I see them in charity shops regularly, I'm just easily distracted by other things
Oh your good lady working for the publishers must've helped feed your book habit?Biker, Happy Joan of Arc Day!
- Thread starter Goatboy
- Start date
I see them in charity shops regularly, I'm just easily distracted by other things
Oh your good lady working for the publishers must've helped feed your book habit?
I see them in charity shops regularly, I'm just easily distracted by other things
Definitely, I've books to keep me going for years. I joke to her that we live in an annexe to the the British library.
“A house without books is like a room without windows. No man has a right to bring up his children without surrounding them with books, if he has the means to buy them.”
Horace Mann.
This would suit you.
View attachment 25217
Horace Mann.
This would suit you.
View attachment 25217
That's pretty cool. Reminds me of the fish tank bed in Diamonds Are Forever, though this ones cooler.
And better than a water bed - me no likeyI think I'd get seasick. Cool though.
Biker! Happy Blasket Island Day!
Top of the mornin' to ye Biker for today in 1953 the last islanders were evacuated from Blasket Island They obviously had never read all the "going off grid" threads on BCUK!
Just off the coast of western Ireland, in the farthest stretches of County Kerry, are a group of six rocky islands. The islands have been inhabited from prehistoric times, and remained so until the middle of the last century. They are called the Blasket Islands. The individual islands are Great Blasket Island, Beginish, Inishabro, Inishvickillane, Inishtooskert, and Tearaght Island. The natives called them "The Island" and "The Lessesr Blaskets." No one's quite sure where the name Blasket came from. It's thought to derive from the Norse brasker, "a dangerous place." If that's what the name means, it's certainly apt, for the Blaskets are a hard land, with rocky shores, steep cliffs, and little arable land. The people of the Blaskets eked out a living with diligence. Much of their food came from the sea.
We know a great deal about life on the Blaskets because in the early part of the 20th century the islands were discovered by linguists and and anthropologists. It was quite a find. The islanders spoke pure Gaelic, and the scholars published much about their language and traditions. Not only did they publish themselves, but they encouraged the islanders to write their own books, in their own language. They produced quite a treasure trove of literature, and several books are considered among the finest of European literature. Among them are An tOileanach (The Islander) by Tomas O Criomhthain, Peig by Peig Sayers, and Fiche Blian ag Fas (Twenty Years A-Growing) by Muiris O Suilleabhain. If you want to read them, they have been translated into English.
Most of the islanders had a cow, and a few sheep. Cow manure could be used to improve the soil, and for a time, a man was not allowed sheep if he didn't own a cow. There were plenty of wild rabbits to snare and eat, and, of course, whatever they could catch from the sea. For years they did their fishing from the rocks, but with their discovery of the seine boat, they were able to go out into the sea to fish.
There was not much arable land, but they farmed what they could, mostly potatoes. Still, they didn't rely on the potato for sustenance, so they were not as severely affected by the potato blight as the rest of Ireland was. There were never horses on the island, but they did have donkeys -- male donkeys only. The land was too dangerous for females; they would have driven each other off the cliffs when they were in season.
The houses were tiny, about twenty feet at the most. They were divided into an "upper room" and a "lower room." A partition was made between them by placing a dresser on one side and a cupboard on the other. The lower room was where the family slept. The upper room was the kitchen. It was big enough to hold the animals at night, or to lay out a corpse. There were too many corpses.
There was no doctor on the islands, and no priest. If you needed either, you had to make the three-mile trip to the mainland. After that, it was a five mile walk to the priest, or ten miles to the doctor. Of course, this was possible only if you were able to make the crossing at all. For many days in the year, the seas were too stormy.
Tomas O Criomhthain, in his book, tells the story of a trip he made to the mainland for a wedding. He was caught there by bad weather, and had to remain there for three weeks before he could return. His family thought he had drowned, and was surprised when he returned home.
In 1946, just before Christmas, a young man, Seainin O Cearna, collapsed while helping his father catch a sheep to slaughter for the Christmas feast. He had meningitis, and he had the bad fortune to be ill at the stormy time of year, when no boat could cross to the mainland. The island's population had been steadily declining for many years -- it had had 176 inhabitants at its peak in 1916 -- and after Seainin's death it plummeted. Six years later the government evacuated the remaining 22 residents to the mainland. Some of them were provided with cottages by the sea, where they could still see their beloved Blasket Island.
Top of the mornin' to ye Biker for today in 1953 the last islanders were evacuated from Blasket Island They obviously had never read all the "going off grid" threads on BCUK!
Just off the coast of western Ireland, in the farthest stretches of County Kerry, are a group of six rocky islands. The islands have been inhabited from prehistoric times, and remained so until the middle of the last century. They are called the Blasket Islands. The individual islands are Great Blasket Island, Beginish, Inishabro, Inishvickillane, Inishtooskert, and Tearaght Island. The natives called them "The Island" and "The Lessesr Blaskets." No one's quite sure where the name Blasket came from. It's thought to derive from the Norse brasker, "a dangerous place." If that's what the name means, it's certainly apt, for the Blaskets are a hard land, with rocky shores, steep cliffs, and little arable land. The people of the Blaskets eked out a living with diligence. Much of their food came from the sea.
We know a great deal about life on the Blaskets because in the early part of the 20th century the islands were discovered by linguists and and anthropologists. It was quite a find. The islanders spoke pure Gaelic, and the scholars published much about their language and traditions. Not only did they publish themselves, but they encouraged the islanders to write their own books, in their own language. They produced quite a treasure trove of literature, and several books are considered among the finest of European literature. Among them are An tOileanach (The Islander) by Tomas O Criomhthain, Peig by Peig Sayers, and Fiche Blian ag Fas (Twenty Years A-Growing) by Muiris O Suilleabhain. If you want to read them, they have been translated into English.
Most of the islanders had a cow, and a few sheep. Cow manure could be used to improve the soil, and for a time, a man was not allowed sheep if he didn't own a cow. There were plenty of wild rabbits to snare and eat, and, of course, whatever they could catch from the sea. For years they did their fishing from the rocks, but with their discovery of the seine boat, they were able to go out into the sea to fish.
There was not much arable land, but they farmed what they could, mostly potatoes. Still, they didn't rely on the potato for sustenance, so they were not as severely affected by the potato blight as the rest of Ireland was. There were never horses on the island, but they did have donkeys -- male donkeys only. The land was too dangerous for females; they would have driven each other off the cliffs when they were in season.
The houses were tiny, about twenty feet at the most. They were divided into an "upper room" and a "lower room." A partition was made between them by placing a dresser on one side and a cupboard on the other. The lower room was where the family slept. The upper room was the kitchen. It was big enough to hold the animals at night, or to lay out a corpse. There were too many corpses.
There was no doctor on the islands, and no priest. If you needed either, you had to make the three-mile trip to the mainland. After that, it was a five mile walk to the priest, or ten miles to the doctor. Of course, this was possible only if you were able to make the crossing at all. For many days in the year, the seas were too stormy.
Tomas O Criomhthain, in his book, tells the story of a trip he made to the mainland for a wedding. He was caught there by bad weather, and had to remain there for three weeks before he could return. His family thought he had drowned, and was surprised when he returned home.
In 1946, just before Christmas, a young man, Seainin O Cearna, collapsed while helping his father catch a sheep to slaughter for the Christmas feast. He had meningitis, and he had the bad fortune to be ill at the stormy time of year, when no boat could cross to the mainland. The island's population had been steadily declining for many years -- it had had 176 inhabitants at its peak in 1916 -- and after Seainin's death it plummeted. Six years later the government evacuated the remaining 22 residents to the mainland. Some of them were provided with cottages by the sea, where they could still see their beloved Blasket Island.
My mother is from Kerry, and she remembers the evacuation. Anyone who visits the Dingle peninsula will see the Blaskets from Slea head.
View attachment 25241
Today in 1904:
The first underwater submarine journey was taken, from Southampton, England, to the Isle of Wight.
View attachment 25242
View attachment 25241
Today in 1904:
The first underwater submarine journey was taken, from Southampton, England, to the Isle of Wight.
View attachment 25242
Aaron, For your delectation, I give you "Airlords of Airia". Enjoy some Steampunk fun.
[video=youtube;211LNk5vnJM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=211LNk5vnJM[/video]
[video=youtube;211LNk5vnJM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=211LNk5vnJM[/video]
Dogs and humans became best friends in Ice Age Europe between 19,000 and 30,000 years ago, say scientists.
That was when wolves, ancestors of domestic dogs living today, were first tamed by ancient hunter gatherers, according to new genetic evidence.
The findings challenge a previous theory that dog domestication happened some 15,000 years ago in eastern Asia, after the introduction of agriculture.
In reality, the history of the bond between dog and man appears to go back much further, to a time when fur-clad humans were living in caves and hunting woolly mammoths.
Scientists used a tried and trusted technique of DNA analysis to establish what populations of wolves were most related to living dogs.
DNA from domestic dogs most closely matched that extracted from the fossil bones of ancient European Ice Age wolves, as well as modern wolves.
There was little similarity with DNA from wolves, coyotes and dingos from other parts of the world.
Early tamed wolves may have been trained as hunting dogs or even protected their human masters from predators, the researchers believe.
The Finnish and German team wrote in the journal Science: "Conceivably, proto-dogs might have taken advantage of carcasses left on site by early hunters, assisted in the capture of prey, or provided defence from large competing predators at kills."
Dog domestication of a "large and dangerous carnivore" was likely to have occurred partly by accident, possibly after wolves were attracted to hunter camp sites by the smell of fresh meat.
The research contradicts previous thinking that early farming brought wolves sniffing around villages, leading to them forming relationships with humans.
"Dogs were our companions long before we kept goats, sheep or cattle," said Professor Johannes Krause, one of the researchers from Tubingen University in Germany.
The scientists analysed a particular type of DNA found in mitochondria, tiny power stations within cells that generate energy.
Unlike nuclear DNA found in the hearts of cells, mitochondrial DNA is only inherited from mothers. This makes it a powerful tool in tracing ancestry.
The study included genetic data on 18 prehistoric wolves and other dog-like animals, as well as 77 dogs and 49 wolves from the present day.
Among the prehistoric remains were two sets of German dog fossils, one from a 14,700-year-old human burial site near Bonn, and the other dating back 12,500 years from a cave near Mechernich.
Most of the DNA from modern dogs was traceable to just one lineage, closely related to that of a wolf skeleton found in a cave in northern Switzerland.
"I was amazed how clearly they showed that all dogs living today go back to four genetic lineages, all of which originate in Europe," said study leader Olaf Thalmann, from the University of Turku in Finland.
Biker! Happy William Tell Day!
Hi Pop's well get out the archery kit and fruit of a Rosaceae persuasion as according to legend on this day in 1307 -
William Tell shoots apple off his son's head.
William Tell (in the four languages of Switzerland: German: Wilhelm Tell; French:
Guillaume Tell; Italian: Guglielmo Tell; Romansh: Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland.
His legend is recorded in a late 15th-century Swiss chronicle.
It is set in the period of the original foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy in the early 14th century.
According to the legend, Tell—an expert marksman with the crossbow—assassinated Gessler,
a tyrannical reeve of Habsburg Austria positioned in Altdorf, Uri.
Along with Arnold Winkelrie, Tell is a central figure in Swiss patriotism as it was constructed during the
Restoration of the Confederacy after the Napoleonic era.
There are several accounts of the Tell legend. The earliest sources give an account of the apple-shot,
Tell's escape and the ensuing rebellion. The assassination of Gessler is not mentioned in the
Tellenlied, but is already present in the White Book of Sarnen account.
The legend as told by Tschudi (ca. 1570) goes as follows: William Tell, who originally came from
Bürglen, was known as a strong man, mountain climber, and an expert shot with the crossbow.
In his time, the Habsburg emperors of Austria were seeking to dominate Uri. Albrecht (or Hermann)
Gessler, the newly appointed Austrian Vogt of Altdorf, raised a pole in the village's central square,
hung his hat on top of it, and demanded that all the townsfolk bow before the hat.
On 18 November 1307, Tell visited Altdorf with his young son and passed by the hat, publicly
refusing to bow to it, and so was arrested. Gessler—intrigued by Tell's famed marksmanship,
yet resentful of his defiance—devised a cruel punishment: Tell and his son would be executed,
but he could redeem his life by shooting an apple off the head of his son, Walter, in a single attempt.
Tell split the apple with a bolt from his crossbow.
But Gessler noticed that Tell had removed two crossbow bolts from his quiver, not one. Before
releasing Tell, he asked why. Tell replied that if he had killed his son, he would have used the second
bolt on Gessler himself. Gessler was angered, and had Tell bound.
Tell was brought to Gessler's ship to be taken to his castle at Küssnachtto spend his newly won
life in a dungeon. But, as a storm broke on Lake Lucerne, the soldiers were afraid that their boat
would founder, and unbound Tell to steer with all his famed strength. Tell made use of the
opportunity to escape, leaping from the boat at the rocky site now known as the Tellsplatte
("Tell's slab") and memorialized by the Tellskapelle.
Tell ran cross-country to Küssnacht. As Gessler arrived, Tell assassinated him with the
second crossbow bolt along a stretch of the road cut through the rock between Immensee
and Küssnacht, now known as the Hohle Gasse. Tell's blow for liberty sparked a rebellion,
in which he played a leading part. That fed the impetus for the nascent Swiss Confederation.
Tell fought again against Austria in the 1315 Battle of Morgarten. Tschudi also has an account
of Tell's death in 1354, according to which he was killed trying to save a child from drowning
in the Schächenbach river in Uri.
They often say it's a sign you're an intellectual if you can listen to Rossini's William Tell Overture
without thinking of the Lone Ranger .
Lets test the theory!
[video=youtube;c7O91GDWGPU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7O91GDWGPU[/video]
Hi Pop's well get out the archery kit and fruit of a Rosaceae persuasion as according to legend on this day in 1307 -
William Tell shoots apple off his son's head.
William Tell (in the four languages of Switzerland: German: Wilhelm Tell; French:
Guillaume Tell; Italian: Guglielmo Tell; Romansh: Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland.
His legend is recorded in a late 15th-century Swiss chronicle.
It is set in the period of the original foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy in the early 14th century.
According to the legend, Tell—an expert marksman with the crossbow—assassinated Gessler,
a tyrannical reeve of Habsburg Austria positioned in Altdorf, Uri.
Along with Arnold Winkelrie, Tell is a central figure in Swiss patriotism as it was constructed during the
Restoration of the Confederacy after the Napoleonic era.
There are several accounts of the Tell legend. The earliest sources give an account of the apple-shot,
Tell's escape and the ensuing rebellion. The assassination of Gessler is not mentioned in the
Tellenlied, but is already present in the White Book of Sarnen account.
The legend as told by Tschudi (ca. 1570) goes as follows: William Tell, who originally came from
Bürglen, was known as a strong man, mountain climber, and an expert shot with the crossbow.
In his time, the Habsburg emperors of Austria were seeking to dominate Uri. Albrecht (or Hermann)
Gessler, the newly appointed Austrian Vogt of Altdorf, raised a pole in the village's central square,
hung his hat on top of it, and demanded that all the townsfolk bow before the hat.
On 18 November 1307, Tell visited Altdorf with his young son and passed by the hat, publicly
refusing to bow to it, and so was arrested. Gessler—intrigued by Tell's famed marksmanship,
yet resentful of his defiance—devised a cruel punishment: Tell and his son would be executed,
but he could redeem his life by shooting an apple off the head of his son, Walter, in a single attempt.
Tell split the apple with a bolt from his crossbow.
But Gessler noticed that Tell had removed two crossbow bolts from his quiver, not one. Before
releasing Tell, he asked why. Tell replied that if he had killed his son, he would have used the second
bolt on Gessler himself. Gessler was angered, and had Tell bound.
Tell was brought to Gessler's ship to be taken to his castle at Küssnachtto spend his newly won
life in a dungeon. But, as a storm broke on Lake Lucerne, the soldiers were afraid that their boat
would founder, and unbound Tell to steer with all his famed strength. Tell made use of the
opportunity to escape, leaping from the boat at the rocky site now known as the Tellsplatte
("Tell's slab") and memorialized by the Tellskapelle.
Tell ran cross-country to Küssnacht. As Gessler arrived, Tell assassinated him with the
second crossbow bolt along a stretch of the road cut through the rock between Immensee
and Küssnacht, now known as the Hohle Gasse. Tell's blow for liberty sparked a rebellion,
in which he played a leading part. That fed the impetus for the nascent Swiss Confederation.
Tell fought again against Austria in the 1315 Battle of Morgarten. Tschudi also has an account
of Tell's death in 1354, according to which he was killed trying to save a child from drowning
in the Schächenbach river in Uri.
They often say it's a sign you're an intellectual if you can listen to Rossini's William Tell Overture
without thinking of the Lone Ranger .
Lets test the theory!
[video=youtube;c7O91GDWGPU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7O91GDWGPU[/video]
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That was well done Colin, some of the animation was really good, liked the radial guns and wing folding during turn fighters.
So you ever go over to that part of Ireland? Used to go over and wander about the north and south camping during my teens. Great place. I especially liked The Burren in County Clare. Very desolate and the advantage of having caves you can go into. I do like my caves - one of my earliest holiday memories was Cheddar Gorge as a nipper. Great fun. Also if your ever up this way you have to visit Cruachan Power Station, an underground hydro power plant that's like being in a James Bond baddies lair.
You doing "foxy" photoshoots again Peter? Then you and Basil are so ... close
Here are 20 things (there were loads more but we had to narrow it down) your kids will never learn or understand.
1. The relationship between a pencil and a music cassette tape.
2. They will never know the white fear you felt when you realised that you werent kind, you didnt rewind the VHS you just handed back to the video store.
3. The art of recording the Sunday Top 40 chart show with minimal DJ chat over the song.
4. The excitement of flicking through your newly developed photos as you walk through the town centre only to find half of them have your thumb over the lens.
5. The simple act of winding down a car window.
6. The glory of a four-hour marathon of eye spy because there were no TV/DVD players in the back of cars in the olden days
7. Nails down the blackboard. Schools all use super-duper touch screens now.
8. Trolls on top of pencils an iPad just doesnt offer a stable place for them to sit.
9. The old shake and blow trick to get your SNES Mario Land game cartridge working again.
10. Rotary dial phones yes it really did take more than five seconds to dial a number. A number that you also had to memorise.
11. With all the CRB/DBS/ISA child-minders need these days they will never set up their own Babysitters Club.
12. When arriving 10 minutes before your flight was considered early.
13. Waiting until Saturday morning for the decent cartoons.
14. Having that rare ability to successfully fold the car map.
15. The happiness that is circling what shows to watch in the TV magazine.
16. Leafing through the whole Encyclopaedia to find information on a rainforest now its just a Google away.
17. The advert game the first to guess the advert gets control of the remote. Now they just record and fast forward.
18. Theyll never know the true meaning of WE WERE ON A BREAK.
19. Loading a computer game via a tape recorder, which took ages. It was worth it though to get to the final level of Chuckie Egg.
20. Using reverse charges to call your mum and dad at a payphone. Actually, will they even know what a payphone is?
Four famous Colins Firth (1960), Jackson (1967), Farrell (1976), Murray (1977)
Origins
Colin has multiple origins. It’s an Anglicised form of the Gaelic name Cailean (or Coileáin) and a variation of the Norse name Koli (meaning 'dark').
But it’s also a shorted derivative of Nicolas (‘Col’ with ‘in’ added, just as Robert became Robin), and a variant of Colle, itself the shortened French form of Nicholas.
Popularity
Colin was in the top 100 list in England and Wales for most of the 20th century - indeed, it was top 25 in the 30s to the 60s - but was out of favour by the late 80s.
These days, it’s more popular elsewhere – particularly Ireland, and in the NorthEast and Upper Midwest of America.
In fact, it made the top 100 in each of the three years to 2005 in the US, presumably inspired by General Colin Powell who led the US invasion of Iraq… and insists on the pronunciation as 'KOH-lin'.
Aaron
Gender: Boy
Origin: Hebrew, Arabic
Meaning: From the Arabic meaning "forest", "thicken", "strength". Also from the Hebrew har-on meaning "mountain of strength".
Popular in: US, UK, Spain, Germany, Ireland
Facts: Aaron Copland, American classical composer was born in 1900. Aaron was the middle name of rock singer Elvis Presley.
Peter
Gender: Boy
Origin: Greek
Meaning: From the Greek petros, meaning "stone" or "rock".
Popular in: UK
Facts: Peter the Great was the first emperor of the Russian Empire.
Huon
Huon as a boy's name is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Huon is "God is gracious". Variant of John, probably via Juan.
Origins
Colin has multiple origins. It’s an Anglicised form of the Gaelic name Cailean (or Coileáin) and a variation of the Norse name Koli (meaning 'dark').
But it’s also a shorted derivative of Nicolas (‘Col’ with ‘in’ added, just as Robert became Robin), and a variant of Colle, itself the shortened French form of Nicholas.
Popularity
Colin was in the top 100 list in England and Wales for most of the 20th century - indeed, it was top 25 in the 30s to the 60s - but was out of favour by the late 80s.
These days, it’s more popular elsewhere – particularly Ireland, and in the NorthEast and Upper Midwest of America.
In fact, it made the top 100 in each of the three years to 2005 in the US, presumably inspired by General Colin Powell who led the US invasion of Iraq… and insists on the pronunciation as 'KOH-lin'.
Aaron
Gender: Boy
Origin: Hebrew, Arabic
Meaning: From the Arabic meaning "forest", "thicken", "strength". Also from the Hebrew har-on meaning "mountain of strength".
Popular in: US, UK, Spain, Germany, Ireland
Facts: Aaron Copland, American classical composer was born in 1900. Aaron was the middle name of rock singer Elvis Presley.
Peter
Gender: Boy
Origin: Greek
Meaning: From the Greek petros, meaning "stone" or "rock".
Popular in: UK
Facts: Peter the Great was the first emperor of the Russian Empire.
Huon
Huon as a boy's name is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Huon is "God is gracious". Variant of John, probably via Juan.
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