CV's in Various Forms

      A few years ago, I was asked to help someone re-write their Curriculum Vitae, in which I noted he had happily described himself as being a member of a Gun Club, further down he said he was; "personally in touch with God" and finally, he hoped to one day; "to change the world for the better!"
      This one was easy to change, though nothing could be done for his certain other personality disorders. And there were many others, whom just needed a few simple changes to their script, to help them in their intended career directions. The ones I found the most amusing or just downright disturbing, were and are the simple and extreme fabricators, who ended up believing their own tall tales. These are genuine personality disorders in overdrive; the man who had some past working in the Air Space Industry, job title, "pipe fitter" it later turned out he'd really been running an international airline! Also a certain woman whom is still working in fashion as a company director and has been doing such for the past thirty years, which covers the period when she was a secretary even before she was sleeping with her employer! Next a very interesting character who worked on a car production line, but had since progressed in another field and as the years went by, he reveled to me the obvious he had actually been ruining British Leyland? And finally, although others spring readily to mind, there is a classic case of the young woman, still a friend incidentally, whom had some experience as a legal secretary, and then through various job related practices, had become a Director and Lawyer. 
      My part in their rise to power, well I just filled in the forms, "I was only following orders!"       

Merry Christmas Everyone

      Tis the time of year, when I'm seeking gainful employment, so I applied for a job at my local M&S Their Manager told me there was nothing available, except they were looking for someone to be Santa, in their Grotto and as I was a little on the fat side and fat people are always jolly, she thought I would be ideal and perhaps I might like to apply for the job?
      Feeling a little annoyed, I said; "look lady, I may well be fat but I certainly ain't jolly!"
      She added; "I'll give you a hundred pounds a day, cash in hand and free use of our staff canteen!"
      To which I could only reply; "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas Everyone, Merry Christmas!" 

Fritz X Most Deadly weapon of the Nazi Arsenal

      Probably the first guided anti-ship missile deployed by the Nazi's in WW2 and commonly referred to as the Fritz X. Although the information relating to this weapon as always been available, it's only recently the true destructive power of this weapon is coming to light. With armour piercing capabilities, it was designed to be deployed by the Luftwaffe against larger and heavily armored targets such as main battle fleet ships.  
      Recognizing the difficulty of being able to hit a moving target with a conventional bomb without precision bombing, the Fritz X evolved from a fairly standard bomb, by the edition of  stabilizing wings, a boxed tail and a flight control system. The weapon could only be launched from a height of about 13000 feet and had a range of about 3 miles. The first version of the weapon was controlled by a radio operator upon the launch craft usually a Dornier 217 aircraft and the operator had to maintain site of the weapon and the target, at all times.
      On 9 September 1943 With the Italian Armistice six German aircraft armed with the Fritz X set out to intercept the Italian Fleet, bound for Tunisia. The Italian Battleship Roma and flagship of the fleet, received two direct hits from the missiles and promptly sank with the explosion of her magazine, killing 1393 men and Admiral Carlo Bergamini. Also her sister ship The Italia was badly damaged, but managed to reach port.
      On September 11 1943 during the allied invasion of Salerno, the USS Savanna, also received a direct hit from a Fritz X killing 197 crew and putting the ship out of action for around eight months. Also The Royal Navy ship HMS Uganda was hit by a Fritz X but survived when the bomb passed through the ship's seven decks but exploded in the water beneath, killing sixteen crew. There were also two other US Naval ships hit at Salerno, but it's uncertain if they were struck by the Fritz X
      Also at Salerno The British Battleship HMS Warspite was struck by two Fritz X The first penetrating six decks without major damage, the second missing but holing the ship below the waterline, total losses being nine crew killed and the ship being out of action for 9 months, but able to return to action in time for Operation Overlord. There were two other ships damaged at Salerno, by the Fritz X the Dutch sloop Flores and the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Loyal.
      If anything the early missile suffered from the flaw of being a guided bomb, where the launch plane had to remain close to the target for the bombardier to guide the projectile to it's target. Often allowing escort aircraft to locate the launch plane and shoot it down before the missile had reached it's target. This was overcome with the installation of a powered guidance system, yet before the weapon could be used to any meaningful affect, the allies had gained air superiority and had also gone someway to breaking the codes of the guidance systems. 

Money For Nothing

      In my mailbox I received an unsolicited letter from the Red Cross, asking/begging me for a minimal contribution of £30 to it's "Syrian Crisis Appeal," Which to me seems all rather odd, when you bear in mind the fact that the British Government has already given £200 million pounds and very probably a lot more, supposedly in support of "moderate groups." When in actual fact the only groups to benefit was Al-Queda and other Jihadists, trying to overthrow the Syrian Government and any others who might be in their way. 
      Naturally this is a massive embarrassment for the Government who are admitting to the oversight and the £200 million spent over the last three years, which could be considerably more over the previous years. Although they are reluctant to name the exact groups to benefit from the handouts, possibly as they, knowingly or otherwise, were helping militant Jihadi fighters with British cash, paid through an organisation known as "Conflict!"
      On any news channel it is quite apparent the Assad regime committed atrocities, but so did the opposing forces and in reality Britain had no need or obligation to become involved. And without Britain's interference it is estimated Assad and his allies would have defeated Isis a lot sooner.     

Tim Farron Ascendant To Power

      These have been quite exciting and perhaps even traumatic times in the last few years for Timothy James Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdadale and formerly leader of the Liberal Democrat Party. Having been elected as the member of parliament in 2005 and re-elected in 2010 2015 & 2017 and being selected as Party Leader 2015-17.
     Tim was born in Preston in Lancashire and attended Newcastle University where he gained a BA in Politics in 1992 In his early life and student years he will admit to being interested in a cross section of British politics and while at Newcastle, became President of the University Union Society also being elected to the National Union of Students National Executive. Having previously joined the Liberal Democratic Party at the age of sixteen.
      Prior to his success in 2005 he made his first appearance in the political arena by contesting North West Durham in 1992 finishing third to Labour and the Conservatives. Then served upon Lancashire County Council 1993-2000 and also as a councilor for Leyland Central Ward on South Ribble Borough Council 1995-1999. His next attempt was the marginal South Ribble constituency seat in 1997 General Election in which he again finished in third place. He was also the Liberal Democrat candidate for the North West Region in the 1999 European Parliamentary Elections.
      In 2001 Farron contested the Westmorland and Lonsdale seat of the Conservative Tim Collins for the first time, coming second but in the process greatly reducing the Conservative majority. Between 2004-2008 he served as the councilor for Milnthorpe on the South Lakeland District Council. 
      It was during and after this time he established himself in the hearts and minds of the people of South Lakeland and became the seemingly tireless worker for and on behalf of the voting public. From fighting to preserve the future of the threatened Westmorland General Hospital and championing local housing schemes, to more simple and mundane problems like helping people to get their bins emptied. 
      In 2005 once again he contested the Conservative seat held by Tim Collins and this time won by a narrow margin of 267 seats, taking a seat which had previously been held by the Conservatives for over 100 years. In 2010 this was increased to a majority of 12,264 with his power base now being firmly established. Also in 2010 he tried and failed to gain the position of Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, narrowly losing to Simon Hughes by 20 votes. He then tried and succeeded in winning the position of President of the Liberal Democrats.
      In 2015 he became one of only eight Liberal Democrats to win election and later replaced the then party leader Nick Clegg. 
      For the 2017 Elections, he had to fight a difficult campaign facing many detractors and people disputing and even deriding the party manifesto with such claims as the intended plans to legalise the use of cannabis and also brothels, and the party's Pro-Europe stance. However he held his seat with a reduced majority and increased the party's seats from 9 to 12 with a reduced number of votes. Afterwards he declared he would step down as Leader of the Party, because he; "had become torn between living as a faithful christian and serving as a political leader."
      He remains the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale.

The Three Shires Stone

     The Three Shires Stone, a simple carved limestone pillar, which stands upon the Wrynose Pass, in the English Lake District, marks the place where the three traditional counties of Cumberland, Lancashire and Westmorland, all met. Cumberland and Westmorland, no longer exist and this part of Lancashire has been reduced, now all brought together in the new Cumbria, established as long ago as 1974. Presently the stone lies broken and damaged, awaiting repair.
      The stone, which was quarried in the Cartmel area in the south of the county, was carved in 1816 by a William Field who then held the post of Furness Road Master. Furness, being formally the area of Lancashire covering the areas of Barrow and lands to Cartmel. The stone was erected in it's present position in 1860.
      In it's recent history the stone appears to be the unfortunate victim of vehicular damage, such as something like a larger van or landrover, crashing into the structure. This occurred once before in 1997 and with careful masonry repairs being needed. This time the damage is thought to be considerably worse and much more careful and thoughtful repair will be needed.
      The stone is also classed as a monument and is Grade II listed. In England and Wales there are three grade listings, with most structures falling under the Grade II listing.  

Clappersgate Port

      Clappersgate is a small hamlet about a mile to the west of Ambleside standing on the River Brathay and probably as the name suggests Gate of Clapper. Historically the village was once classed as a "Port" due to the old wharf, which was used for the loading of locally produced slate and shipped down to Bowness and Lakeside. Although everything is on a small scale, with narrow river access and transport a few short miles, it was at one time, an important waylay point of embarkation. These days with slate being transported by road, the wharf is now part of a large villa called "The Boathouse." 
      At one time Clappersgate supported a mill, an Inn or Ale House and a shop, with a couple of farms in the area. Brathay Parish Church still operates today, though stands on the left bank of the river Brathay which did place it in Lancashire, the right bank being Westmorland, now both sides are in Cumbria.
      Also worth mentioning is Brathay Hall, home and meeting place of a few worthy artists and writers, of the Wordsworth, Coleridge, Harden group.

John Paul Jones The Whitehaven Raid

      John Paul Jones, father of the US Navy, performed many daring exploits in his career, perhaps not so auspicious was his raid on the Cumbrian coast.
      On the night of April 22 1778 at the height of the American Revolutionary War of Independence the US ship Ranger, stood about two miles off the Cumbrian Coast, North West England. In two longboats with about thirty armed men a'board, Jones and his second in command Lieutenant Meijer commanded one and Lieutenant Wallingford of the US Marines and Midshipman Ben Hill in the second. Their plan was to destroy as many ships as possible in the port of Whitehaven.
      Almost straight away the plan ran into problems, with rough waters, strong winds and several unreliable crew members. Their first objective was to make a landing further up the coast and silence a gun battery, however this was aborted due to the sea being to rough and the coastline to rocky. For Jones and Meijer, they were to silence a further gun battery, which guarded the harbour, by scaling some walls and capturing the guards and in this they were successful. As for Wallingford and Hill, their mission was to attempt to burn as many ships as possible, in the northern end of the harbour.
      Meanwhile Jones and another Midshipman Joe Green, then set out to "spike" some guns at a further battery, whilst sending his crew off to burn the ships in the southern part of the port. As this was taking place, Wallingford and Hill had made a successful landing and headed straight to a queyside Ale House, supposidly to take hostages, secure the building and find flame for their incendiary. Though upon seeing the inhabitants were ordinary seamen like themselves, forgot all thoughts of violence and joined them in making merry.
      Later, when Jones found no ships a'flame, due to his men having no means of fire, he took matters in hand and a light was eventually gained from a nearby house. A suitable coal ship, The "Thompson" was located and a barrel of tar thrown into the hold and a fire was started, though this method was less successful with a couple of other ships. While this was happening, it seems another one of Jones's crew, David Freeman, slipped away to alert the townspeople to the danger of the fire and the town was able to muster a number of fire engines with which to contain the fire. Any prospect of a major disaster was averted.
      In all this confusion the would-be saboteurs, along with three prisoners, were able to return to their ship and make good their escape. 
      The mission could easily be seen as a failure, but as a moral booster, the action was a great achievement. Yet in another way England came to realize the dangers facing their ports and guards were increased and ports became more fortified, more ships were put on patrol duties and military enrolment increased.          

Good News From The Antarctic

      Captain Scott's Fruitcake has been recovered from the Antarctic, wrapped and in a sealed tin, and is said to be still edible after more than a century! In actual fact, a New Zealand based charity, known as The Antarctic Heritage Trust, found the cake, whilst carrying out a two year conservation programme at Scott's base camp and landing stage on Cape  Adare. The cake, discovered in a batch of more or less severely corroded tins, was quite a surprise find for the team, probably left behind by Scott's Northern Party, who conducted geological research and spent the winter of 1911 there.
      The Fruitcake, a variety favoured as a high-energy food, produced by the famous biscuit makers, "Huntley and Palmer" was also said to be a favourite of Captain Scott.
      Captain Scott, Captain Oats, Petty Officer Edgar Evans, Lieutenant Henry Bowers and Edward Wilson, all died on their return journey from the South Pole to the base camp on the Terra Nova.  

Safety First

      Sat in a branch of my local bank, I was impressed by a notice informing me that my account would now be accessible by voice recognition. Although a couple of days later, I was even more startled to read how someone had gained entry to such an account, simply by imitating the voice of the account holder! Merely a "teething problem" the bank may well be inclined to comment, putting no one's mind at rest. But then, when you think about matter's of security, there are always going to be a lot of disreputable types out there, trying to access your personal data and more particularly, your money.
      If you're like me, then no doubt you are walking around with a notebook containing the average twenty-plus passwords you need to conduct your secure on-line life, be it Banking, Social Media and your personal life and websites. We are constantly being reminded to change our passwords, add a telephone number and include an address, date of birth and so forth, next they'll be asking for your National Insurance Number, supposedly to at least make your account seemingly more secure!
      It can be very annoying trying to remember all the various spelling and misspelling of a password, some can be just to complicated to recall exactly, if you are not conversant with say the two or three most used. Ideally, some might say, it is advisable to change a password every three months and not by just a couple of digits. We are told to compose each password with various letters, upper and lower case, numbers and symbols, to make random spellings. Although most people would create a password something like; "john@abc123" which would be relatively simple to work out. A good idea is to use a short sentence of mixed words, such as; "Solitude Hired Kidnapper Magnate"which would take a hacker several lifetimes to de-code, whereas something more typical like; "AmbA$$Ador+8" could be calculated in a couple of days, (a fact which has been verified by a government agency) Although the majority of people are more likely to use something a little more conventional like; "12345"

Glen Campbell - American Music Legend

     Tuesday August 8 2017 Saw the passing of Glen Campbell, popular and country music star at the age of 81. He passed away with his family by his bedside at a care home in Nashville, suffering from Alzheimer's.
      His musical career spanned over six decades and produced many memorable hits including; Wichita Linesman, Rhinestone Cowboy and Galveston and many more. He sold some 45 million records, had a dozen Gold Albums and at least 75 chart records.
      Glen Travis Campbell was born in Billstown, Arkansas in 1936, the seventh son of a family of twelve children. He is said to have started playing on a $5 guitar at the age of four and remarkably in his early years was playing a few gigs and even doing appearances on local radio shows. He dropped out of school at the age of fourteen and moved to Wyoming, where he would pick up some work playing guitar with his uncle Dick Bills in his group, the Sandia Mountain Boys.
      Later he moved to Los Angeles and found regular work as a session guitarist at the American Music Co, where he also made a minor recording; "Turn Around, Look At Me" which attracted the attention of Capitol Records, and they signed him to the label. Here he was able to sharpen his "picking" abilities and was much in demand working with major stars like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and the Monkees as well as renowned producers such as Phil Spector and Jimmy Bowen.
      A lucky break came about for Glen in 1964 when he was invited to tour with the Beach Boys, due to the illness of Brian Wilson, Glen was able to replace Brian on bass and high harmonies. After a notable period with the group he was then able to follow this up with the success of his recording; "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" written by Jimmy Webb, who also wrote "Galveston" and "Wichita Linesman."
      Glen also found some fame in film and television, following an appearance on the Joey Bishop Show, and "The Summer Smother's Brother's Show" for CBS. This in turn led to "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" which drew audiences of 50 million viewers, between 1969 and 1972. Interestingly Glen Campbell was offered the part of "La Boeuf," a Texas Ranger, in the John Wayne film, "True Grit" a part originally planned for Elvis Presley. The film, directed by Henry Hathaway, was a commercial success and won John Wayne an Academy Award, although Hathaway later said he was unhappy with Campbell's performance and later said his acting was "wooden" and only chosen for the part so that he could record the title track. Nevertheless Glen received a Golden Globe nomination for "Best New Actor" for his part in the film.
      This could have signaled a change of direction for the singer, but in 1972 his television show was cancelled, coupled with a fall in his popularity, said to be due to his fondness for alcohol and drug abuse. At least the singer was still able to produce chart topping hits with "Rhinestone Cowboy" 1975 and "Southern Nights" 1977. However, along with falling record sales, he was heavily featured in various gossip columns and it was not until the later 1980's when he was able to break away from his life in Los Angeles, completely defeat his habits and addictions and became a Born Again Christian.
      With his no holds barred, Autobiography, interestingly titled; "Rhinestone Cowboy" and later in 2005 being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2011 he announced he was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, this period saw an increase in his recorded work before the condition worsened and in 2012 he was awarded "A Lifetime Achievement Award, by The Recording Academy. In 2014 there was the release of a documentary; "Glen Campbell, I'll be me," featuring the song; "I'm not gonna miss you," which gave him an Oscar Nomination and The Grammy, for "Best Country Song." 

The End is Nigh.

      A simple matter of UK National Debt, spiraling out of control. I suppose it's all a matter of numbers, at least according to the Bank of England, who warn of people piling up far too much debt and posing a high risk to the rest of the country. A seemingly recent shift in high credit card, car loan and unreliable mortgage lending debt all brought about due to the low borrowing interest rates. And said to be pushing Britain towards another financial meltdown.
      The warning comes about after years of low interest rates falling to as little as 0.25 per cent and showing a marked increase in borrowing, coupled with years of little or no increase in average wages.
      Chief areas of concern are the recent splurge of PCP deals, upon new cars, where the vehicle is basically purchased upon a lease deal, which will in theory lead to the customer buying the car outright over a given timescale, but with increasing debt levels may well bring about a greater number of repossessions, which in turn could mean a glut and lower prices in the second-hand car market.
      Mortgage Deals, which were largely blamed for the last financial crisis, haven't seen any particular increase in recent times, although limits are being pushed to longer terms of loans, smaller repayments and remortgages, all adding a greater pressure to the borrower and the length of time needed to fulfill the payments.
      Of course the reliable alternative to money, the credit card, chip and pin, tap and go, etc. Largely encouraged by Banks and their affiliates for various commercial reasons, have almost been at the forefront of the recent financial debt explosion. A simple, quick and easy payment method, which, if used correctly is the ideal payment method. Except it can be very tempting to spend the money you haven't got, not bother to keep a track of your receipts and assume you will make good on your payments at the end of each month. Only people recently defaulting upon their credit card payments, have seen a sudden and worrying increase, a trend which can only spiral should this go unchecked.
      In the short term, there are plans to reduce the amounts of available credit and also a potential rise in interest rates, for which households must be prepared, the last actual rise being as long ago as July 2007.    
     

Pride of the Fleet

      I suppose my family has always had a certain interest in the exploits of the Royal Navy and paticularly aircraft carriers, ever since my uncle survived a kamikaze attack whilst serving upon HMS Indefatigable in 1944 with the British Pacific Fleet.
    This the Royal Navy's newest warship HMS Queen Elizabeth and with her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales, at 932 feet and 65,000 tons are the Royal Navy's largest ships ever. And will fill a gap in the navy's maritime operations, supposedly for the next 50 years.
      The ship is well supported with modern aircraft and helicopters, all manner of attack and defence firepower and a large contingent of troops, not forgetting all the latest radar and surveillance technology, in short a floating fortress. 
      And yet in some circles there is a certain disquiet, not just down to the scale of the costs, which always seem to run out of control upon such projects, but the thinking at the time of their planning was supposedly with the intention of turning Britain into a "modern sea power." The original cost being planned at £4 billion now already passed £6 billion and two years late upon delivery. Another problem arising from the purchase of the Lockheed American F-35 jets which are seven years late in production and with costs hitting the US at over £150 billion above the planned price. It's now been agreed Fleet Air Arm will cut their intended allocation of aircraft to just twelve per carrier.
       The original plan was also to build eight Type-45 Destroyers to act as escorts, four per carrier, although their production was finally cut back to six with some being more or less permanently at anchor, not forgetting their recent well reported problems with operations in warmer waters. It is now thought by many, if and when the carriers put to sea, almost the whole of the Royal Navy's fighting ships will be required to act as escorts.        

On Elizabeth The Forgotten Years

      Elizabeth: The forgotten Years, got it in paperback, a recent re-release. Elizabeth the first of England a heroine queen in any and every perspective, last of the Tudor dynasty, a lifetime fending off foreign invaders, (on land and at sea) suitors, desirable and otherwise, not to forget several attempts upon her life and dealing with people such as Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.
      The Forgotten Years, John Guy's title, concentrates upon the final two decades of her life, sometimes described as the second reign, a period in which she had to deal with Mary's claim to her  throne and also Phillip ll and the Spanish Armada. She often kept a difficult relationship with her court, which was filled with dangerous and ambitious courtiers, yet essential to her rule, men such as Francis Walsingham her spymaster, the devoted adviser William Cecil. Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, the Earl of Essex, whom, perhaps not surprisingly, comes to something of a sticky end. All are intertwined in a story of high powered medieval intrigue and political diplomacy.
      The author and historian, John Guy, turns an often difficult and sometimes downright boring history into an enjoyable and interesting read. Although there is some modern terminology in this work, this is all part of Guy's easy style and a lot of his research has come through Elizabeth's handwritten letters, in which there are interesting notes upon Dudley, Sir Phillip Sydney and Walter Raleigh and not forgetting the daring exploits of Drake and Hawkins. Of course as you can probably expect, Essex is one of the main characters in the book, not only for his daring do, but also for his often vain, feckless and self-righteous outlook upon Elizabeth, the Court and even England, such a man is likely to make many enemies.    

Ambleside, the bearing of rushes.

      The yearly festival, Ambleside Rushbearing, usually the first Saturday in July, an ancient tradition dating back across the centuries, relating to the one time widespread and yearly practice of replacing the rushes of earthen church floors. Now mostly forgotten, the memory is kept alive in the form of a festival, particularly in Ambleside and other Lakeland locations, most notably nearby Grasmere.
      The bearings, from the large harp to small baskets of flowers, consisting of a range of rushes, reeds and grasses, mixed with summer flowers and greenery. Is a community event, mainly for Ambleside's children, but also grown ups to carry the larger offerings.
      The procession, upon a circuit of Ambleside town, is led by the larger bearings, followed by all the lesser, crosses, hoops, clusters, bundles and baskets, carried by the children of the infants and junior schools and assorted parents. Usually accompanied by a brass band and assorted members of the local clergy.
     Perhaps the highlight of the procession happens when the bearers reach the Market Square, the marchers come to an halt and the bearings are raised to the heavens, with the cry of; "Bearing's Up" and then. "Bearings Down!" The traditional Rushbearing Hymn (revd Owen Lloyd circa 1835) is sung as the procession makes it's way back to St Mary's Church.
      There follows a short church service, with all the bearings placed in the church, every child then receives a slice of traditional gingerbread, upon leaving the church. There then follows a light meal, known as the "tea" and afterwards the "Sports" for all the children and the wonderful "Junior's Fell Race" to Todd Crag and back.  

Timgad Algiers

      The ancient and spectacular city of Timgad in the country of Algiers is Rome's largest city in North Africa. Created in 100 AD by the Emperor Trajan 98 to 117 AD. For some centuries the city was partially buried by the desert sands until it's rediscovery by the Scotsman James Bruce in 1765. This was the ancient Roman city of Thamugadi now Timgad. Originally built as part of a Roman plan to appease and even seduce the local population, by means of promoting the Roman citizen's lifestyle of such virtues as equality among it's people. This was a town for army veterans and for a period of twenty five years, a former legionnaire might expect an equal division of land to his neighbour with housing blocks in the well planned city of an equal 20 meters square. There was the free public baths, regular citizens meetings and games at the forum, there was also the open air theatre with seating for over 3500 people where they could frequently see, often violent and immoral productions. No doubt, effective and probably very appealing to the local population.

      
      At the heart of the city stands the mighty arch of Trajan, the three arched gateway, a surviving relic of the city former glories. There is an inscription devoted to Trajan and Rome's need for continuous expansion.
     As with other Roman provinces, North Africa, was encouraged to become a granary to serve the empire, with typical produce being Olive Oil, Grain and Wine, etc.
    Eventually Rome lost control of North Africa, through, dispute, wars and invasion, the city being finaly burnt and destroyed by local tribesmen.

The Seven Wonders of...Ukraine.

      There are seven important World Heritage Sites within the country of Ukraine. Saint Sophia Cathedral and related Monastic structures is the first site on the list, an outstanding and architectural construction of Kievan Rus. Next is Kiev Pechersk Lavra, part of the Cathedral complex, but counted as two separate entries and classed as an Orthodox Christian Monastery.
      Lviv Old Town, containing some 2000 historic sites within the centre of the city 214 of which are considered to be National Landmarks. The Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans, now part of the Chernivtsi University. 
      Struve Geodetic Arc, part of a chain of triangulations to yield the first accurate measurement of a Meridian. Wooden Tserkvas of Carpathian Region, an important group of wooden Orthodox Churches.
      And the Ancient Greek City of Tauric, founded some 2500, years ago, which has survived on the Crimean Peninsula.    

Pippa Middleton Wedding

      This is an aerial view of the £100k marquee erected in advance of the wedding of Phillipa Middleton and James Matthews on Saturday May 20. The marriage service will take place at St Marks Church, Englefield, Berkshire.

English Sauce.

      Custard, creamy, silky, sweet yellow cup of pleasure, it's not Sponge and Custard, but Custard and sponge, at least for those who know anything about cookery. The English Sauce, as the French, like to say, disparagingly, if any contempt is actually meant.
      I can recall, some years ago, working in a catering establishment which had to produce a menu for the staff and Custard would make a regular appearance upon this menu. The problem being that the chefs had a bad habit of not measuring or weighing the ingredients which always produced an end result of stodgy or watery vile and flavourless mess. Not fit for human consumption, let alone staff!
      However, there came a day when a new Head Chef arrived and took the trainees to one side, then told each one to prepare a half-pint of custard and serve it accordingly and the trainees, in their care free careless way, all thought this would be easy. But then the Head Chef added; For any sauce which wasn't perfect, the maker could expect to be dismissed!   And the end result, well no one was dismissed and the custard served on the staff menu was perfect for ever after.
      In my humble understanding of the culinary arts and the production of custard, I can honestly advise, weigh, measure, stir-well and become familiar with the recipe.
      A simple recipe; 1 pint of milk. 1 flu oz of single cream. 1 vanilla pod. 4 egg yolks. 1 oz caster sugar. 1 level teaspoon cornflour.
      Now, in a suitable pan, preferably over a gas ring (adjustable flame) bring the milk, cream and vanilla pod to a simmer. Remove the vanilla pod. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together, in a bowl (you could already have done this) and then pour the milk and cream onto this mixture, whisking with a balloon whisk all the while. Then return this mixture to the pan and stir well over a low heat, with a spoon, wooden if possible, personally I use a melamine spoon, which works just as well. This process will help to thicken the custard, I often take the pan from the heat in the final stage and stir a good thirty or forty times for an extra smooth and creamy consistency. The sauce is now ready to serve, pour into a jug or straight into a bowl, with fruit or sponge.
      Of course if you haven't got a Vanilla Pod, you could always go to the corner shop.

     

 

Princess Charlotte ll

      A new photographic image of Princess Charlotte, upon the occasion of her second birthday, photographed by her mother Katherine the Duchess of Cambridge. The photograph was taken in April at the family home Anmer Hall in Norfolk.
      There are surprisingly few photographs of the young Princess due to her low number of public appearances and permitted formal photographs. And her privacy has been carefully guarded by her parents, over the past year and no doubt for the foreseeable future.

UK General Election 2017

      The General Election, oh yes, that old thing, I suppose I must try and advise you that this election has got nothing to do with Brexit, Post Brexit, Hard Brexit, the state of the Labour or Liberal or whoever might challenge, But in reality it's quite simply because, 30 Conservatives were about to be charged for fiddling their electoral expenses and those elected would be banned from sitting in the house. Which, in turn, would prevent Mrs May from having a parliamentary majority, which in itself would have meant a change of Government and not a General Election. This is because when the government of the day cannot command a majority in the house, then the Queen must then call upon the leader of the opposition to try and form a Government. You could therefore truthfully say this general election is nothing more than a contemptuous effort to save those from the stench of guilt and corruption. 

Easter

Happy Easter To You.

Pass the Smoked Mackerel Eric.

      Time to eat yourself slim, by the North-Person method, or the Scandinavian/Viking Diet. Mind you, those enormous meat eating sessions, need to be kept discreetly to one side. Of course you can always rely upon dishes prepared with Lamb and their should be a fair amount of Game, available.
      You know, such people living up a fjord, close to the sea, will naturally have lots of fish and a good variety of north water fish in their diets, such as Mackerel, Herring, Trout and Salmon, to name but a few.
      It's all about foods sourced locally and seasonally, a good balance of Protein, Carbohydrate and Fats, with Barley, Berries and Oats, with Poultry, Fish and Game, Cabbage, Kale and Root Vegetables.
      As a sampler you could try say a omelette cooked with bacon, or some smoked mackerel with a Scandinavian cheese, (the Vikings have a long tradition of cheese making) with a hunk of rye bread.      

Monkey Puzzle

      I've been toying with the idea of planting a Monkey Puzzle Tree, for a number of years now and it probably came about due to some local controversy regarding the felling of a full-grown specimen at a large country pile, where the tree was blocking the supposed view. Now I'm not saying these trees are a local phenomenon, by any means, but you do, or at least I have, started noticing them everywhere in my local neighbourhood and not just in the grounds of larger private houses, They seem to keep cropping up, just about anywhere and in various stages of their development. The only real matter to consider when planting such a tree is they are a long term prospect and will come to dominate their patch of ground, reaching heights of up to 50m.
      Araucaria araucana or Monkey Puzzle, so named because it would be a problem for a monkey to climb such a tree, as a slow rate of growth and can live for a thousand years.
      Perhaps I've bothered my friends a little too much with my talk of the trees that finally a couple gave me a tree, carefully cultivated at a local garden centre and I will now seek a suitable space where I can hopefully see it grow by at least a few inches!

John, George, Paul and Rin...err Jimmie!

      Careful, he really is a Beatle and at the height of their fame, When the Beatles needed a little "Help," a replacement stand-in for Ringo, who was ill at the start of their first world tour, they needed someone in a hurry and George Martin thought he knew the man to fill the breech.
      It was the summer of 1964 and Beatle's were on the verge of going on tour and Ringo was deemed to be too ill to travel. George Martin knew of a capable drummer who he'd seen playing around various clubs in Soho and doing session work and decided to give him a chance and managed to get the young Jimmie Nicol to the Abbey Road Studios and with the rest of the band, ran through a few of their well-known tracks. This was June 3 and the beginning of a fortnight which would transform Nicol into a worldwide music star. 
      The first stages of the tour were Denmark, Holland, Hong Kong and Australia, where they were welcomed by ten's of thousands of fanatical fans, relentless press, wild parties TV and Radio Shows. And in that time he played ten sold-out concerts and was given the celebrity as the Fifth Beatle.
      But fame can be a fickle friend and at the end of the fortnight, Ringo joined the tour to take his rightful place as the drummer and Jimmie Nicol found himself on a London bound plane, back to an uncomfortable reality. It was 15 June and his time was up, he was given a first class ticket, a gold watch and £500 in wages. Home to a tumultuous reception and feted by the press, he found himself being rushed into a record deal, in an attempt to capitalize upon his recent stardom, got himself a group, bought a Jaguar and immediately disappeared. Within a year his marriage had ended, his new bands discs had flopped and he was declared bankrupt with debts of £40 000. There followed some years living in Mexico and a second marriage, also ending in divorce, his present location is seemingly unknown.
      At least now, Nicol may taste the heights of stardom once again as a Hollywood film is being prepared about his life.

Been keeping me up at nights...

      Been keeping me up at nights, actually finished it in early 2016 but this, that and not a few complications Bury-My-Heart-Waterhead-Bay-ebook/dp/B06XG5387F/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489335471&sr=1-3&keywords=kirk+w+smith

Old Sticks of Furnature

      Recently visited a house and contents sale in the deepest and the darkest, English Lake District, where I came upon three choice items, a Queen Anne Chest, a Victorian Card Table and a Lowboy, probably George lll Let me say I've got a great and particular fascination for Lowboys and any good chest of the right periods and the card table, well I'm looking out for one of a reasonably good quality.

      Of course you've always got to take a careful look at these things before you part with your cash and regrettably, the Lowboy, had been "got at" as they say and not in a very good way. Some items do need restoration, but preferably with great care and by someone whom knows what they're doing. The card table, also had a lot of faults, if you looked closely. And the chest, well this was pretty good, apart from the smallest of faults. I managed to purchase the chest with something of a struggle, but there always something good about having the readies, ready, as it is! 

Drax - Another Bio-mess!

     The Drax power station, vast and uncompromising power production plant of Yorkshire, coal powered, largest, cleanest and most efficient plant of it's kind, in Europe and supplying around 8% of the UK's energy requirement. Or at least this was the case, until the Green Monster reared it's head and the powers that be, determined Drax, should run more efficiently through Biomass energy.
      Around three years ago it was decided there would be a partial switch over to biomass energy production, in part due to a new government carbon-tax, which would make coal burning, seem almost totally uneconomic. 
      At the time biomass was a more or less recent innovation, seen as the brave new future of cheap energy and coupled with the government subsidy, Drax would be making more money through this subsidy than it could through burning the wood pellets.
      So at some considerable cost, said to be in the region of £700 million, Drax converted half of it's six coal-burning furnaces to burning millions of tons of specialist wood pellets, which had to be imported from America. And instrumental in this switch-over was an EU ruling which stated wood to be "carbon neutral" as any CO2 omitted, would eventually be recovered from the atmosphere, via new tree planting to replace those already cut down. All part of a dubious plan to save the planet.
      Of course serious points were raised to the effectiveness of this system and the momentous costs involved and it's only now with biomass fully working at the plant, is it realized that Drax hasn't been making any savings upon Co2 emissions whatsoever.
     There is the argument that wood can hardly be classed as carbon neutral, when it is felled and burnt and any replacement tree will take at least 300 years to reach maturity and be classed as fully grown. And that the burning of wood pellets is also a lot less energy efficient than coal. Also the processing and transportation of the pellets, about four thousand miles from North Carolina, to Yorkshire. Which come largely from some prized and wildlife rich virgin forests in the southern USA. Yet another global catastrophe just around the corner!          

Biomass Fuels A Nice Little Earner

      Biomass, the green energy fuel of the future, produced from wood chips, to power the new new-wave Biomass Boilers, meant to replace the old style traditional oil, gas and electricity systems and thereby saving fossil fuels and being generally more energy efficient.
      Regrettably, the entire process is more or less unworkable without government subsidy, running into many millions of pounds, not only for the producer, but the user as well. Initially there have been a number of takers for the process, but the systems are said to work best covering a number of buildings. Landowners and people with small estates of three or more buildings are encouraged to join the commercial RHI (renewable heat incentive) programme, guaranteeing benefits for at least 20 years, although installation can often cost up to £100k. The user then takes a three-monthly reading and is paid according to consumption, payments can easily run into tens of thousands of pounds, will cover installation and will last for the 20 year period and maybe longer. Landowners can find a multitude of uses for their heat, be it in other properties, rented properties and other outbuildings, including such things as swimming pools. Their is however a cap of 1,314 hours, to prevent over consumption by certain less than scrupulous persons, although payment is in full up to the limit and slightly less afterwards, yet still covers the cost of the system.
      At present there appears to be little concern regarding the number of trees which may need to be felled, to keep the whole process in operation.      

A D Blumlein.

      Auspicious genius and noted inventor of some renown Alan Dower Blumlein, a great unsung genius of the early 20th century almost slips through the net without any serious recognition. Only now is he to be awarded a posthumous Grammy, after turning the music world upon it's head and creating stereo sound.
      The engineer, born in Hampstead, North London, was killed while working upon a top-secret radar project for the military in 1942.
     Born in 1903 he earned a first class degree at the Imperial College London, and joined Columbia Records (later EMI) in their research department. It was in 1931 whilst watching a cinematic film with his wife and finding himself unimpressed by the sound quality. After some thought he eventually came up with the idea of producing recorded sound with two microphones and recording separately. This concept became known as Binaural Recording, which later became the more familiar Stereo Recording. The first film produced with a stereo recording was of a steam locomotive passing the Columbia/EMI company HQ. During his years at the company, AD as he was affectionately by his colleagues, posted 128 patents. He also pioneered the Marconi/EMI television system for the BBC still used up until the digital conversion in 2012.
      After this he then found more work with the military during World War ll but was killed on June 7 1942 In a flying accident, involving a converted Halifax Bomber, being used for experimental radar research. The plane caught fire at 15000 feet causing the deaths of all seven crew and passengers.
      The award will be presented later this year and there is some talk of a film in his honour.

Apple Campus 2

      Unusual, futuristic, or just downright odd? It seems they've run out of space and a new office is needed, so they were never going to just move into a vacant block, they had to build one from scratch and this is the new Campus 2 in Cupurtino, California, no doubt the obvious choice for such an organisation. 
     Probably the last great project of Steve Jobs (who is to say they're not all great projects?) at a cost of a mere $5bn or £4bn if you prefer.
      With four levels above ground and three below, the building will contain a thousand seat auditorium, a superior gym and at least 300 000, square feet of research space, all due to become operational in 2017.
      The chosen designer, Lord Foster, of the UK Was also the designer of London's St Mary's Axe, also known as the Gherkin, and the new Wembley Stadium.
      The Campus, is about one third of a mile in diameter with about 2.8 million square feet of space and will have something like 3000 panes of a special curved glass. There will be a multitude of special bicycles for staff, to ride around the space and the entire building will run upon Solar Power and Natural Gas. The building has so far created about 1300 construction jobs.
     The centre of the project will be an open parkland, with thousands of tree and plant varieties and a preserved century-old barn.

Motor Insurance...Watch Out Sucker!

      Oh Dear, it's that time of year again, it's time to renew my Car Insurance Policy, just a simple task, all I'm looking for is an honest and fair deal, at a reasonable price, but price is where the problems begin. Every year, year on year, for that matter, my insurance company, whoever it is at the time, deems it necessary to raise the premium, for whatever reason, or more likely, no reason at all, to a new level of extortion, simply to make buck, from their customers. Loyalty, no claims, don't make me laugh, get on this planet!
      Strangely enough, I used to think this was was some kind of fun, having to ring around to get a cheaper quote, simply to get a reasonable or what you may consider a fairer price. These days and after considerable experience and meeting a few dodgy insurance salesmen, on the way, the whole process is nothing more than CENSORED. Yet your Insurer no doubt wants you to feel this way, "what's the matter with you, save yourself suffering the inevitable run-around, accept the quote and just pay-up...sucker! 
      Got to admit, I always start searching for a new deal, as soon as I get the new quote, even if I'm just comparing prices, of course many of these insurers would just love to tie you into a bundle deal, with say House Insurance, Life Insurance, etc. And your Motor Insurance, I suppose some people, may well need, the "Breakdown Cover," it's a minimal amount, you never know when you might just need it! And that car they give you, when your car is off the road, whenever I've needed the car, it's not been available or whoops, I've got the wrong insurance, and as for the Legal Cover, somehow, I've always managed without this small matter. Incidentally, I do have a keyring, given to me by the Post Office, which, if I should lose my keys, will give the finder a reward, £10, if they should choose to claim it, and it's supposed to be a free, lifetime offer. I'll probably find myself back with the PO Insurers.
      There is the other side of the coin, which you hear so much about and this is, all the dishonest drivers, and you are given the impression the country is full of them, getting the rest of us a bad name and as a result we are expected to pay more for their indiscretions. 
      But beware or be aware, these insurers are always trying to get your cash, will you let them?      

General Allenby, How to Capture a City

      Of course it helps if your enemy are trying to surrender the city in the first place, just one of the many problems faced by General Edmund Allenby, Commander of the "British, Egyptian Expeditionary Force," in the campaign to liberate the middle east, from the Turkish German Alliance.
      After a series of battles leading up to the capture of Jerusalem and at one point the Mayor of Jerusalem, trying to surrender the city to a British Army Cook and Private Murch, actually turning down the offer, too many meals to prepare! Fortunately, Murch had the sense to report the incident to his senior officers, who in turn reported to the Generals, who then got themselves into something of a kerfuffle, trying to decide who should accept the surrender, only after a couple of days did Allenby, decide to accept the keys to the city.
      Allenby, was under orders to try and capture the city before Christmas 1917 and it proved a great moral booster, to the allies, after what had been something of a difficult year. On December 11 1917, Allenby, rode to the Jaffa Gate, in the walls of the city, dismounted and then walked to the Citadel, in a simple act of humility, conscious of the city's residents and religions. At the Citadel he read out a proclamation, making it clear to everyone, he came as a conqueror, not a liberator, giving Jerusalem a new freedom, and promising to protect all religious buildings, properties and faiths.
      By a stroke of good fortune, an interpreter, misspelt his name upon a leaflet as "Alla Bay," which to people of the Moslem faith, means; "Son of God!"

Paul Revere ll

      Had a few problems with Paul Revere, when I get some more time I will rewrite the page with more information.

Paul Revere

      The extraordinary Paul Revere, not only an adventurer, artist, dentist and a bell manufacturer but also when he wasn't doing all this, trying to save the fledgling Continental Congress, from an almost certain destruction, he was also a silversmith of some reputation.
      A native of Boston, born 21 December 1734 or 1 January 1735 the third of twelve children, to a French father and local mother of a longstanding Boston family. Paul left school at thirteen years of age and became apprenticed to his father, as a silversmith. Through this trade he was able to make a number of useful contacts, which would stand him in good stead for the future years ahead. His father died in 1754 and 1756 Paul took a short term commission in the provincial army and was posted to Fort William Henry, for the summer, but soon returned to Boston to take charge of the families Silver Shop, in his own name. In 1757 he married Sarah Orne and their first child was born eight months later.
      Paul Revere, was something of a successful business man and his Silversmith's was said to be of some size and style and very busy, he was selling his own work and imported foreign silver items as well. Paul Revere's work is said to be categorized into two more or less distinct periods, these being before and after the Revolutionary War, the pre-war years, being his most creative period.

Wallis Simpson, behind enemy lines...

      The strange case of the swimsuit, lost behind enemy lines. In 1940 Edward Windsor and Wallis Simpson had to leave their coastal Villa at Nice in the South of France, as that part of the country became occupied by the Nazis. Although it is said the couple secretly had close links to the Nazi regime and were able to gain some assurances their properties in Paris and the south of the country would be protected.

  
      It is said Mrs Simpson had a certain and particular attachment to a swimming costume, which had been left behind in the Nice villa, and by whatever means an operation was launched to recover the said item of clothing. By the intervention of British diplomats with the help of The US Government and maybe even possibly, the full knowledge of high level Nazi government officials. Whoever was involved the Villa was entered and the item recovered and safely presented to the Duchess.

William Marshall, Knight in an Age of Chivalry.

      William Marshall, 1147 - 1219 1st Earl of Pembroke has recently become something of a phenomenon with books and television programmes highlighting his life and times, has The Greatest Knight, even though we've long known of his presence simply through the Magna Carta.
      William Marshall, born the forth son of a minor 12th century baron, rose to be Regent of England and ruled on behalf of the boy-king Henry lll And in the process made himself one of the wealthiest men in England, defeated at least 500 opponents in single combat, knighted two kings, beat a powerful French Army upon English soil and in doing so, saved the kingdom of England and earned a mention upon the Magna Carta.
      William's early years were centered in hard and difficult times, war raged between Stephen and Matilda, over the English throne, Stephen besieged Newbury Castle 1152 and sought to use the young William as a hostage, in an attempt to persuade his father John Marshall, to surrender the castle. Surprisingly John refused and in a rage Stephen, threatened to execute the boy, but later spared him and William was to later become a favourite of Stephen.
      Being a royal favourite may well have helped William to some degree, but being the son of a minor baron with little in the way of inheritance offered little in the way of prospect for the future. Fortunately with the influence of a cousin upon his mother's side, William was sent to be trained as a Knight with William de Tancarville in Normandy, this was to be long years of hard physical training in every aspect of medieval warfare, until he was eventually knighted in 1166 fighting in the north of Normandy.
      After seven years, William left Tancarville, to join the household of his Mother's Brother, Patrick, Earl of Salisbury, where he won some distinction on behalf of Eleanor of Aquitaine. With the death of his father and with little in the way of inheritance, William decided upon a new career as a professional tournament fighter upon the circuit of such events, this was often organised but the most deadly combat with team consisting of small armies fighting to the death over a large area of land. Yet the rewards for such victories, often meant money, horses and armour and on top of this great riches could be earned by the capture and ransom of an adversary.
      By 1170 William was drawn to the attention of the young Henry, son of Henry ll, they became friends and fought together at many tournaments, and made great fortunes. William was at Henry's side when he died of dysentery at Limoges in 1183. Next William was on crusade in the Holy Land, carrying out the vow of his former companion and employer, but also with the blessing of Henry ll. Upon his return to England William became part of Henry ll household, and helped him deal with his rebellious heir, Richard, Count of Poitou, soon to be Richard l The Lionheart. And for his trouble was gifted the large estate of Cartmel in Cumbria (South Lakeland)
      It was a short time later, in Northern France, William came face to face with the young Richard and unhorsed him, Richard had to beg for his life and William, instead, lanced his horse, simply to make a meaningful point. Soon after this Richard ll was dead, but William was now welcomed to the court of the now Richard l whom gifted William the hand in marriage of Isabel de Clare, daughter of Richard Strongbow and upon doing so also came into large and wealthy estates in England, Ireland, Normandy and Wales and by 1199 received the Earldom of Pembroke. By now and thanks to this marriage, William had become landed, titled and wealthy with Pembroke and Chepstow castles, the marriage was also blessed with five sons and five daughters.

                                        The Majestic and powerful Chepstow Castle.

       With Richard away on Crusade in the Holy Land, William was appointed to the Council of Regency, to act upon the kings behalf, which included continuing the wars in Northern France, against Phillip ll and dealing with the rebellious John whose ideas and plans didn't always coincide with those of his brother. In 1193 William and the Barons loyal to Richard, stood against John and his followers. William's elder brother Richard Marshall was John's Seneschal and in the course of the struggles was killed defending Marlborough, Richard allowed William to succeed his brother and now became William, Marshall of England. Upon his deathbed Richard granted William as custodian of Rouen and of the royal treasure during the interregnum.

      With Richard's death in 1199 William now became John's loyal follower, but with problems in France and Ireland and John's often poor decisions and leadership the two were often at loggerheads, with William spending his time in Ireland, defending his wife's lands and erecting defensive structures

      However, back in favour by 1212 William was recalled to Court, though William remained loyal to John, differences with his barons came to the fore in 1215 culminating in the Magna Carta at Runneymede. The Marshall witnessed it on behalf of John, with his eldest son William sealed it as one of the 25 barons named in the security clause.

      William remained loyal to John and the king, upon his deathbed, entrusted William, to take care of his nine-year old son Henry and to ensure he would succeed him to the throne. William also arranged John's funeral at Worcester Cathederal.

      Prior to John's death, the majority of the more powerful barons had already decided to overthrow the king, even without William's support and even went as far as to have Prince Louis of France, crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.

      On his own initiative, William had the young Henry crowned Henry lll and reissued the Magna Charta, and now facing a superior armed force, took his troops to Lincoln, where at the great age of 70, led his troops to a resounding victory over the French King and his supporting barons. This was soon followed by a naval victory in the straights of Dover and the war was over, with William on hand to negotiate the final treaty.

      Afterwards, with his duty complete, his health failing by 1219 he was invested in the Order of the Knights Templar. He died on 14 May 1219 and is buried in the Temple Church in London.   

                                                                    The Magna Carta       

                         

The Brontes of Howarth

      The Bronte family of Howarth, a strangely fascinating family group in 19th Century England, living at The Parsonage, in the supposedly bleak and gloomy moors village of Howarth, West Yorkshire. On the one hand, there is the three sisters, Anne, Charlotte and Emily, all published authors, producing classic works of English literature, Anne; "Agnes Grey," and "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" Charlotte; "Jane Eyre" and Emily; "Wuthering Heights." Then there are the other members of the family, their father Patrick Bronte, who made his way from humble beginnings to join the priesthood, become a published poet and active local worthy, building a Sunday School and organizing clean water supplies for the village, etc. His wife Maria, seems to have led a quiet existence, very much in the background of the Bronte household. Their son, (Patrick) Branwell Bronte, artist and writer, though not in the same vein as his sisters. There are of course two other older sisters both died of tuberculosis, whom barely draw a mention, unless you dig a little deeper. 

      Then of course there appears to be another side to the story, perhaps nothing quite so awful about the family, maybe items which will add interest to their story, and character no doubt well researched, discussed and recorded. 
      It seems Branwell comes off with the worst reputation, due to a bad and arrogant attitude with a fascination for alcohol intake and opium consumption. There is an interesting story about him taking up the position of tutor to two boys of the Postlethwaite family at Broughton-in-Furness. On days off in Ambleside, he is said to have found himself in the company of such a notable as Samuel Coleridge Taylor, himself a noted Opium addict. Branwell then found himself dismissed from his teaching position within a year, due to a ribald desire for the bottle. Branwell also had a later Tutor's position to a single boy in the Robinson family, of Thorpe Green near York, where Anne had been the governess for the previous three years. Unfortunately this position also came to a premature end due to a rumoured adulterous relationship with Mrs Robinson. 
      Elizabeth Gaskell, friend of Charlotte Bronte described Patrick Bronte in her 1857 Biography, as "strange and half mad not naturally fond of children." He is said to have terrorised his family with sudden explosions of temper. There are stories of him burning his children's books and firing a shotgun out of his kitchen door, and is said to have carried a loaded gun, at all times, probably quite normal events for this period, he also suffered debilitating eye sight in his later life.
      Of the three sisters, although many pages have been written about the family, and we view them in a certain light, it's worth noting some unkind remarks, at the time on their generally plain and undernourished appearance. Although it is said. Emily, once beat up the family dog, leaving it half blind in the process. Charlotte found employment as a girls tutor, though proved to be quite unpopular with teacher and pupils sharing a mutual hatred. Their lives at the Parsonage are said to be remote and closeted, with mortality looming in the background. There is a rumour of Charlotte also consuming opium, hardly surprising with the presence of Branwell.
      All these minor indiscretions aside, the Bronte Family, remain one of the greatest literary families in the world.

      
      A recently discovered watercolour which is thought to be of the three Bronte sisters.