scotland Stalking 8: The Final Day
I suppose that there is just time for one more (& final) post on Scotland & our last day in the hill when YHC & Chuckmeister accounted for a total of eight beasts. By the time we got back to the game larder, the back of the stalker’s Land Rover was looking a little full
Of course the deer had been gralloched on the hill, but even so & even in the hands of a consummate professional, fully dressing out the carcases can take a little time. However, it is how the meat is handled at this stage that will go a long way to determining its quality later on. & on that particular topic, I am pleased to report that the freezer is now quite full & the eating of the venison will commence this evening
On This Day ... in 1492 & Others
Christopher Columbus noted in his journal the use of tobacco among Indians, the first recorded reference to tobacco, which was brought to Europe by a French ambassador, Jacques Nicot - hence nicotine
November 14, 2009
On This Day ... in 1857 & Others
During the bitter fighting at Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny, six Victoria Crosses were won.
November 13, 2009
Scotland Stalking 7: Hardware
There comes a time in a series of posts on any hunting trip when it is time just to take a little look at some of the hardware used & that day is today. So we will start with Bambibasher’s new toy - a Rigby & as befitting such a beautiful old weapon, it is chambered is something suitably anachronistic, the British gunmakers old favourite … the quarter inch Piccadilly round – well it sounded something like that.
But before I heap up any more faux derision, I have to confess that it worked rather well … apart from when came to extracting spent cases cleanly.
Chuckmeister & Fai Chai took it in turns to use an estate rifle
a moderated .270 Sako 85, topped off with a Zeiss 2.5-10x glass. Now I know that a few of you out their hold shall we say, slightly trenchant views on the .270, well there is the usual comments section at the end of this post, please feel free to help yourselves.
As you will have already seen in previous posts, YHC was using his 6.5mm Blaser R93
which performed admirably, as you have already seen.
On This Day ... in 1093 & Others
Malcolm III Canmore of Scotland (Shakespeare's hero in Macbeth) invaded England after William II Rufus started to fortify Carlisle. At the Battle at Alnwick, Malcolm and his son Edward were killed.
November 12, 2009
Nice croc hunt fellows
As the old joke goes, make mine a crocodile sandwich & make it snappy, but these chaps, in search of the latest handbog donar, got a bit of a surprise...
...but before you carry on over the fold to see what Mr Snappy had for his last breakfast, you might want to finish your own!
Continue reading "Nice croc hunt fellows"
Mocking the media
There is little that your humble correspondent wont take the p*ss out of - however even by the shoddy standards of my alcohol soaked warped universe the tragic events at Fort Hood are off limits ... that doesn't mean that we shouldn't mercilessly extract the urine from the medias coverage of it
Another Typical Day in Dixieland U.S.A.
Billy Ray Hassan – an average American Southerner
In the land of cotton, some hear echoes of Civil War in latest violent redneck rampage. American-born killer was son of the Jim Crow South. NASCAR may have been involved. Britons warned: limit U.S. travel to safe areas such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles
Found by Kim on the ever excellent Breitbart Blog
Scotland Stalking 6: Down in the Glen
Just some pics taken from outside the farmhouse we rented for the week
On This Day ... in 1595 & Others
Having been landed on Puerto Rico by Sir John Hawkins'
and Sir Francis Drake's ships, troops under Sir Thomas Baskerville attempted to storm San Juan. However, their advance had been tempered by Hawkins' caution so much that the Spanish defenders were well prepared and succeeded in beating them off. The same day, Hawkins died, one of the great pioneers in the development of Elizabethan sea power. Baskerville and Drake chose to head next for the Panamanian Isthmus, but enjoyed no greater success there.
Continue reading "On This Day ... in 1595 & Others"November 11, 2009
On This Day ... in 1918
At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the Armistice saw the cessation of hostilities with Germany. Peace was not finally secured until the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Britain had lost some 888,000 men killed, India 72,000, Canada 65,000, Australia 62,000, New Zealand 18,000 and South Africa 9,300.
Smaller parts of the Empire and Dominions had also made huge sacrifices: of the 6,500 men who served during the war with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, 1,250 men were killed, the 1st Battalion having suffered perhaps the worst casualties of any unit on the first day of the Somme, when 91% of its men were wounded or killed in just 40 minutes.
Doh!
Now I am a firm believer of what goes on between consenting adults behind the bedroom door is their own business - I might not like or agree with a lot of it but frankly I would rather spend my time worrying about how I am possibly going to find the time to string up all the liberals whose necks need stretching than getting stressed about people who nail their bollocks to the bedpost or the like, for kicks. However it really does come to something when Dixon of Dock Green gets replaced by PC Dominant Dogger of Dixon’s car park…
A police marksman has been removed from Scotland Yard's specialist CO19 firearms unit after posting revealing pictures of himself online. PC Malcolm Thomas, 40, used the name "funboybobby" to display a series of photographs on an adult dating site.
He described himself as "dominant" and some of the pictures showed him in uniform, carrying his 9mm Glock pistol. The Metropolitan Police said he was immediately removed from the unit and an investigation was being carried out.
In some of the photographs the officer showed off a tattoo above his bare bottom and called himself "sexually adventurous" in his online profile. He said: "I am an armed policeman in London and very dominant."
Of course, all of this shows a cataclysmic lack of judgement on the part of Constable Malcolm ‘John’ Thomas – if in his profile he had described himself as a single parent disabled mixed race pre-op transvestite – his employers would now be on the receiving end of a multi-million pound discrimination case. Maybe it’s the capitalist in me, but it breaks my hardened heart to see such obvious money making opportunities being so frivolously squandered
Scotland Stalking 5: Bullet Deflection
We all know that once a bullet hits its target, it can behave erratically especially if it has struck bone. This was demonstrated to me early last Thursday. I shot a hind at probably no more than 160 yards with a Norma 120 grain ballistic tipped 6.5mm x 55 round. The hind was absolutely perpendicular to me & the entry wound was perfect, the animal going no more than 25 yards before it dropped. In the normal course of events you would expect a larger exit wound behind the shoulder. However as you can see, aside from a slight vertical deviation, the round (as a result of hitting a rib on the way in) has veered ‘off course’ by probably 12”.
Such bullet behaviour can be purely academic at least in this instance, but it is yet another consideration that the stalker has to weigh up if he (or indeed she) is going to put unspoilt meat into the game larder - you put a round into a deer that either blows up on impact or bounces around the inside of a beast wrecking all of the meat - I can guarantee you that you might find the rest of your days stalking might end up being slightly curtailed.
On This Day ... in 1620 & Others
Forty-one Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed a compact calling for a “body politick”. The Mayflower Compact, which in everyday American history is commonly put out as the forerunner of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and indeed it did have similar features.
Its text reads
In the Name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony: unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11 of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth Ano. Dom. 1620.
It was not quite the intentionally noble document usually attributed; it was in fact an ad hoc agreement stressfully pounded out at the last minute to alay increasingly harsh conflicting concerns that had almost caused mutiny among passengers.
Continue reading "On This Day ... in 1620 & Others"November 10, 2009
Remembrance Sunday & ecclesiastical nonsense
It always gives me heart to find a small group of marginalized individuals who talk more complete & utter bollocks than I do
Remembrance Sunday is a moving and emotional day for the whole nation, but some believe it is too tribal with an over emphasis on the warriors. The majority of Britons believe enemy combatants should feature in Remembrance Sunday commemorations, according to a survey.
More than three-quarters (87%) of respondents said they agreed with the statement: "Remembrance Sunday should be about marking the dead on all sides of war, not just the British."
The findings emerged in an opinion poll commissioned by the religious thinktank Ekklesia.
More than nine in 10 (93%) said they believed that in addition to the military traditions of Poppy Day, civilians who died in war should also be remembered. Peace should be the main message of Remembrance Sunday, which is held on the Sunday nearest to November 11 - the anniversary of the end of the First World War - according to 95% of those questioned
& it doesn’t just stop there. In further polling respondents felt that the BBC’s Children In Need campaign focused far too much on children who are frankly a pain in the arse at the best of times. Furthermore research has also shown that Red Nose Day is far too focused on raising money for starving people in Africa which if we are really honest, we don’t give a stuff about.
If you have going to sit through twelve hours of aging comedians who were funny for five minutes sometime in the late 1980’s then we want to see less dysentery & distended bellies & more of BBC news presenter Sophie Raworth dressed up as a prostitute (purely for charitable purposes you understand)
Come on fellows admit it … you would wouldn’t you! Maybe the religious thinktank Ekklesia might want to conduct some polling on that particular topic, I’d be happy to contribute my views at considerable length
Scotland Stalking 4: Views from the Hill
How about a couple of views of the countryside that we were stalking over last week?
By bulldog standards, this is about as 'big' as the ground gets
On This Day ... in 1337 & Others
English forces under Edward III's Admiral of the North, Sir Walter Mauny, sacked Cadzand on the Scheldt at the start of the Hundred Years War. Edward's efforts to raise money and men for operations on the continent had fared poorly, not least given the need to maintain an army fighting the Scots. To maintain the pressure on the French, Mauny was dispatched across the Channel with a couple of thousand troops that could be spared.
Although his main mission was to convey Edward's chief diplomat - the Bishop of Lincoln, Henry Burghersh - to bolster support amongst allies in the Low Countries, Mauny took the opportunity to raid French-held territory in Flanders. The sack of Cadzand provoked the local troops to offer battle, and Mauny - himself from Hainault in Flanders by birth - inflicted a bloody defeat on them. Although the raid proved of great psychological value in panicking the French government, the longer term penalty was bitterness towards the English in that part of Flanders.
Continue reading "On This Day ... in 1337 & Others"November 9, 2009
Yet more dead foxes
& no, this is one that I wasn't responsible for
Spotted yesterday morning while out walking the dogs
Scotland Stalking 3: First Day Out
Of course, the first job to do when you get to your destination is to check that rifles haven’t taken a knock & been knocked out of zero – yes it does happen no matter how careful you are or indeed no matter how secure your rifle case is
With that task out of the way, the next thing in the normal course of events would have been to get up the hill in this (which will go just about anywhere, or not as we were to find out) …
…but there were four of us, shooting in pairs on alternate days & as the sun was shining, inevitably, it was our day off. Needless to say, in that particular part of the world, the good weather didn’t hold & the next day, it was simply bucketing down. However, there is absolutely no point in going stalking in Scotland in November if you aren’t prepared to get at least a little damp – so undaunted we piled into the stalkers landie & headed up the hill. In fact we probably hadn’t been climbing for more than ten minutes when we saw a group of twenty or so hinds in the valley below. Chuckmeister & the ghillie piled out into the pouring rain & before I knew it, Chuck had cleanly killed his first ever deer - on the other side of the river, which was going to cause us a small issue about an hour later.
Anyway, we headed off up the track once more & about fifteen minutes later, YHC took another hind & her calf at an angle of about sixty degrees upwards, about one hundred seventy yards away. Having recovered the carcasses we went back to pick up our first beast.
Now getting the vehicle over the river in question proved to be slightly lively but doable, crossing back over again was slightly more fraught, the rain having turned the banks to a complete bog & washed away the ford we were trying to use
Continue reading "Scotland Stalking 3: First Day Out"Move over Time Team
An archeological team, digging in London, has uncovered 10,000 year old bones and fossil remains of what is believed to be the first politician
Dug up by Alan
On This Day ... in 1857 & 1914
During the Indian Mutiny, the British and loyal Indian garrison defended the Residency at Lucknow for five months. In November, a relief force under Sir Colin Campbell marched on the city.
On 9 November, Mr Thomas Kavanagh, a Civil Servant in the Residency garrison, volunteered to break out and guide the relief column through the city.
Disguising himself as an Indian, he managed to smuggle himself across the city, eventually reaching Campbell's positions. Drawing on the intelligence he delivered, Campbell launched a successful assault on 16 November, and succeeded in evacuating the Residency survivors by 23 November. Kavanagh received the Victoria Cross for his heroism, one of only five civilians ever to be so decorated.
November 8, 2009
Scotland Stalking 2: Preparation Phase
Of course, the basis of any shooting trip is in the preparation. Rifles, kit, boots & booze...
The back of Larry Land Rover IV
Remembrance Sunday
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
On This Day ... in 1942 & Others
As Rommel's Axis forces were driven out of Egypt following their defeat at El Alamein, Operation Torch saw Allied forces numbering over 100,000 land in North Africa, at Oran, Algiers and Casablanca. Vichy French forces put up fierce resistance, particularly at Casablanca, although Algiers surrendered that evening.
At Oran, the sloops HMS Walney and HMS Hartland ran the gauntlet of shore batteries in an attempt to land an assault party in the harbour. Hartland was sunk and every man on Walney's bridge was killed, save only Captain Peters, her Canadian commanding officer, who was blinded in one eye but pressed on the attack, despite his ship being ablaze. Walney reached her target jetty, but sank alongside. Peters and a few survivors made it to shore, but he tragically died five days later when the aircraft evacuating him back to the UK crashed. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.
In Madagascar, the campaign against Vichy forces drew to a close with the fall of Ihosy. British and Commonwealth forces, mainly from South Africa and East Africa, had suffered worse casualties from malaria than from actual combat.
November 7, 2009
Scotland Stalking 1: "& the hunter is home from the hill"
As you can all well imagine, lots more to come on this particular topic over the next few days
On This Day ... in 1594 & Others
English and French royalist troops under Sir John Norris, supported by a naval squadron under Sir Martin Frobisher, stormed the Spanish fort at Roscanvel in Brittany and massacred the defenders. Frobisher, however, was wounded in the assault and subsequently died of his injuries. The fort had been established by the Spanish in March of that year, and occupied a commanding position over the strategic anchorage of Brest Roads. It thus posed a significant threat to English security by offering a potential staging post for Spanish expeditions to invade England, Wales or Ireland, as had been attempted by the Armada in 1588 and was to be repeated several more times during the Anglo-Spanish war. The fort's location is remembered by the modern name of Pointe des Espagnols.
November 6, 2009
On This Day ... in 1282 & Others
As part of the preparations for Edward I's second campaign in Wales, a flotilla of small ships had been sent to Anglesey, held by the English, to construct a pontoon bridge across the Menai Strait. The plan was for the Anglesey force to launch an attack in the Welsh rear coordinated with Edward's advance from the east with the main force. Luke de Tany, the Anglesey commander, proved too impatient and launched his attack prematurely when the King had only reached Denbigh. De Tany's force was easily defeated by the Welsh, he fell in action, and the pontoon bridge was wrecked.
November 5, 2009
On This Day ... in 1854 & Others
The third major engagement of the Crimean War, the Battle of Inkerman, was fought.
The Russians planned a major coordinated assault by four large columns of troops from Sevastopol against British positions on Mount Inkerman. The British position, held by 2nd Division, was relatively weak, with deep gullies and ravines making reinforcement difficult, and the defenders outnumbered by over 5:1. The attack was launched in the early hours of the morning, amid rain and mist. However, Russian coordination failed, and the battle developed into a series of vicious close quarter actions fought in and around the gullies on the hillside.
Bosquet's French troops arrived to lend invaluable support, as did additional British forces, and the Russians were eventually driven back, having lost 10,700 men killed or wounded. The British lost some 2,300, and the French about 900. No less than sixteen Victoria Crosses were awarded.
As first light came on a cold, wet and misty morning Sir George Cathcart prepared to assault down the rocky face against the Russians. 16 Officers, 15 sergeants, 14 buglers and 198 rank and file of the 68th Durham Light Infantry marched forward in their grey greatcoats ready for the attack.
As Sir George Cathcart rode in behind them the Durhams threw off their greatcoats so that they could fight the better and get at their ammunition - they were the only troops that day to fight in their red coats. The charge was sounded and down the hill the Durhams charged - their red coats attracting heavy fire from the Russian artillery. Sir George Cathcart was killed and two Brigadiers severely wounded, the Durhams were reduced to half their strength.
The remaining Durhams pressed home their attack at bayonet point. The massed Russian 'Yakutsk' regiment wavered and when struck by the Durhams charge, turned and fled the field.
November 4, 2009
On This Day ... in 1840 & Others
A British, Austrian and Turkish fleet captured Acre.
November 3, 2009
On This Day ... in 1943 & Others
RAF Bomber Command mounted a major raid on Dusseldorf on the night 3/4 November, 589 bombers attacking the city, with another 62 conducting a diversionary attack on Cologne. 38 of the Dusseldorf aircraft made the first large-scale test of the new G-H blind-bombing system, attacking a steel works on the northern edge of the city. Although a high percentage of the G-H sets failed to work properly, those that did proved quite successful, and the system was duly developed to allow a good level of accuracy to be achieved later in the war.
En route to Dusseldorf, a Lancaster of 61 Squadron, flown by Flight Lieutenant William Reid, was attacked twice by night fighters. The navigator was killed, the wireless operator was fatally wounded, and both Reid and his flight engineer, Sergeant Norris, were wounded - Reid twice. The aircraft itself suffered extensive damage, but Reid continued on for another two hundred miles and the bomb aimer, Sergeant Rolton, dropped the weapons on target, as proved by the aircraft's camera. On the return journey, Reid lost consciousness, but Norris managed to keep the aircraft airborne. Reid recovered enough to attempt a landing in mist at Shipdham in Norfolk, despite being partially blinded by blood from a head wound. The undercarriage collapsed on landing, but the surviving crew members escaped successfully. Flight Lieutenant Reid received the Victoria Cross.
The follow extract is taken from The London Gazette
On the night of November 3rd, 1943, Flight Lieutenant Reid was pilot and captain of a Lancaster aircraft detailed to attack Dusseldorf.
Shortly after crossing the Dutch coast, the pilot’s windscreen was shattered by fire from a Messerschmitt 110. Owing to a failure in the heating circuit, the rear gunner’s hands were too cold for him to open fire immediately or to operate his microphone and so give warning of danger; but after a brief delay he managed to return the Messerschmitt’s fire and it was driven off.
During the fight with the Messerschmitt, Flight Lieutenant Reid was wounded in the head, shoulders and hands. The elevator trimming tabs of the aircraft were damaged and it became difficult to control. The rear turret, too, was badly damaged and the communications system and compasses were put out of action. Flight Lieutenant Reid ascertained that his crew were unscathed, and saying nothing about his own injuries, he continued his mission.
Soon afterwards, the Lancaster was attacked by a Focke Wulf 190. This time, the enemy’s fire raked the bomber from stem to stern. The rear gunner replied with his only serviceable gun, but the state of his turret made accurate aiming impossible. The navigator was killed and the wireless operator fatally injured. The mid-upper turret was hit and the oxygen system put out of action. Flight Lieutenant Reid was again wounded and the flight engineer, though hit in the forearm, supplied him with oxygen from a portable supply.
Flight Lieutenant Reid refused to be turned from his objective and Dusseldorf was reached some 50 minutes later. He had memorised his course to the target and had continued in such a normal manner that the bomb-aimer, who was cut off by the failure of the communications system, knew nothing of his captain’s injuries or of the casualties to his comrades. Photographs show that, when the bombs were released, the aircraft was right over the centre of the target.
Steering by the pole star and the moon, Flight Lieutenant Reid then set course for home. He was growing weak from loss of blood. The emergency oxygen supply had given out. With the windscreen shattered, the cold was intense. He lapsed into semi-consciousness. The flight engineer, with some help from the bomb-aimer, kept the Lancaster in the air despite heavy anti-aircraft fire over the Dutch coast.
The North Sea crossing was accomplished. An airfield was sighted. The captain revived, resumed control and made ready to land. Ground mist partially obscured the runway lights. The captain was also much bothered by blood from his head wound getting into his eyes. But he made a safe landing although one leg of the damaged undercarriage collapsed when the load came on.
Wounded in two attacks, without oxygen, suffering severely from cold, his navigator dead, his wireless operator fatally wounded, his aircraft crippled and defenceless, Flight Lieutenant Reid showed superb courage and leadership in penetrating a further 200 miles into enemy territory to attack one of the most strongly defended targets in Germany, every additional mile increasing the hazards of the long and perilous journey home. His tenacity and devotion to duty were beyond praise.
Continue reading "On This Day ... in 1943 & Others"November 2, 2009
On This Day ... in 1757 & Others
2 November proved an eventful date for Royal Navy ships bearing the name Antelope. In 1757, HMS Antelope captured a French privateer, Moras, which had been raiding merchant ships in the Atlantic. Exactly a year later,Antelope captured the French Belliquex off Ilfracombe. And in 1940, a destroyer of the same name, similarly defending merchant vessels from attack, sank the German submarine U-31 whilst escorting convoy OB-237.
